Teacher misconduct requires strong response in Texas

With a school shooting about once every week in America, a greater number of school districts and colleges are training staff to use more active responses to gunmen, including fighting back. Read more>>

A new school funding proposal doesn't provide "adequate" money for schools, says William Phillis, a major player in the court cases that led to Ohio's school funding system being declared unconstitutional. The proposal covers wiping out all local property taxes for schools and having the state pay for students through a new state property tax and other state revenue. Read more>>

Two legal rulings on whether education is a fundamental right for school children are expected to come from Detroit’s federal bench in coming months and could have a profound legal impact on public education if appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more>>

Ariana Fine

As we face a new year with a new president, District Administration looks back on 2016 to consider the biggest and most influential stories in K12 education. Will they continue to be important in 2017? Will school leaders find better solutions? Will we see improvements? Read more>>

The American Bar Association has filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Education to stop the department’s decision to retroactively refuse to honor loan forgiveness commitments it made under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to individuals who have dedicated their careers to public service. Read more>>

California's top education official has urged the state's public schools to declare themselves “safe havens” for students who are in the country illegally.​ The letter comes in light of concerns about President-elect Donald Trump’s promises during and after the campaign to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally. Read more>>

The Virginia school system is struggling to find 22 teachers to fill vacancies. With a cloud hanging over even basic services such as trash pickup, and with a school system beset by challenges and low graduation rates, it’s hard to keep teachers in Petersburg. So Gov. Terry McAuliffe has stepped in by asking 539 retired teachers in the area to consider going back to work in the city’s schools. Read more>>

​Delaying start times by an hour across the country could boost teen students’ math scores up to eight points on the Nation’s Report Card, a new analysis says. That’s almost one grade level of learning. The idea is that giving sleep-deprived teens more time to snooze before they hit the books will help them learn better. Read more>>

A disturbing study concluded that 35 states provided less overall state funding per student in public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade in 2014 than they did in 2008. These cuts force schools to increase class sizes, keep teacher pay low, reduce the number of electives offered, cut back on purchases of education technology and fail to maintain the school buildings. Read more>>

With thousands of public and private schools in Texas, it’s all too easy for educators who commit criminal acts in one district to resign and slip away to another if administrators fail to hold them accountable. It’s a big step for lawmakers to prescribe criminal penalties for irresponsible school administrators, but in this case the shoe fits. Read more>>

Soundtrap is launching app versions of its online music and podcast recording studio technology for Android and iOS devices. The music solution enables users to find and collaborate with people on music making. Read more>>

A new accomplishment tracking app by AdotME allows parents to document their child’s achievements and learning experiences to build a record of accomplishments and milestones. The app also incorporates a "vouching" feature that allows others to verify the experience or achievement. Read more>>

Rebuilding Kellogg Middle School—a key ingredient in Portland Public Schools' effort to balance enrollment across the district—could drive the price of district's planned school construction bond over $750 million. Read more>>

Three new schools and a host of other school upgrades related to growth will be a reality in the Delaware school district as voters overwhelmingly approved a $268 million capital referendum. Read more>>

​Switching from debt-based facilities funding to a cash-based strategy could cut current construction and maintenance expenses nearly in half by simply eliminating interest payments. California should overhaul its funding formula to include ongoing facilities maintenance because, by using industry formulas and standards, these costs are highly predictable. Read more>>