First-person education stories

Federal investigation targets Chicago schools’ long-awaited Black Student Success Plan. State law mandated the Chicago Board of Education create a plan to “bring parity between Black children and their peers.”

Colorado ranks third in the nation, after Washington, D.C. and Vermont, for the share of 4-year-olds served in its state-funded preschool program.

Backers of a proposed religious charter school argue that charter schools are more private than public. The Supreme Court case could upend the charter sector, with implications for funding, autonomy and more.

The Illinois legislative session is scheduled to end on May 31. Lawmakers are considering several education bills and negotiating the fiscal year 2024 budget. Here is what Chalkbeat is following.

Advocates warn that transferring federal special education oversight to another department could weaken enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other disability rights laws, while jeopardizing funding, research, and implementation.

Some districts invested pandemic relief money in instructional coaches and increased time spent on math. Test scores suggest that strategy’s paying off.

For decades, these clinics have provided a wide range of health care to students, offering vaccines, teeth cleaning, or help for mental health struggles, all at no cost.

The Education Department threatened the federal funding of states that wouldn’t comply with the administration’s anti-DEI interpretation of civil rights law. With that demand paused, states are suing to end it entirely.

A presentation used to brief school board members and obtained by Chalkbeat outlined potential cuts, many of which include staff and programs supported by federal COVID relief money. District officials and school board members look to lobby City Hall and Illinois lawmakers for funding.

Republicans have proposed school safety reforms and more public school access for home-schooling students. Democratic proposals include restrictions on school building closures.

New and existing charter schools will go before authorizers to ask for new campuses in the city, mergers, and more. Some schools won’t open until the fall, but public meetings are getting underway.

The Trump administration has sought to exert greater federal control over higher education. Researchers visiting Denver rallied at the Capitol against the president’s actions.

Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti is urging the district community to reach out to lawmakers to express their concerns about potential education funding cuts.

Charter schools scored key funding wins in a legislative session that advocates say was monumental for charters. But traditional public schools are projected to lose millions.

The Education Department is using an emergency contract to buy 15 X-ray machines, circumventing the regular purchasing process.

Multiple parents reported problems with the election site Friday morning, including parents appearing on ballots for seats for which they are not running.

Lawmakers approved a cellphone ban and new turnaround model for public schools, but a bill targeting undocumented students failed.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance must submit a plan for sharing transportation and facilities between IPS and charter schools by the end of the year.

Funding for schools increases around 2% each year, with additional dollars in 2026 earmarked for an expansion of the school voucher program.

In addition to striking down the elective course requirement, Indiana lawmakers passed bills related to math instruction, sex ed, and partisan affiliations in school board races.

The school board’s vote seals the contract with the teachers union. The final deal includes limits on class sizes and more preparation time for elementary school teachers.

The school board has delayed its charter renewal votes for two months, leaving many charter families and educators wondering about the future of their schools.

The school board has delayed its charter renewal votes for two months, leaving many charter families and educators wondering about the future of their schools.

The committee is mandated by state law, which was amended at the same time lawmakers drew electoral districts for Chicago’s first school board elections.

The Education Department had given states until Thursday to certify compliance with its controversial interpretation of civil rights law. Federal judges complicated that effort hours before the deadline.

Colorado university law clinics offer students a way to get experience with cases and clients before graduating. And the Trump administration has made the schools’ immigrant law clinics more crucial than ever.

At just 23, Arts High School alum David Daughety is among the youngest candidates elected to the Newark Board of Education after the district returned to local control in 2018.

Students at the Academy at Palumbo report broken bathrooms, poor ventilation, and rodents in their school and are urging the school district to make needed repairs.

The bill allows school board candidates to choose a party affiliation or remain independent or nonpartisan in general elections. Indiana lawmakers had previously tried but failed to pass such legislation.

At Detroit’s Downtown Boxing Gym, students attending after-school programs are required to show up at least three times a week.

Potter-Thomas School Principal Nichole Polk was bullied for her stutter in fifth grade. Now she wants her students and staff to support each other in finding their voices.

For children of immigrants, including those with undocumented parents, the college financial aid process comes with great hurdles and anxieties.

The Trump administration said the orders would make schools safer and give teachers more tools to maintain behavior in their classrooms. The move is tied to the administration’s broader effort to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools.

Education Department officials are hoping that programs like one at Brooklyn International can serve as a model to help the city creatively address a historic teacher hiring challenge.

Four seats on the seven-member Denver school board are up for election in November.

Lawmakers needed to balance a $1.2 billion budget hole. They were still able to secure increases for K-12 and higher education budgets.

Lawmakers approve a forensic audit and vow to keep the legislation alive.

More privately-run, public charter schools in Chicago have closed in recent years. In a first, Chicago Public Schools is poised to convert five back to district-run campuses.

In an exclusive interview, Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos explained why she believes middle school math curriculums should be standardized despite outcry from the teachers union.

After weeks of uncertainty, lawmakers approve $2.9 million for the program as part of the “long bill.”

This week, Democratic senators introduced a bill that would require districts to limit cellphone use in class.