NATIONAL NEWS

House lawmakers introduce legislation to shield schools against hackers

A group of bipartisan House members led by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) has introduced legislation intended to protect K-12 institutions from cyberattacks. The Enhancing K-12 Cybersecurity Act would appropriate $10m yearly for the next two years to fund a K-12 Cybersecurity Technology Improvement Program to protect school networks from security risks. The program would be established by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and run by an information sharing organization, and would also direct the body to establish a cybersecurity incident registry to track cyberattacks on K-12 institutions, and help schools share best practices and increase security of critical systems. K-12 institutions have increasingly been targeted by hackers in recent years, with these institutions seen as more vulnerable due to aging systems. The K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center tracked 408 cyber incidents that hit U.S. K-12 institutions over the last year, a number the group described as “record-breaking.”

The Hill 

STATE NEWS

Distance learning preliminary injunction denied in California

At a hearing last week, an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled to deny requests by parent groups for a preliminary injunction made in May that would have forced the state to take immediate action to improve distance learning conditions, such as closing the digital divide and providing students with mental health services. The ruling is the latest step in an ongoing lawsuit filed by a coalition of parents, students, and parent advocacy groups in districts including Los Angeles and Oakland against the state of California. The groups allege that education during the COVID-19 pandemic was inadequate and failed to comply with the state’s constitution. Judge Winnefred Smith denied the parent groups’ request for the preliminary injunction, writing that “the court is reluctant to address long-term issues through the short term of a preliminary injunction.”

Ed Source 

DISTRICTS

Two Marin schools to integrate after years of segregation

After years of debate over funding and segregation, the Sausalito Marin City School District will merge its controversial charter school with its largely Black traditional public school, in what will be the state’s first mandated school desegregation effort in 50 years. The unification plan, which will create a K-8 school across the two campuses this fall, will combine two disparate school communities sharing the same ZIP code, but divided by race, income and Highway 101. On one side is Sausalito, a 92% white community known for its restaurants, art galleries, houseboats and luxury homes overlooking San Francisco Bay, where the median income is $112,000 and a district charter school serves 346 K-8 students. On the other is Marin City, where African American shipbuilders settled during World War II, a community that’s 60% people of color with a public housing complex and a median income of $45,841, where a traditional public school serves 111 K-8 students. As of July 1st, the former Willow Creek campus will become the district’s new K-5 school, while Bayside MLK will enroll middle school students as well as preschoolers.

San Francisco Chronicle 

Plan to hold ethnic studies, critical race theory town halls in Rossmoor up for debate

Rossmoor’s elected leaders will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, June 22, to discuss, and possibly vote on, the Orange County Board of Education plan to hold town halls about ethnic studies in their small community later in the summer. The county Board of Education chose Rossmoor’s Rush Park auditorium as a town hall site at the suggestion of board member Mari Barke, a Rossmoor resident. She has called ethnic studies and critical race theory “a concerning curriculum.” Board President Ken Williams recently labeled it a “terrible curriculum that’s going to divide America.” Some Rossmoor residents have complained that their unincorporated community, which sits on the north edge of the county, is an odd choice for countywide forums on controversial education topics. They fear the events will bring large crowds and accompanying traffic and parking problems. They also worry that the discussions could erupt into violence.

Orange County Register 

LEGAL

Third of educators support legislation restricting discussions on racism

As questions over whether and how racism should be discussed in the classroom continue to dominate headlines across the country, a new national EdWeek Research Center survey found that about a third of K-12 educators support legislative efforts to restrict classroom discussions on the topic. The survey, completed last month, found that while 59% of participating teachers, principals, and district leaders believe systemic racism exists, 23% said they do not believe so. Educators interviewed by Education Week largely said the survey results matched their experiences in schools, many of which have historically excluded these conversations. Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, who identifies as a 4th generation Montanan and has spoken out against critical race theory in schools, said in a statement that she and parents across Montana were “concerned that certain exercises and lessons based on critical race theory and similar ideologically driven teaching have the potential to discriminate against Montana students’ civil rights.” Nevertheless, its unclear to what degree K-12 educators are explicitly teaching the concepts of critical race theory, which originated from a framework for legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s. “Those would have to be some pretty advanced kids to read through [Richard] Delgado or [Kimberlé] Crenshaw, or Derrick Bell’s work,”  said Janel George, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.

Education Week 

OPERATIONS

Early grades make up big chunk of K-12 enrollment decline

America’s public school system lost almost 1.3m students this year, according to an Education Week analysis of state data, a loss that was spread out across the nation, touching almost every demographic group and concentrated in lower grades. The near-3% dip in the 2020-21 school year was likely fueled by the pandemic and the unusual ways school districts delivered instruction this year, which involved frequent switching between in-person, hybrid, and glitchy remote learning. “When you already have pre-existing issues like poverty and the digital divide, and then you shut down the one place that is positioned to help close those gaps, you probably see that most districts have experienced an enrollment drop,” said Sharlonda Buckman, the assistant superintendent of Detroit Public Schools. “Most of our children work best in a school building with their teachers with all of the assets that position them to do well in their schoolwork.” Most of the nation’s enrollment drop took place in the early grades. At least four states lost more than a third of their pre-K students, the largest of which was Washington state, where pre-K enrollment dropped by 42% this year. Kindergarten enrollment also took a big hit, with almost 20 states losing 10% or more of their kindergartners during the pandemic, compared to the 2019-20 school year. In most states, parents are not required to send students to kindergarten, which contributed to the enrollment drop, said Erin Simon, the assistant superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District. “We know that showing up to kindergarten is a key year for laying the foundation for future success,” said Hedy Chang, founder of Attendance Works, a national initiative that advocates for better public school attendance. “It’s where kids have a chance to not only gain their basic academic concepts, but also, socialization and social-emotional development.”

Education Week 

HIGHER EDUCATION

Mills College may combine with Northeastern

Nearly three months after Mills College announced it would cease conferring degrees in the next couple of years, Mills leaders announced a potential new partnership this week that would keep it going as an academic institution, albeit no longer as a women’s college. In a letter to the campus Thursday, college president Elizabeth Hillman announced the school administration “will begin formal discussions” with Northeastern University, a private research university based in Boston, Massachusetts. Mills would still cease to be an independent college, instead becoming Mills College at Northeastern University, Hillman wrote in the letter. Among the changes that would come from the partnership would be that Mills would go co-ed, Hillman said in her letter to the campus community. The college is still negotiating agreements with other universities to allow students to finish school elsewhere, Hillman wrote, adding that Mills will have more information on that option this fall.

East Bay Times 

TECHNOLOGY

Strategies to speed up computer science implementation

As states implement computer science standards, developing a computer science teacher pipeline is a must for districts seeking to take steps to accelerate the process. In some instances partner organizations, like CodeVa in Virginia, for example, can work with schools to develop the pipeline, by working it into other subject areas, merging data science and social studies to allow students to look at history through a data-driven lens. Additionally, Hour of Code activities allow students to learn about coding through short, interesting activities, such as creating animation to illustrate a story.

K-12 Dive 

TRANSPORTATION

Copper Development Association launches Electric School Bus Coalition

The Copper Development Association, a market development, engineering, and information services arm of the copper industry, has announced the launch of a new coalition dedicated to promoting the expansion of electric school bus fleets across the U.S. The Electric School Bus Coalition, a group of school bus manufacturers, NGOs and material providers, aims to drive adoption of electric bus fleets and the infrastructure needed to support them through education and actionable, market-driven policy development. “We’re honored and excited to support the transition to electric bus fleets, which will create jobs and infrastructure opportunities and highlight American manufacturing leadership,” said John Hipchen, director of energy and electrical systems at the Copper Development Association. “To reach these goals, we are calling for $25bn in federal grant funding (enough to replace 20% of the current diesel school bus fleet) as part of current infrastructure package negotiations.”

School Bus Fleet 

OTHER

LAUSD partners with Ava Duvernay's Array 101 for summer curriculum

The 2014 Oscar nominated film “Selma,” directed by Ava Duvernay, along with it’s companion study guide, Array 101, will be used as part of Los Angeles USD's summer curriculum. The film portrays Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s 1965 campaign for voting rights. Along with directing the film, Duvernay founded Array, a social change organization dedicated to amplifying films and shows made by people of color and women. Array 101 is a companion guide for education. LAUSD was already using Array’s companion guide in teaching resources. Now, they are Array’s first official school district partner.

CBS Los Angeles