EduClips: Philadelphia Principal Offers Students $100 If They Make It to Graduation Without Fighting; Trump’s Education Budget — and More Must-Reads From America’s 15 Biggest School Districts
EduClips provides a selection of the day’s most important education news stories from America’s biggest school districts, which collectively serve over 4 million students across eight states. To stay up to date with previous EduClips editions, click here. For the latest school and policy news delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for the TopSheet Education Newsletter.
Top Story
TRUMP’S EDUCATION BUDGET: The administration aims to reduce funding for the federal Department of Education by roughly 5%, equivalent to $3.6 billion. It’s worth noting that federal dollars only make up around 10% of public schools’ funding, but this money tends to be disproportionately allocated to high-poverty schools. Under this proposal, funding for students with disabilities through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would remain unchanged. However, the budget requests a reduction in funding for Title II, which supports teacher training and class-size reductions, as well as the elimination of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, an after-school initiative. The administration argues that both programs have proven to be ineffective.
In a similar move to last year’s proposal, the Trump administration has expressed a desire to allocate more federal funds to school choice programs, including private school vouchers, while reducing investment in after-school initiatives and teacher training. Last year, the budget proposal was largely disregarded, and many expect a similar outcome this year. (Read more at Chalkbeat)
National News
INFRASTRUCTURE: Trump’s infrastructure proposal does not include targeted funding for school construction. (Read more at Politics K-12)
TRANSGENDER STUDENTS: The Education Department has officially stated that it will not intervene in cases of bathroom discrimination against transgender students. (Read more at HuffPost)
HIGHER EDUCATION ACT: Will 2018 be the year that Lamar Alexander, an experienced figure in the field of education, finally gets the opportunity to rewrite the Higher Education Act? (Read more at The74Million.org)
RUSSIAN MONEY: Russian billionaires are constructing prestigious educational institutions to rival Eton and Exeter. (Read more at Bloomberg)
SOUTHERN VOTERS: A poll suggests that voters in the southern states of America want increased spending on education. (Read more at The Hechinger Report)
OLYMPICS: Classroom Champions, an initiative that pairs athletes with schools, provides unique lessons on grit, goals, and perseverance by drawing inspiration from Olympians. (Read more at The74Million.org)
District and State News
PENNSYLVANIA: A Philadelphia elementary school is compensating students to discourage fighting. (Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer)
TEXAS: Some Texas schools are still facing challenges with busing in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. (Read more at the Houston Chronicle)
ILLINOIS: Illinois’ school choice program experiences a "historic" rush, resulting in server crashes. (Read more at Illinois News Network)
PUERTO RICO: Tensions rise over the future of Puerto Rico’s schools. (Read more at Education Week)
NEW YORK: Changes to New York’s teacher evaluations are leading to conflict between union and state officials. (Read more at Chalkbeat)
CALIFORNIA: California is establishing a "test kitchen" to develop a better school accountability plan. (Read more at EdSource)
HAWAII: The Department of Education in Hawaii may face legal action due to a lack of female locker rooms, which violates federal law. (Read more at Hawaii News Now)
ILLINOIS: Opinion: Increased funding does not always result in increased trust. (Read more at NPR Illinois)
NEW YORK: Protesters demand the removal of a principal following a black history scandal. (Read more at the New York Daily News)
CALIFORNIA: Governor Brown appoints 15 individuals to the new K-12 science panel in California. (Read more at EdSource)
NEVADA: Las Vegas students receive a lesson in the integrated military. (Read more at the Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Think Pieces
DEVOS: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos reflects on her first year on the job. (Read more at The New York Times)
ONLINE SCHOOLS: As online schools expand, concerns about their performance also increase. (Read more at The Wall Street Journal)
CIVICS: Students from Oklahoma gain insight into the inner workings of democracy. (Read more at The Washington Post)
CHARTER SCHOOLS: The nation’s largest charter school network offers lessons in adaptability. (Read more at The Washington Post)
MICHIGAN STATE SCANDAL: Examining the role of the board in the Michigan State scandal. (Read more at The Washington Post)
Quote of the Day
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