School bullies could face criminal charges under Ohio bill

School bullies who repeatedly torment their victims would face criminal charges under a new proposal from a lawmaker. If passed, Ohio would rank among the toughest states on anti-bullying efforts. While all states define bullying, few take the extra step of criminalizing it. Read more>>

The West Virginia school system intends to partner with the state Department of Education to start an online school program with about 30 Kanawha high schoolers, before opening it up statewide and possibly to students in lower grades. Read more>>

The House has moved to restore to the state budget $400,000 a group of urban schools were seeking to develop alternates to MCAS testing. The Legislature is in the process of overriding much of the $320 million in budget vetoes Gov. Charlie Baker made. Read more>>

The Indiana Department of Education released the 2016-17 School Accountability Grades showing that nearly 25 percent of schools improved one or more letter grades. The school corporation grades have not yet been released. The state is scheduled to release that information in November. Read more>>

Two lawmakers are working with local parents and police to push for legislation they say would protect children from sex offenders working in their schools. The bill would require that all schools are immediately notified if any of their employees are arrested for sex offenses. Read more>>

A majority of the state's voters favor offering tax credits or vouchers to low-income parents for sending their children to private or religious schools, according to a new statewide poll. However, only 46 percent favor the idea of offering school vouchers and tax credits to all parents, regardless of their family’s income. Read more>>

Mold growth at California’s Klamath-Trinity Joint USD three years ago was an asset in disguise. Read more>>

Weaving learning into a story makes learning more interesting, activates the brain’s positive emotional state, and hooks the information into a strong memory template. The memory then becomes more durable as the learning follows sequences connected to a theme, time flow or actions directed toward solving a problem or reaching a known goal. Read more>>

Dual-language education has surged in popularity, driven in part by parents who speak only English and see the value of raising bilingual children who can more easily navigate a globalized world. But Boston leaders see dual-language programs as a way to better serve students from the city’s large immigrant communities. Read more>>

The technical knowledge or skill required to be a welder, computer programmer, engineer or nurse is only half of the equation. Employers are just as concerned by the lack of soft skills exhibited by high school graduates as they are with finding talent with the technical knowledge to help their business succeed and grow. Read more>>

Follett is entering the school book fair market to offer a selection of books for early education, elementary and middle school students. The Follett Book Fairs launch begins for the 2017-18 school year on a regional basis, and then will expand throughout the country the following year. Read more>>

To enhance coaching and educator self-reflection and to strengthen collaboration between the educator and evaluator, coach or peer, video observation is available in the TeachPoint Educator Evaluation Solution, which is now part of Scenario Learning. Read more>>

Legends of Learning and University of Colorado Boulder’s PhET Interactive Simulations project are partnering to bring educational games and simulations to middle school science students. Thirty interactive simulations for middle school sciences will be hosted on the Legends of Learning platform with more to be added. Read more>>

View more news at District Administration's PR Portal

Maury County identified its bidders for a $65 million bond to finance the construction of new middle and elementary schools in Spring Hill. The property is planned to eventually serve the region as a K12 campus, with at least three separate structures housing the elementary, middle and high schools. Read more>>

First on the list for Killeen ISD's Strategic Facility Plan—which totals $586 million in construction costs—is a proposed elementary school, slated to open for the 2019-20 school year, at an estimated cost in excess of $37 million. Read more>>