Solar eclipse fears prompt schools to cancel class, keep kids inside

Michigan law requires public K-12 schools to start their academic year after Labor Day, but the state has granted more waivers in recent years to allow schools to set earlier start dates. Schools that made the switch have seen mixed results. Read more>>

School board alleges state legislative leadership "has continued to ignore the voices of individual legislators of both parties, the governor and the state superintendent of schools as they call for adequate funding." The resolution also states that legislative leadership has "ignored their constitutional responsibility to provide textbooks for every child." Read more>>

Fears that children might permanently damage their eyes viewing Monday’s solar eclipse have prompted school districts in or near its path to cancel classes and, in some cases, prohibit students from venturing outside during the once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. Read more>>

In the northern Virginia county where Confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson earned his famous moniker, a battle has begun to remove his name from the local high school where it appears in large white letters on the red brick facade. Read more>>

The failure of three states to enact legislation to fund education has left hundreds of districts scrambling for cash as students return . Connecticut, Illinois and Wisconsin began fiscal 2018 on July 1, but lawmakers have been unable to pass an overall budget or a way to distribute budgeted money to schools. Read more>>

Santa Fe Public Schools, which in recent years has had one of the highest truancy rates in the state, has dramatically improved student attendance by hiring truancy coaches and implementing a parent notification system, a new report says. Read more>>

CIOs and CTOs already live on the leading edge of 21st century technology. So, it’s a natural fit for them to use their leadership positions to model today’s most in-demand skills for staff, teachers and students. Read more>>

According to the indictment, Superintendent Joseph Davis used a credit card belonging to the North Carolina school district he once led on to "obtain" a hotel reservation and a Hertz rental car. The indictment says Davis was not an authorized user of the Washington County Board of Education card. Read more>>

The state Agency of Education will cut each district's budget based on the savings each district could achieve if employees agree to the state's ideal school employee health plan. If districts have already settled their teacher contracts, or are unable to reach the ideal plan, they may look for the money elsewhere. Read more>>

The Every Student Succeeds Act ended the Bush-Obama era of sweeping federal action embodied by the No Child Left Behind Act, Race to the Top and the School Improvement Grant program. It also severely limited the U.S. Department of Education's ability to unilaterally exert its will on states and districts. Read more>>

Minnesota now has more than 200 schools where students of color make up 90 percent or more of the enrollment, state data shows. That’s more than double what the state had in 2002, when the federal No Child Left Behind Act reinvigorated the national campaign for school equity. Read more>>

As California considers a first-of-its kind bill to outlaw a school day starting before 8:30 a.m., school districts across 19 states have later start times this school year than last, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Schools Start Later. Read more>>

After a decade and a half, and at a cost of about $12 million annually, Maine has yet to see any measurable increases on statewide standardized test scores. That's part of why Maine's current governor, Paul LePage, has called the program a "massive failure." Read more>>

The Virtual High School's newest offering is a Spanish 3 course. The online learning nonprofit is also offering an Introduction to Computer Science Principles course, which gives students an introduction to programming and to investigation into computer security concerns and defensive measures. Read more>>

To help refresh their digital learning initiatives, leaders at Putnam City Schools collaborated with LocknCharge to design and release the Putnam 16 Charging Station. The school district will install 500 charging stations for the 2017-18 school year. Read more>>

The overall goal of a partnership between AASA (The School Superintendents Association) and NutriStudents K-12 is to help schools maintain internal control of their food service programs while reducing the administrative responsibilities placed on food service staff. Read more>>

View more news at District Administration's PR Portal