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DACA teachers across the country embrace SCOTUS ruling allowing them to ‘live, work without fear’

Bilingual special education teacher Karen Reyes was in her Austin, Texas, home, using sign language to tell a story about an elephant and a pig to her 4- and 5-year-old students, when the text messages started rolling in. Not yet, she thought to herself, trying to stay calm, aware of the kids watching her over...
By Zoë Kirsch | June 22, 2020
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Education groups rejoice as Supreme Court blocks Trump efforts to end DACA program, but warn decision is merely ‘first step’

Education groups cheered a Supreme Court opinion Thursday that blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to end a program that provides work authorization and deportation relief to some 650,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children. The administration’s move to terminate the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program — in...
By Mark Keierleber | June 19, 2020
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Sullivan: Unless we act now, the students most disadvantaged by school closures will be even more so when schools reopen

Although we aren’t yet through the worst of the pandemic, there are signs that our collective efforts to “flatten the curve” have not been in vain. We can begin to look forward with some hope to the gradual return of normal life. For many of us in education, our thoughts are focused on what comes...
By Joan Sullivan | June 18, 2020
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Rotherham: Kick out school resource officers? Sure. But counselors must be brought in to take their place

The killing of George Floyd is rightfully sparking a hard and overdue look at the American relationship with law enforcement, in particular, about race and policing. In the education world, that means the role of police in schools — especially school resource officers, or SROs — is again under scrutiny. When schools in Minneapolis announced...
By Andrew Rotherham | June 17, 2020
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California joins 17 other states in suing to block DeVos’s changes to Title IX sexual misconduct rules

Democratic attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit June 4 against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, attempting to block regulations passed last month restricting sexual misconduct cases falling under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination. The state of New York also submitted its own complaint. The policy, scheduled to...
By Zoë Kirsch | June 16, 2020
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Berens: With students learning remotely from home, now is a great time for parents to teach their children a better work ethic

With every breakdown comes the possibility of a breakthrough. I live by these words in my personal life as a parent and spouse; in my professional life as a mentor and parent coach; and in my career as a scientist-educator working with kids. Breakdowns are a part of life. They offer powerful learning opportunities. We...
By Kimberly Nix Berens | June 15, 2020
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From Los Angeles to New York City, ‘defunding the police’ — and shifting resources from law enforcement to schools — gains momentum

Fueled by protestors’ calls to remake urban police forces in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, officials from New York City to Los Angeles are trying to steer funds once earmarked for law enforcement toward education. While the efforts face several obstacles — a move to transfer $4 million from the police to schools in...
By Jo Napolitano | June 12, 2020
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A school built on stagecraft: Los Angeles performing arts program boasts dance, music — and outstanding special ed

Over the next several weeks, LA School Report will be publishing stories reported and written before the coronavirus pandemic. Their publication was sidelined when schools across the country abruptly closed, but we are sharing them now because the information and innovations they highlight remain relevant to our understanding of education. Author’s note: This school profile...
By Beth Hawkins | June 11, 2020
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Teacher Spotlight: Manuel Albert on why he cares about motivating male high school students of color and how mentoring can be a game changer

Over the next several weeks, LA School Report will be publishing stories reported and written before the coronavirus pandemic. Their publication was sidelined when schools across the country abruptly closed, but we are sharing them now because the information and innovations they highlight remain relevant to our understanding of education. This interview is one in...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | June 10, 2020
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A mom’s view: I believe teaching children to be kind, caring and aware of diversity can change the world. That’s why I founded a school

George Floyd was unarmed and complying with officers. Breonna Taylor was asleep in her home. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a run. They all became victims because of the color of their skin. Now, frustrations are boiling over across the country. In my home of Los Angeles, peaceful protests intended to raise voices against systemic...
By Rebecca Nurick | June 9, 2020