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One State Polls the Public on Whether to Reopen Schools

As Montana's governor pursues a plan to gradually reopen the state, the state education department is relying in part on public opinion to decide whether to reopen schools this year.




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Given the option, Montana schools choose to remain closed




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Trust Local School Leaders, a State Chief Says as Optional Reopening Date Nears

Montana Superintendent Elsie Arntzen offers practical advice to schools that could open as early as May 7, even as she says "how they open schools and how learning takes place is up to them."




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Tiny Montana school to be among first in US to reopen




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Montana unemployment claims decrease, some schools reopen




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Some Montana schools reopen; gyms, theaters can next week




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What if Hawaii's False Alarm Had Happened on a School Day?

Hawaii's schools are prepared to respond to ballistic missile threats, education officials wrote in a letter to parents after Saturday's false alarm.




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When Will The Birds Fly Free?: Education as Colonialism

The play made me ask the terrifying question that every educator asks themselves at some point: Am I actually helping my students?




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In Anticipation of Major Hurricane, Hawaii Shuts Down Public Schools

All of Hawaii's public schools were closed down last week in anticipation of a powerful hurricane.




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Hawaii Teachers Latest to Join Wave of Protests Over Funding

Hawaii teachers have joined the Red for Ed movement: Last week, dozens of teachers across the state staged a "walk-in" protest to spread awareness about what they see as a lack of funding for public schools.




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One State Is Overhauling Its Finance Technology After Long-Standing Fights, Glitches

State education departments' finance technology can cost millions to replace, but those systems are crucial for fiscal transparency and efficiency. Hawaii's is replacing its long-troubled system with a new one to go online this summer.




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Hawaii Settles Lawsuit on Illegal Age Limit for Special Education

About $8 million will be eligible for compensatory education to students who were affected by an illegal state-imposed age cap on special education enrollment.




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Hawaii Lawmakers Propose Legislation to Create Housing Vouchers for Teachers

Two proposed bills are intended to create a housing-voucher program for full-time teachers employed by the Hawaii education department or at public charter schools.




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Student Perspective: The True Meaning of Aloha

"Aloha" isn't just a greeting; in a way it is their way of life, and when you distort that sacred word, you distort their way of life.




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He's Fighting for Details on How Hawaii Spent $2 Billion on Its Schools

An activist's lawsuit is an example of how many states, because of outdated software, have trouble answering the public's demand to detail how billions of K-12 dollars are spent.




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Educational Opportunities and Performance in Hawaii

This Quality Counts 2019 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.




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The Art of Making Science Accessible and Relevant to All Students

Building science lessons around phenomena that students know equally and can see in their own lives is making the subject more relevant and interesting.




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Teachers, If You're Not OK Right Now, You're Not Alone

In desperately trying to be a superhero for my students, I underestimated the gravity of the coronavirus crisis, writes Hawaii teacher Lory Walker Peroff.




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Here's How Many Teaching Jobs Could Be Lost in Each State in a COVID-19 Recession

There could be an 8.4 percent reduction in the U.S. teaching corps, and some states could see reductions as large as 20 percent, according to a new analysis by the Learning Policy Institute.




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Educational Opportunities and Performance in Hawaii

This Quality Counts 2020 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.




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Hawaii gets $31M in relief funds, cash grants to students




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Hawaii unions push back at governor's salary cut proposal




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'Déjà Vu All Over Again' in New Jersey

New Jersey's Camden takeover in context.




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New Jersey Solicits Community Input on Later Middle, High School Start Times

State education officials are responding to a state law passed last year requiring them to solicit feedback from the community on the impact of implementing later school start times for middle and high school students.




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Newark Principals Speak Out, Get Suspended by Christie's Superintendent

Now Newark, New Jersey, is exploding, thanks to the attempts at intimidation by Governor Christie's hand-picked superintendent of schools, Cami Anderson.




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New Jersey Postpones PARCC Exam After Technical Problems

New Jersey is one of many states that have experienced problems with the online administering of standardized testing this year.




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Newark Group Presses on With Schools Boycott

Parents Unified for Local School Education New Jersey is calling for community-driven schools and opposes the One Newark reorganization plan.




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Christie Asks N.J. High Court to Revoke Teacher Tenure in Struggling Districts

The Christie administration is arguing that the only way to improve education in the state's poorest districts is to ditch teacher job protections.




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You'll Never Guess Which State Was Just Named the Best for Teachers

Here's a clue: the governor has said the teachers' unions need to be punched in the face.




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N.J. Supreme Court Rejects Gov. Christie's Motion to Replace Funding Formula

Gov. Christie has pushed to flatten the state's funding formula so that the state's impoverished urban districts would get the same amount of money wealthy suburban districts get.




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What Are the K-12 Policy Stakes in N.J. and Virginia Elections?

Education policy analysts are closely watching Tuesday's races for governor and state legislature in both states to see what messages about K-12 could resonate when many more states hold elections next year.




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In Response to Federal Feedback, N.J. Seeks Testing Waiver From ESSA

The state wants to test its middle school students in the mathematics courses in which they're enrolled, rather than with the state tests created for that each student's particular grade.




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Elementary School Tackles Tough Issues Through New Curriculum

Seek Academy in Newark, N.J., has added a social justice class for students in kindergarten through 4th grades to help them make sense of some of the most controversial issues of the day, including the "take the knee" debate.




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What Democratic Victories in Virginia and New Jersey Mean for K-12 Policy

Virginia Gov.-elect Ralph Northam has said he would further restrict that state's charter laws, and New Jersey Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has promised to pull the state out of the PARCC testing consortium.




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How Schools Will Overcome the 'Coronavirus Slide:' Ideas From 5 Superintendents

With many school buildings closed for the rest of the academic year—and more to follow—district leaders turn their attention to making up for what may be deep learning losses.




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HHS Audit Says New Jersey Must Pay Back Hundreds of Millions in Medicaid Funds

New Jersey used an incorrect method to calculate Medicaid reimbursements for services provided to students with disabilities, according to a federal audit, but the state disputes that claim.




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NJ Schools Closed Until at Least May 15, Gov. Murphy Says

New Jersey's schools will be closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak at least until May 15, Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday.




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Decision on NJ schools likely on Thursday, Murphy says




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Murphy tells Trump at White House NJ will need billions




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New Jersey schools to stay closed for rest of academic year




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Teacher's Facebook Post on Students' Social Media Secrets Goes Viral

Utah science teacher Skipper Coates asked her students to complete the following sentence: "What my parents don't know about social media is..."




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'Pay for Success' Funding Model Focus of Policy Toolkit

The Urban Institute released a toolkit aimed at policymakers and investors interested in using private dollars to pay for public programs, such as prekindergarten.




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Utah Ruling Highlights Sticky Issue of Partisan School Board Elections

In Florida, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, Republicans are arguing that candidates for local and state school boards should run on party tickets.




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Straight Up Conversation: A Community College and a University Rolled Into One

Utah Valley University offers career and technical education, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, and master's degrees under one roof, all for the average out-of-pocket tuition of $1,700.




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School Named for Andrew Jackson Changes Name to Honor Famed NASA Engineer

Mary Jackson's story is among those depicted in the book "Hidden Figures," which focused on the lives of black women who worked as mathematicians and engineers for NASA during the Space Race. Before landing there, Jackson worked as a math teacher in Maryland.




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Utah Will Ask for Test Participation Waiver From ESSA

Utah's state board members said last week that they support its state's test participation law which conflicts with the Every Student Succeeds Act.




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Utah Inflated Its High School Graduation Rate, Federal Watchdog Finds

Federal watchdogs find that Utah inflated its high school graduation rate in the last of a series of reports warning states not to make end runs around the rules for calculating graduation rates.




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Betsy DeVos OKs ESSA Plans for California, Utah

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos green-lighted California and Utah's plans to implement the Every Student Succeed Act. That means just one state is still waiting: Florida.




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With Waiver Denial, Utah Mulls Second Accountability System

Utah is one of four states where state laws conflict with components of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act meaning districts may have to answer to two separate accountability systems this fall.




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Utah to Drop $44 Million Contract With New Assessment Company

Utah education officials have abruptly canceled a $44 million contract with a Minnesota-based standardized-testing company amid a flurry of technological glitches that have created uncertainty about whether this year's test scores will be validated.