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Recent Editions
Education Slice
National
The Trump administration is withholding more than $2bn in congressionally approved education funding through the federal budget apportionment process, raising concerns about delays, disrupted grant competitions, and potential cuts to dozens of K-12 and higher education programs. According to publicly available budget documents reviewed by Education Week, the Office of Management and Budget has yet to release most or all fiscal 2026 funding for 35 Education Department grant programs, including support for teacher training, education research, community schools, magnet schools, arts education, and Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native education initiatives. Many of the affected programs are ones the Trump administration has repeatedly proposed eliminating or consolidating into broader state block grants. In some cases, only small portions of funding have been released for administrative expenses, while other programs still show zero allocated funding despite Congress approving the money in February. Advocates and grant recipients warned that prolonged delays could force organizations to pause programs, reduce services, or lay off staff if competitions for new grants are not launched soon. Some programs have begun accepting applications, offering limited reassurance, though uncertainty remains over whether funds will ultimately be distributed. The administration has argued that apportionment is necessary to ensure spending aligns with presidential priorities and federal law, while critics say the process is being used to sidestep Congress and effectively freeze legally approved spending. Legal experts noted that previous administrations routinely released education funding shortly after budgets were passed, making the current delays highly unusual.
Full Issue
Education Slice
California
A new EdChoice survey of over 1,000 K–12 teachers finds that educators primarily rely on direct communication with students (58%) and classroom observation (52%) to assess student success, while traditional metrics such as tests, quizzes, and homework rank lower (44%), and standardized tests are used by just 17%. Teachers also view student reflections and completed projects as the strongest indicators of “durable skills” like teamwork and adaptability, whereas parents place relatively more emphasis on standardized testing. The findings reflect a broader shift toward valuing social-emotional learning and soft skills over purely academic metrics. Despite mixed sentiment about the state of education nationally, teachers report more positive views within their own classrooms, with many expressing purpose and optimism, although over a quarter feel overwhelmed and only 22% would recommend the profession. The survey also highlights concerns around technology, with strong support for online learning tools but widespread opposition to cell phones and growing skepticism toward AI, which most teachers believe should be approached cautiously even as students develop critical thinking skills for its use.
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Education Slice
Texas
The largest study on school cell phone bans, conducted by scholars from Stanford University, Duke University, The University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania, reveals mixed outcomes. While teachers reported fewer distractions when students locked their phones away, the study found little evidence of improved academic performance or behavior. Thomas Dee, a Stanford economist and co-leader of the study, said: “We wanted to leverage the data from Yondr because it gives us much more confidence that in-school use of phones is actually being restricted.” The study analyzed data from about 4,600 schools and highlighted that while phone bans reduced usage significantly, they initially led to increased suspension rates and a dip in student well-being. However, by the third year, students' well-being improved, suggesting that the long-term effects of these bans may be more positive than initially observed. Dee emphasized the importance of maintaining these bans to help students realize their academic potential.
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Education Slice
Florida
Canvas, used by more than 8,000 universities and K-12 schools, was disabled for several hours Thursday after ShinyHunters claimed a breach at parent company Instructure. The outage hit schools including Harvard and the University of Michigan as students prepared for or took finals. Instructure said most users had regained access late Thursday, though Canvas Beta and Canvas Test remained in maintenance. The company disclosed a “cybersecurity incident perpetrated by a criminal threat actor” on May 1. Steve Proud, Instructure’s chief information security officer, said compromised data included names, email addresses, student ID numbers and Canvas messages, but not passwords, birthdays, government identifiers or financial information. ShinyHunters claimed access to data from more than 275m people across nearly 9,000 schools and threatened further leaks.
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