Schools

In a state with school vouchers for all, low-income families aren’t choosing to use them

Working-class parents often express interest in vouchers. But in Arizona, the nation’s school choice capital, these families aren’t using them due to the inaccessibility of private schools and the costs of transportation, meals and uniforms.

Responding to post-pandemic norms, more states are lowering test standards

The changes have renewed criticism of a testing "honesty gap" and have sparked calls for states to level with parents about poor student performance in the aftermath of COVID.

18 years, $2 billion: Inside New Orleans’s biggest school recovery effort in history

Hurricane Katrina destroyed 110 New Orleans school buildings. How to upgrade them while honoring their architectural importance and historic heritage?

These counties are recruiting teenagers to shore up a corrections guard shortage

Two counties in Texas house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.

In an unprecedented move, Ohio is funding construction of private religious schools

The state is giving millions in taxpayer dollars directly to private schools to help them renovate and expand their campuses. It may be the next frontier in the push to increase the use of school vouchers, proponents say.

14 states pledge to cut chronic absenteeism rates by half over 5 years

In a sign of how far and wide the nation’s chronic absenteeism crisis spans, the states are located across the U.S. and are led by a mix of Republican and Democratic governors.

How the nation’s largest school system keeps students safe

By thinking of physical and digital safety as the same, the New York City schools are preparing their systems for ever-evolving technologies.

Cyberattacks still ravage schools, defying White House efforts launched last year

Thousands of school districts have tapped into resources committed by the private sector to shore up their cyberdefenses.

School vouchers were supposed to save taxpayer money. Instead they blew a massive hole in Arizona’s budget.

Arizona, the model for voucher programs across the country, has spent so much money paying private schoolers’ tuition that it’s now facing hundreds of millions in budget cuts to critical state programs and projects.

New report: School cops double student arrest rates and race, gender key factors

Government watchdog reveals students twice as likely to be arrested when officers are present and their race, gender and disability play pivotal role.

Was Los Angeles schools’ $6 million AI venture a disaster waiting to happen?

The vision for what the much-hyped chatbot could do is ‘really not possible with where the technology is today,’ one insider says.

America’s biggest education experiment is happening in Houston. Could it change U.S. schools?

The controversial reforms underway in Houston ISD rival the biggest U.S. education experiments—and could impact schools across the nation.

The $190B question: Did federal pandemic funds improve test scores?

Two new studies attempt to answer that question as education activists and politicians debate the impact of federal spending, and as states and school districts consider which pandemic-era programs to continue.

FCC approves pilot to boost cybersecurity in schools

Amid a rapid increase in ransomware attacks on k-12 schools, the commission is allocating $200 million over three years to strengthen cyber protections.

School's out for summer, but virtual learning is in

Momentum for virtual learning has been building for years, and come fall, it will be offered in hundreds of more schools.

After a 7-year experiment, New Orleans is an all-charter district no more

The closely watched experiment is coming to an end. New Orleans Public Schools will now act both as a charter school authorizer and an old-fashioned school district.

Utah’s largest teacher union files lawsuit against state's school choice voucher program

The lawsuit argues the voucher program violates several provisions of the Utah Constitution that require the state to establish an education system equally accessible to every child. It comes amid an expansion of these programs nationwide.

Report: State by state, how segregation legally continues 7 decades post Brown

Researchers unveil loopholes, laws and a lack of protections allowing Black, brown, low-income students to be excluded from America’s most coveted schools.

Arkansas led the nation in measuring obesity in kids. Did it help?

In 2003, Arkansas became the first state to send home "fat letters" or BMI reports about all students as part of a broader anti-obesity initiative. At least 23 states followed Arkansas’ lead. Some have since scaled back their efforts.

Free school meals for all may reduce childhood obesity

COMMENTARY | Growing research is showing the benefits of universal free school meals for the health and well-being of children, including a slowing in the rise of childhood obesity rates.