Latest U.S. Department of Education News

Today in History: September 27, Taliban take power in Afghanistan

Sep. 27, 2023 00:01 AM EDT

Today in History Today is Wednesday, Sept. 27, the 270th day of 2022. There are 95 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Sept. 27, 1996, in Afghanistan, the Taliban, a band of former seminary students, drove the government of...

The 'science of reading' swept reforms into classrooms nationwide. What about math?

Sep. 12, 2023 12:28 PM EDT

For much of her teaching career, Carrie Stark relied on math games to engage her students, assuming they would pick up concepts like multiplication by seeing them in action. The kids had fun, but the lessons never stuck. A few years ago she shifted her approach, turning to more...

Puerto Rico's public schools clamor for air conditioning to get relief from record-breaking heat

Sep. 08, 2023 08:39 AM EDT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Public school teacher Ángel Muñiz grabbed a thermometer and thrust it into the camera as someone recorded him inside his classroom this week. “It is about 99 degrees (37 C),” he said in a video posted on social media as seven fans whirred noisily...

Children hit hardest by the pandemic are now the big kids at school. Many still need reading help

Sep. 02, 2023 00:14 AM EDT

They were the kids most disrupted by the pandemic, the ones who were still learning to write their names and tie their shoes when schools shut down in the spring of 2020. Now, they’re the big kids at elementary schools across the United States. Many still need profound help...

Students with disabilities in Pennsylvania will get more time in school under settlement

Aug. 31, 2023 18:09 PM EDT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Students with disabilities in Pennsylvania will now receive free support through the public education system for an additional year beyond what current policy dictates. Under a settlement announced Thursday, the state's Department of Education will change its...

Editorial Roundup: South Dakota

Aug. 23, 2023 18:37 PM EDT

Madison Daily Leader. August 17, 2023. Editorial: ‘Teacher Pathway’ has roots at Dakota State Among the many industries short of qualified professionals is teaching. South Dakota’s K-12 teacher shortage is notable and needs immediate attention. ...

Georgia school district is banning books, citing sexual content, after firing a teacher

Aug. 22, 2023 19:37 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's second-largest school district says that it has removed two books from 20 school libraries, saying the books had “highly inappropriate, sexually explicit content.” The announcement, sent in an electronic message to parents in some Cobb County schools on...

Editorial Roundup: Iowa

Aug. 21, 2023 13:45 PM EDT

Des Moines Register. August 20, 2023. Editorial: Somehow, Iowa is making an awful book-banning law even worse State government made this mess and state government needs to clean it up. That way, schools can, in the short term, focus on teaching children, instead of on...

Louisiana education officials note post-pandemic improvement in LEAP test scores

Aug. 02, 2023 14:22 PM EDT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana education officials say a measure of state students’ overall proficiency in key subjects increased 2 percentage points for the 2022-23 school year, the state Department of Education said Wednesday. The department's release of results from the...

Kentucky education commissioner leaving for job at Western Michigan University

Jul. 31, 2023 14:12 PM EDT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's education commissioner is leaving to take a job at a university in Michigan. Commissioner of Education Jason Glass said Monday that he will step down on Sept. 29 to become an associate vice president of teaching and learning at Western Michigan...