Story Archive

Every K-12 education story we've tracked, newest first. Budget, technology, safety, infrastructure, policy, and leadership news from districts across America.

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The 74
Leadership
2-K Offers Are Out: 2,000 NYC Toddlers Get Spots, 5,700 Apply

Roughly 2,000 families received offers for a spot in the inaugural year of 2-K, New York City’s new free childcare program for 2-year-olds, officials announced Tuesday. Around 5,700 families applied for the initial...

District Admin
Leadership
How to elevate college and career readiness in 3 steps

Readiness requires deliberate decisions about what students are expected to learn, how they are supported, and how progress is measured. The post How to elevate college and career readiness in 3 steps appeared first on...

The 74
Infrastructure
Opinion: As the Education Department Is Dismantled, Who Protects the Right to Learn?

A first grader reads an entire page on her own after months of specialized instruction. A middle school student with autism delivers his first classroom presentation. These moments are not medical breakthroughs, they...

District Admin
Budget & Finance
9 million U.S. students lost school time for weather in the 2024-2025 school year

The nonprofit UndauntedK12 maps instances across the U.S. when a school day or school activity was canceled, delayed, or cut short by extreme weather. The post 9 million U.S. students lost school time for weather in the...

District Admin
Technology & AI
How the costly digital age is leaving behind rural, underfunded schools

Matthew Splain, superintendent of the Otto-Eldred School District, said his schools are struggling to keep aging, refurbished laptops from dying on students. The district’s struggles are not isolated. The post How the...

The 74
Budget & Finance
Measles Cases Hit 35-Year Record High Just As Kids Head Back to School

As millions of kids across the country prepare to head back to school — and many have already returned — the national count of measles cases continues to climb, reaching its highest number in 35 years. Utah...

Education Dive
Leadership
Culture eats strategy for breakfast — but not always for college mergers

While cultural discordance needs careful consideration, it doesn't trump strong strategy, argues an expert on college consolidation. 

Chalkbeat
Policy & Legislation
Education will be a key topic as Benson and James face off in Michigan governor’s race

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, left, and Michigan U.S. Representative John James won the Democratic and Republican primaries Tuesday and will face off in the November general election.

Education Dive
Leadership
AAUP sues Texas A&M System over teaching limits on race and gender

The American Association of University Professors and four faculty members allege that those restrictions violate free speech rights. 

Chalkbeat
Leadership
Who should go to college? More students may benefit than we think

A student studies at the UCLA campus. More students may benefit from college than we think.

Chalkbeat
Leadership
Free Newark summer reading program still has open seats for parents to sign up their kids

A parent drops off a child at the Newark Public Library Van Buren Branch in Newark, N.J. for the Reading Partners program.

The 74
Policy & Legislation
Oklahoma Jewish Charter Case Heads to Court as Debate Spreads to Other States

The founders of a proposed Jewish charter school in Oklahoma will appear in federal court Wednesday to argue that the school should be able to open even though the state charter board turned down its application. The...

Chalkbeat
Budget & Finance
$120 million is on the line in today’s DPSCD’s tax proposal vote

Detroit voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to help decide the fate of an operating millage proposal for the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Michigan voters are deciding which candidates for governor will...

Chalkbeat
Technology & AI
Free school supplies, backpacks, and activities: 2026 back-to-school events in Philadelphia

The School District of Philadelphia's back-to-school bus tour is happening again this summer. It'll stop at three locations this year offering free backpacks, snacks, activities, school registration help, and more.

The 74
Infrastructure
How a Years-Long Rise in Teacher Turnover Reshaped American Classrooms

There was no single reason why Ryan Higgins decided to leave teaching. It was a job he loved: invigorating, unpredictable, a chance to make the world a bit better. But several years into his career, Higgins, who taught...

The 74
Policy & Legislation
These New Exams Will Test California 4-Year-Olds’ English Fluency With Playful Games

California schools now have two screening instruments that use playful games and stories to test 4-year-olds’ language skills without making them cry. The California Department of Education this spring approved two...

Chalkbeat
Technology & AI
‘Nobody feels good, nobody’s learning’: How high temperatures disrupt Philadelphia’s school days

Dozens of Philadelphia schools don't have adequate air conditioning ahead of the first day of the 2026-27 school year.

Chalkbeat
Leadership
2-K offers are out: 2,000 NYC toddlers get spots, 5,700 apply

Mayor Zohran Mamdani visits a preschool in the Bronx in April. Mamdani's 2-K program sent out offers to roughly 2,000 families Tuesday, after 5,700 applied.

The 74
Leadership
Opinion: Note to Democrats: Supporting Unions Isn’t the Same as Supporting Education

For years, Democratic politicians have treated support for teachers unions as a proxy for supporting public education itself. The logic is simple and politically convenient: Stand with unions, stand with teachers; stand...

District Admin
School Safety
Colorado’s youth mental health corps improves student attendance and behavior

“Near-peer” mental health navigators work in Colorado schools, after-school programs and a community health center, in a program designed to improve the professional pipeline, too The post Colorado’s youth mental health...

The 74
Technology & AI
LAUSD Could Face Layoffs, Furloughs, Closures Amid Projected $231M Shortfall

Los Angeles Unified School District leaders say they are confident they can persuade county officials that the district can avoid a projected cash shortfall and remain under local control, and are preparing for budget...

The 74
Budget & Finance
Outdoor Ed Programs Canceled for Tens of Thousands of Students After Federal Cuts

Nazma Begum spoke very little English and had never been on a hike in the woods when she moved to Detroit from Bangladesh at the age of 13.  But when she saw an announcement at her high school for a camping trip in...

Chalkbeat
Technology & AI
Detroit school district responds to influx of questions after critical posts from content creator

DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti fielded questions about contracts and school cleanliness during a virtual meeting Monday. The district said it got an influx of questions after a string of viral social media posts.

Technology & AI
Illinois Institute of Technology lays off 160 faculty and staff members

As it undergoes a major restructuring, the private institution cited challenges in international student enrollment and research cutbacks.

Education Dive
Budget & Finance
Brown University president to step down in 2027

Christina Paxson has led Brown through tumultuous moments, including the coronavirus pandemic and federal funding freezes and disruptions. 

Chalkbeat
Leadership
Memphis’ first day of school by the numbers: enrollment improves, but teacher vacancies stagnate

This year, Hawkins Mill Elementary is welcoming students displaced by the closure of a neighboring school in the spring.

Education Dive
Policy & Legislation
McMahon calls on college leaders to commit to policy reforms by end of year

Her "Call to Action" repeats many themes from the 2025 proposed higher ed compact, such as viewpoint diversity and campus protest rules.

Chalkbeat
Technology & AI
15 more Chicago campuses join Sustainable Community Schools program

Students participate in a Sustainable Community Schools program at Brighton Park Elementary in 2023. Chicago Public Schools is expanding the Sustainable Community Schools program to 15 more schools, bringing the total...

Chalkbeat
Technology & AI
An alphabet without an F: AI slop seeps into Teachers Pay Teachers curriculum marketplace

What appears to be low-quality, AI-generated content is cropping up on Teachers Pay Teachers, which was rebranded to TPT. The content Chalkbeat reviewed included obvious errors and strange images.

The 74
Technology & AI
Opinion: AI Tutors Are Praising Instead of Teaching. Here’s Why That’s Hurting Students

As a professor, I recently gave a chatbot a weak student thesis, propped up by evidence that did not support the claim, and asked what it thought. It called the argument sharp, the structure clear and the reasoning...