So much to know…
*** About private school choice via vouchers that go toward private school tuition:
- Congress has approved billions of dollars of federal tax credits, and 28 states have agreed to participate.
- In Florida, 500,000 students, less than 15% of the state’s school students, have signed on.
- In Arizona, more than 100,000 K-12 students participate, and
- Ohio now invests more than $1 billion in private school choice, with 140,000 students now receiving state-funded vouchers.
*** About using public funds to enroll students in private schools or pay for home-schooling:
- An Education Week analysis found that 18 states now have such programs in place.
- 5 million students participate in school choice programs offered in 30 states.
- To date, some 49.3 million students attend public schools.
*** According to a recent Education Week 2021 survey:
- 90% of public schools provide a tech device to both middle school and high school students, along with 80% of elementary students.
*** Nationwide, parents are opting their children out of using school-issued Chromebooks and iPads, concerned about distractions and inappropriate content. Says parent Julie Frumin, “I want them [students] to be taught through humans. I want the teachers to teach my kids.” And she won!
*** As for technology and AI, teacher Chanea Bond says, “If you walk into almost any one of my classes, you will see all of my students handwriting and journaling, and constantly doing everything with a pen or a pencil… It’s less harmful to me to make sure that they can do things without AI than to try to push AI into my classroom knowing that, at least for some of them, it’s going to mean that they don’t get to acquire the skills that they need.”
*** About special education…
- The number of students with disabilities, 3 through 21, rose 3.8% to 301,991 students—in 2024, with…
- 2 million students qualify for services under IDEA, and 458,920 infants and toddlers receive services under IDEA Part C.
- The number of IDEA special ed students receiving services rose 12.6% between 2019 and 2024.
*** According to a February Hechinger Report of more than 2,000 parents…
- More than 70% said they trust grades more than tests when making decisions about their children.
- Less than 9% said they have more confidence in test results.
- 40% believe tests are biased.
- Almost 30% think test scores reflect family income.
- Less than 20% believe test results reflect their child’s skills.
*** Recently, the Supreme Court, in Mirabelli v. Bonta, ruled that “California’s policies… substantially interfere with the rights of parents to guide the religious development of their children, and that they have a constitutional right to be informed when their children socially transition or express gender nonconformity at school;” and that not doing so would be “violating parents’ right to direct the upbringing of the education of their children.”
*** According to a recent EdWeek Research Center survey that asked teachers if their homework assignments had increased, decreased, or stayed about the same over the past 2 years:
- 40% said it had decreased.
- 33% said it had remained the same.
- 25% said they don’t assign any homework BECAUSE:
- 47% said their students refuse to do it.
- 29% said their students use such tech as AI to complete homework.
- 28% expressed equity concerns because some kids can get help but not others.
*** According to a recent EdWeek Research Center survey of educators:
- 51% said “they’d received NO professional development on how to work with English language learners, their parents, or families.
- Less the 50% said the instructions/professional development were sufficient.
- Just 10% of states address the needs of English language learners in depth, although 45 states and D.C. mandate evidence-based reading instruction.
*** About recess, the CDC finds that…
- In the 2001-02 school year, elementary kids enjoyed 36.8 playground minutes every day.
- In 2026, recess time fell to 20 to 30 minutes.
- Just 26% of elementary teachers said their students have recess two times a day.
- Only 12% said they get recess more than twice a day, and
- 80% of high school teachers and 49% of middle school teachers said their students don’t get any allotted recess time.
~ With thanks, Carol
