Education News Update » 04-14-26

Avery Jones
April 14, 2026

OTHER STORIES

Texas Considers Required Reading List for Schools, Which Includes the Bible

NYTimes


Literacy Grant Produces Big Gains for Black and Poor Students in D.C.

WPost


Lessons Learned for Schools From Artemis II

EdWeek


First Grants Announced Under Labor and Education Partnership

K12Dive


Trump Administration to End Civil Rights Settlements for Transgender Students

WPost

Promising Teacher PD

According to a new government report, teacher collaboration is one of the few approaches to professional development backed by both emerging research and the teachers themselves. The Education Department has released a letter encouraging districts to use Title II funding to pay for professional development of this type: collaborative planning blocks and schedules, team-based training and evaluation strategies, and stipends for lead or guest teachers. Federal support for collaborative teaching could encourage more states and districts to improve the scheduling, mentoring, and evaluation structures needed to support formal teacher collaboration. EdWeek

Eroding Education Access

Recent federal and state immigration policies have increased enforcement actions involving minors, including arrests and monitoring of children near or in schools. Some states are proposing laws to exclude undocumented children from public education or track their immigration status, directly challenging the Supreme Court ruling in Plyler v. Doe. To date, none of these efforts have succeeded, but many state officials continue their campaign against undocumented students. These policies create fear among immigrant families and may discourage them from enrolling children in school, threatening progress toward equal access to education. Brookings

Curriculum Year Zero

When rolling out a new math curriculum, the year before launch — or “Year 0” — is more important than the launch year itself, according to a new case study from the National Math Improvement Project that examines how both New York City Public Schools and the School District of Philadelphia handled pre-implementation planning. The case study chronicles how both districts built the foundations of their efforts during Year 0 through teacher buy-in, feedback loops, family engagement, aligned professional development, and communities of practice across schools. One district chief from Philadelphia said, “It has to be a people-centered process, interacting with stakeholders to understand their needs.” K12Dive

These summaries are abbreviated highlights from the original articles. While we strive to capture key insights, these do not represent the full text or intent of the authors. We encourage readers to explore the full articles linked above for complete context.