May 03 As schools spend millions on air purifiers, experts warn of overblown claims and harm to children By Lauren Weber, Christina Jewett, Kaiser Health News A KHN investigation found that more than 2,000 schools have spent millions of dollars for systems, lured by air purifier companies’ claims that experts say mislead or obscure the potential for harm. Continue reading
Apr 28 Watch 5:32 Student free speech makes it to the Supreme Court in former high school cheerleader’s case By John Yang, Alex D'Elia The social media platform Snapchat, the "F-word," and cheerleading made its way to the Supreme Court Wednesday, in a battle over student free speech. The Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that public schools could punish disruptive student speech in school,… Continue watching
Apr 28 Biden to unveil $1.8 trillion plan to support children, families and education By Jonathan Lemire, Josh Boak, Associated Press Biden will make his case Wednesday night before a pared-down gathering of mask-wearing legislators due to coronavirus restrictions at the U.S. Capitol. Continue reading
Apr 28 LISTEN: Supreme Court hears oral arguments over free speech rights for students By Mark Sherman, Associated Press A wary Supreme Court on Wednesday weighed whether public schools can discipline students for things they say off campus, worrying about overly restricting speech on the one hand and leaving educators powerless to deal with bullying on the other. Continue reading
Apr 22 California public schools see ‘sharp decline’ in enrollment By Jocelyn Gecker, Associated Press The California Department of Education says public school enrollment dropped by more than 160,000 this academic year. That's by far the biggest decline in the state in years and the clearest picture yet of the pandemic's devastating toll on public… Continue reading
Apr 22 Kansas governor vetoes ban for transgender school athletes By John Hanna, Associated Press The Democratic governor's action Thursday thwarted an effort by conservative Republican lawmakers to make Kansas the latest state with a GOP-controlled legislature to enact such a ban, with more than 20 considering it. Continue reading
Apr 21 Democrats push $25 billion for electric school buses, a Biden priority By Hope Yen, Associated Press The legislation unveiled Wednesday would authorize federal money over 10 years to cover the expense of purchasing electric school buses, building charging stations and providing workforce training. Continue reading
Apr 20 After-school programs have either been abandoned or overworked during the pandemic By Amadou Diallo, The Hechinger Report Many after-school programs, which provide both enrichment and child care, have gone out of business. Others went remote and still others became full-day child care programs. None had much guidance or support… Continue reading
Apr 15 Veterinarians, teachers, and students are stepping up to form America’s volunteer vaccinator workforce By Courtney Vinopal Across the country, Americans have been drawing on a vast range of career experience as COVID vaccinators. The PBS NewsHour spoke with a few of them about how their skills translate on the job. Continue reading
Apr 14 Watch 9:06 How the U.S. plans to address educational inequities, teacher burnout and school shootings By Amna Nawaz, Courtney Norris and Rawan Elbaba, Student Reporting Labs More than half of public schools around the country are back to full time in-person classes. But many school districts still are using distance or hybrid learning, and there are many questions ahead about what it will take to reopen… Continue watching