Policy and Legislation: Page 2

Policy and Legislation

Federal judge blocks Trump bid to close ED, orders fired workers reinstated

A Massachusetts judge sided with education groups who allege March’s mass layoffs amounted to a shutdown of the agency without congressional approval.

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Cleveland ends year-round schooling, citing no meaningful gains after 15 years

Other states and school districts are still using the strategy, which aims to stop the ‘summer slide.’

Israel Collazo, a student at Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School, one of a few Cleveland schools with a year-round schedule protests the district’s decision last month to end summer classes. (Rueben Bell)

Mental Health and Wellness

Layoffs and leakier pipelines: How Trump’s cuts to mental health grants are likely to affect schools

After Uvalde, school mental health grants had bipartisan support. But after the cuts, schools will likely have to lay off social workers and counselors, and college programs designed to train mental health providers may shut down.

A school social worker makes calls from her desk in California's Chula Vista Elementary School District. The district is served by the San Diego County Office of Education, which was among the education entities that lost federal funding to hire and train more mental health workers in schools. (Zaydee Sanchez for Chalkbeat)

Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero gets 2-year contract extension from school board

Marrero’s superintendency has been tumultuous at times due to issues that many large urban school districts are facing.

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero tours Garden Place Academy on the first day of school in August 2024. (Melanie Asmar / Chalkbeat)

Preparing for the AI future: Five ways to respond to the Trump executive order

While the details will emerge over time, administrators shouldn't wait to prepare their schools and districts.

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Policy and Legislation

Supreme Court shows support for parents who want opt-outs from LGBTQ storybooks

The debate focused on whether just exposing children to the books in the classroom violates families’ religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday took up a Maryland case in which parents argued that the Montgomery County Public Schools violated their religious freedom rights when it stopped letting them opt their children out of hearing storybooks with LGBTQ characters. (Becket)

Policy and Legislation

Supreme Court to rule on right of religious parents to opt kids out of LGBTQ material

Oral arguments in the case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, are scheduled for Tuesday, with a decision expected by June.

Undocumented immigrant students protected by Plyler v. Doe ruling

Amid rumors and fear, this landmark Supreme Court decision guarantees the right of undocumented immigrant children to attend K-12 public schools.

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Policy and Legislation

Trump moves to strip Maine of federal education funding in unprecedented tactic

The announcement followed an ED investigation into the state’s policies governing transgender athletes.

Policy and Legislation

Trump tariffs could have chilling effect on school purchases from bananas to laptops

From heavy kitchen equipment like freezers and ovens to the gloves that cafeteria workers use, from laptops and tablets to pencils and paper, U.S. schools likely will feel the impact of rising costs.

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Student Success

‘Why schools can’t solve it alone’: New book tackles chronic absenteeism

Chalkbeat Detroit

The authors provide a road map for taking an “ecological” instead of an “educational” approach to the issue.

Eighth grader, Leona Wright, 13, holds her hand up high during a group exercise during Konnection Klub at Durfee Elementary-Middle School on Thurs., Oct. 19, 2023 in Detroit. The program is an example of how community groups are already trying to help improve student attendance in the city. (Elaine Cromie / Chalkbeat)

CRPE report urges “what must come next” for public K-12 education at a crossroads

Center on Reinventing Public Education

The newest research from the Center on Reinventing Public Education calls for bold approaches to address the harsh realities faced by U.S. schools five years post-pandemic.

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