CHEERS
The New York Board of Regents will consider proposed regulations aligning teacher prep programs with the state’s science of reading framework, reports Alex Zimmerman. And in another blue state, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed new science of reading literacy training requirements into law, which will strengthen teacher training programs in addition to continued funding for training, literacy coaches, and approved curricula.
—
I’ve argued for years that disparate impact analysis is a terrible tool for tying discipline numbers to civil rights enforcement, so kudos to the federal Department of Education, which rescinded portions of Title VI regulations last week to ban exactly that. Mark Walsh and Stephen Sawchuk detail how the topic shifted with the whims of the past few administrations, and share Secretary Linda McMahon’s statement “that the rescissions ‘ensure teachers retain control over their classrooms without fearing weaponized antidiscrimination laws’ that would require them to make race a factor in disciplinary decisions.”
JEERS
Several years ago, Oregon’s state legislature inexplicably banned school districts from issuing truancy citations. Thankfully, Malheur County defied the ban and, in the process, posted the state’s best attendance numbers. Yet the state education department does not support bringing back the tool to keep kids in the classroom amid a chronic absenteeism crisis, and the state’s teachers union opposes “punitive actions” when kids don’t show up for school. Political pressure may be mounting, reports James Neff, with state senator Christine Drazan—running for governor—calling for the reevaluation of “every available tool” for the state that ranks near-last in the nation for reading and math achievement.
Editor's note: This was first published on Mike Petrilli's Substack, SCHOOLED, a twice-weekly free Substack and email newsletter restarting the education-reform conversation.
-
Sharp analysis of the week’s biggest K–12 debates
-
Curated commentary from across the ed-policy world
-
Lively discussion—including reader reactions and pushback
