At a time when natural disasters are growing in frequency and causing major disruptions to school communities nationwide, the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) has released a playbook this month to help schools prepare and recover from severe weather events. The playbook provides guidance from analyzing previous school district responses to…
On January 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) signed a joint motion to dismiss an appeal in a lawsuit that sought to allow it to move ahead with its anti-DEI policy. In abandoning its appeal, the agency signaled that it’s effectively stepping back from trying to enforce the policy. In…
On January 14, 2026, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 was signed into law. The bipartisan legislation permits schools to provide whole milk and nondairy beverage options in federally subsidized school meals. School districts are currently permitted to only serve fat-free and low-fat milks in school meals…
The number of school shootings continued its downward trend in 2025 with a recorded 233 incidents, which is the lowest number since 2020, when 116 school shootings took place at elementary and secondary private and public schools, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. Additionally, the number of shooting victims…
In response to a letter from a coalition that includes AASA, The School Superintendents Association, The Consortium for School Networking and national teacher’s unions including the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on January 15, 2026…
On January 14, 2026. the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced a string of Title IX investigations into state and local school systems with policies that allow transgender students to play on sports teams aligning with their gender identity. The 18 investigations come just a day after the U.S. Supreme…
As reported by K-12 Dive, Character.AI and Google have agreed to mediate a settlement with the mother of a 14-year-old who died by suicide after interacting with Character.AI’s artificial intelligence companion. In an October 2024 wrongful death lawsuit against the tech companies the child's mother alleged Character.AI was negligent in…
On January 13, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court (Court) heard arguments concerning laws in West Virginia and Idaho that bar transgender students from participating in girls' or women's sports. In previous lower court rulings, lower court injunctions allowed an athlete form each state to continue to compete in sports. However,…
To limit reliance on ultra-processed foods in school meals, a majority of school nutrition directors report needing additional resources that include funding, menu development, culinary training, staffing, and equipment and infrastructure, according to survey data released on January 6, 2026 by the School Nutrition Association (SNA). The survey was conducted…
In a drastic and unprecedented decision that was made in response to a directive from President Donald Trump, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will now universally recommend 11 vaccines instead of the previous 17, a move that the Department for Health and Human Services said would better…
