State board of education approves audit of Utah school fees

The state board of education is now taking a closer look to determine whether school fees are being implemented fairly and whether some students are being prevented from enjoying all the benefits of public education. Board members had received some complaints about fees being misapplied to some kids. Read more>>

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos attempted to address a growing divide within the charter school community. She delivered a gut check to thousands of charter schools advocates gathered in Washington, D.C., reminding them that when it comes to school choice they are not the only player. Read more>>

Wake County school leaders say they want students to be more physically active through the creation of school gardens and opportunities to walk and bicycle to school. The North Carolina school system’s updated school wellness policy supports the incorporation of school gardens as an educational tool and an opportunity for physical activity. Read more>>

DA Special Report: TechXcellence

DA’s exciting K12 education recognition program honors schools that creatively use technology in the classroom to contribute meaningfully to student success in Math and Makerspaces. Read the report here Read more>>

Requests from citizens to have a book removed from the New London-Spicer School District curriculum have been denied. In a 3-2 vote, the central Minnesota school board agreed to follow the recommendation of the school administration and allow The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to remain as an option for teachers to use in the classroom. Read more>>

The Jefferson Parish School Board voted in favor of rezoning a number of elementary school districts despite controversy with parents. The parish hopes the new lines will help finalize the Dandridge desegregation lawsuit from more than 50 years ago that the parish settled in 2015 and reduce classroom sizes in some schools. Read more>>

A school choice bill on a fast track in the Legislature would eliminate some accountability requirements for private schools in the state-funded voucher programs, including those that dictate standards for meeting average attendance and promoting students from one grade to the next. Read more>>

The California Department of Education removed “bad” Advanced Placement test results from its website last month, acknowledging it had published the wrong scores from 2016. Officials dismissed concerns about prior years’ data, saying it can be off by hundreds to thousands of tests each year. But school officials and policymakers rely on the accuracy of the data to compare school performance. Read more>>

Current school funding proposals add up to a future that is increasingly unequal with more money in tax credits and the failure to acknowledge the changing needs of our students. This problem is solvable. But the path a majority of lawmakers appear to be following takes us deeper into the woods of inequity. Read more>>

A paper released this month examines the school turnaround measures Michigan put in place five years ago to get a waiver from the unrealistic requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The results are lackluster. In fact, the two researchers found the accountability systems have zero positive impact. Read more>>

IntelliBoard announced a new partnership to provide cloud-based reporting and analytics capabilities within Moodlerooms, Blackboard’s open-source learning management system (LMS). The Intelliboard dashboard will also include a personal dashboard accessible directly from the LMS with an overview of grades, activities and course progress. Read more>>

PCS Edventures!.com, Inc., a provider of K12 STEM programs, signed an agreement with MultiGP, a FPV drone racing league, to utilize its global community of drone enthusiasts and event organizers by becoming contractors for the Discover Drones program. Read more>>

The Women Tech Council launched a technology internship program to provide high school girls the opportunity to interact with technology companies, meet and interact with women in technology, and understand the impact they can have by pursuing STEM careers. Read more>>