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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
The newest proposed version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—dubbed the Every Student Succeeds Act—is almost over the congressional finish line, with votes in both chambers of Congress imminent. (Education Week)
John B. King Jr., who is set to take over next month as acting U.S. Secretary of Education, told the states’ school chiefs Saturday that a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is long overdue and that he hopes if they are given more authority, state chiefs will continue President Barack Obama’s efforts to improve the quality of the nation’s teachers, identify and work to close achievement gaps, and raise learning standards. (Education Week)
With Congress poised to pass a law that would shift power over K-12 public school policy from the federal government back to the states, the debate about improving schools is shifting from Washington to the 50 state capitals. (The Washington Post)
The U.S. Education Department came under withering criticism — from Republicans and Democrats — at a House oversight hearing about just how vulnerable its information systems are to security threats. (The Washington Post)
A new study of the top 50 local foundations that support K-12 districts found that Florida and Texas are home to some of the top-performing nonprofits that support students and teachers in districts. It also shows that the Pinellas Education Foundation in Florida has, for the second year, taken the number-one spot among foundations with $2 million or more in revenues. (Education Week)
Over the past 20 years, black enrollment in colleges and universities has skyrocketed. It’s a huge success story, one that’s due to the hard work of black families, college admissions officers, and education advocates. But at top-tier universities in the United States, it’s a different story. There, the share of students who are black has actually dropped since 1994. (The Atlantic)
It has been one of the most stubborn problems in education: With 50 states, 50 standards and 50 tests, how could anyone really know what American students were learning, or how well? (The New York Times)