| Top News Michigan Senate votes to allow concealed guns in schools MLive A new bill will allow people with concealed weapons permits to—with additional training—get permission to carry concealed weapons in traditionally pistol-free zones like schools, day care centers, stadiums, churches and college dorms. Read more>> Top News As student medical needs mount, school nurses in short supply WRAL North Carolina has 115 school systems, but just five of those systems have a nurse dedicated to every school, which works out to one nurse for every 1,086 students. With more and more children needing help with complex medical issues, that ratio can have consequences for school staff and students. Read more>> Top News Louisiana's high school seniors won't be allowed to graduate without form The Times-Picayune It's not a required course or an exam, but Louisiana's estimated 40,000 public high school seniors won't be allowed to graduate without completing it. "It" is the FAFSA and the graduating class of 2018 is the first to be affected by a policy approved in 2015. Read more>> Top News New Texas high school hopes to help teens stay sober KHOU Fortis Academy will be the only public recovery school in Houston ISD and one of just a few across the state. It will be available to students who have completed a substance abuse rehabilitation program and want to stay sober. Read more>> Top News Hack of N.J. school website may prompt new law NJ Advance Media A pro-ISIS group's hack this week of school district websites across the country - including one in New Jersey - may prompt a new federal law addressing online security. Read more>> Top News Dallas County voters choose to shut down county school agency KXAS The Texas county's voters decided against school bus provider Dallas County Schools, voting to shut down the 171-year-old agency with 58 percent of the vote. One week after the election, a dissolution committee will replace the agency's board. Read more>> From DA Magazine Why are all the black kids still sitting together in the school cafeteria? Tim Goral 20 years after Beverly Daniel Tatum's landmark 1997 book Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria? was released, she is now back with a fully revised edition. Read more>> Opinion & Analysis How are high schools handling transgender students who want to play sports? The New York Times With widespread disagreement over where the line should be drawn between sexes for purposes of athletic competition, the question has challenged the people who set rules. Established guidelines at the youth level that address things like hormonal treatment and sex reassignment surgery are nonexistent. Read more>> Opinion & Analysis Puerto Ricans fear schools will be privatized in the wake of Hurricane Maria The Intercept The guerrilla campaign to open schools is running headlong into a separate effort from the top, to use the storm to accomplish the long-standing goal of privatizing Puerto Rico’s public schools, using New Orleans post-Katrina as a model. Read more>> Opinion & Analysis Would changes to California's color-coded school ratings lower the bar? Los Angeles Times After seeing this year’s standardized test scores, state education officials want to change the way those scores translate to school ratings—in a way that likely would make more schools look better. But what officials call a technical tweak, education advocates see as a lowering of expectations for California’s students. Read more>> Industry News Virtual dual enrollment program offered The Virtual High School The Virtual High School has partnered with Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) to offer high school juniors and seniors access to select college-level courses. Read more>> Industry News Spanish-language resources double in digital library StudySync StudySync, powered by BookheadEd Learning, LLC, now offers more than 100 Spanish titles in its digital library. In addition to 40 Spanish versions of English titles, the collection of Spanish titles includes over 60 Spanish-language texts representing authors from more than 20 countries. Read more>> Industry News Video-based learning environment launched WittyWe WittyWe, a learning environment covering school curriculum topics, life skills and college-level enrichment, has launched for K9 students. The platform, which can be used in school or at home, features more than 60 online courses, over 5,000 minutes of animated video, and thousands of lessons and interactive resources. Read more>> View more news at District Administration's PR Portal Construction Watch Voters approve second largest bond referendum in N.C. history The Charlotte Observer A record $922 million in bonds for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools won approval from 195 precincts. It will grant county officials permission to borrow money to build 10 schools, replace the buildings of seven existing ones and cover additions and renovations at 12 schools. Read more>> Construction Watch Twin Cities metro area voters say yes to $1 billion in school funding Star Tribune Schools around the metro area in Minnesota got green lights from voters to kick off new construction, renovations and technology improvements totaling more than $1 billion. The approvals included the state’s biggest bond request in two decades: a $249 million plea from the Anoka-Hennepin School District. Read more>> Construction Watch Hillsboro voters approve $400 million school construction bond The Oregonian Voters in the Oregon school district approved a $408 million bond to upgrade and expand existing schools and add two elementaries. It was the first construction bond put before voters in 11 years and was more than three years in the planning. Read more>> | 