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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
How should the U.S. Department of Education regulate under the Every Student Succeeds Act? People got a chance to share their thoughts with the department face-to-face during two hearings this month. But the public also got a chance to submit public comments on the Internet. The comment period for those submissions just closed Thursday. And as of about 6 p.m. that day, there were more than 200 comments filed. (Education Week)
Congress last month finally rewrote No Child Left Behind (eight years late) and delivered a new K-12 education law to the country called the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. The new law is intended to fix some of the most egregious problems with NCLB, and return significant education policy-making power to the states. But there are questions about exactly how much power the states have to change policy, including on accountability systems that have been pushed by the Obama administration for years. (The Washington Post)
The Obama administration has one year until it hands over the keys to the White House to the 45th president. And until then, the Department of Education plans to make increasing college completion its top priority, especially for the most underserved students. (US News)
Angered by teacher sickouts that have closed many Detroit schools, majority Republicans in Michigan’s Legislature on Thursday proposed legislation to make it easier to deem such work stoppages illegal strikes. (The New York Times)
The Department of Education said on Wednesday that it would create a searchable database that reveals the names of colleges and universities that have received exemptions on religious grounds from federal civil rights protections. (The New York Times)
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and Toledo Public Schools announced today that the district has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in providing equitable resources to African American students. (U.S. Department of Education)
The state budget director said Thursday lawmakers will not finish the work required to fix the way Washington pays for public schools during this legislative session, because they require deadline pressure to reach the difficult compromises needed to cut a final deal. (The Seattle Times)