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USA
1st September 2026
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THE HOT STORY

Older immigrant students face uneven support across U.S. high schools

Immigrant students who enter U.S. high schools as older newcomers face significant barriers as schools seek to develop their English-language and academic skills within a limited timeframe, according to research from Brown University’s Annenberg Institute. The Massachusetts-focused study found wide variations in how districts place and support newcomers, while students can also face limited access to career and technical education, shortages of bilingual programs, delays in evaluating foreign transcripts, and graduation requirements that may be difficult to meet. Some districts have introduced flexible schedules to help students balance school and employment, but newcomer graduation rates continue to lag behind their peers, and some students who graduate do not attain high levels of English proficiency. Researchers and educators have also reported enrollment and attendance declines amid concerns over changes to federal immigration enforcement policies.

DIGITAL CURRICULUM

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DISTRICTS

Mamdani clashes with teachers union over school aide bonuses

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is challenging a law providing $10,000 bonuses to 25,000 school paraprofessionals, despite supporting the payments during his election campaign. Mamdani argues the $325m measure infringes on collective bargaining and comes amid tight budget constraints. The United Federation of Teachers says higher pay is needed to address 1,600 vacancies and retain staff supporting students with special needs. The dispute follows Mamdani’s move to delay a state mandate requiring smaller classes and additional teacher hiring because of rising costs.

Tennessee plans overhaul of school ratings ahead of 2027-28 academic year

Tennessee’s Department of Education is considering replacing its two parallel school accountability systems with a single system based on the state’s A-F letter grades, aiming to eliminate potentially conflicting assessments of school performance. The current state system places greater weight on academic proficiency, while the federal Every Student Succeeds Act framework emphasizes student growth and also considers graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, English-language proficiency, and performance among specific student groups. The department plans to spend the next year developing recommendations and gathering feedback, with a goal of finalizing a new system before the 2027-28 school year, although education advocates have called for broader public consultation and greater emphasis on student growth.

LEGAL

Pennsylvania families challenge school tech policy in federal court

Seven families have sued Lower Merion School District in federal court after the Pennsylvania district ended a policy allowing parents to opt their children out of internet-connected devices. The parents argue that mandatory technology use infringes on their rights to direct their children’s education and exposes students to risks including inappropriate online content, while the district denies the allegations and has introduced a new policy limiting device use in elementary schools. The lawsuit comes amid a broader push to reduce classroom screen time, although experts say similar litigation is unlikely to become widespread, with most disputes expected to be addressed through school boards, elections, and state policymaking.

POLICY

School phone bans improve well-being but not test scores

School cellphone bans are gaining support across the U.S., with more than two-thirds of states requiring districts to restrict their use. Research covering nearly 5,000 schools found locking phones away sharply reduced classroom use. Student well-being improved and disciplinary problems declined after two years. However, schools with bans in place for three years saw almost no improvement in test scores, classroom attention, attendance, chronic absenteeism or online bullying, suggesting the academic benefits remain limited.

TECHNOLOGY

OpenAI broadens K-12 AI program with 55 new school system partnerships

OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT for Teachers to 55 additional U.S. school systems across 20 states, providing nearly 140,000 more educators and staff with free access, training, and district-level implementation support. The program now covers 103 partner organizations across 30 states and more than 340,000 educators and staff, with participating systems serving over 2m students, although students do not receive accounts. OpenAI has also introduced a 15-state Data Privacy Agreement and expanded training and implementation support, while emphasizing that districts retain control over access and integrations, and teachers remain responsible for decisions involving student work.

FINANCE

CPS regains millions in federal funding after settlement

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will recover millions of dollars in federal magnet school funding following a settlement with the U.S. Department of Education. CPS sued in March after the Trump administration withdrew about $6m, citing district policies supporting Black and transgender students. CPS maintained the grants were terminated without due process despite its cooperation with federal civil rights investigations. The funding supported personalized learning and science, engineering and technology programs in high-need schools. CPS said the restored money will support continued magnet school programming.

NUTRITION

Des Moines schools keep free meals on track after nutrition center floods

Des Moines Public Schools will continue providing free meals to students after an 8-inch fire sprinkler pipe burst and flooded its Central Nutrition Center, which prepares thousands of meals each day for roughly 30,000 students across 60 buildings. Schools already had meals available through September 1 because the nutrition team works two days ahead, while the district is working with food distributors to maintain planned menus as closely as possible during cleanup and restoration. Families may temporarily see substitutions, menu changes, or fewer entrée choices, but the district said its no-cost meal program will continue for all students.

LEGISLATION

Abuse claims bill clears California legislature

California lawmakers passed Senate Bill 577, a compromise intended to preserve survivors’ ability to sue public institutions over childhood sexual assault while easing some financial pressure on schools and local governments. The measure rejects damage caps but raises the evidentiary standard for certain survivors over 40 and older cases involving destroyed records, requiring “clear and convincing” evidence and proof that an institution had actual knowledge of abuse. Public agencies must also adopt prevention plans by 2028, while attorneys bringing claims in bad faith could face $25,000 fines. Sen. John Laird said the legislation shows lawmakers “have strived to maintain balance.” Survivor advocates remain divided, with some praising the compromise and others warning the tougher evidence standard could prevent older survivors from obtaining justice.

EARLY YEARS

Preschool expansion raises questions over focus on early academics

Public pre-K programs are expanding across the U.S., but early-education researcher Dale C. Farran argues that many current preschool models place too much emphasis on structured academic instruction and not enough on language, executive function, social interaction, and play. Farran’s research, including a study of 2,990 low-income children in Tennessee, has found mixed long-term outcomes from public pre-K and suggests that early advantages in literacy can fade, while skills such as focus, persistence, communication, and social development are more important for continued learning. She advocates for more engaging, relatively unstructured activities, open-ended teacher interactions, and opportunities for children to communicate and solve problems rather than increasingly scripted curricula.

CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION

Award-winning education projects showcase speed and versatility of precast concrete

Precast concrete has played a central role in two award-winning U.S. education projects, allowing construction teams to work within tight schedules and challenging sites while delivering distinctive architectural designs. Denver’s Montbello High School has reopened following a $152m renovation and expansion of its 40-year-old campus, with the 277,694-square-foot project adding classroom wings, a gymnasium, and administrative space. The project used 198 insulated architectural precast concrete panels, with crews completing erection in just over a month despite working on a constrained residential site. At Villanova University in Pennsylvania, the $125m Drosdick Hall expansion has more than doubled the College of Engineering’s main academic space, added more than 20 research laboratories, and increased laboratory space by 60%. Off-site precast production helped construction proceed alongside other work, while crews installed the exterior in eight weeks despite limited access and staging space.

HIGHER EDUCATION

U.S. colleges face mounting financial pressure as enrollment challenges intensify

U.S. colleges and universities are facing growing financial pressure as declining numbers of traditional-age students, lower college participation, and shifting enrollment patterns challenge the higher-education business model, including at brand-name institutions such as Syracuse University. The number of traditional-age college students is projected to fall 13% by 2041, while new international enrollment fell 17% this past fall, reducing access to students who often pay full tuition. Schools are also contending with greater competition for students, increasingly aggressive financial-aid offers, migration toward Southern and public universities, and new federal loan caps that could put additional pressure on graduate and professional programs.

Federal crackdown closes 110 trucking schools over licensing and language concerns

The Trump administration has ordered 110 commercial driving schools to close after federal officials linked them to more than 5,000 truck drivers who failed English-language proficiency tests, as part of a broader crackdown on alleged fraud and improper practices in the trucking industry. Officials said 11 of the affected schools are in California, while federal investigators are examining more than 200 training schools across 23 states and seeking to close another 160 over issues including unlicensed instructors, missing documentation, and inadequate training facilities. The administration has revoked more than 28,000 commercial licenses over English-language proficiency failures since June 2025, while critics argue that the tougher rules could worsen driver shortages and disproportionately affect immigrant truckers who are legally authorized to work.

INTERNATIONAL

Global uncertainty prompts Canadian school boards to reassess overseas trips

School boards across Canada have canceled or restricted international field trips amid concerns over global conflicts, civil unrest, public health issues, fuel shortages, travel advisories, and rising costs. Edmonton Public Schools has canceled all international excursions for the 2026-27 school year, while boards in Vancouver and Calgary are reviewing trips case by case, and two Winnipeg boards have restricted travel to the United States. Some schools are replacing overseas trips with domestic alternatives, although education experts warn that students lose valuable opportunities to experience different places and cultures firsthand.
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