When the Boston University team asked principals and administrators why they hired emergency-certified teachers, they reported using them to fill shortage areas, especially in special education.

The teachers working under these licenses also helped diversify the state’s classrooms, as they were about twice as likely as other beginning educators to be Black, Hispanic or Asian.

Read more from The 74 million.

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Since a White House conference in August on ransomware threats, dozens of school districts have signed up for free cybersecurity services, and federal officials have hosted exercises with schools to help them learn how to better secure their networks, said Anne Neuberger, the Biden’s administration’s deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology.

Read more from AP News.

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The proposed legislation was filed by state Sen. Bill Eigel, a Republican from St. Charles County who is also seeking the GOP nomination in the 2024 Missouri governor’s race.

Eigel said the “original mission” of DESE was to transfer money from Jefferson City to local school districts. He said it now has 2,000 employees and has lost its way.

Read more from Springfield News-Leader.

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Sen. Stephen Meredith of Leitchfield filed Senate Bill 93 Monday. The measure contains language from laws and regulations passed in Florida and Texas aimed at rooting out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in higher education institutions.

SB 93 would prohibit Kentucky’s K12 public schools from advocating for, or spending resources or funds on “diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.”

Read more from Louisville Public Media.

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In a survey emailed to parents, the district said it’s gathering feedback on the measure.

“If this transition were to occur, high school students would attend school Monday through Thursday and have an optional 5th day for extended learning opportunities. The student day would be 8.5 hours long,” said the Broward County Public School District.

Read more from CBS News.

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The evacuation led officials to call a remote day of classes for the more than 3,400 students enrolled at the high school, sparking immediate backlash from politicians and parents that echoed on a national stage. Local elected leaders, right-leaning media personalities and even Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, weighed in to criticize the government response.

Read more from The New York Times.

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The mistake, first reported in December by The Washington Post and again this week by NPR, stems from the department’s apparent failure to update a key part of its aid calculation index for inflation, which has surged by some 20% since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At issue is the amount of a family’s income that is deemed “protected” from the overall adjusted gross income calculation. That income amount is used to determine how much financial aid a student needs.

Read more from NBC News.

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That’s because the Wisconsin department that oversees K-12 public education and libraries is creating a first-ever public-facing strategic plan. To be released in September, the 2023-28 document created using public feedback will outline overarching goals that hold the Department of Public Instruction accountable both internally and with the public.

The related online survey asks for public input on many of the most influential topics facing K-12 public education: access to school lunch programs, early childhood programs, libraries, mental health support, school buses, support for students with disabilities, teacher retention and diversity, student reading levels and educational achievement, among other topics.

Read more from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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Before the 4-3 vote, Superintendent Elizabeth Grant thanked parents and community members for coming out to months of meetings to speak up for their schools, showing “remarkable support” for their campuses and teachers.

Change is hard, she added — even good change. But Grant said change is necessary as districts across the state and country continue to lose students.

Read more from The Salt Lake Tribune.

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The survey highlights the responses of nearly 800 teachers and district administrators, which include the need for comprehensive professional learning, enhanced support in incorporating new programs and initiatives as well as the effects of sociopolitical trends on education policies and spending.

Sweeping changes

Ahead of the 2023-24 school year, educators reported implementing new policies surrounding wellness, enrollment and behavioral programs (69%), which may have been influenced by the pandemic. Now, survey respondents say they’re currently implementing new curriculum programs, mainly in the Science of Reading, math and English language arts (ELA), with nearly one-third of educators reporting changes to their Science of Reading programs.

Necessary for these changes, however, is effective professional learning for educators responsible for seeing these policies through. When asked what was needed to better support teachers—beyond time and money—56% said that “better professional learning” is needed, followed by “ensuring that teachers and students can design/influence the implementation plan” and “more clearly [communicating] the vision of a new program.”

Those who reported being involved in school improvement/transformation work cited facing several challenges in the process that district leaders ought to address:

• Too many demands or changes: 55%
• Limited time to learn and collaborate: 52%
• Poor professional learning support: 38%
• Limited project management support: 37%
• Institutional inertia: 34%
• Limited onsite support: 31%
• Staff reluctance: 28%
• Weak/unfocused process for updating plans: 25%
• Limited pedagogical knowledge: 18%

More from DA: As teacher shortages persist, districts look for creative solutions

Additionally, respondents were asked to identify what types of data they want school leaders to leverage more to assess whether or not students are successful. Here’s what they said:

• Behavioral data: 60%
• Student progress data: 55%
• Classroom observations: 53%
• Anecdotal data from teachers: 48%
• Attendance data: 43%
• One-on-one conversations with students: 41%
• Student voice surveys: 37%
• District benchmark results: 29%

Lastly, survey respondents were asked to identify what social or political trends currently have the greatest influences on the policies and financial spending in their districts.

In terms of school spending, educators said the need to build new schools, provide security, recruit new teachers, and expand support and services for counseling and tutoring were the greatest influences on school spending. As far as school policy goes, leaders identified the following as the greatest influences: political activism, gender identity-related concerns, book bans and student behavioral issues.

“This report is not just a collection of data; it’s a reflection of Tripod Education’s commitment to enhancing educational practices, student engagement and school climate,” Tripod Education’s Vice President Byron Adams said in a statement. “We invite school and district leaders across the nation to explore the detailed findings and recommendations of this report to identify where educators are seeking change and support.”

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