In response to a GAO report released on December 6, 2023, the US Department of Education (USDE) “will be taking expeditious steps” to update its family engagement guidance. The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says current federal family engagement guidance is outdated and confusing. The GAO, known…
After it missed an October deadline for disseminating two anticipated Title IX regulations that are expected to significantly impact school policies, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is being urged by Democrat lawmakers to finalize and release those highly-anticipated regulations. According to a Nov. 30 letter to Education Secretary Cardona…
According to an updated policy statement released by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (USDE) released on November 28, 2023, 55% of preschoolers with disabilities get special education services in classrooms separate from their peers. It goes on to say that young children with disabilities should…
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, with only 21 states reporting, over 2 million children were disenrolled from Medicaid in those 21 states as of November 14th. Overall, and as predicted by researchers, about 70% of those disenrollments occurred because of procedural reasons (e.g., states having outdated contact information for…
In a Wednesday, November 15, 2023 press conference, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona expressed strong concerns regarding analyses of the national data collection from the 2020-21 school year through the U.S. Education Department’s (USDE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Data Collection. The data from the mandatory survey of preK-12 public…
As reported by K-12 Dive, on October 30, 2023 the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and White House issued a joint “Dear colleague” letter urging schools to protect students from substance abuse and drug poisonings by providing preventative education and preparing for opioid overdoses. In fact, overdose deaths among teens…
It’s been nearly two years since the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) approved the first registered teacher apprenticeship program between Tennessee’s Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Austin Peay State University. In fact, at last month's 57th Annual NAPSA Conference our attendees were treated to a presentation by those who implemented…
Citing an overwhelming number of comments to sift through, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) missed its October deadline to finalize two proposed sets of Title IX regulations (i.e., athletics and broader Title IX guidance). The original deadline was actually May 2023, and USDE has yet to announce a new…
Due to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) final rule that took effect on October 26, 2023, approximately 3,000 more school districts will be eligible to serve free breakfasts and lunches to all students under an expansion of the Community Eligibility Provision. The final rule amends the Community Eligibility Provision’s…
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, last school year’s influenza season was more severe for children and youth and also started earlier than most previous seasons. The report showed cases emerged in early October 2022 and peaked in late November and December. Rates of flu-related medical visits…
