Education Across the States

How Arkansas's 2025-26 A-F letter grades are actually calculated, what the statewide distribution shows, why Education Freedom Account families should accept the ClassWallet affidavit before this week's quarter two deposit, and why the state expects to cross the federal one percent alternate assessment threshold in 2026-27.

Sources:

- Talk Business & Politics, Education department notes improvements in school district letter grades, Sept. 17, 2026: https://talkbusiness.net/2026/09/education-department-notes-improvements-in-school-district-letter-grades/

- Cabot Public Schools, School Letter Grades 2025-2026 (statewide school distribution: 141 A, 350 B, 339 C): https://www.cabotschools.org/news/10849/school+letter+grades+20252026

- Arkansas Department of Education, school and district letter grades portal: myschoolinfo.arkansas.gov (search My School Info Arkansas letter grades 2025-2026)

- Arkansas Department of Education, 2026-27 Education Freedom Account Family Handbook and EFA FAQ (quarter 2 October deposit, 1,802 dollars per quarter, 7,208 dollars per year, Succeed 8,011 dollars, ClassWallet affidavit step, reimbursement timelines) — via ADE EFA pages, search Arkansas EFA family handbook 2026-27

- Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education, Arkansas Waiver Request 2026 — 1 percent alternate assessment waiver for 2026-27 (ELA, math, science; Dynamic Learning Maps): https://adecm.ade.arkansas.gov/Attachments/1_25_Waiver_June_2026_164310.pdf

- DESE Special Education Assessment page (34 CFR 200.6(c)(3) district justification requirements): https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Offices/special-education/curriculum-assessment/assessment

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Eight days before election day, Proposition 3 would make California's 2012 high-income tax for schools permanent instead of letting it expire in 2031 — what the Legislative Analyst says it raises, how its school money actually flows, and what each side claims. Plus San Francisco's 5-to-2 vote to end its school lottery for neighborhood assignment in fall 2028, and the implementation clock for Senate Bill 1067 early math screening.

Sources:

- CalMatters, October 21, 2026 — What to know about California's other tax-the-rich measure: Prop. 3: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/calmatters/2026/10/21/what-to-know-about-californias-other-tax-the-rich-measure-prop-3/

- California Official Voter Information Guide, November 3, 2026 General Election — Proposition 3, Legislative Analyst's Office analysis (revenue 5 billion to 15 billion dollars a year, roughly 40 percent net to schools and community colleges, Education Protection Account): https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2026/general/pdf/prop3.pdf

- EdSource, October 14, 2026 — San Francisco Unified to remove lottery system, assign students to neighborhood schools: https://edsource.org/updates/san-francisco-unified-to-remove-lottery-system-assign-students-to-neighborhood-schools

- EdSource, October 9, 2026 — San Francisco Unified to replace school lottery system (survey of 2,725 families, 71 percent preferred Option B, 48 percent favored Option C, 2018 removal vote): https://edsource.org/updates/san-francisco-unified-to-replace-school-lottery-system

- EdSource, October 1, 2026 — These 8 new California laws will have a big impact on schools and students (Senate Bill 1067 timelines: State Board guidelines by July 31, 2027, screening tools by January 31, 2028, districts begin fall 2028): https://edsource.org/2026/newson-signs-california-school-laws/767242

- CalMatters, October 1, 2026 — Student math scores are abysmal. A new California law requires early testing for skill (Senate Bill 1067 screening content and no extra money for support) — search CalMatters SB 1067 early math screening

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The fall student count closed on Friday, and the first district numbers are already reshaping budgets: Cordova counted fourteen fewer students than it budgeted for, Fairbanks students put a roughly six hundred student decline before legislative candidates, and Kodiak's enrollment rose while a draft plan still weighs closing a school. Plus the state filing deadlines that turn October headcounts into a year of funding.

Sources:

- Cordova City School District budget and enrollment presentation to the city council, October 8, 2026 (budgeted 372 students, October count 358, about $23,000 per student in state funding, $440,000 one-time state aid) — Citizen Portal summary: https://citizenportal.ai/articles/10624452/alaska/chugach-county/cordova/superintendent-warns-cordova-faces-steep-enrollment-shortfall-and-urges-caution-using-440000-one-time-state-aid

- Fairbanks North Star Borough School District candidate forum, October 23, 2026 (student questioners: roughly 600 fewer students, approximately $2.72 million in lost state funding; class-size, forward-funding, and retention proposals) — Citizen Portal summary: https://citizenportal.ai/articles/11381132/alaska/school-districts/fairbanks-north-star-borough-school-district/candidates-propose-class-size-limits-forward-funding-to-confront-fairbanks-north-star-borough-school-district-enrollment-drop

- Kodiak Island Borough School District board work session, September 11, 2026 (preliminary first-week membership 1,854, up about 119; first-draft reconfiguration scenarios including a possible East Elementary closure in summer 2027) — Citizen Portal summary: https://citizenportal.ai/articles/9965842/alaska/school-districts/kodiak-island-borough-school-district/kodiak-board-hears-plan-to-reconfigure-schools-after-preliminary-enrollment-uptick

- Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, Submitting Data to DEED collection calendar (Projected ADM Submittal due November 5, 2026; Fall Student OASIS Submission due November 7, 2026): https://education.alaska.gov/data-collection

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Alabama's community colleges topped 100,000 students for the first time since 2010 — a third of them dual-enrolled high schoolers — while two workforce funding deadlines land this Friday, October 30: up to $4,000 automotive manufacturing scholarships (dual-enrolled students excluded) and district technology-credential grants. Plus the Workforce Pell rules for short-term programs and a $1 million aerospace training investment in the Auburn-Montgomery corridor. Sources: Alabama Daily News, 'Alabama community college enrollment tops 100,000 for first time since 2010' (Oct 2026, trustees meeting figures); Alabama Community College System fall 2026 enrollment release via EIN Presswire; Gadsden Messenger, '$400,000 in scholarships available for automotive manufacturing students' (Oct 2, 2026) — apply via Dream It, Do It Alabama, deadline Oct 30, 2026; Alabama STEM Foundation, Alabama Technology Education and Career Pathways Accelerator (ATECPA) grant page, alabamastemfoundation.org — proposals due Oct 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM CT; Governor of Alabama newsroom, 'Governor Ivey Announces New Federal Grant Eligibility Will Help Qualifying Alabamians Prepare for High-Demand Employment Opportunities' (Workforce Pell approval process, governor.alabama.gov); GE Aerospace Foundation press release, 'Lifting Futures Invests $1M in Auburn, Montgomery Region Workforce Training' (Oct 6, 2026, geaerospace.com); workforce remarks of Oct 15, 2026 as reported in Wisevoter's Oct 21, 2026 summary of Alabama workforce investments.

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The District expands its truancy pilot to every public high school in Wards 7 and 8 while schools face a Friday deadline to join a new rewards pilot for improved attendance — what the Year 2 results show, where the scale risk sits, and what to watch next.

Sources:

- Mayor Bowser Expands Truancy Pilot Program Following Two Years of Strong Results, Mayor's Office release, October 20, 2026: https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-expands-truancy-pilot-program-following-two-years-strong-results

- OSSE, Rang Rewards, and Monumental Sports & Entertainment Announce New Partnership to Reward Improved Student Attendance in DC Schools, OSSE release (applications through October 31, launch January 2027): https://osse.dc.gov/release/osse-rang-rewards-and-monumental-sports-entertainment-announce-new-partnership-reward

- D.C. Expands Attendance Program to All Ward 7 and 8 Public High Schools, The Washington Sun, October 21, 2026: https://www.washingtonsun.com/metro/dc-school-truancy-program-expansion

- All Ward 7 and 8 Public High Schools to Participate in Expanded Truancy Program, Congress Heights on the Rise, October 21, 2026: https://www.congressheightsontherise.com/blog/all-ward-7-and-8-public-high-schools-to-participate-in-expanded-truancy-program

- OSSE Attendance Dashboard, 2024-25 chronic absenteeism data, via osse.dc.gov — search OSSE Attendance Dashboard

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On July 1, 2026, New Hampshire's Home Education Freedom Act (HB 1268) took effect - repealing the homeschool notice, the required subjects, the portfolio, and the annual evaluation all at once, and ending the state's count of home educated children. What does a state owe a child it has decided not to see? A special report: the old law and the new law, section by section; the supporters' case in their own words; the Department of Education webpage still teaching a repealed statute; the EFA contrast - public money still carries paperwork, private choice now carries none; and how New Hampshire stacks up against Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Sources:

- RSA 193-A, current codified text (NH General Court): https://gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XV/193-A/193-A-mrg.htm

- HB 1268, chaptered act (2026 N.H. Laws ch. 297): NH General Court bill status, gc.nh.gov - search "HB 1268", 2026 session

- NH Department of Education, Home Education page (read in full October 25, 2026): https://www.education.nh.gov/pathways-education/home-education

- NH Department of Education, Education Freedom Accounts: https://www.education.nh.gov/pathways-education/education-freedom-accounts

- RSA 194-F:3 (EFA agreement; annual record of educational attainment): NH General Court, Title XV, chapter 194-F

- Children's Scholarship Fund New Hampshire, EFA administrator (2025-26 recipients and grant totals): https://nh.scholarshipfund.org/about/

- HSLDA, "New Hampshire House Bill 1268": https://hslda.org/post/hb-1268

- Granite State Home Educators, "NH Home Ed Law Rewritten": https://gshenh.org/nh-home-ed-law-rewritten/

- Maine Department of Education, Home Instruction: https://www.maine.gov/doe/schools/schoolops/homeinstruction

- Vermont home study, 16 V.S.A. section 166b: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/16/003/00166b

- Massachusetts law about home schooling (DESE): https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-home-schooling

- Connecticut, Conn. Gen. Stat. section 10-184: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2021/pub/chap_168.htm

- Rhode Island: RIDE Guidance & FAQs on at-home instruction (rev. Oct. 2024); R.I. Gen. Laws sections 16-19-1, 16-19-2

- Jurisdiction research: Education Across the States, "Homeschool Law & Requirements Map" and "Homeschool Data Map" (October 25, 2026), compiled from primary sources (statutes, rules, and official agency pages).

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A plain-English, educator-applicable walkthrough of 17 GCA Section 9101, Guam's Declaration of Public Policy: the duty to make a free appropriate public education available to all children with disabilities residing on Guam ages 3 through 21, including suspended or expelled students, plus early intervention for eligible infants and toddlers birth through 2, the conformity clause tying Chapter 9 to IDEA, and the one narrow incarceration exception for ages 18 through 21.

Sources:

- 17 GCA Section 9101 (Chapter 9 text): https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/guam/gu-code/17_guam_code_ann_9101

- Title 17 Table of Contents, Compiler of Laws (Guam Courts), updated through P.L. 38-105: https://col.guamcourts.gov/sites/default/files/17gc_TOC_0.pdf

- GDOE Integrated Monitoring Manual, revised April 2026: https://gdoe.net/files/page/2442/Monitoring_Manual_april_2026.pdf

- 34 CFR 300.101, Free appropriate public education: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/300.101

- 34 CFR 300.102, Limitation - exception to FAPE for certain ages: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/34/300.102

- 20 U.S.C. 1400, IDEA findings and purposes: https://law.justia.com/codes/us/2019/title-20/chapter-33/subchapter-i/sec-1400/

- OSEP 2026 SPP/APR and State Determination Letters, Part C - Guam (Needs Assistance, June 16, 2026): https://sites.ed.gov/idea/idea-files/2026-spp-apr-and-state-determination-letters-part-c-guam/gu-c-spp-apr-ffy24/

- Verification without a stable URL: for the official Compiler of Laws Chapter 9 PDF, go to col.guamcourts.gov, open the Guam Code / Compiler of Laws laws page, select Title 17 Education, then Chapter 9, sections 9101-9107, and read section 9101. For GDOE manuals and determination letters, go to gdoe.net, use the site search for Integrated Monitoring Manual and for OSEP Determination Letter.

AI Generated

In June 2026 the U.S. Department of Education told American Samoa, for the second straight year, that its early intervention program needs assistance under IDEA — and the unresolved federal finding underneath that grade is about the handoff at a child's third birthday. Alex and Jordan read the determination letters line by line: how the Results-Driven Accountability score is built, why Specific Conditions on three straight grant awards cap the territory's category, what the September 2024 monitoring finding on Part C-to-Part B transition actually says, how the territory answered with a Transition MOU and nearly finished policy rewrites, why a perfect transition score built on two children does not close a system-design finding, and the two dates that now govern everything — the February 1, 2027 report on technical assistance received and actions taken, and the June 2027 determinations that may formally count longstanding noncompliance. Educational guidance, not legal advice.

Sources

- U.S. Department of Education, OSEP, 2026 SPP/APR and State Determination Letter, Part C — American Samoa (FFY 2024, issued June 16, 2026), including American Samoa's FFY 2024 Part C SPP/APR (Indicator 8 data, dispute resolution data, general supervision description): https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/AS-C-SPP-APR-FFY24.pdf

- U.S. Department of Education, OSEP, SPP/APR and State Determination Letters index — American Samoa Part B letter (FFY 2024, issued June 18, 2026) and Part C letter listings: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/spp-apr-letters

- American Samoa Department of Education (ASDOE) homepage — system totals (more than 12,000 students; 22 ECE sites; 23 elementary schools; 6 high schools; more than 1,900 employees) and Director listing: https://www.amsamoadoe.com

- ASDOE Special Education Division, FFY 2026 IDEA Part B application and public notice — FAPE ages 3-21 under the American Samoa Special Education Act of 1977, amended 2000; SPED office, Fagaalu, next to Matafao Elementary School: https://www.amsamoadoe.com/_files/ugd/b063e1_2b7537d02c854836b8e50d11c591fad7.pdf

- ASDOE IDEA Part B FFY 2026 Grant Application (full application document): https://www.amsamoadoe.com/_files/ugd/b063e1_7d51da54bda4449696bfd9c411aee1f4.pdf

- Pacific East Comprehensive Center — Improving Student Access to Learning Environments When Staffing Capacity is Strained in American Samoa (ASDOE S.T.E.P.S. Substitute Teacher Equity Program Support): https://pacificeastcc.org/islands/improving-student-access-to-learning-environments-when-staffing-capacity-is-strained-in-american-samoa/

To verify anything without a stable link: go to sites.ed.gov/idea and open "SPP/APR Letters," select American Samoa, and open the 2026 Part B and Part C determination letters (FFY 2024); for OSEP monitoring reports, search the IDEA site for "Differentiated Monitoring and Support" and American Samoa (Part C report dated September 12, 2024; Part B report dated May 16, 2025). For ASDOE public notices, go to amsamoadoe.com and open the Special Education division page.

AI Generated

Ten days before the DC Council's November 4 special education oversight hearing, the District's due process rate — 141.7 complaints per 10,000 students served under IDEA Part B, versus a 26.5 average — frames the central question of why services are so often secured through litigation, as the proficiency gap for students with disabilities widens despite a fourth straight year of citywide DC CAPE gains.

Sources:

- DC Council oversight hearing notice (November 4, 2026, 2:30 PM; hearing scope, CAPE proficiency changes for students with disabilities, and the 141.7 vs 26.5 due process comparison), as summarized in EducationDC, 'The Council In Fall (Moving Slowly)' (October 2, 2026): https://educationdc.net/2026/10/02/the-council-in-fall-moving-slowly/

- OSSE Office of Dispute Resolution, Special Education Legal and Regulatory Information page — revised ODR Standard Operating Procedures dated October 20, 2026 (clean and track-changes versions): https://osse.dc.gov/page/odr-special-education-legal-and-regulatory-information

- OSSE SY2026-27 Special Education Process Handbook — dispute resolution, mediation, due process complaint timelines, and prior written notice requirements: https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/SY26-27%20OSSE%20Special%20Education%20Process%20Handbook.pdf

- OSSE DC CAPE page — 2025-26 assessment results files and performance levels: https://osse.dc.gov/dccape

AI Generated

A Territorial Audit Office report released October 5, 2026 found the Department of Education bought more than three point seven million dollars in goods without competitive sealed bidding and spent more than one point one seven million dollars through Quick Purchase Orders that should have been bid — and both the department and the Office of Procurement agreed with all eight fixes. Alex and Jordan walk through what the Consolidated Grant buys, why the purchases bunched up at fiscal year-end, and the three tests to watch now that a new fiscal year has begun.

Sources

- Territorial Audit Office, American Samoa Government, Report No. 26-03 (October 5, 2026), Audit of Procurement Practices for the Department of Education's Consolidated Grant Purchases (period October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2024): https://www.asgaudit.com/_files/ugd/da9916_a1e00c02bbb243148abbdb695a04fc25.pdf

- Territorial Audit Office, Performance Audits page (Report 26-03 listing and summary): https://www.asgaudit.com/reports/performance-audits

- American Samoa Department of Education (ASDOE) homepage — system totals (more than 12,000 students; 22 early childhood education sites, 23 elementary schools, 6 high schools; more than 1,900 employees), retrieved October 25, 2026: https://www.amsamoadoe.com

To verify anything without a stable link: asgaudit.com → Reports → Performance Audits → Report 26-03.

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