NATIONAL NEWS Interior Secretary to address legacy of indigenous boarding schools U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and other federal officials are expected to announce steps that the federal government plans to take to reconcile the legacy of boarding school policies on Indigenous families and communities. Starting with the Indian Civilization Act of 1819, the U.S. enacted laws and policies to establish and support Indian boarding schools across the nation. For over 150 years, hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their communities and forced into boarding schools that focused on assimilation. Ms Haaland cited statistics from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, which reported that by 1926, more than 80% of Indigenous school-age children were attending boarding schools that were run either by the federal government or religious organizations. Besides providing resources and raising awareness, the coalition has been working to compile additional research on U.S. boarding schools and deaths that many say is sorely lacking. Ms Haaland has suggested that investments planned by the Biden administration and efforts to strengthen tribal sovereignty can help to heal the wrongs.
US News and World Report
DISTRICTS LA officials remind families of child tax credit As part of the nationwide Child Tax Credit Awareness Day of Action, Los Angeles USD Superintendent yesterday reminded families about the federal program, which offers qualified families with children to $3,000 per child six to 17 years old and $3,600 per child under six, beginning July 15th. The payments will be distributed in installments of up to $300 per month. “More than 80% of the families we serve, as well as a considerable number of Los Angeles Unified employees, are eligible to receive money under this program,” Mr. Beutner said. “We want to help the half-million families we serve receive the Child Tax Credit, which can provide them with up to $3,600 per child to help them make ends meet." Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, called the program a “truly transformative policy achievement within the American Rescue Plan,” adding that the average estimated benefit for 41,300 households in his district is $3,200, and families with children in poverty will receive about $4,100 on average
Los Angeles Daily News
NBC Los Angeles
Hollywood stars to advise LA film and television academy A new school specializing in movie and television production is coming to the Westlake District area of Los Angeles, with the backing of stars including George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington and Mindy Kaling. The Roybal School of Film and Television Production is slated to open in fall 2022, initially to ninth and 10th graders, before expanding over time to grades 11 and 12. “Our aim is to better reflect the diversity of our country. That means starting early. It means creating high school programs that teach young people about cameras, and editing and visual effects and sound and all the career opportunities that this industry has to offer. It means internships that lead to well-paying careers. It means understanding that we’re all in this together,” Mr. Clooney said.
Los Angeles Daily News
NBC Los Angeles
Coronado apologizes after tortillas thrown at opposing basketball team Coronado USD leaders apologized Sunday to Orange Glen High — a predominately Latino school in Escondido — after tortillas were hurled at the school's boys basketball team during an altercation in the aftermath of a championship game Saturday night. The tortilla throwing began as coaching staff from both sides argued after Coronado won 60-57 in overtime on its home court. “The Trustees of the Coronado USD acknowledge these acts to be egregious, demeaning and disrespectful,” the school board said in a letter to Orange Glen. The trustees said they condemned “the racism, classism and colorism which fueled the actions of the perpetrators.” The Coronado superintendent, Karl Mueller, said the incident was “reprehensible” and he promised “swift action” and accountability. The incident is also being investigated by Coronado police.
The Press Democrat
The Tribune
CHARTER Charter school files lawsuit against Montebello USD Montebello USD is being sued by the TIME Community Education charter school, accused of violating state law by charging too much for too little space to set up that school on the Montebello High School campus. In court papers, attorneys for TIME, short for Teamwork, Individualization, Mastery and Extension, argued the district is violating Proposition 39. The measure, approved by California voters in 2000, says school districts must make facilities — including both classroom and non-classroom spaces — available to charter schools serving students who reside in the district. The district offered TIME six classrooms in its “D Wing” on the southwest part of the campus and another 30,523 sq ft in shared space at various sites. TIME, which expects to enroll 260 students for fall, accepted the offer under protest at last week’s school board meeting. The deal is likely to negatively impact the fledgling charter school’s inaugural year, its attorneys, John C. Lemmo, Kevin M. Davis and P. Jacob Kozaczuk, wrote in the filing.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
LEGAL SCOTUS backs college athletes in NCAA compensation fight The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rule on Monday that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) may not bar payments to student-athletes. The decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, clears the way for colleges to provide more school-related perks to students like computers, musical instruments and internships; it did not directly touch on the issue of whether athletes may earn money for the use of their names, images and likenesses, but some legal experts say the case could be a prelude to challenges aimed more broadly at compensation restrictions on college athletes.
The Hill
New York Times
Reuters
Lawmakers seek to ban teaching of critical race theory In the wake of a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Education prioritizing racial, cultural and ethnic diversity in history and civics curriculum nationwide, state legislators are moving to ban the teaching critical race theory (CRT) in schools. The latest proposal came in Washington, D.C., where Rep. Glenn Grothman, a Republican lawmaker from Wisconsin, has introduced legislation to require that no employee of D.C. public and charter schools "shall compel a teacher or student to adopt, affirm, adhere to, or profess ideas that promote race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating." The bill is thought unlikely to pass; the nation's capital is under the authority of Congress, with both chambers in Democratic control. In Montana, meanwhile, Attorney General Austin Knudsen has issued a 25-page legal opinion characterizing critical CRT and antiracism. not as academic ideas but as potentially discriminatory ideologies propped up by universities, corporations, government agencies “and even late-night television.” “The CRT and ‘antiracism’ movements demonstrate that although ‘racism’ is widely understood and accepted as an epithet, it encompasses vastly different meanings for different people,” Knudsen wrote. “The gravamen of CRT and antiracism’s theories, however, rely on the popular shibboleths of ‘systemic,’ ‘institutional,’ or ‘structural’ racism. A minimal investigation into these claims exposes them as hollow rhetorical devices devoid of any legally sufficient rationale for purposes of civil rights law, as well as a threat to the stability of our institutions.”
Montana Free Press
Washington Examiner
EMPLOYMENT More school superintendents opting to step down More and more school superintendents are leaving their posts, far more than in a typical year, a result of the extraordinary challenges of keeping kids learning after schools closed in spring 2020 and serving as crisis managers for months on end while dealing with pandemic pressures on their own families. The departures are from the top spots in large cities, including the largest three, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, but also in many midsize and smaller districts in suburban and rural areas, according to AASA, the School Superintendents Association. The turnover this year has been unprecedented, superintendents say, with the usual job responsibilities and tensions exacerbated by crisis management and debates with communities and school boards over when and how to reopen schools during the pandemic. Conflicts over equity and education that addressed racial issues also boiled over, with superintendents often feeling the brunt of the disputes. Daniel Domenech, AASA’s executive director, who served as superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools from 1998 to 2004, said he can’t remember a time that was more fraught for those in the top leadership role in school districts. “In this environment, there’s no joy. It’s all like boom, boom, boom, constantly being hammered over one issue or another,” he said.
Washington Post
OPERATIONS Ways that librarians can support teachers and students amid reopenings As schools return to full-time, in-person learning, school librarians are in a unique position to lead efforts to incorporate social-emotional learning into back-to-school plans and help students reacclimate. “Some of the key facets of social-emotional learning — communication and social skills, inclusivity and community, growth mindset and problem-solving, character and kindness, and reflection — are all areas in which librarians can offer support schoolwide,” argues Liz Bowie, marketing content manager for library supplier Demco. To further support the development of SEL skills, school librarians can create displays of books and reading lists that highlight a wide range of perspectives, sharing literature that communicates the experiences of diverse populations, Ms. Bowie said. Librarians can also help teachers address social-emotional learning topics with the stories they select and read aloud to classes. These selections can help students cope with issues confronting them and their families, provide academic enrichment, inspire students to read on their own, and make children laugh to help them relax.
K-12 Dive
TECHNOLOGY Utilizing technology to assess student progress In a piece for Education Week Seth Feldman, superintendent of the Bay Area Technology School in Oakland, California discusses how his school supported its students through the pandemic by gathering and acting on "forward-looking data." The district uses two tools, Lexplore and i-Ready, to gather data three times a year. i-Ready is an adaptive assessment that takes 30-90 minutes each for math and reading to administer. Lexplore uses eye-tracking and artificial intelligence to assess reading skills in less than five minutes. It also provides information that a more traditional assessment simply can’t, such as fluency during silent reading and audio and video recordings of eye-tracking sessions. The tools create a data set to help understand where a student is, what they might be struggling with, and how they can be supported moving forward.
Education Week
OTHER How Betsy DeVos' legacy is manifest in schools Five months after former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos left office, an array of conservative politicians and advocacy groups is working to preserve her policy agenda. Her advocacy of charter schools, her efforts to change how accusations of sexual misconduct are treated, and her directives to promote a rosier view of American history and “patriotic” education, have been taken up by figures such as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). Mr. Paxton is defending DeVos’ Title IX rule from a barrage of lawsuits, while Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has signed a law creating the “1836 Project,” a reference to the year Texas declared independence from Mexico. Mr. Scott, a staunch supporter of school choice, made a strong case for the DeVos-era policy agenda item in his rebuttal to Biden’s first address to Congress in April. “I’m saddened that millions of kids have lost a year of learning when they could not afford to lose a single day,” he said. “Our public schools should have reopened months ago. Other countries’ did. Private and religious schools did.” A survey released by the American Federation for Children, which DeVos led before joining the Trump administration, in January found that 72% of K-12 parents who work full-time support school choice, and 79% support Education Freedom Scholarship legislation. The freedom scholarship measure, a favorite of DeVos, aimed to provide federal tax credits for donations to scholarship-granting organizations to pay for students to attend private schools or expand their public education options.
Politico
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