The Education Policy Hotlist
Top News in U.S. Education Policy for the Week of November 15
Now that younger kids are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine we need to begin planning for holiday travel and get togethers, as well as the necessary off-ramps from COVID-19 policies.
Throughout COVID-19 we’ve been hastily building and tearing down makeshift policy infrastructure to support emergency schooling. But, this new layer of protection against the virus is giving us a little more runway to have meaningful conversations about our next steps. For example, how will we decide to remove mask requirements and what will longer-term options for remote learning look like?
These conversations will be difficult, but a little more time and planning will help us be intentional about implementation and support. In Pennsylvania, Governor Wolf plans to let school districts change or remove masking requirements in January. Planning for these conversations now will help families, educators, and leaders make sense of what we know and work through the tradeoffs that matter most to them.
What does this look like in your school district right now? And, what do you need from your local leaders to make this transition feel safe and supported?
FEDERAL EDUCATION POLICY
USED | Secretary Cardona sent a letter to school principals asking for their support in getting 5-11 year olds vaccinated across the nation.
FCC | The FCC announced another $421 million round of Emergency Connectivity Funds to support schools and libraries across the US. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning.
Education Policy Initiative | This report outlines the state of US enrollment through the Census Household Pulse Survey and how the pandemic influenced families’ choices across the school sector.
Governing | The US Census Bureau data confirms that enrollment in fall 2020 declined, especially for younger students and suburban and rural schools are taking big steps to reconnect with lost students.
Congressional Research Office | The Congressional Research Office released the Build Back Better provision for universal preschool.
The74 | Democrats celebrate the passage of the infrastructure bill, totaling $1.2 trillion. However, the nation still awaits the passage of the massive social spending package next week.
EdWeek | The Supreme Court and the Biden administration are coming together to keep guns out of K-12 schools, deeming them “sensitive places.”
STATE AND LOCAL EDUCATION POLICY
K12 Dive | Rural educators came together with a few big bets for improving rural education policy. One of which, a rural policy network, seems like a reasonable path for achieving access to national policy initiatives.
EdWeek | EdReports released a new review of Fountas and Pinnell, a very common literacy curriculum used across the US. The review, including negative marks for lack of text complexity, provide fodder for policymakers, leaders, and parent advocates who aim to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
Brookings | School board races are becoming high-stakes contexts and few voters take part in these decisions. A new Brookings piece details evidence on how to improve school board election engagement.
ASSESSMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY
Knowledge Works | A new report provides a landscape overview and state examples of the current status of assessment innovation across the US.
EdNext | On this podcast from Education Next, a new report sheds light on the relationship between the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and student achievement.
The74 | Jenn Bell- Ellwanger argues that to address the growing inequities in learning opportunity state and local leaders need to share and discuss their assessment data publicly. By doing so, families and communities can engage in honest conversations about navigating a path towards recovery post-COVID-19.
“… it’s time to commend state leaders who are prioritizing transparency by publicly sharing the results of their statewide annual assessments — and to encourage those who haven’t yet released their results to do so immediately.” — Jenn Bell-Ellwanger, DQC
REMOTE LEARNING
EdWeek | Biden’s infrastructure bill, scheduled to be signed on Monday, will provide nearly $65 billion to improve access to broadband and address cybersecurity. While this funding will address the under reported “homework gap,” it is yet to be determined what this means for students in the longterm.
MENTAL HEALTH
LATimes | A recent survey of LA students identifies their top concerns are mental health and meaningful adult support.
EdDive | Early childhood educators started new promising practices that they plan to continue post-COVID.
EdSource | Some California students in special education have been denied access to remote independent study all year. But, recently they won their first round in court Friday and districts are now ordered to reinstate remote learning plans that serve these students with disabilities.
RACIAL EQUITY
FutureEd | A new report outlines a set of emerging equity-based measures to go beyond reporting on disparities in test scores and graduation rates. to encompass broader measures of student outcomes and access to opportunities
The74 | Recognizing and honor indigenous languages and cultures layered among complex historical and political pains. But, school districts can take concrete steps to create inclusive and affirming spaces for indigenous students and families.
RAND | A a new post outlines how state and federal leaders can provide better supports for schools to serve newcomers and immigrant students across the US. For example, we need more investments in trauma-informed instruction, language learning, and the academic needs of distressed students.
Hechinger Report | Fairfield County, where 90% of families live in poverty and 50% lack high-speed Internet, is implementing a new online academy. Leaders will need to continue to help families overcome challenges like access to technology and the quality of virtual schools.
“We need to pull the quality up in virtual schools so that we don’t have yet another form of splintering, fragmenting public school offerings, where we have a lower-quality track in the form of virtual schools relative to in-person schools.” — Heather Schwartz, RAND
UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday, November 17 (10:15 AM EST) The House Education and Labor Subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee and Higher Education and Workforce Investment will hold a joint committee hearing titled “Examining the Implementation of COVID-19 Education Funds”. The hearing will be live streamed here.
Dr. Christine M. T. Pitts serves as Resident Policy Fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education. As an Oregonian, raised by a multicultural family of educators, she brings over a decade of strategic leadership experience advancing a transformative vision for US education systems and bringing analytic skill to evidence-based policy agendas. Prior to joining CRPE, Christine led research and evaluation for Portland Public Schools in Oregon and served as Policy Advisor at NWEA. Her academic research, focusing on accountability, governance, and social networks, can be found in Educational Researcher and Teachers College Record. As a lifelong educator, Christine has served in schools across the country as a 3rd grade teacher, reading specialist, and school and district administrator. Christine earned her BS and MAEd at East Carolina University, as well as her PhD at the University of Oregon. Christine lives with her husband and four children in Portland, Oregon. Follow her on Twitter @cmtpitts.