Allison Vu for The Markup This article was copublished with The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates how powerful institutions are using technology to change our society. Sign up for their newsletters here: https://mrkup.org/RmN01. For millions of prospective college students, applying online for federal financial aid has also meant sharing personal data with Facebook, unbeknownst to them or their parents, The Markup has learned. This information has included first and last names, email addresses, and ZIP codes. After The Markup questioned the U.S. Department of Education about the t ..read more

After over a year of remote learning, school districts like Berwyn North are working to help their English learners boost their speaking skills and conversational confidence. As Guillermo Benitez moved through a lesson on ratios, he pressed his sixth-graders to elaborate at every turn: How did we get that answer? The math teacher gave some students a heads up first, knowing it’s helpful not to put English learners on the spot. Along the way, Benitez kept a mental tally of who hadn’t spoken up yet. Benitez has relied on his experience as an English learner to support students. “I feel like that ..read more

NYC’s education department headquarters in Lower Manhattan. The city’s Panel for Educational Policy failed to approve the funding formula that dictates school funding levels Wednesday night. | Christina Veiga / Chalkbeat The city’s Panel for Educational Policy voted Wednesday night against the routine approval of New York City’s school funding formula, raising significant concerns about school budgets for next academic year. The panel’s rejection, stemming from longstanding concerns that the funding formula is outdated and inequitable, was a stunning setback for Mayor Eric Adams. With nine slo ..read more

Language in a Michigan House school appropriations bill is the latest effort by state Republicans to restrict transgender athletes from participating in sports. | John Giustina / The Image Bank / Getty Images Republican lawmakers in Michigan are stepping back into the national debate over the right of transgender athletes to participate in scholastic sports. After a Senate effort to limit opportunities for transgender athletes stalled last year, state Republicans found a new vehicle: the state budget. The Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee advanced a K-12 school aid budget la ..read more

The Chicago Teachers Union, school staff, and parents at Zapata Academy in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood protested a budget cut at the school Tuesday. | Mauricio Peña / Chalkbeat Chicago Public Schools leaders vowed to step up efforts to explain next fall’s school budgets amid intensifying pushback — and sharp questioning from a school board member — about cuts on some campuses with declining enrollment. After a string of protests — including two events Wednesday ahead of the regular school board meeting — district CEO Pedro Martinez said the backlash has in some ways misrepresented a ..read more

The Muslim holy month is 10 days earlier next year and could overlap again with state tests, families worry. | PhotoAlto / Odilon Dimier / Getty Images For observant Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan is filled with fasting, prayer, and community. This year’s holiday overlapped with the state math tests administered to New York’s third- through eighth-graders from April 26-28, upsetting some families whose children are fasting from before sunrise to sunset. They don’t want to see a repeat next year, when the state testing period will again likely fall during Ramadan. At least one Queens princi ..read more

“When I walked across the stage at my high school graduation four years ago, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to this point,” writes Emilia Spann, an education major, and a soon-to-be teacher. | RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post “Teachers make no money.” “Don’t you know teachers are quitting their jobs?” “Are you sure you want to be a teacher?” These are some things I hear when I tell people I’m an education major. It would be easy to let such comments hinder me, but I don’t. Instead, I let people know that my career choice is about more than salary or recognition. I want to be an educator to impact others ..read more

Advocates in Florida, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Wisconsin talk about lessons learned from their universal preschool programs.  | Allison Shelley / The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages When Colorado launches free preschool for 4-year-olds in 2023, it will join a half dozen other states that already offer universal preschool. All of them have encountered the same tricky task Colorado leaders now face as they try to knit together a disparate patchwork of public and private preschools into an equitable and high-quality statewide system. We’ll take a look at some of the lessons learned in four state ..read more

Aging infrastructure has been an issue for Philadelphia schools for years. A new interactive map will allow families to check on conditions of school buildings. | Brad Larrison for WHYY Parents and teachers have complained for years about crumbling and unsafe Philadelphia school buildings, and have called for greater transparency about problems and repair efforts. Now the district hopes a new website will help address those concerns. In a move to provide solutions to its facility challenges, the district unveiled a site Tuesday specifically for its Facilities Planning Process aimed to inform t ..read more

The COVID tests should be taken weekly, at least five days apart, according to an education department letter sent to families on Wednesday. | Brontë Wittpenn / San Francisco Chronicle / Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images New York City schools are now providing four at-home COVID testing kits to all students each week and asking families to use them on a regular basis, according to an education department letter sent to families on Wednesday. The new policy comes as students have returned from spring break, and “cases are on the rise again across New York City,” according to the letter posted ..read more