Governor's veto leaves Chicago schools with a big budget gap to cover

The State Board of Education voted to allow 19 traditional public schools to receive the same flexibility that charter schools now get to set their school calendars and to spend state money. Potential changes for the 2017-18 school year include longer school years and days, and new programs to reduce class sizes and provide more training and other resources. Read more>>

City officials may ask the state to relax restrictions on how close medical marijuana dispensaries can be to places of education, saying the current rules would limit access and locations due to the high density of school and day care facilities in Philadelphia. Read more>>

The overwhelming majority of young people are unable to sift through online information and separate fact, fiction and opinion, according to a new study. One finding showed that among middle school students, 80 percent did not understand that “sponsored content” on a news organization’s website is paid advertising. Read more>>

Ariana Fine

LAUSD’s 186th Street School jumps at a chance to expose primarily low-income students to the possibilities of a medical science career when a local health care provider offers a science enrichment curriculum for gifted-and-talented fifth-graders. Read more>>

Seattle Public Schools faces a budget shortfall of as much as $74 million for the 2017-18 school year, and the district is planning for the worst-case scenario, which could include teacher layoffs and program cuts. Read more>>

Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of a bill that would have eased Chicago Public Schools' massive pension burden threatened to blow a $215 million hole into a budget that has been criticized by bankers and civic groups for its reliance on uncertain state assistance. Read more>>

Midlands state legislators are doubling down on their call to have South Carolina’s “disturbing schools” law repealed, after the federal government filed a statement criticizing the statute's vagueness and its contribution to a school-to-prison pipeline. Read more>>

Marketing on school campuses has had a checkered career. Ultimately, the real villain in these marketing-run-amok situations is the chronically insufficient funding of education, which gives schools incentives to pander to big companies and wealthy advertisers. Campuses shouldn’t have to erect billboards in order for kids to get textbooks. Read more>>

Equalizing school funding and supplementing it for disadvantaged schools is a moral responsibility, and well worth fighting for. But if we expect that simply adding money to the current system will be sufficient, we are likely to be disappointed unless we utilize proven strategies for turning money into achievement, Read more>>

All children should have access to a good education that will provide them with the tools they need to succeed. Trying to force better outcomes through the courts, however, isn't the way to do this. Detroit's education problems go well beyond money, which is the remedy most favored by the courts. The schools have been poorly run. Read more>>

Credo announced it is contributing features and enhancements to the open edXinitiative, including the ability to tag questions in edX Studio, its open tool where users build their courses. Tagging questions allows tracking information across courses. Read more>>

Audax Private Equity has acquired Accent Food Services, LLC from Silver Oak Services Partners. The Texas-headquartered Accent is a provider of customized fresh food, snacks and refreshment services to educational institutions, businesses and property management companies. Read more>>

Loot Pursuit Early America is an education game focused on the history of Jamestown, USA. Available online, this is an addition to the Loot Pursuit series designed to take kids on social studies adventures. Read more>>

The Mt. Pleasant Public Schools Board of Education chose Jennifer Verleger, its current assistant superintendent for human resources, to take over for Superintendent Mike Pung. Pung will retire from the position at the end of the school year. Read more>>

Alpena–Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District's school board unanimously approved Scott Reynolds, principal of its Pied Piper school, as the Michigan district's new top leader. He will replace Brian Wilmot, who is retiring June 30, 2017 after 10 years as superintendent and 39 years with the district. Read more>>

Melinda Moss, superintendent of the Harrison School District in Arkansas, has been named the new superintendent in Joplin. Moss was one of two finalists for the position from an initial pool of 47 applicants. Read more>>