Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

From new math performance data to the 20th anniversary of a federal law’s last reauthorization, what did you learn from our recent stories?

By Anna Merod • Dec. 6, 2024

Reading wars head to court: Lawsuit claims ‘deceptive’ practices by famed literacy specialists

The plaintiffs sold faulty curricula that “sought to diminish and even exclude” phonics instruction, two mothers claim in a suit seeking class-action status.

By Roger Riddell • Dec. 5, 2024

Explore the Trendline➔

School Safety and Security

Safety and security has been a growing concern for school districts, with shootings continuing to rise amid concerns over how to best prevent and respond to them.

By K-12 Dive staff

‘No one-size-fits-all’ student cellphone policy, says Education Department

In a new resource, the agency encourages schools, districts and states to develop policies in collaboration with families, students and educators.

By Kara Arundel • Dec. 4, 2024

Math scores plummet, progress ‘erased,’ NCES reports

Average U.S. math scores on the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study reverted to 1995 levels.

By Anna Merod • Dec. 4, 2024

Special education teacher shortages subject of public listening session

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights wants to hear from educators, parents, students and community members as it develops recommendations.

By Kara Arundel • Updated Dec. 12, 2024

IDEA 2004 turns 20: How the landmark reauthorization changed special education

While gains have come for inclusion of students with disabilities, underfunding and teacher shortages remain struggles.

By Kara Arundel • Dec. 3, 2024

Ohio becomes latest state to restrict transgender students’ bathroom access

Under the Protect All Students Act, K-12 and college students in the state can only use multiperson facilities aligned with their sex assigned at birth.

By Anna Merod , Kara Arundel • Dec. 2, 2024

Education Department promotes expanded use of behavior assessments

Students with and without disabilities can benefit from individualized interventions intended to improve classroom behaviors, new guidance says.

By Kara Arundel • Dec. 2, 2024

The K-12 Dive Awards for 2024

These leaders are achieving excellence through commitments to school culture and community, innovation, and wraparound services for students.

By Roger Riddell • Nov. 27, 2024

District of the Year: Ector County ISD

In the past five years, the Texas district’s investments in staffing and high dosage tutoring are paying off.

By Anna Merod • Nov. 27, 2024

Why E-rate’s future is now in the hands of the Supreme Court

The court is set to review the 5th Circuit’s decision striking down the funding mechanism for the FCC’s Universal Service Fund next year.

By Anna Merod • Nov. 27, 2024

Trump picks Rollins to lead USDA — and thus school nutrition programs

Like Trump’s nomination for education secretary, Rollins also comes from the right-wing think tank America First Policy Institute.

By Sarah Zimmerman , Anna Merod • Nov. 26, 2024

Superintendent of the Year: Tiffany Anderson, Topeka Public Schools

Over the past eight years, Anderson has reimagined leadership structures, invested in teacher housing initiatives, and kept one foot in the classroom.

By Roger Riddell • Updated Nov. 26, 2024

How RFK Jr. could shake up school lunches

Trump’s HHS pick is expected to work to eliminate processed foods from school meals and push for the removal of dyes from cereals and other items.

By David Silverberg • Nov. 26, 2024

High school students report challenges in accessing skilled trades training

Training programs can’t keep up with demand, which may signal a need for employer investments, a report found.

By Carolyn Crist • Nov. 25, 2024

Nation’s Report Card to debut new poverty measurement

The metric for students’ socioeconomic status will include factors such as the number of books in homes and parents’ education levels.

By Anna Merod • Nov. 25, 2024

Georgia unveils its newest private school choice program

The Georgia Promise Scholarship is capped at 1% of public school funding and is expected to serve an estimated 21,000-22,000 students.

By Kara Arundel • Nov. 22, 2024

Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

From Trump’s education secretary pick to a class-action lawsuit’s advancement against an ed tech platform, what did you learn from our recent stories?

By Anna Merod • Nov. 22, 2024

Education Department officially launches 2025-26 FAFSA

Agency officials struck an optimistic tone about the release of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. 

By Natalie Schwartz • Nov. 21, 2024

How do civil rights laws apply to AI in schools?

A new resource from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights outlines 21 examples of how the tech could contribute to discrimination.

By Anna Merod • Nov. 21, 2024

4 K-12 funding areas to watch under a 2nd Trump administration

Education experts anticipate changes in fiscal approaches to state grants, special education, school choice and curriculum.

By Kara Arundel • Nov. 21, 2024

Open enrollment ‘increasingly’ school choice option

Sixteen states have laws allowing open enrollment across school districts, and almost as many permit open enrollment within a district.

By Naaz Modan • Nov. 21, 2024

Black teachers’ salaries, raises trail those of White teachers

A Rand Corp. survey gauging teacher average pay raises warns that such disparities will worsen Black educator turnover rates.

By Anna Merod • Nov. 20, 2024

IXL class-action suit advances amid student data harvesting claims

A group of parents alleges the ed tech provider collected and monetized data from millions of school-age children without parental consent.

By Anna Merod • Nov. 19, 2024

Moody’s rates education sector at ‘high’ cyber risk in 2024

The cybersecurity risk score for the education and nonprofit sectors has jumped from “moderate” to “high” over the past two years.

By Anna Merod • Nov. 19, 2024