Education

L.A. School District Workers Demand Historic Raise During 3-day Strike

Teachers in the nation’s second-largest school district joined bus drivers, cafeteria workers and paraprofessionals in a “sympathy strike,” resulting in over 65,000 personnel absences and bringing classes to a halt.

  • By Nadra  Nittle, The 19th

Kids Eat Free! States Push to Make School Meals Available to All

Lawmakers around the country have passed or are considering bills that would make universal free school meals permanent following the end of a similar federal pandemic-era program.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

As Supreme Court Considers Student Loan Forgiveness, States May Expand Their Programs

At least two dozen bills are moving through legislatures this spring.

  • By Elaine S. Povich, Stateline

Schools Struggle With Lead in Water While Awaiting Federal Relief

President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address that federal funds will pay to replace lead pipes in hundreds of thousands of schools and child care centers. In the meantime, schools are dealing with high lead levels now.

  • By Katheryn Houghton, Kaiser Health News

New College Corps Program in California Offers Students Debt-Free Pathways

Working on issues like climate mitigation, education, and food insecurity, students from rural schools help solve some of the most pressing issues rural communities face today.

  • By Kristi Eaton, The Daily Yonder

State & Local Roundup: Republicans Moving to Fund Public School Alternatives

Plus: Court staffing crisis leaves divorce trials suspended; toxic train derailment; a state’s $3.5 billion accounting error; Oregon liquor officials accused of hoarding fancy bourbon; and more news you can use from around the country.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Public School Enrollment Dropped by 1.2M During the Pandemic

COMMENTARY | An expert discusses where the students went and why it matters.

  • By Thomas Dee, The Conversation

Top State Democrats Outline Legislative Priorities

Where the party has majorities, they hope to focus on issues like housing, voting rights and criminal justice. In GOP-controlled states, they want to hold the line against Republican proposals on abortion, school vouchers and guns.

  • By Kery Murakami

Has Remote Learning Buried the Snow Day? Depends On Where You Live

COMMENTARY | When communities are buried in snow, more and more schools are staying in session remotely.

  • By Nathan M. Sorber, The Conversation

Biden Administration Looks for Ways to Provide More Free School Meals

With a pandemic-era program expired and no help from Congress on the horizon, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says his department is considering options for how it can take action.

  • By Kery Murakami

Can a State Erase Property Taxes Without Wiping out Education?

The long, difficult and ongoing quest to reduce property taxes in Pennsylvania.

  • By Justin Sweitzer

Federal Spending on Kids is Up, But Expected to Fall

Pandemic-era programs gave the funding a boost. As it phases out, more costs could shift to states and localities.

  • By Molly Bolan
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How a School’s ‘Bike Bus’ Won Over Students and Charmed the Internet

Nearly 200 kids in Portland, Oregon join a weekly bicycle ride to school, instead of relying on buses or drop-offs. The fun-spirited, pedal-powered convoys have drawn nationwide attention and the teacher behind them says they have many benefits.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

How Much Federal Covid Aid are Cities Spending to Help Kids?

New research looks at how local governments are using the money to address the fallout the pandemic has had for children in areas like education and mental health.

  • By Molly Bolan

Texas has Banned More Books Than Any Other State, New Report Shows

Across the country, more books have been challenged and removed as religious and conservative groups target LGBTQ and race issues.

  • By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune

A Library Struck by Controversy That Began Over a Book It Didn’t Own

In Boundary County, Idaho a local librarian decided to resign citing a “political atmosphere of extremism.” The situation there mirrors a trend affecting libraries around the country.

  • By Molly Bolan

Republicans Running for Statehouse Seats Sharpen Attacks on Public Education

The strategy, which helped propel Republican Glenn Youngkin into the governor's office in Virginia, is playing out in the blue and purple states that Republicans hope to flip this election cycle.

  • By Daniela Altimari

A Mom’s Campaign to Ban Library Books Divided a Texas Town — and Her Own Family

Weston Brown thought he had fully come to terms with his mother's anti-LGBTQ beliefs. Then he saw the video of her speaking at a school board meeting. “I couldn’t stay quiet about that.”

  • By Mike Hixenbaugh, ProPublica

Electric School Buses are Taking Students Back to School

COMMENTARY | And they're bringing cleaner air and lower maintenance costs to school districts across the country.

  • By Marpillero-Colomina, The Conversation

Florida Gov. DeSantis Touts Teacher Proposals Amid Statewide Shortage

The governor teased legislation aimed at recruiting retired law-enforcement officers, paramedics and firefighters who have bachelor’s degrees.

  • By Ryan Dailey

Could Apprenticeships Fix the Teacher Shortage?

COMMENTARY | Several states are pioneering "earn and learn" models as a potential long-term solution to address persistent educator shortages.

  • By Lois Kimmel