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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
National
GOP Senate chair rejects Democrats’ bid for second hearing on Trump education nominee
The Republican chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Monday rejected a formal request from Democrats to hold a second confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s choice to head the U.S. Department of Education. A vote on DeVos’ confirmation, originally scheduled for Tuesday, had already been delayed until Jan. 31 to allow her to answer lawmakers’ hundreds of questions, many about her financial disclosures. (USA TODAY)
Will These Education Buzzwords Persevere Under Trump?
School choice may be the popular kid in the education-jargon lunchroom right now, but it’s certainly not the only term that’s gotten a lot of buzz. Education Secretary-nominee Betsy DeVos will almost certainly bring with her a new set of vocabulary terms, but that doesn’t mean the U.S. Education Department will sharply depart from the education concepts the Obama administration either popularized or helped propagate. Education-related vocabulary tends to be needlessly clunky, but these 10 terms from the past eight years may—or may not—have some staying power. (The Atlantic)
As Trump Pauses on ESSA Accountability, Advocates Look for Signal on Whether New Rules Will Stick
The implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act just got fuzzier. The Trump administration late Friday delayed the implementation of all pending federal regulations, including the Obama administration’s proposed ESSA accountability rules. Those rules, governing how states measure school performance and work to improve those that have fallen behind, were finalized in November and set to take effect January 30. (The 74)
Department of Education Creates New Evaluation Tool for K–12 Administrators
With new mobile apps and technology tools popping up constantly, schools have a variety of options when it comes to picking something that might work in a class. But, is there an easy way to make sure the tool will be good for students? Last year, the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology requested a better way to help schools evaluate ed tech tools. (Ed Tech)
State
Delaware
Atnre Alleyne is now tackling the education system with DelawareCAN
What’s next for a “data geek” who cares about the future of Delaware’s education system enough to have started a nonprofit dedicated to empowering individual students? Apparently, it’s targeting the root issue of the education system itself. That’s the goal of Atnre Alleyne’s new statewide nonprofit, DelawareCAN: The Delaware Campaign for Achievement Now, which he just launched yesterday with a blog post announcing the details. (Technical.ly)
Washington D.C.
New rules aim to fix problem of thousands of student transfers during school year
On the first day of school, Tanya Roane, principal at D.C.’s Cardozo Education Campus, tells her students that she expects them to be in class on time, that cellphones will be confiscated during the school day and that they must focus on their studies. But for Roane and her staff, the entire year often feels like the first day of school. (The Washington Post)