News · Bright Learning

California legislature passes K-2 math diagnostic assessment bill

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

California lawmakers passed a bill that would require yearly math tests for the state's youngest students. They passed it even though several large education groups asked them to wait. The California Legislature passed Senate Bill 1067 and sent it to Governor Gavin Newsom. The Assembly voted for it without a single no vote, The 74 reported. Newsom has not said whether he will sign it.

The fight is over timing. In an Aug. 12 letter, four groups said the bill was too soon. They were the California Mathematics Council, the Association of California School Administrators, the California County Superintendents, and the California Teachers Association. They argued that the state had not yet spent enough on teacher training and student help to make the testing work, The 74 reported. "A mandated assessment is only as effective as the system that supports it," they wrote. The provided sources do not show how much money the bill puts toward that support, so it is not clear whether the state has met what these groups want first.

Supporters say the problem is urgent. On California's 2025 state tests, only 37% of students were proficient in math. That compares with 49% on the language arts test, The 74 reported. The gaps were wider for some students. Only 26% of low-income students and 20% of Black students scored proficient. California's fourth graders have also scored lower than students in most other states on a national test, The 74 reported. "We also know that students who miss foundational math skills in grades K through 2 rarely catch up," said the bill's author, Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson. Marshall Tuck is the CEO of EdVoice, an advocacy group that sponsored the bill. He said, "The bill's passage is a strong recognition by the Legislature that we must focus on students early with more support."

The bill would require public schools to test the math skills of every student in kindergarten through second grade each year. This is called a math diagnostic assessment. Schools would also have to help students who fall behind. That help could include extra coaching for teachers or small-group tutoring, The 74 reported. The bill sets steps first. The State Board of Education would set the rules and guidelines by July 31, 2027. Then the Department of Education would publish a list of approved assessments. Testing would begin in the 2028-29 school year.

The math plan follows an early reading test that Newsom pushed for, which took effect in 2025. But the two are built differently, The 74 reported. The reading test looks for students who may have reading problems, including dyslexia. SB 1067 does not use the word "screener." The bill says its job is to check students' math knowledge and needs and to find those who need more help. It is not meant to diagnose a disability like dyscalculia. The 74 notes that dyscalculia is less common and harder to diagnose than dyslexia.

Colorado student chronic absenteeism declines but stays above pre-pandemic

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

More than a quarter of Colorado students were chronically absent last school year. The statewide rate did drop, but only a little, and the state's own goal calls for a much larger drop. The Colorado Department of Education released the new data on August 27, 2026. A student is counted as chronically absent when they miss 10 percent or more of their school days. The department says students who miss more days are more likely to fall behind in class.

The rate fell to 27.5 percent in 2025-26. That is down from 28.4 percent the year before, Chalkbeat Colorado reported. It was about the same as in 2023-24. The rate also stayed above the level before the pandemic, which was 22.6 percent in 2019-20. The department has set a goal of cutting the rate to 15 percent by 2027-28. This year the rate fell by less than 1 point. To reach 15 percent, it would need to fall about 12.5 more points in about two years.

"We've made progress, but we still have significant work ahead of us," Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said at a press conference.

More than 230,000 Colorado students missed 10 percent or more of their school days in 2025-26, according to Chalkbeat. The statewide attendance rate held steady at 91.5 percent. The rate went down in 109 of the state's 182 school districts and boards of cooperative education services, known as BOCES. It stayed the same or rose in the rest.

The department also runs a campaign to boost attendance. It launched the campaign, called "Every School Day Matters!," in 2024. The department hoped 80 percent of Colorado school districts would join. Fewer than half have joined so far, according to the department.

Rates differed by group of students. High school seniors had the highest rate of any grade. Students with disabilities, English language learners, and students from low-income families were absent at higher than average rates. About 33 percent of Black students and 37 percent of Latino students were chronically absent, compared with 20 percent of white students. All three rates were lower than the year before, and the rate for Black students dropped the most. The rate for Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students rose from 51.1 percent to 52.1 percent. That group is small, at about 3,200 students statewide.

Results also differed by district. In Denver Public Schools, the largest district, the rate fell from 38.1 percent to 36.6 percent. In Jeffco Public Schools, the second largest, it dropped from 26.6 percent to 26.2 percent. In the small Sheridan district south of Denver, the rate jumped from 34.6 percent to 66.2 percent. Chalkbeat reported this was likely because attendance fell during a teachers strike that lasted more than three weeks this past April.

State officials pointed to the Garfield Re-2 district in Rifle, which has 4,600 students. It cut its rate from about 40 percent in 2021-22 to a little under 18 percent in 2025-26. Superintendent Kirk Banghart said the district hired family liaisons who help its largely Latino families solve attendance problems, including in the families' home languages. Garfield also started an online middle and high school last year. Banghart said it serves 67 students.

Meta settles with 47 states over teen social media addiction

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

Meta agreed to pay states and add new safety limits for teens on Facebook and Instagram. State attorneys general announced the deal on August 26, 2026. But two things limit how much changes right now. A federal court in Oakland, California must still approve the deal. And some of the strongest limits take full effect only if rival apps agree to match them.

Under the deal, Meta would set a default daily time limit of two hours for users under 18, the California Attorney General's office said. Only a parent could lift it. If other platforms agree to similar terms, the limit would drop to one hour. Meta would also block use from midnight to 6am for users under 18. A parent could lift that block too. If rivals adopt similar rules, the block would grow to cover 10pm to 7am. Meta would also stop notifications to users under 18 from 10pm to 7am and during the school day. The office described the school day as 8am to 3pm from August 15 to June 15.

Some changes would not wait on rivals. Meta would hide the number of likes or reactions from users under 18. It would ban cosmetic procedure filters. It would add a stronger way for teens to report harmful content. Meta would have to answer 90% of those reports within six hours, the office said. The deal also calls for age checks to find users under 18 and children under 13. It calls for better parental controls and an outside auditor to check that Meta follows the rules.

The money would be paid over 10 years. The Associated Press reported that Meta would pay $17 billion to settle claims from 47 states. The California Attorney General's office described the payment as up to $17 billion. It said the deal came from a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general. The office said California alone would receive $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion if the court approves the deal. The Associated Press reported that New Jersey expects at least $525 million, Massachusetts at least $366 million, and Virginia $353 million. These are single state shares. The dossier does not show how the full $17 billion is split among all the states. So these shares should not be read as adding up to the total. The Associated Press reported that the $17 billion is a small part of Meta's 2025 revenue of $201 billion.

The case settled during trial. The Associated Press reported that 29 states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey, sued Meta in 2023. The lawsuit said Meta built features to addict children and hid the risks. It also said Meta collected data on children under 13 without their parents' consent. Nine attorneys general filed separate lawsuits in their own states. The trial began on August 18, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers oversaw it.

The two sides told very different stories. 'For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health,' Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said. That is the states' claim, not a proven fact. Meta pushed back. The Associated Press reported that Instagram head Adam Mosseri had begun testifying and defended the company's record and progress on child safety and privacy. Meta said in a blog post, 'Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta.' It said it was 'building on our longstanding efforts to empower parents and support teens.' It said it worked with state attorneys general to 'set a new industry standard,' and it urged rivals TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar steps. Bonta said Meta 'has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms, and will do it within months.' The Associated Press reported that CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to take the stand before the settlement cut the case short.

DeSantis administration proposes eliminating school vaccine mandates

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

Florida wants to remove four vaccines from the shots that students need to enter public and private schools. The state Department of Health published this proposed rule on August 24, 2026. The four vaccines are hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and pneumococcal conjugate. The rule is numbered 64D-3.046, the department's notice says.

The plan comes during a measles outbreak. Florida has 142 reported measles cases. That ranks it fifth in the nation. It is behind South Carolina (670), Utah (526), Pennsylvania (321), and Virginia (176). These are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures cited by the Florida Phoenix.

But the measles vaccine is not one of the four shots this rule would remove. State law requires the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot. This rule would not change state law, the News Service of Florida reports.

Here is why the rule can move on its own. The four vaccines are set by an agency rule, not by state law. So the department can remove them itself, the News Service of Florida reports. State law still requires shots for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), polio, diphtheria, rubeola, and tetanus. Those requirements would not change.

The rule would also make two other changes. It would expand religious exemptions to include moral and ethical beliefs. It would also let parents and college students opt out of adding their records to the state vaccine database. These come from the notice and the News Service of Florida.

The key dates are set. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo approved the rule on August 20, 2026. The department then opened a 21 day public comment period. It runs from August 24, 2026, to September 14, 2026. The comment window closes on September 14, 2026, the notice states.

The effort started last fall. In September 2025, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ladapo asked the Legislature to roll back all vaccine mandates. "Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," Ladapo said at the time in Valrico, in Hillsborough County. No lawmaker filed a bill in the 2026 sessions to remove the requirements from state law. "Medical Freedom" bills that would have expanded exemptions passed the state Senate. They failed in the state House, the News Service of Florida reports.

Medical groups spoke out against the plan. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said it would put children at risk. "The AAP believes every family should have access to immunizations to keep their community healthy," Kressly said in a statement reported by the News Service of Florida. Rana Alissa, president of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said vaccine-preventable diseases can return when vaccination rates fall. She urged the department to keep the current rules, the Florida Phoenix reports. Eehab Kenawy, a Panama City pediatrician, said religious exemptions already let parents opt out. "You're not forced. But sending a message to the general public that vaccines are not important, vaccines are not needed, is not the way to do it," he said at a December 2025 department meeting, the News Service of Florida reports.

The proposal comes with about five months left in DeSantis's term, the Florida Phoenix reports. Republican candidate Byron Donalds said he would "study and really engage it" before deciding on the state law requirements. An adviser to Democratic nominee David Jolly said Jolly would fire Ladapo if elected. Both points come from the Florida Phoenix.

advocate urges Meta settlement funds support youth offline programs

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

Meta agreed on Wednesday to settle claims that Instagram and Facebook harmed young people's mental health, state attorneys general said. The states call the deal worth "up to" $17.1 billion. But much of that sum is not locked in. Meta must pay states $12.19 billion over 10 years, the Connecticut Attorney General's office said. The total only grows to $17.1 billion if TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat agree to similar safety terms and payments. Each of those companies faces its own state action, the office said.

CBS News described the split a little differently. It put the base at $12.1 billion and the added part at $5 billion. Both accounts come to about $17.1 billion. The dossier does not give the exact split in the Connecticut figures, so the parts are reported as each source gave them. Even the full amount is a small slice of Meta's business. CBS News and PBS said $17.1 billion is a fraction of Meta's 2025 revenue of $201 billion. Meta also settled on its own with Texas, which was not in the multistate deal. CBS News said that brought Meta's total to roughly $18 billion.

Meta agreed to the deal but denied doing anything wrong, CBS News reported. It called the settlement an important step, and it urged rivals to do the same. "While this is an important step, these protections will only be truly effective if our peers, TikTok and YouTube, put the same measures in place," a Meta spokesperson said, according to CBS News.

Under the deal, Meta must add safety features to Instagram and Facebook. There is a combined two-hour daily time limit for children across the two apps. Users would get required pauses after 15 minutes of steady use, and again at 60 and 90 minutes, the Connecticut office said. These limits stay in place for five years. If Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube adopt similar terms, the daily limit would apply to each app on its own, the office said. Meta must also bar minors from the apps at night, CBS News reported. It must mute push notifications during school hours. It must make age checks and parental controls stronger. And it must limit social-comparison features such as "like" counts. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the changes include a ban on plastic surgery filters. He said they would take effect within months. Tong said Meta must roll out the reforms "over the next year, and in some instances much sooner."

The first lawsuits came in 2023. That year, 29 states, including California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, sued Meta, CBS News reported. The states said Meta built addictive features and hid the risks. Meta denied this. The deal ended a trial that had opened last week in Oakland, California. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to testify there, PBS reported. The count of places now involved differs by source. CBS News and the Associated Press cited 47 states. Connecticut's office described 51 attorneys general. Meta cited 52 attorneys general across states, territories and Washington, D.C.

Some states said what they expect to get. Connecticut expects up to $265.4 million. At least half would go to repair youth harms from social media. That includes mental health and crisis support, after-school and summer programs, and phone-free school zones, the Connecticut office said. California expects at least $1.5 billion. New Jersey expects at least $525 million. Massachusetts expects at least $366 million. Virginia's share is worth $353 million, according to CBS News and PBS. The deal also resolves Connecticut's investigation into Meta's sharing of nonpublic Facebook user data with outside groups such as Cambridge Analytica, the office said.

Tong was sharply critical of the company. "Meta strip-mined the souls of America's children for maximum profit with abusive and addictive features that unleashed a youth mental health catastrophe," he said. Meta denies any wrongdoing. The settlement still needs approval from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California.

Michigan teachers consider leaving profession amid pay concerns

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 08:30:02 GMT

Many Michigan teachers are thinking about leaving the job, and one of the biggest reasons they gave is one that may be hard to fix: pay.

A new poll from the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative found that 56% of the teachers surveyed are thinking about leaving the profession within five years. About 25% are thinking about leaving within a year, according to the group and Chalkbeat. The group works on the state's teacher pipeline. It shared the results on August 25, 2026, at a media roundtable, according to Chalkbeat.

Pay was one of the biggest factors, but fixing it is not simple. Brian Stryker of Impact Research, the firm that ran the poll, said decisions about pay are made at the local level, according to Chalkbeat. That means one of the biggest concerns teachers raised is mostly decided by local districts, not by the state or the group that ran the poll.

Only 32% of teachers strongly agreed that they feel fairly paid for their work, according to Chalkbeat. Stryker said the pay concern is not the same for everyone. The longer a teacher has worked, the more fairly paid they feel, he said. So newer teachers feel it most. He also said the wish to leave is not just about older teachers near retirement. "That is also true of newer teachers, teachers in the middle of their career. You also see it across elementary, middle, and high school," Stryker said.

Teachers gave other reasons too. Chalkbeat reported that they cited too little training for new teachers and barriers to new ideas in the classroom.

Teachers also face growing pressure, according to Chalkbeat. Students are doing poorly on state and national exams as Michigan slides lower in national rankings, and lawmakers are adding new mandates for teacher training in reading methods.

One local report, WWMT, counted the near-term number a different way. It said that of the teachers who might leave within five years, 45% would consider leaving within a year. The two counts line up. About 45% of the 56% group works out to roughly 25% of all teachers surveyed.

Some findings were more hopeful. According to Chalkbeat, 54% strongly agreed that their school is a great place to be a teacher, and 48% strongly agreed that Michigan is a great place to be a teacher. At the same time, 46% strongly agreed that they often feel expected to be "all things to all people at all times." And 39% strongly agreed that they have rigorous, standards-aligned materials for the grades and subjects they teach.

Jack Elsey, the group's CEO and founder, saw the results as both progress and a warning. "If we want our state to move out of this perpetual threat of losing half of our teacher workforce over the next five years, we should listen to our teachers," he said at the roundtable. He said the state has made progress in recent years but still has a ways to go, according to Chalkbeat. CJ Walker, a teacher at Concord Community Schools, said in a news release, "If we want to reverse this retention crisis, we must value our teachers both via compensation and support."

If the results hold up, Chalkbeat reported, they could shake the profession and make teacher shortages worse. That risk is bigger in hard-to-staff areas like special education.

About the poll: Impact Research ran it with help from UpONE Insights, according to Chalkbeat. They surveyed a representative sample of 300 Michigan teachers from May 29 to June 30, 2026. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points, so the numbers could be a few points higher or lower.

Philadelphia district begins school year amid planned school closures

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

The School District of Philadelphia opened the 2026-27 school year on August 24, 2026, and most of its 113,000 students returned to class, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Kindergartners are due to start Thursday. But at nine schools, including Overbrook Elementary, the first day was also the start of a final year. Those nine schools are set to close at the end of this school year, Chalkbeat and the Inquirer report. The Inquirer reports Overbrook will close in June.

The closures are part of a larger plan the school board has already approved. In April, the Board of Education voted 6 to 3 to approve Superintendent Tony Watlington's $3 billion, 10-year facilities plan, according to WHYY. The vote came after an earlier meeting set for April 23 was delayed. The plan would close 17 schools and modernize 169 others over the next decade. Nine of the 17 close at the end of this school year. The other eight are set to close in later years. Chalkbeat reports the plan would affect the schools of more than 4,000 students over the decade.

The board has the final say over which schools close, and it has already approved the plan, Chalkbeat reports. Even so, teachers, union leaders, and members of the City Council and state legislature say they plan to keep fighting. Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., who represents the area around Overbrook, said he will introduce a bill to stop the Overbrook property from being turned into condos. "We want to be civil; we want to be cooperative with the school district," Jones said, according to Chalkbeat. "But we will act up." Other politicians said they want Overbrook, Robeson High, and Lankenau High taken off the closing list, the Inquirer reports.

District officials say the changes will help students. They have promised strong support for families at closing schools and said students will move to schools that are higher-performing or in better buildings, according to Chalkbeat. The plan reassigns Overbrook students to Guion S. Bluford and Lewis C. Cassidy schools. No teachers will lose their jobs because of the closures, Chalkbeat reports. Instead, they will be moved to open jobs at other schools.

Overbrook is a small school in a very old building. The Inquirer reports its tight-knit community has mounted a fierce fight to keep it open. The school has operated for 120 years, according to Chalkbeat and the Inquirer. "I've been to this school since I was in kindergarten," said Overbrook fifth grader Mahogany, according to Chalkbeat. "I don't want to lose something that I feel safe to have."

At a back-to-school press conference, Watlington did not mention the closures directly, Chalkbeat reports. He said the district would keep working to improve. The district "won't rest until all of our children are at grade level in reading and math," he said, according to the Inquirer. State data from 2024-25 showed 34% of district students met state standards in reading and 23% in math, the Inquirer reports. The Inquirer notes that more recent test scores have not yet been shared by district leaders, so it is not clear whether those numbers have changed.

Money is also part of the picture. The Inquirer reports that Mayor Cherelle Parker's $48 million agreement restored some of the 340 jobs that would otherwise have been cut. The Inquirer does not say how many of the 340 jobs the agreement saved, so it is not clear whether it saved all of them. WHYY reports the plan was revised more than once before the vote and first called for closing 20 schools.

Jeffco voters weigh $133 million tax increases for schools

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:30:01 GMT

Jefferson County, Colorado voters will decide on November 3, 2026, whether to raise property taxes by $133 million for their public schools, Chalkbeat reported. The Jeffco school board voted for this unanimously on Thursday. The vote drew cheers from the audience, CBS News reported. Jeffco Public Schools serves 74,000 students.

The district says it cannot fix its budget gap on its own. That is the choice facing voters. Board President Michelle Applegate said, "We've tried to live within our means, and it's not enough. And so we're going back to the voters to ask them to invest in our community," CBS News reported. Board member Denine Echevarria warned, "If these measures don't pass, we could find ourselves having to make additional reductions, and that could mean more hardships for our staff, our families, and our school communities," according to Chalkbeat.

The $133 million comes in two parts, called mill levy overrides. Measure 5A would raise $73 million. It would pay teachers, principals, and support staff, and it would fund more career and technical education classes, Chalkbeat reported. A district presentation broke down the $73 million. It said $15 million would cover pay raises the district already promised. Another $39.5 million could go to future raises. More than $10 million would fund career and technical education. More than $8.5 million would go to charter schools, which state law requires the district to fund from override money. Together these parts make up close to the full $73 million. Measure 5B would raise $60 million. It would repair buildings, including leaky roofs and heating and cooling systems. It would also replace old technology and improve security. About $7 million would go to charter schools, Chalkbeat reported.

If both measures pass, homeowners would pay about $42 more per year for every $100,000 of a home's value, a district spokesperson told Chalkbeat. For a $650,000 home, that is $273 per year, or just under $23 per month, Denver7 reported.

Passing the measures is not certain. Board members said some voters are skeptical about how the district spent its last approved increase. They also noted an aging population with no ties to the schools. Only 26% of Jefferson County households have children, according to the U.S. Census Bureau cited by Chalkbeat. History tests the district's odds too. The last override voters approved was $33 million in 2018. That means this ask is about four times larger. In 2016, voters rejected both an override and a bond measure, Chalkbeat reported.

The district says the need comes from declining enrollment and a continued budget deficit, Chalkbeat reported. Reports of last year's cuts differ. CBS News reported $40 million in cuts. Denver7 reported $43 million. If the overrides fail, district leaders said Jeffco will likely close more schools, lay off staff, or freeze salaries, Chalkbeat reported.

Not everyone supports the plan. One resident was the only public commenter to speak against the measures. He said families are "already struggling with rising taxes, insurance, groceries, and utilities" while the district spends money "fighting the federal government," CBS News reported. That was a reference to Jeffco's lawsuit over transgender student policies. He urged the district to disclose the full cost of that lawsuit before asking for more. The U.S. Civil Rights Office says Jeffco's policies violate Title IX. District leaders say their policy follows Colorado law, and they have asked a court for clarification, CBS News reported.

NYC Mayor Mamdani sues City Council over paraprofessional bonus law

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is suing the City Council over a bill he once backed. The bill gives public school aides, called paraprofessionals, a $10,000 bonus. NY1 reported that in July 2025 he said he would be "proud to continue to support the swift passage of Intro 1261," an earlier version of it. He said the job "simply doesn't pay enough." Now he is fighting the bonus in court. Chalkbeat called this an "awkward position" for the mayor. NY1 called it a "difficult political position."

Why did he change course? NY1 reported that Mamdani now says the one-time bonuses break the state's Taylor Law. That law governs public unions. NY1 reported it is likely to be the heart of the city's case.

Here is how it happened. The Council passed the bill on July 16, 2026. Chalkbeat reported the vote was 49 to 0. Mamdani had 30 days to sign or veto it. He did neither. So it became law on August 19, 2026, Chalkbeat and Gothamist reported. Hours later, his administration sued the Council, The 74 reported.

Paraprofessionals are school aides. Chalkbeat reported they usually help students with disabilities. They are among the lowest-paid workers in the city's schools. The sources give slightly different pay figures. Chalkbeat and The 74 reported a starting salary of about $33,000 a year. Gothamist reported about $34,000. NY1 reported around $32,000. The top of the pay scale also varies. The 74 reported it tops out near $57,000 for an aide with a bachelor's degree and 15 years of service. Gothamist reported it caps around $54,000.

The 74 reported one way to see the gap. Over the past 20 years, starting pay for aides rose by nearly $12,000. In that same time, raises for the highest-paid principals totaled $86,000.

The law gives full-time aides four payments of $2,500 during the 2026-27 school year, The 74 reported. Chalkbeat reported the payments will go out between January and August 2027. Gothamist reported the first payment was set for January.

The Council estimates the total cost at about $325 million, Chalkbeat reported. That covers roughly 25,000 eligible aides. It also covers substitute aides. Their pay is set by how many days they work. Try the math for full-time aides alone. A $10,000 bonus for 25,000 people comes to about $250 million. So that group by itself does not reach $325 million. The dossier ties the gap to substitute aides. But it gives no dollar figure for them. So these sources do not show exactly how the total adds up. (Gothamist reported that roughly 26,000 aides were set to get the first payment in January.)

City Hall says the fight is about process, not pay. Collective bargaining is when a union and the city talk over pay and benefits. Chalkbeat reported that mayoral spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach called aides "indispensable." Chalkbeat reported he said they "have not been fairly compensated." Gothamist reported he said the city agrees aides are underpaid. But he said the law sets a "dangerous precedent." He said it lets "politicians bypass workers and their unions and dictate the terms of employment themselves." He added, "The City is filing a lawsuit to protect the right of every union to negotiate on behalf of its members." The 74 reported the lawsuit warns that other public workers could seek similar payments from the Council.

The United Federation of Teachers represents the aides. The union disagrees with the city. Chalkbeat reported that union officials wrote to members, "We are prepared to engage in a legal fight for the RESPECT check and the paraprofessionals who keep our schools running." The 74 reported the union says the bill was written carefully so it would not break the city's collective bargaining law. The 74 reported that union President Michael Mulgrew called the city's claim that it was suing to protect employees "a joke." NY1 reported that Mulgrew said the city did not ask for an injunction "because they know they can't win it."

Council members also pushed back. NY1 reported that Council Speaker Julie Menin said, "We will vigorously defend this law." Gothamist reported Menin said the law is "both the right thing to do and the fiscally responsible thing to do." Eric Dinowitz chairs the Council's education committee. Chalkbeat reported he said the measure passed 49 to 0 because members "across every borough and every political perspective agreed these workers deserve better."

The union and Council members link the low pay to "pattern bargaining," The 74 reported. Under this city policy, the raises won for one union's contract set the pattern for the others. They say that once a pattern is set, it is hard to win better terms for another union. The 74 reported the new law lets the Council renew the payments each year. That can go on as long as the schools have an aide shortage, or until the city changes pattern bargaining.

The size of that shortage varies by source. Chalkbeat reported roughly 1,600 vacancies. NY1 reported more than 1,800. Chalkbeat reported these gaps can seriously hurt students with disabilities. Some of them cannot ride school buses without an aide.

Gothamist reported that the mayor's office wants to "permanently address this inequity" in talks with the union. NY1 reported that Mulgrew says the union is making progress with the mayor and top officials, but not with the city agencies that handle labor relations.

teacher support improves trans student belonging and grades study finds

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

Transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive students often find both support and harm in the same schools. That is a key finding of a new research brief from The Trevor Project and Glisten. The brief was released Tuesday, according to The 74. It is titled "School Experiences and Outcomes Among Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender-Expansive Young People."

Across two national surveys, 97 percent of these students said they had at least one supportive educator. At the same time, 56 percent said their school had at least one discriminatory policy or practice. These two numbers describe conditions that can exist side by side. They do not add up to a single total.

The brief uses two data sources. The Trevor Project's 2025 survey included 3,758 of these students. Their median age was 16. It was done anonymously online between March and October. Glisten's 2025 National School Climate Survey included nearly 2,000 students. It was given between April and October 2024.

According to the brief, some students get more help than others. Students who had more supportive educators, felt more connected to other LGBTQ+ students, and saw positive lessons about LGBTQ+ people in at least one class reported higher grades. That was compared with students who had fewer of those supports. The brief presents this as a pattern in the surveys. It does not prove that support by itself causes higher grades.

The brief also shows harm. About 60 percent of students reported at least one negative event at school, according to The 74. That included 49 percent who reported verbal harassment tied to their LGBTQ+ identity. It also included 27 percent who said they were not allowed to dress in line with their gender. The Trevor Project's data show that nearly a third of these students (32 percent) missed at least one day of school in the last month because of safety concerns. The 74 reported that 25 percent missed 16 or more days last year. It also reported that 9 percent were treated so badly that they left their school for good.

"School environments can play a powerful role in determining whether transgender and nonbinary students thrive or struggle at school," said Derrick Matthews, director of research science at The Trevor Project. He said the data also point to "clear and impactful actions that teachers and school officials can take" to help these students. The brief lists steps like asking about and respecting pronouns, teaching about LGBTQ+ topics, and supporting student-led groups such as Gender-Sexuality Alliances.

Some students want teachers to do more. Shweta Moorthy, director of research and best practices at Glisten, described a pattern she called "negative neutrality." In it, teachers are not hostile, but they also do not actively support students. The Trevor Project's data show that many of these students act on their own. More than half (51 percent) had led at least one activism activity. Among students of color, 75 percent had taken part in or led activism.

Colorado releases 2026 CMAS math and literacy scores

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

Colorado released its 2026 CMAS state test results to the public on August 19, 2026. The results were mixed. Math scores went up in every grade tested. But literacy results moved in different directions by grade, according to the state education department and reporting by Chalkbeat.

The biggest split was in reading. Fourth and fifth graders improved, while sixth, seventh, and eighth graders declined. Fourth grade had the largest reading gain. About 47% of fourth graders met or exceeded expectations in 2026, up from 42% in 2025. Fifth grade rose to about 50% from 48%. Sixth grade went the other way. It fell to 41.6% from 44.2%.

Education Commissioner Susana Cordova gave a possible reason for the middle school drop. She spoke at a press conference, Chalkbeat reported. Colorado has focused a lot on helping young children learn to read, she said. But those methods are not stressed in middle school. She said teacher training for older grades is mostly about teaching literature and nonfiction, not phonics or helping struggling readers catch up.

Math went up across the board, and eighth graders gained the most. The share of eighth graders meeting or exceeding expectations rose to 37.8% in 2026 from 34.7% in 2025, the data shows. Cordova said students had the most ground to make up in math after the pandemic. "For many students, math might have been harder to stick with during the school disruptions of the pandemic," she said.

State officials also asked people to read the numbers with care. Students score in one of five levels. The state counts only those who met or exceeded expectations as on track. But officials said students in the approaching level may still work near grade level. Christina Wirth-Hawkins, the department's chief assessment officer, said students approaching expectations in literacy can read grade-level texts. They may still struggle to show what they understand in writing, which the test also measures. Using the standard count, 40.8% of third graders met or exceeded literacy expectations this past spring. That figure rose to 60.5% when students who approached expectations were added, according to Chalkbeat.

Big gaps between student groups stayed. In math, about 50% of white students in grades 3 through 8 met or exceeded expectations statewide. That compares with 21.6% of Black students and 19.4% of Hispanic students, Chalkbeat reported. Gaps also stayed based on family income, disability status, and whether students are learning English as a second language.

Wirth-Hawkins summed up the results. The story of the scores "is one of progress, but also one of continued work ahead," she said.

Families could see confidential student-level results starting May 27. Districts and schools got data files in May and June to help plan for the 2026-27 school year, the department said. CMAS is given to students in grades 3 through 8. It serves as a benchmark for how well Colorado students are learning.

Common Sense survey finds AI eroding student learning habits

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 08:30:01 GMT

Most American teenagers now use artificial intelligence for schoolwork. But few are being taught how to use it, and many use it in ways that can shortcut their own learning. That is the picture from a new survey by Common Sense Media. The nonprofit released its report, 'Teens in the AI Era: Schoolwork and Skills That Matter,' on August 18, 2026. It is based on answers from 1,017 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17. They were surveyed in April and May 2026.

The survey found that 70% of teens use AI for schoolwork. Among those who do, 63% say they go straight to a chatbot for an answer instead of working it out themselves. Of that group, Common Sense reported that 25% use the answer as-is, 31% rewrite it to sound like their own voice, and 35% improve it with what they already know. Michael Robb, head of research at Common Sense, said this pattern worries him most. 'But using AI to get answers in various forms, even if you think you're using it in a way that seems less harmful, can still undermine learning,' he said.

Teens do not only lean on AI for answers. Among those who use it, 77% say they use it as a support tool, such as for brainstorming, checking their work, or getting feedback on writing. And 66% say it helps them understand schoolwork, not just finish faster. The 77% and 63% shares add up to more than 100%. According to The 74, that is because many teens use AI in different ways at different times, depending on the assignment. So the two figures describe overlapping behavior, not two separate groups.

Some teens see a cost to their own thinking. Among those who use AI, 38% say having it available leads them to come up with fewer of their own ideas. And 39% say they feel like they are missing out on learning when they use AI to finish assignments.

Even so, few teens report getting much guidance. The 74 reported that fewer than one in three teens say a teacher has ever talked with them about using AI safely. Just one in four say a teacher has discussed how to tell whether AI answers are accurate.

Bans do not seem to close that gap. Common Sense found that among teens who use AI for schoolwork, 44% have had an AI tool blocked on a school network or device. Of those teens, 59% simply switched to a personal device to get around the block. Robb also said many schools are not clear about their rules. According to the wire report from Sinclair's National News Desk, more than a third of teens do not understand their school's rules on AI. And 28% said the rules vary a lot from teacher to teacher.

Asked which skills will matter most in the future, teens named ones they said AI cannot or should not replace. These included working well with others (55%), fact-checking and critical thinking (50%), and reading and understanding complex information (48%).

The findings sit next to earlier data. The 74 reported that a College Board survey last fall found the share of high schoolers using AI for schoolwork had climbed to 84%. That is higher than the 70% in this survey, though the two studies looked at different groups of students.

Common Sense released the report along with a new K-12 Digital Literacy and Well-Being Curriculum. It includes AI-focused lessons for high school. The Sinclair report added that, according to data from Playlab Learning Hub, 37 states had published some form of AI guidance or framework as of June 2026. Five of those states require districts to adopt their own AI policies.

NYC revamps school survey revealing student vaping and inclusion patterns

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 08:30:02 GMT

New York City Public Schools shared results from its redesigned 2026 school survey this week, according to Chalkbeat. The new questions produced some striking figures, such as how often students say classmates vape. But officials gave a warning. These numbers cannot be compared with past years.

The Education Department rewrote the student survey in summer 2025, its official results page said. The team used simpler words and more direct questions. Officials said the change was so big that the 2026 results form a new baseline, not a trend. So a figure like vaping shows a starting point. It does not show whether the problem grew or shrank.

The department made a similar point about lower scores. Its redesign explainer said, "You may notice lower favorability scores on some items compared to prior years. This does not necessarily mean things got worse." The explainer said lower scores often reflect students answering more directly and precisely under the new language, not a change in classroom reality.

Officials cut the student survey to 61 questions from 79 the year before, according to Chalkbeat. They also added new questions about vaping, bathroom access matching gender identity, and connecting learning to the real world. The changes seem to have helped participation. More than 357,000 students in grades 6-12 took the 2026 survey, up 3 points from last year's student participation rate, officials said this week.

On vaping, more than a third of students said it is common. Chalkbeat reported that 19% said students vape very often and 16% said often. Those answers add to about 35%, which is more than a third. Answers differed by group. About 39% of female students said peers vape often or very often, compared with 32% of male students. Answers also differed by grade. Just 19% of sixth graders reported vaping as an issue, compared with 45% of ninth graders, who saw the most. Schools varied even more. Nearly three-quarters of students at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts reported frequent vaping, according to Chalkbeat. Just 11% did at University Neighborhood High School.

The two official sources gave different end dates for the survey. The launch announcement said it opened February 9, 2026 and would run through April 1. The official results page later said it ran from February 9 through April 30, 2026.

Because the survey changed so much, the Education Department said the 2026 results should not be compared with prior years. They will serve as the baseline going forward. The department also said it plans to revise the remaining family and teacher surveys in future years.

Graduate 313 launches Detroit neighborhood college access hubs

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

The Detroit College Access Network (DCAN) wants many more Detroiters to earn a college degree or a job credential. This week it opened its first Graduate 313 hub, WXYZ reports. DCAN runs it with the Jamie and Denise Jacob Family Foundation. WXYZ reports the ribbon-cutting was on Wednesday. The hub sits on Plymouth Road near Evergreen Avenue on Detroit's west side.

DCAN works under Michigan's "60 by 30" goal. The state wants 60% of residents to hold a degree or credential by 2030. Detroit is far below that mark. DCAN executive director Cyekeia Lee told WXYZ that in Detroit "that number is 18 percent."

The hub's near-term reach is much smaller than the state goal. Last year, DCAN helped about 2,800 people with no building, WXYZ reports. Now it expects to help 5,000 people over the next year or so. That count covers the west side hub and a planned east side hub. Reaching 5,000 people would not, on its own, take Detroit from 18% to the 60% goal. The reporting does not say the plan is meant to close that whole gap.

The hub gives residents one place to get help. It serves people from middle school through adulthood. WXYZ reports it offers one-on-one advising, emergency grants, and college field trips. Lee said neighborhood resources can help "dispel myths" and "eliminate barriers."

Graduate 313 is backed by a $3.5 million investment from the Jacob Family Foundation. The Michigan Advance reports this is an initial three-year commitment. The General Motors Foundation and the Rocket Community Fund also helped. Megan Fenkell, the foundation's executive director, told the Michigan Advance: "We wondered what would happen if there was a place in Detroit that students all the way from middle school to adult learners could go where they could get the support to get to and through college (or) return to college."

Jasmine Brooks is DCAN's senior director of community hubs. She told WXYZ: "It's a one stop shop coming in here and you're going to be able to have the access and resources that you need, based on who you are and how you come to the table." The Michigan Advance reports the sites were picked through "asset mapping." The goal is to place hubs people can reach by walking, car, or city bus. It also aims to change a pattern in which residents tend to stay on their own side of the city.

According to the Michigan Advance, the east side hub will use space in the former Winans Academy of Performing Arts building. It will be an "impact partner" within Anchor Detroit, a community hub built by Life Remodeled. Both hubs were expected to open this fall. Earlier, on July 27, 2026, Crain's Detroit Business reported the foundation's $3.5 million grant to expand Detroit college access through neighborhood hubs.

Chicago school board weighs ballot questions on new district revenue

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 20:30:02 GMT

The Chicago Board of Education is counting on money it does not have yet. A couple of weeks ago, most board members turned down staff layoffs, Chalkbeat Chicago reported. CEO Macquline King had proposed the layoffs. She called them a responsible way to handle the district's deficits after years of falling enrollment and a growing workforce. Instead, the board balanced its budget by assuming it would get more state money. The cited sources do not give a dollar amount for that money. If state lawmakers do not approve it during a November veto session, the district would likely face sharp midyear cuts, Chalkbeat reported.

On August 13, 2026, the board took a step that critics say does little to ease that pressure. It voted to put two nonbinding questions on the November 2026 ballot, Chalkbeat reported. One asks voters whether Illinois should create a statewide millionaires tax to fund education. The other asks whether the city should charge a penalty on owners of vacant land to raise money for Chicago Public Schools. Both are advisory. Neither would force the state or the city to enact the taxes or hand the money to the district, Chalkbeat reported.

Board members split over whether the questions were worth doing now. Che "Rhymefest" Smith, an independently elected member, questioned the rush, Chalkbeat reported. He said he was still checking the board's legal power to add the questions. He also said the questions include no plan for how the district would use the money. "If we're asking the state to amend our funding formula, we have to show we can govern responsibly and connect funding to student improvement," he said, according to Chalkbeat.

Supporters saw it differently. Board President Sean Harden said the board should chase more urgent fixes but also let voters weigh in on longer-term ideas, Chalkbeat reported. He called the moment a "window of opportunity" that was "pretty short in nature." Board Vice President Angel Velez backed the effort. He pointed to the gap between what Illinois calls "adequate" funding and what CPS receives. "This is fundamentally about how we build the public support needed to move our schools from scarcity to adequacy," he said, according to Chalkbeat.

The plan moved fast. On August 10, 2026, the board's chief of staff, Fae Rabin, emailed members, Chalkbeat reported. She cited a 2011 law that lets the board place advisory questions on the ballot by a simple majority vote. The board reviewed the two questions at an agenda review meeting on August 12, 2026, Chalkbeat reported. The special meeting was held on August 13, 2026, at the CPS Loop Office at 42 West Madison Street, according to the board's meeting notice. It first lacked a quorum, Chalkbeat reported. Some members who came accused their colleagues of boycotting to derail the questions. The meeting was reconvened at 11:15 a.m., with two supporters joining online, according to the board's meeting notice and Chalkbeat. The board then voted to add both questions.

The next deadline is close. The city Board of Elections must approve the questions by Monday, August 17, 2026, for them to reach the November ballot, Chalkbeat reported. Supporters hoped the questions could pressure state and city leaders, Chalkbeat reported. A similar effort has already failed. Last spring, a binding millionaires tax measure did not make it through the state legislature, Chalkbeat reported.

Indiana third grade reading scores surpass pre-pandemic levels

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 20:30:02 GMT

Indiana's third grade reading scores passed their pre-pandemic level for the first time. But the state is still far from the goal it set for 2027. On August 11, 2026, state officials released the 2025-26 IREAD results at the State Board of Education's August meeting in Indianapolis. Chalkbeat reported that 88.7 percent of third graders passed the state reading test, up from 87.3 percent in 2019. WFYI reported that the score rose 1.5 points from last year, the fifth straight year of gains. Even so, the rate is 6.3 points below the 95 percent that officials want all students to reach by 2027, Chalkbeat reported. It is also below the test's all-time high of 91.4 percent, set in 2012-13, the test's first year.

Behind the higher rate, thousands of children still struggle. The pass rate covers nearly 72,000 of the more than 81,100 third graders tested, Chalkbeat reported. It also counts students who passed the test in second grade. WFYI reported that 9,194 third graders were still not reading at grade level by the end of third grade. That number lines up with the roughly 9,100 who did not pass. Gov. Mike Braun said, "Five consecutive years of literacy gains show what's possible when we stay focused on getting every Hoosier child on the path to success," according to WFYI.

Results varied by student group. Chalkbeat reported that the pass rate for Black students rose from 76.1 percent in 2025 to over 80 percent in 2026. That is above their 2019 rate of 74.2 percent and 18 points above their 2021 pandemic low of 62 percent. Hispanic students' rate jumped nearly eight points to 76.1 percent. That is still just below their 2019 rate of 78.1 percent, per Chalkbeat. Among students who get free or reduced-price meals, 84.1 percent passed, up from 82.6 percent in 2025. WFYI reported that scores rose for almost every racial group, except American Indian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students.

State officials pointed to recent changes as the reason for the gains. Students now get up to five chances to pass the test in second and third grade, Chalkbeat reported. The state has also required reading training for some elementary teachers and paid for tutoring and coaching. Jenner credited testing in second grade, which helps teachers find struggling readers sooner, WFYI reported. She also credited the state's literacy cadre, which places reading coaches in schools. Chalkbeat reported that second grade pass rates rose from 48 percent in 2025 to 62 percent this year, and that those scores will count toward next year's IREAD results.

What happens to students who do not pass is not yet clear. Last year, 3,040 students repeated third grade after failing the test, out of 84,000 tested, Chalkbeat reported. How many will be held back in 2026-27 is unknown, and the department has not released data on who was retained. WFYI reported that the 2026 results will be used for the first time in the state's new A-to-F school grading formula, after a five-year pause.

Indiana releases revised ILEARN scores showing flat proficiency rates

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 20:30:02 GMT

Indiana released its 2026 ILEARN test scores on August 11, 2026. About 42% of students in grades 3 through 8 passed the English section, and about 43% passed in math, according to Chalkbeat. WFYI put the math figure a little higher, at 42.7%, and agreed on 42% for English. The two numbers describe the same results, reported slightly differently.

For the first time, these scores will help set the A-to-F letter grades that Indiana schools receive (Chalkbeat). At the same August 11 meeting, the State Board of Education approved new passing scores for the ILEARN (Chalkbeat).

State officials warned that the scores should not be compared to past years. Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said the test and the state's standards have both changed lately. A 2022 law told Indiana to trim its K-12 standards, and the test format changed too (WFYI). This was also the first year that all students took three ILEARN checkpoints during the year, followed by a shorter end-of-year test (Chalkbeat). Jenner said the exam is hard and lines up well with a federal test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. "We have a very tough assessment, tough standards," Jenner said.

The clearest strain showed up in math. Passing rates fell as students got older. Just over half of third and fourth graders passed the math section. That share dropped through the middle grades, down to about 34% of eighth graders (Chalkbeat). English was steadier. It held near 41% in third grade and rose a little to 44% by eighth grade (Chalkbeat). Ana Shults, the department's chief academic officer, tied the math pattern to early gaps. "The difference is in math, that if you have cracks in your foundation early, the ripple effect that that has on all other skills is harder and harder to recover from," Shults said.

The scores also showed gaps between groups of students. About 29% of students who got subsidized meals, a federal marker of poverty, passed the English section. Among students who did not get those meals, 53% passed (Chalkbeat). The state did not release school-level ILEARN data at the meeting, and officials did not say why (Chalkbeat).

Officials also shared IREAD and SAT results. On the IREAD third-grade reading exam, 88.7% of third graders passed. That was up 1.5 percentage points and marked a fifth straight year of gains, though WFYI reported the gain was smaller than last year's jump. The rate still left 9,194 students not reading at grade level by the end of third grade (WFYI). Governor Mike Braun said the state did more than recover. "Our reading scores haven't just recovered from the pandemic. They've surged," Braun said. The 88.7% rate passed the pre-pandemic mark of 87.3% from 2018-19. But it stayed below the state's all-time high of 91.4%, set in 2013 (WFYI).

On the SAT, which all Indiana juniors take, 52% of students met the college-ready mark in reading and writing, and 26% met it in math (Chalkbeat). Another 9% were close to the mark in reading and writing, and 22% were close in math (Chalkbeat). The SAT counts on its own for 10% of a school's grade. Both the ILEARN and the SAT will now feed the state's new A-to-F grades (Chalkbeat).

IPS board candidate lacks required Democratic primary voting history

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:30:01 GMT

A new Indiana law lets school board candidates list a party on the ballot. In one Indianapolis Public Schools race, that same law could push both candidates off the November 2026 ballot, WFYI reported. District 4 has only two candidates, Lindsey Cornett and Chris Bultman. Both filed as Democrats. Both have had that label challenged this summer. This is the first election under the 2025 law. Marion County's board is likely the first in the state to rule on such a case, WFYI reported.

The fight turns on two sets of words that do not match. The law says a candidate must have voted in the party's last two primaries, Chalkbeat reported. The Indiana Election Division reads it another way. It says the rule means the last two primaries a person actually voted in, not the last two overall, WFYI reported. The state's candidate guide uses that looser wording. If the board picks the stricter reading, both candidates could be removed, WFYI reported.

Marion County records show Cornett voted in just one Indiana Democratic primary, in May 2026, Chalkbeat reported. The law asks for two. In a statement Friday, Cornett said she thought she had voted in her last two Indiana primaries when she filed. "I have since learned that while I had voted in the Democratic party primary in 2026, I had not voted in the 2024 primary," she said. "Because I believed I qualified as a Democrat, I did not seek certification from the county chair." She said she is a proud Democrat but would run with no party if she had to, Chalkbeat reported.

The two outlets describe Bultman's record in different ways. Chalkbeat reported that his two most recent Democratic primaries were in 2026 and 2020. WFYI reported that county records showed he voted only in the 2026 Democratic primary. Bultman now holds the District 4 seat. He was appointed to it in June, WFYI reported. His challenge came from Isaiah Tworek. It turns on whether his voting history lets him run as a Democrat, Chalkbeat reported.

The challenge to Cornett was filed July 1. It listed several reasons, including her right to run as a Democrat, WFYI reported. A second challenge, against Bultman, came later. The board's lawyer advised it to handle both together. Late last month, the three-member board voted, all in favor, to postpone both challenges until it gets guidance on the law, according to Chalkbeat and WFYI. "First, thank you General Assembly, because this seems clear as mud," said Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell.

What happens to a candidate who loses the party label is not settled. Indiana's Election Administrator's Manual says the board can remove a candidate who is successfully challenged over party, WFYI reported. It is not clear if such a candidate could instead stay on the ballot with no party, Chalkbeat reported. Candidates with no party go to the bottom of the ballot list, per Chalkbeat. Candidates who run as independents or with a minor party cannot be challenged over party at all, WFYI noted.

New Mexico judge orders Meta to fund youth harm abatement

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram. The court found that its platforms contributed to harms to young people in the state, and it ordered the fund to help address those harms, according to CNBC. Judge Bryan Biedscheid issued the ruling late Thursday, August 6, 2026, the Associated Press reported. He also ordered changes to how Meta runs its apps.

The full amount Meta now owes in the case is about $942 million. That total combines the new $567 million fund with $375 million in civil penalties. A jury ordered those penalties in March 2026, according to the Associated Press. The two amounts are separate. Added together, they reach about $942 million. The Associated Press reported that this total is a small fraction of Meta's profit, which was about $60 billion in 2025.

The order is also far below what the state had sought. Meta said in a financial filing that the New Mexico Attorney General planned to seek up to $62.85 billion in penalties, according to CNBC. The cited sources do not explain how the court moved from that request to about $942 million. So it is not clear how much of that gap the ruling closes.

Investors seemed to shrug off the ruling, the Associated Press reported. Meta's stock fell less than half a percent, to $589.44, in after-hours trading.

Some experts call the case social media's "Big Tobacco" moment, according to CNBC. In the 1990s, tobacco companies were forced to pay billions of dollars for misleading the public about their products. CNBC reported that their power then fell sharply. Whether this ruling will weaken Meta in the same way is not yet clear.

Most of the fund, $420 million, will pay for treatment services for young people, according to CNBC. This $420 million is part of the $567 million fund, not an extra cost. The rest will pay for awareness, prevention, screening, and referrals. The money will be spent over the next five years, according to the Associated Press.

The court also ordered changes to Meta's apps. It told Facebook and Instagram to build banner and information screens. These screens must clearly explain the apps' safety tools. Meta must also run an educational campaign in New Mexico. The state can review these changes, according to the Associated Press.

Federal law limited some steps the court could take. Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the court could not order Meta to collect personal data from children under 13, even for age checks, according to the Associated Press. The court also said singling out Meta alone for age checks would be unfair to the company. Instead, it ordered Meta to keep improving its age tools in New Mexico. These tools use artificial intelligence to guess a user's age. Meta must also try to build a special under-13 prediction model within the next two years, the Associated Press reported.

Judge Biedscheid wrote that Meta's platforms are "a significant contributing factor" to the mental health crisis among the state's youth, according to CNBC. He added that Meta "is not alone in this regard." He also wrote that expert testimony supported a link between social media and that crisis.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez praised the ruling. "Today's decision is a victory for every parent who has worried about what social media is doing to their child and every child who deserves to grow up safer online," he said. Meta disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal, according to CNBC. A company spokesperson said, "We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content." The spokesperson said Meta stays confident in its record of protecting teens online.

The case began when Torrez sued Meta in 2023, after an undercover operation, according to CNBC. The first phase ended with the jury verdict in March 2026. A second phase then decided the remedies. It began in May, according to CNBC. The judge ruled on August 6. It is one of many lawsuits Meta faces over how children use its apps, according to CNBC.

NYC reading proficiency falls sharply amid literacy curriculum shift

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 20:30:01 GMT

New York's early 2025-26 state test results show a sharp drop in reading scores for students in grades 3 through 8. Some testing experts say the drop is so big that it raises questions about the tests, not just about how much students learned.

The New York State Education Department released the preliminary data. Chalkbeat reported it came out Friday. The data showed that 48 percent of students statewide were proficient in reading. That is down about 5 percentage points from the year before. Math proficiency was 57 percent, a small gain. Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8 was 47 percent. The department said the results are preliminary until districts review and verify them.

The City Reporter, republishing Chalkbeat, reported on August 6, 2026 that the statewide reading drop was unusual. Statewide, fifth grade reading fell about 14 points. That was the largest drop of any grade.

On August 7, 2026, Chalkbeat reported on New York City. The city enrolls nearly 40 percent of the state's public school students. About half of city students in grades 3 through 8 were proficient in reading, a drop of 6 points. City math scores were flat at 57 percent. The reading drops were steepest in the early grades. Chalkbeat reported that city third graders fell nearly 14 points, fourth graders fell nearly 6 points, and fifth graders fell 13 points.

These numbers stand out because scores had moved the other way the year before. In New York City, Chalkbeat reported that this year's 6-point reading drop nearly erases a 7-point rise the year before. Statewide, fifth grade reading had soared 13 points the year before, then fell about 14 points this year. City officials had pointed to last year's rise as proof that the new reading programs were working. This year's reversal makes that claim harder to judge.

The drop comes as schools change how they teach reading. Chalkbeat reported that New York City is in its fourth year of a big change to reading lessons. Elementary schools must use approved lesson plans that officials say match the science of reading. That is a body of evidence about how children learn to read. Both Chalkbeat and The City Reporter noted that many things shape test scores. Scores alone cannot prove whether one policy is working.

Several experts told Chalkbeat that the swings are unusual. "Data doesn't usually look like that," said Emily Oster, an economics professor at Brown University who has studied test results. "Those are pretty big year-on-year swings." Aaron Pallas, a professor at Teachers College, said the pattern makes him worry about "something unusual in the 2024 test and how it was scored." He added that without the 2024 data, "we'd say things are pretty stable." The City Reporter noted that in 2024 the state lowered the number of questions students needed to answer correctly to be marked proficient. State officials said that change was standard and did not make the test easier. Andrew Ho, a Harvard professor who is paid to advise the state on its tests, said "the safe bet is that there was a real gain and a real decline." He said neither may be as big as the numbers imply.

Officials said they are taking the results seriously. "School leaders across New York City are seeing dramatic swings in literacy proficiency reflected in this year's state assessment results," schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said in a statement. He called for careful, rigorous analysis. State spokesperson JP O'Hare said the department "will not minimize or attempt to explain away what the data tell us." He added, "When scores increase, we report that progress. When they decline, we report that as well." The advocacy group EdTrust-New York called for an independent audit of the last three years of state testing data.

The state education department said it will release all final state assessment data in early November. Chalkbeat reported that Mayor Zohran Mamdani has vowed to continue the reading and math overhauls. It also reported that in May he announced plans to expand the math curriculum rule into elementary schools.

Philadelphia board scrutinizes Renaissance charter enrollment amid school closures

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 20:30:01 GMT

Philadelphia's Board of Education is closing 17 district schools starting next year. Now some board members say the city's charter schools should get the same close look, Chalkbeat reported. They spoke at the board's July 23, 2026 meeting.

The board voted to renew the charter of Universal Audenried Charter High School. Only 20% of its students live in the neighborhood the school was built to serve, Chalkbeat reported. Board member Joyce Wilkerson called for a review of the city's 16 Renaissance charter schools. "The time has come for us to get a handle on what's going on," she said, according to Chalkbeat.

The Renaissance Initiative began in 2010. The district handed some of its schools to charter operators, Chalkbeat reported. These charters were meant to work like neighborhood schools. They would serve students who live nearby, in what is called the catchment area. The program largely has not worked, according to Chalkbeat. Enrollment is shrinking across the city. So many Renaissance charters fill empty seats with students from other neighborhoods, Chalkbeat reported. That means enrolling students who might otherwise go to their own district school. It also raises competition for students, Chalkbeat reported. At half of the Renaissance schools, most students came from outside the catchment last school year, a Chalkbeat analysis of district data found.

Universal Audenried had the highest out-of-catchment enrollment, Chalkbeat reported. Its old charter deal set a limit for the 2025-26 school year. The school could only add new students who lived in its zone or who were siblings of current students. The school did not meet that condition, Chalkbeat reported. The board voted to renew the charter, according to Chalkbeat. Wilkerson said, "That's not the reason this school was created." Board President Reginald Streater praised the school's improved test scores. But he agreed the board needs to face the Renaissance question. He said members should look at whether the program is doing what it set out to do, according to Chalkbeat.

Penny Nixon is CEO of Universal Charter Schools, which runs Universal Audenried. In a statement, she said the board's discussion "presents an opportunity for meaningful dialogue about how we, together, can continue strengthening neighborhood enrollment." She said the school cannot control where families choose to enroll. But she said it works to give neighborhood families access. Open seats serve other Philadelphia students when local demand does not fill the school, she said, according to Chalkbeat.

At the same meeting, the board voted 7 to 2 to begin the nonrenewal of Philadelphia Montessori Charter School. The school has run in Southwest Philadelphia since 2004. It serves 228 students in a building on Island Avenue, according to the Inquirer and KYW Newsradio. Board Vice President Sarah-Ashley Andrews said the school's students have shown low scores in math and English. She said "student academic growth has not kept pace with state expectations." In 2024-25, the most recent year with data, 18% of students met state standards in reading and 12% met them in math, the Inquirer reported. Board member ChauWing Lam noted the school has had five leaders since 2020. He said there was little or no sign that performance would improve soon.

The school's leaders disagreed. Executive Director Amanda Wilson asked the board to wait. She said state and federal lawsuits over the district's charter review process are still pending. "There is no emergency," she said. "There is no deadline requiring a vote before the courts have had the opportunity to weigh in on the significant legal issues surrounding this charter renewal process." The district's general counsel, Lynn Rauch, said both courts had issued rulings that let the board vote.

The 7 to 2 vote does not close the school right away. Nonrenewal starts a long process, the Inquirer reported. First, the board names a hearing officer. Then comes a formal hearing with witnesses and evidence. The officer writes a report. Finally, the board votes again on what to do next. That process can take years. The school will keep running in the meantime.

IPEC hires charter school policy veteran as executive director

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:30:01 GMT

A new city agency now has power over both Indianapolis Public Schools and most of the city's charter schools. On July 22, 2026, its board chose a charter school veteran to lead it. The nine-member board voted to approve Karega Rausch as the first executive director of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC. The vote was unanimous. Chalkbeat and WFYI both reported the news.

Rausch's hiring tips the board's balance of experience further toward charter schools, Chalkbeat reported. WFYI reported that most board members have charter ties. Four are charter school leaders. The board chair founded The Mind Trust, WFYI reported. That nonprofit works to grow the city's charter sector. WFYI also reported that some supporters of traditional public schools have taken issue with this heavy charter influence on the board.

Rausch answered by pointing to his past work with IPS. WFYI reported that he worked with the district under former Superintendent Eugene White. He led the "What's Possible" initiative. WFYI reported that this effort led IPS to set aside money for preschool for the first time. Rausch also called himself a bridge builder. "I've sought to listen carefully, communicate clearly, and build consensus around meaningful outcomes for kids and families," he said, according to both outlets.

The board will lead big changes for IPS and most city charter schools, according to WFYI. These include transportation, building decisions, and a new accountability system. Chalkbeat reported that the system will judge schools on academic results, student growth, enrollment, and finance and governance. It will not give schools one overall score. Board member Edward Rangel said that choice partly avoids confusion with the state's new system. Rangel led the group writing the framework. He said IPEC will not decide whether a school stays open. "A school's existence is not our discretion," he said. "Resource allocation does lie with IPEC." Chalkbeat reported that the framework would let IPEC reassign buildings that are under-enrolled. HEA 1423 is the law that created IPEC. Chalkbeat reported that this law lets IPEC appeal to the State Board of Education if an operator refuses to close a low-performing school.

Rausch has spent the last decade as president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. WFYI reported that he plans to leave that job and work for IPEC full time. Earlier, he led the Indianapolis mayor's charter school office from 2007 to 2011, WFYI reported. He also chaired the Indiana Charter School Board. He was the Indianapolis director for Stand for Children, an education advocacy nonprofit, WFYI reported.

Mayor Joe Hogsett recommended Rausch. WFYI reported that Hogsett interviewed each finalist and then chose him. Hogsett said in a statement, "This leadership decision brings exactly the combination of local commitment, national expertise, and operational discipline that this moment demands." Rausch was chosen from a pool of 36 applicants and a list of six finalists. WFYI reported that the finalists included two current IPS administrators and IPS school board member Deandra Thompson, who also sits on IPEC.

Several dates are set. Chalkbeat reported that an update on the accountability system is due to lawmakers on August 1, 2026. Stakeholder meetings are expected throughout August 2026. A final draft is due in November 2026. The system is expected to take effect in the 2028-29 school year. The board next meets on August 12, 2026.

Rausch's start date and salary have not been set. Chalkbeat reported that the board first needed to approve the hire. The board extended acting director Michael O'Connor's contract to September 1, 2026. Chair David Harris will negotiate and post those terms. The listed salary range for the job was $235,000 to $325,000.

CTU teachers urge Chicago board to reject budget cuts

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:30:01 GMT

Teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union want the Chicago Board of Education to reject the district's $9.88 billion budget plan. But Chicago Public Schools says the plan must pass so it can pay its staff this fall. That split was clear on July 20, when more than a dozen teachers and the union spoke against the plan at one of two required budget hearings, Chalkbeat reported.

CPS CEO Macquline King told Chalkbeat the budget needs to pass. "We really need the budget to pass because ultimately we do not want to disrupt services to our students," she said. King said there is urgency for the district to make payroll in the fall. She called the plan "very painful" and said proposing furloughs was the hardest choice her team made, Chalkbeat reported.

CPS shared the plan the week before the hearing, Chalkbeat reported. It includes furloughs for all staff and a spending freeze in the middle of the coming school year. The plan is meant to help close a budget gap. Chalkbeat reported the gap as $732.5 million. ABC7 Chicago reported it as $720 million.

The union says the furloughs would fall on staff professional development days. It estimates they would mean a 2.3% pay cut for its members, Chalkbeat reported. Emila Zoko, acting CPS budget director, said the furloughs and the spending freeze are "options of last resort," Chalkbeat reported. Zoko said they could be avoided if the district gets $200 million more in revenue, such as tax increment financing (TIF) surplus from the city. CPS is already counting on $200 million in TIF surplus in this plan. So the amount Zoko described would come on top of that. The sources do not say whether this extra $200 million would close the full budget gap, so the two figures should not be assumed to cover the whole gap.

The district is already laying off more than 760 teachers and about 800 paraprofessionals, Chalkbeat reported. It expects to rehire most of them at schools with openings. On ABC7, King said well over half of the laid-off teachers are expected to be offered new jobs. In a system that employs about 37,000 people in schools, the district would cut a net total of 164 school-based workers, Chalkbeat reported. It also laid off 162 central office and citywide workers earlier this month.

Teachers said the cuts would make current problems worse. One teacher in the Austin neighborhood said staff across four grades at her school had received layoff notices, Chalkbeat reported. She said one class could end up with as many as 47 students. That number would break the union's contract with the district.

The union made two main demands, Chalkbeat reported. It said the state should hold a special legislative session and raise money for schools. It also said CPS should sue Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas over tax bills that arrive late again and again, which delays money the district counts on. District leaders want the board to approve the plan within ten days of the hearing, by July 30, according to Chalkbeat.

IPEC names six finalists for executive director role

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 17:36:44 GMT

The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC, named six finalists for its top job on July 16, 2026, WFYI and Chalkbeat reported. Each finalist wants to be the group's executive director. That person would run IPEC day to day.

The timing matters. IPEC is a new board, and the mayor picks its members. This year it took key money powers from the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board, WFYI reported. The new director would start during a hard stretch. In November, IPEC will ask voters to approve a property tax increase, WFYI reported. It would raise $95 million a year for four years. Even so, the board says the money will not close a budget gap at IPS, according to WFYI. Neither report says how big that gap is. So it is not clear how much would be left unfilled. WFYI reported that the money would be split among the district and 60 charter schools, based on how many students each one has.

The job pays between $235,000 and $325,000 a year, WFYI and Chalkbeat reported. The director reports to the IPEC board. WFYI reported that the director would also oversee big changes. These include one shared transportation system, possible school closures, and a new way to grade schools.

Acting director Michael O'Connor said the board received 36 applications. "So I think 36 applications was a pretty vibrant list of interested folks," he told WFYI.

A board working group chose the six finalists, WFYI reported. But Mayor Joe Hogsett will interview them and pick one. Under the 2026 law that created IPEC, the board must then approve his choice.

Chalkbeat named the six finalists. Karega Rausch leads the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and once ran charter policy in the mayor's office. Andrew Strope is the IPS deputy superintendent. Zach Mulholland is the IPS executive director of operations. Deandra Thompson sits on both the IPEC board and the IPS board, and she started a STEM pre-K program. Carolene Mays is a former state lawmaker who once led the White River State Park Development Commission. Patrick McAlister once directed the Indianapolis Mayor's Office of Education Innovation.

Several dates are set. The IPEC board meets next on July 22 at 4 p.m. in room 260 of the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Building, Chalkbeat reported. Chalkbeat also reported that the board must send state lawmakers an update on its new school grading system by August 1. A final version is due November 1. The tax vote comes in November, per WFYI and Chalkbeat.

CPS $9.88 billion budget mixes staff cuts with one-year furlough savings

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:09:33 GMT

Chicago Public Schools released a proposed $9.88 billion budget on July 15. It mixes two different kinds of savings. Staff cuts can lower costs beyond this school year, while five furlough days would save money only once. Danny Vesecky of the Civic Federation described that split to Chalkbeat, which reported the total for 2026-27.

CPS began with a $732.5 million deficit this summer. District leaders said layoffs, added revenue, and other savings took a $450 million bite out of it, Chalkbeat reported. Subtracting those figures leaves $282.5 million. CPS also raised the amount it expects from the city's tax increment financing program, known as TIF, from $100 million to $200 million. Chalkbeat reported both figures but did not provide a line-by-line bridge showing whether the $200 million projection is part of the $450 million total.

The district is laying off about 760 teachers and 800 school-based support staff this week, according to Chalkbeat. CBS News reported 801 teachers' aides. Officials said most are likely to find open jobs at other schools. Last year, CPS sent layoff notices to 1,450 employees, and officials said about 75% were rehired. More than 160 central office and citywide administrators were also laid off on Friday. CPS said those cuts will save about $18 million.

At the school level, CPS will have fewer general education teachers. The district raised student-to-teacher ratios by one student. It plans to add bilingual teachers. It will also add special education teachers and classroom assistants. The plan cut assistant principals from small schools. CPS has not publicly disclosed campus budget allocations, Chalkbeat reported.

The five furlough days would save about $85 million this year. They would fall on days when students are out of school and teachers would otherwise have training. Vesecky called the furloughs a reasonable but temporary step because they will not reduce district costs or deficits in future years, Chalkbeat reported. CPS also plans to freeze some hiring and spending in the second half of the year unless more city or state revenue arrives.

The $200 million TIF projection would require the Chicago City Council to declare a surplus, CBS News reported. CPS received more than $500 million in TIF money last year, a record amount. District officials told Chalkbeat they used a lower projection this year to be more conservative.

Schools chief Macquline King called the budget process "painful for everyone all the way around," according to Chalkbeat. The Chicago Teachers Union called the plan "dead on arrival," CBS News reported. The union and the district's principals union said the cuts would hurt students. The teachers union also sent CPS two letters demanding bargaining over staffing cuts.

The proposal now moves into public review. CPS asked the Chicago Board of Education to approve the final budget by July 30. District officials said that timing would let CPS borrow against future tax revenue during a Cook County property tax delay, Chalkbeat reported.

NYC Council approves $10,000 payment to school paraprofessionals

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 22:10:20 GMT

The New York City Council voted 49 to 0 to approve a one-time $10,000 payment to most public school paraprofessionals, according to the Council's legislation record. Paraprofessionals work in jobs with students, Chalkbeat reports. The money goes to most of these workers, but not all of them, according to Chalkbeat. Council member Carmen de la Rosa sponsored the bill, and union leader Michael Mulgrew backed it, Chalkbeat reports. But Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not support the payment. Chalkbeat reports that he called the bill a "direct violation" of the Taylor Law, a state labor law. He said pay questions should be settled through collective bargaining. The payment is one-time, so it is not the same as a raise to yearly pay.

NYC mayor expands preschool special education with $67.5 million investment

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:30:02 GMT

On July 14, 2026, New York City shared a big plan to expand special education into preschool. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced it together. The mayor's office said the city will spend $67.5 million to bring special education into pre-K classrooms across 14 of the city's 32 school districts. The plan grows five programs that already exist. They are called Nest, Horizon, AIMS, Path, and ACES. Chalkbeat reported that these programs already serve older students and that many families want spots in them. Demand is high. CBS News reported that the money will help children get into the program earlier and closer to home. The74million noted that New York City runs the largest public school system in the country. So this change could reach many young children and their families.

Gallup poll shows US college confidence drops to 38 percent

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:22:45 GMT

This week, Gallup and the Lumina Foundation released a new poll about how Americans view colleges and universities. Gallup found that 38 percent of U.S. adults now express a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in higher education, down from 42 percent in 2025. That marks a decline. Inside Higher Ed reported that the drop was sharpest among Democrats, whose confidence fell to a record low for that group. Courtney Brown, Lumina's vice president of impact and planning, discussed the findings and what they reveal about public trust. The 74 reported that college confidence has slipped for several years. It has not recovered.