November 16, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 36, Issue 13
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Introducing the School Friendship Challenge
The recent drop in school bullying incidents doesn’t necessarily mean schools have become more welcoming, writes Gregg Weinlein.
English Learners
Letter to the Editor
Language Acquisition Cannot Be Forced
When non-native English-speakers in bilingual schools get quality education in their first language, they learn more subject matter. This knowledge helps make the English they hear more comprehensible, which results in more acquisition of English.
Federal
Opinion
Is It Time to Restructure the Education Department?
The history of the U.S. Department of Education holds lessons for shaking up the education status quo, writes Gary Beach.
School & District Management
Opinion
What the Best School Districts Do Right
When it comes to school management, asking if school districts should decentralize is the wrong question, writes Susan Moore Johnson.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Educators Await Trump's Lesson Plan
President-elect Donald Trump's victory leaves widespread uncertainty about what's in store for key areas of public school policy under the first GOP administration in eight years.
Federal
Bilingual Education Set to Return to California Schools
After nearly two decades of restrictions, educators say it will take time for schools to create new programs and hire bilingual teachers.
Federal
In Massachusetts, Voters Shun Expansion of Charters
The state will keep its status as one of the most restrictive states when it comes to the expansion of the charter school sector.
School & District Management
Will the Trump Administration Scrap the Education Department?
Republicans may have their best chance yet to scrap—or at least seriously scale back—the Cabinet-level agency created under President Jimmy Carter.
School & District Management
Positive School Climates May Shrink Achievement Gaps
A research analysis of dozens of studies finds links between improved school climates and narrowing gaps between low-income students and their peers.
Special Education
Justices Pose Sharp Questions in Service-Dog Case
The U.S. Supreme Court hears a special education dispute involving a girl with cerebral palsy who was denied the use of her service dog at school.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Critics Pan Proposed ESSA Spending Rules
The U.S. Department of Education's proposed rules for how states and districts spend federal money for disadvantaged students under the Every Student Succeeds Act is under siege both by members of Congress and by state schools superintendents.
Law & Courts
Okla. Schools Chief Faces Campaign-Finance Charges
A 32-page affidavit alleges that Joy Hofmeister conspired for more than a year with several others to finance a negative campaign ad to oust then-Superintendent Janet Barresi.
Law & Courts
Legal Backgrounder on Title IX and Transgender Students
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a Virginia student's case against his school district over restroom access, in which a central issue is the proper interpretation of a federal regulation under Title IX.
Equity & Diversity
Black Teachers Feel Pigeonholed, Report Finds
A study finds that many African-American teachers are expected to teach lower-level classes or serve as school disciplinarians.
College & Workforce Readiness
State Diploma Requirements Are All Over the Map, Study Says
States conferred 95 kinds of diplomas to high school graduates last year—two more than the year before, according to the group Achieve.
IT Infrastructure & Management
African-American Teens Missing Out on Digital Innovation
Young black teenagers embrace computers as integral to their futures, but they need more opportunities to learn to code and innovate with technology, according to a national survey.
School & District Management
Q&A
N.C. Superintendent's Philosophy on Being a Woman and a Schools Chief: 'You Just Do the Work'
Few people running the nation's school districts look like Sharon Contreras—black, Latino, and female. She talks with Education Week about her journey to the top job.
School & District Management
Few Women Run the Nation's School Districts. Why?
In a profession otherwise dominated by women at every level, fewer than 25 percent of the nation's superintendents are female.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Chicago's Bond Rating Takes Another Hit
Financial analysts at one Wall Street rating agency last week dropped the Chicago school district's credit rating again, less than a week before the district was expected to sell hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term bonds.
Special Education
News in Brief
N.Y. District to Mainstream More Special Ed. Students
The 27,000-student Yonkers, N.Y., district has committed to placing more students with disabilities in general education classrooms, after a federal investigation showed that the district was shifting students into restrictive settings with no individualized rationale for doing so.
Standards & Accountability
News in Brief
N.M. Orders Attendance Be Part of Teacher Reviews
New Mexico's state education department will now require attendance to be factored into teachers' performance evaluations.
Education Funding
News in Brief
School Credit Ratings Fall in New Mexico
Two-thirds of the school districts in New Mexico face a lower credit rating.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
State High Court Tosses Ban on Verbal Abuse
Citing First Amendment rights, Georgia's highest court has struck down a state statute that criminalized "upbraiding, insulting, or abusing" a public school teacher, administrator, or bus driver in the presence of a student while on a school bus or school premises.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Nevada District to Install Cameras in Every Classroom
A Nevada school district soon will install cameras in every classroom.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Ga. School Firearms Ban Trumps Gun-Carry Law
A law that prohibits firearms on school property takes precedence over one that says a person licensed to carry firearms may bring them into school safety zones, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Persistent Problems Plague L.A. Misconduct Probes
Years after a series of high-profile abuse cases, the Los Angeles school district still has problems resolving allegations of wrongdoing by teachers and holding down costs related to them, according to a state audit.
Mathematics
News in Brief
NCTM Urges Caution in Using Open Resources
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is warning of risks that arise when schools rely too heavily on open educational resources.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Worries About School Climate Motivate Home Schoolers
Why do parents home-school? Worries about safety, drugs, and peer pressure at school, according to new federal data.
Federal
Report Roundup
Research Report: Math
Math in Focus, a mathematics program based on Singapore-style instruction, was a little better than other math programs that used hands-on activities, according to a randomized controlled trial published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.