Trump administration loosens school food rules

The Trump administration loosened Obama-era school lunch requirements, saying schools don't need to try so hard to serve whole grains, fat-free milk and food low in salt. The USDA also is giving schools a break on meeting low-sodium requirements through 2020. Read more>>

A bill before New York City's City Council, backed by Planned Parenthood of New York City and a number of other reproductive health and youth advocacy groups, would create a task force to study whether and how sex education is taught and make recommendations for improvement in the city's schools. Read more>>

The study, based on following 246,306 Maryland children in grades 4 through 12 for a decade, found that those who reported being victims decreased from 29 percent to 13 percent. In 2005, 22 percent of kids being bullied were physically hit and 6 percent were being cyberbullied. By 2014, those numbers dropped to 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Read more>>

The latest craze in classrooms and on playgrounds, fidget spinners, are supposed to enhance concentration, reduce anxiety and stimulate learning. But some educators aren't buying the spin. They say the toys have become a major distraction to teachers and students, and, in some cases, they're being banned from classrooms. Read more>>

A judge has ordered the forfeiture of state-paid pension funds held by eight former Detroit school principals who pleaded guilty last year to involvement in a $2.7 million kickback scheme that traced back to a school supplies vendor. Read more>>

The Idaho Supreme Court says the state can't be named as a defendant in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the fees many public schools charge for classes, supplies and activities. Read more>>

Every state should follow New Mexico’s example and ban this heartless "lunch shaming" practice. No child in rich America, the world’s largest exporter of food, should go hungry. Adults in schools who set this policy or carry out the punishments are the ones who should be ashamed. Read more>>

Sometimes excellent, even essential ideas get twisted into bad legislation—and that’s precisely what has occurred as the state attempts to push localities to share more services for schools. There are better alternatives. They include having the state offer stronger financial incentives for municipalities to share services and giving them more time to put that in place. Read more>>

A new California bill seeks to toughen tenure for public school teachers, ever so slightly. Instead of attaining tenure after two years, teachers could not gain tenure until their third year. It may seem incremental, but it also makes sense. Tenure is a privilege, not a right. And teachers who attain it ought to have to prove their competence for at least three years, if not more. Read more>>

Blair Community Schools is partnering with Schneider Electric on an energy savings performance contract to update building systems across five schools in the district. The $4.6 million infrastructure improvement project will encompass a variety of energy efficiency upgrades to mechanical heating and cooling systems. Read more>>

Snap Shield, a fast and simple way to protect MacBook and Chromebook computers in the classroom, is a two-part, slim-fit case that offers scratch protection for devices and works with convertible or touchscreen models. Read more>>

Blue Bird Corporation has announced a new product offering for their new buses ordered on or after May 1, 2017 with Allison transmissions. FuelSense 2.0, featuring DynActive Shifting, is software that uses a learning algorithm to continuously find the ideal balance of fuel economy and performance. Read more>>

Jefferson County Public Schools' leaders are staying close to home in their choice for the next superintendent. Eagle County Schools Superintendent Jason E. Glass will replace current Superintendent Dan McMinimee as head of the 86,000-student district. Read more>>

Ryan Saxe has been named the next superintendent of Cabell County Schools, replacing current Superintendent Bill Smith. Saxe is currently the executive director of curriculum and professional learning for the School District of Manatee County in Bradenton, Florida. Read more>>

The Gainesville City Schools's school board hired Jeremy Williams as superintendent, replacing current Superintendent Wanda Creel. Williams has served in the district office of Union County Schools as assistant superintendent and later as associate superintendent for the past five years. Read more>>