Education in Focus

A California school district allegedly had a teacher teach a lesson and read a gender identity book to fifth graders, then have those fifth graders watch a video version of the book with their kindergarten mentees and teach them the lesson they just learned.

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Full story: CA school taught 5th graders gender identity, had them teach it to kindergartners

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New research shows that school enrollment has declined in over 5,000 public schools in the U.S., suggesting families are rejecting traditional schools because of the pandemic. The Fordham Institute's new study, conducted by researcher Sofoklis Goulas from the Brookings Institution, released Wednesday, found that families were over twice as likely to leave low-performing public schools. The enrollment declines aren’t random, which leads Goulas to suspect that students aren’t just missing but instead are seeking alternatives.

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A former paraprofessional is suing the Washoe County School District over claims that the system shuffles dangerous students between schools without adequately alerting staff about their behavior and terminated him in retaliation. The special education professional, James Benthin, said in the lawsuit that the school district “failed to discipline and remove dangerous students and failed to prevent the violent assault and battery” he allegedly experienced at the hands of a student in October last year. The lawsuit alleges Washoe County School District (WCSD) did nothing to remove dangerous students, which created a dangerous environment for teachers and students. The district said it cannot comment on pending litigation.

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Full story: https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/safety/article_f7d6502a-7cf8-11ef-b9f1-eb8991b297fe.html

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A lawsuit filed last week against the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in Evanston, Illinois, alleges the school separated students and teachers by race and incited “racial hostility” through “divisive, race-obsessed teachings,” which it which the lawsuit says requires teachers to impose on students. The complaint filed by the Southeastern Legal Foundation on behalf of part-time drama teacher Stacy Deemar alleges that District 65 injected critical race theory into what students were taught. It also says the Department of Education issued a letter finding the district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. 

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Full story: https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/cultural-issues/article_8ab63db2-7c43-11ef-a243-2fc3ffbdb9a8.html

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As some students return to class this year with statewide or district-implemented cellphone bans, those who still have access to smartphones may be able to use an app powered by artificial-intelligence to complete their homework. The app, called Guath AI or Gauthmath, allows students to take pictures of their homework or tests, which it analyzes and solves. Critics have also pointed out that because it is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, user data may be accessible by that nation’s government. 

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Full story: https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/accountability/article_4d37743e-76ca-11ef-a42e-b7a5c9841da7.html

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Earlier this month, a Texas special education teacher pleaded guilty to soliciting explicit photos from minors. The high school teacher posed as a 19-year-old boy to solicit the photos from a 14-year-old girl. The exploitation of children by teacher Juan Carlos Munoz highlights how adults posing as young people exploit minors, which federal law enforcement agencies say has been on the rise and must be discussed before it is committed. A Homeland Security Investigations special agent, Craig Larrabee, said in a press release that Munoz “abused his position of public trust as a special education teacher to prey on those he was entrusted to protect.”

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Full story: https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/safety/article_c923d28a-79b9-11ef-ba7b-2fba83125abb.html

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Nearly two of three Detroit high school students did not complete selected online credit recovery courses the year after COVID-19. In the two following years, the district has seen higher completion rates for courses intended to help students graduate on time. Sample course completion data obtained by Chalkboard News through a public records request show that only 36% of Detroit Public School Community District students who took an online credit recovery course in the 2021-22 school year successfully completed it. The data show that students who had already failed a course were likely to fail the credit recovery course during that school year.

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Full story: https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/accountability/article_69364158-7605-11ef-97fd-2f8001b2f968.html

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As teachers begin another school year and approach their first grade book deadlines, some school districts are adopting more “equity grading” reforms. Just last month, the Kansas City Public School district in Missouri gave the green light to a “no zero policy” in which students receiving a failing grade would have a 40% minimum grade through 59% instead of the 0-59% range it had before. According to Adam Tyner, national research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, this approach to grading rehashes some old approaches. Tyner was the coauthor of a research brief highlighting how these new “equity grading” standards were impacting students, both positively and negatively. 

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After the shooting at Apalachee High School in metro Atlanta last week, schools nationwide have closed due to threats, and dozens of students have been arrested. But what causes the uptick in school shooting threats after a mass shooting? According to Jaclyn Schildkraut, the executive director of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, it’s not clear whether shooting threats actually increase or whether people are just more vigilant. But she said there are ways to reduce the likelihood of future attacks and threats. 

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Full story: https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/cultural-issues/article_907f56f2-720c-11ef-8832-d75aaa798052.html

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School districts nationwide are facing a Sept. 30 deadline to spend the last round of nearly $200 billion in federal COVID-19 funds on helping students recover from learning losses due to school closures and other needs. The deadline, sometimes called a fiscal cliff, marks the last day districts can spend federal money on certain expenditures, but there are some extensions and deadlines to know about. According to the Edunomics Lab, which tracks federal spending nationwide, the money that is not spent by districts will return to the Department of the Treasury.

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Full story: https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/accountability/article_9b197d38-714c-11ef-b275-e7e1b3373e21.html

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