Education in Focus

A new survey has asked teachers and students about their experience amid significant cultural divides around gender, race and sexual orientation. According to a survey analyses from the Pew Research Center, 53% of teachers said debates about cultural issues like race and gender identity do not impact their ability to do their jobs. In comparison, 41% said the discussions on those issues negatively affect their job performance. The survey comes as topics like gender identity, racism, sex education curricula, the appropriateness of materials in school libraries and parental notification policies continue to roil school board meetings nationwide.

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The Chicago Public Schools Board of Education voted Thursday to approve a resolution to remove trained police officers from its schools by the beginning of next school year. The district-wide removal of police officers stems from a 2020 resolution requiring the district to “provide to the Board a comprehensive plan for schools currently using SROs (School Resource Officers) to phase out their use.” The board voted to implement the policy unanimously, along with a number of other policies and  resolutions. The board will sunset the school resource officer program by August this year but says it will still work the city’s police department for other needs. 

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Students at James Madison High School in south Houston, Texas, staged a walkout last week to protest a new zero-tolerance policy banning student cell phone use on that campus. Some carried picket signs and gathered across the street from the high school, as seen in videos posted to X, formerly Twitter. Houston Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles voiced support for the policy at a press conference last week, promising suspensions for students who walk out and pointing to the benefits of enforcing policies that keep cell phones away from students during the school day.

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The National Center for Education Statistics released enrollment data for public schools, showing which states have increased student counts since the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures and which states have yet to see students return to those classrooms. The new data digest released this month by NCES shows that most states saw decreases in public school student enrollment between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2022, with only a handful of states gaining students overall. Public schools have not regained students who stopped attending during the pandemic. 

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Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of a school shooter who killed his classmates in November 2021 at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury. The decision on Tuesday marks a development for prosecutors looking to hold parents accountable for the crimes committed by their children as this is the first instance of a parent being charged with involuntary manslaughter in relation to a fatal school shooting. Crumbley faces up to decades in federal prison, depending on her sentencing hearing. Jennifer Crumbley is expected back in court in April for her sentencing hearing, according to FOX 2. 

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A Boston Public Schools policy for the 2023-24 school year instructs staff not to inform parents if a student identifies as transgender or gender nonconforming unless legally required. School districts nationwide have put policies in place to protect the rights of transgender students, but parental rights advocates say guardians have a right to know if their child is changing their gender. According to a superintendent's circular, staff at Boston Public Schools, which serves 54,000 students and three-quarters of all students in the city, are not supposed to discuss with parents that a student is transgender or gender nonconforming. 

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A new report from researchers at Harvard University shows that students have started to recover from learning losses sustained during school closures related to COVID-19. Still, student achievement has not exceeded pre-pandemic performance, save in a few states. The report found that student achievement gaps that began during the pandemic between rich and poor districts have widened and called for federal funding to go toward additional face time between students and teachers, including expanding the school year or offering summer school.

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Students of all ages at Seattle Public Schools can expect extra-curricular lessons on oppression and privilege, racism and transgenderism in the classroom this week as the district participates in the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. The district disseminated a PowerPoint with resources for educators created by the Seattle Public Schools Black Education Department in collaboration with teachers and academics. The resource highlights activities for teaching students the 13 principles and four demands of Black Lives Matter at School.

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According to recent federal school climate and survey data, the number of schools reporting using school resource officers is declining. After racial justice protests a few years ago and calls to defund the police, school districts like Chicago are considering the role school resource officers play in keeping students safe and out of the justice system. National Center for Education Statistics data from the 2019-2020 school year shows 54% of schools surveyed reported using some type of “sworn law enforcement officer,” including school resource officers. Data from 2021-2022 shows only 48% of schools reported having a “sworn law enforcement officer.”

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Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Tuesday that he had appointed the creator of a social media account known for its outspoken criticism of sexualized materials in school libraries to an advisory board that will govern them. Walters announced Chaya Raichik, who created and operates an account on X, formerly Twitter, called “Libs of TikTok,” would be on the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Library Media Advisory Committee. The Library Media Advisory Committee offers guidance and recommendations to the Oklahoma State Board of Education pursuant to Oklahoma Administrative Codes and is "aimed at removing pornographic or sexualized content from public schools in the State of Oklahoma," according to a spokesperson from the Department of Education.

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