The Education Policy Hotlist
Top News in US Education Policy for the Week of April 4th
THE WEEK AHEAD
On Tuesday, April 5th at 2:00 PM ET, the Hunt Institute is hosting an event on early childhood preschool delivery systems. Register here.
On Wednesday, April 6th at 10:00 AM ET, the House Appropriations Committee is holding a social and emotional learning hearing with Pamela Cantor, Linda Darling Hammond, Max Eden, and Tim Shriver. Watch here.
On Thursday, April 7th at 3:00 PM ET, the US Department of Education is hosting a webinar on increasing teacher candidates through states, school districts, and higher education. Register here.
On Wednesday, April 20th at noon PT, ECS is hosting a conversation about the future of the educator workforce. Listen to Penny Schwinn and xx discuss critical issues and initiatives. Register here.
FEDERAL EDUCATION POLICY
Congress | Senator Shaheen (D-NH) introduced a bill to improve the recruitment and retention of school-based mental health services providers.
Politico | Stabenow and Murkowski hope to advance free meals to all students for another year.
The74 | Commissioner Carr explains why the upcoming NAEP assessment will be valuable for our nation’s leaders.
K12Dive | Biden’s FY23 budget includes a 15.6% increase in discretionary spending for schools.
USED | Secretary Cardona gave comments on the FY23 budget introduced last week.
Joint Statement | A group of 7 organizations signed a joint statement in support of the President's FY23 budget proposal and urged congress to advance the proposal.
NCES | NCES released their latest COVID-19 Pulse Panel data. High-level takeaways include:
Ninety-nine percent of public schools offered in-person learning.
Ninety-five percent of public schools returned from winter break with no delays in learning.
Seventy-two percent of public schools quarantined students in February.
Twenty-six percent of public schools utilized the Test-to-Stay program.
Fourteen percentage point increase in on-site COVID-19 testing at public schools since September 2021.
STATE & LOCAL EDUCATION POLICY
NASBE | A new brief provides state board members and other state leaders with seven key questions to ask when leveraging ARP relief funds.
AZ | A school in Arizona, tore down the walls to serve students in new ways.
CO | Colorado Representatives, passed a bill supporting universal preschool.
CO | A new small learning community in Denver, blends experiential learning and academics.
NY | Students with disabilities have a right to “compensatory services” if their school doesn’t provide services within their IEP. Yet, a New York judge dismissed a lawsuit filed to provide these services.
IN | A new bill in Indiana allows schools to use vans, not buses, removing critical transportation barriers
MO | A new bill from Missouri will provide pharmacists and teachers with additional training on the signs of suicide.
NC | The Department of Public Instruction released their statewide analysis of student outcomes, and “they say growth dropped for students of color, students who lacked internet access and economically disadvantaged students.”
OH | In Columbus, a new partnership with PrimaryOne will provide health services for students, families, and community members.
OR | Portland Public Schools offers families the option to apply for their students to skip a grade in one content area.
TX | Texas Governor Abbott and TEA have decided to provide "hold harmless" funding for school systems seeing enrollment declines due to COVID-19.
DATA, ASSESSMENT, & ACCOUNTABILITY
AEI | Rick Hess argues that standardized tests are essential in advancing rigor alongside equity in admissions decisions.
FutureEd | Scott Marion writes for FutureEd about the use cases of 2021 summative assessment data.
Hechinger Report | It is the time of year when assessment thought leaders discuss the role of summative assessment.
Chalkbeat | Data transparency at the local level helps us understand the underlying disparities in COVID-19 protections. Every community needs a map like this.
RAND | Doubling down on attendance in summer programming is a crucial strategy for student outcomes.
Edunomics | I am obsessing over these charts.
ERN | Education Reform Now released a helpful toolkit that talks through some misunderstandings about summative assessment.
All4Ed | States and service providers must partner differently to democratize and improve data and its uses.
STUDENT SERVICES
Exceptional Children | A new study from CALDER explains that “students with high-incidence disabilities taught by early-career special education teachers tended to have larger reading gains when a more experienced cooperating teacher supervised their teacher’s student teaching placement.”
EdResearch for Recovery | EdResearch for Recovery released two new briefs on support student attendance and college-going success.
DID YOU MISS IT?
I am honored to be included in PIE Network’s latest PIE Network Leadership Institute cohort. This group of education policy leaders and advocates is on fire!
Dr. Christine M. T. Pitts serves as Resident Policy Fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, overseeing policy leadership for research, advocacy, and government relations. A former teacher and administrator, she previously led research and evaluation for Portland Public Schools. She also served as Policy Advisor at NWEA, where she oversaw state and federal policy to advance equity and innovation in educational assessment. Follow her on Twitter @cmtpitts.