The Education Policy Hotlist
Top News in U.S. Education Policy for the Week of January 3
Happy New Year and welcome to 2022!
We left for winter break with a lot of uncertainty about the future of the Omicron variant and whether students would return to in-person learning after the new year. In the last two weeks,
the CDC decreased required quarantine days and
the FDA approved boosters for students ranging from 12 to 15 years old.
Federal responsiveness seems good for kids and communities who need bold and nimble action from government, but more precise communication would be helpful for public confidence and policy implementation.
Meanwhile, CRPE’s recent data reveal that more districts are considering test-to-stay programs, but they are largely sporadic. Some large cities are trying unique testing strategies this week to mitigate Omicron spread in schools. New York City, for example, is eliminating their previous quarantine policy and allowing students who were exposed who test negative to remain in school. Seattle Public School parents were notified last week that schools will remain closed today to conduct universal testing to mitigate the spread of Omicron over holiday travels. Still, the number of schools choosing to stay closed this week has increased some, but remains fewer than the spikes we observed in November.
The only thing certain during pandemic-times is that everything is constantly changing. While we started 2021 with urgency to get kids in buildings and begin a national course to recovery, we are beginning 2022 with more pandemic-fatigue. The new year is a good time for us all to commit to action, consistency, connectedness, and preparedness that will help us pivot successfully when we are thrown an unexpected curveball.
I am looking forward to experiencing more of my community with my family in the new year and traveling more often to hear from our leaders and policymakers who are building a new infrastructure for the future of US education. Cheers to 2022 and thanks for reading the Hotlist!
FEDERAL EDUCATION POLICY
USED | USED released draft accountability guidance for states for the 2021-22 school year.
USED | Secretary Cardona penned a letter to local leaders urging them to use pandemic relief funds to address staffing shortages that are keeping schools from functioning with quality and equity in mind.
Let us be clear: ARP provides vital resources to hire additional educators and school staff and to improve compensation to recruit and retain educators and school staff. School districts should act with urgency to keep schools open for in-person learning and ensure they do not waste this opportunity to make critical investments.
USED | The US Department of Education approves Vermont’s plan for spending the American Rescue Plan funds.
USED | The US Department of Education approves Mississippi’s plan for spending the American Rescue Plan funds.
CDC | The CDC shortens quarantine length from 10 to 5 days.
NYT | The Food and Drug Administration approve 12 and 15 year olds for the booster shot.
NYT | With Manchin pulling support for Biden’s Build Back Better policy package, the seminal social policy infrastructure bill is on life support.
Politico | Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held fast to voting on Build Back Better in the new year.
STATE AND LOCAL EDUCATION POLICY
CRPE | A summary of the all-star panel of speakers at the State of the American School District event.
NYC | New York City will increase testing options to keep kids in classrooms.
VA | Incoming Virginia Governor appoints Aimee Rogstad Guidera to serve as the next commissioner of education.
PA | A new law expands those eligible to serve as a substitute teachers including retired teachers, recent educator preparation programs, and those with comparable out of state certificates.
PANDEMIC IMPACTS
Washington Post | A deep dive on the national youth gun violence crisis.
CRPE | In late December, CRPE previewed how districts were preparing for Omicron. Overall, test-to-stay programs are still quite low, districts are considering how to off-ramp mask policies, and vaccination requirements are still up in the air.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
K12 Dive | Good overview of where we stand with unfinished learning and where we can support students.
EdWeek | A new coalition gets major funding to back increasing teacher diversity across the US.
K12 Dive | A landscape overview of where we are with teacher pay and diversifying the teacher workforce among current political initiatives.
The74 | Cleveland doubles down on career pathways for under-resourced students with the PACE program.
“We have a complete divide between the people who have access and awareness of all the careers that can keep them out of poverty, and the people who have no access and no awareness of the things that can lift them out of poverty,” Gordon said. “PACE is our attempt to bridge that divide.”
Dr. Christine M. T. Pitts serves as Resident Policy Fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, overseeing CRPE’s policy leadership at the intersection of research, advocacy, and government relations. Previously, she led research and evaluation for Portland Public Schools and served as Policy Advisor at NWEA where she oversaw state and federal lobbying for the advancement of equity and innovation in educational assessment and measurement.
As an Oregonian, raised by a multicultural family of educators, Christine is a former classroom teacher and administrator who brings over a decade of strategic leadership experience including research, management, business development, strategic planning, and communications. Her academic research, focusing on accountability, governance, and social networks, can be found in Educational Researcher and Teachers College Record.
Christine serves as Vice President of the Portland Backpack board, a nonprofit serving children who are at risk of hunger by providing food sacks for weekends and fostering community engagement and awareness of food insecurity. She also serves on the advisory boards for K12 education at Qualtrics and the Region 16 Comprehensive Center.
Christine earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and master’s degree in reading education from East Carolina University, as well as her doctor of philosophy in education policy and leadership from the University of Oregon. She resides with her husband and four children in Portland, Oregon. Follow her on Twitter @cmtpitts.