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USA
10th September 2026
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THE HOT STORY

Special education chief steps down as Ed. Dept. transfers get underway

Kelly Rogers, the U.S. Department of Education’s top special education official, has unexpectedly resigned after four months in the role, as the agency begins transferring more than 100 Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) employees to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Rogers had previously indicated that she would continue supervising OSERS staff from the Education Department following their move, but officials have not said who will replace her or how oversight will now work. The transfers are part of a wider restructuring that will also move 57 Office for Civil Rights employees to the Department of Justice. Disability advocates have criticized the changes, arguing that splitting responsibilities among federal agencies could increase bureaucracy, disrupt coordination, and create uncertainty for educators, families, and people with disabilities. The Education Department is proceeding despite congressional efforts to halt the changes. A Senate committee has advanced legislation that would prevent OSERS from being transferred to another agency, while a similar bipartisan proposal has been introduced in the House.

INTERVENTION VS REMEDIATION

Intervention or Remediation? The Difference Matters

When students struggle, the answer isn't always more of the same support. Remediation helps students access grade-level learning, while intervention delivers the intensive instruction needed to close significant skill gaps and drive accelerated progress. Understanding the distinction is critical for building an effective MTSS framework and ensuring every learner receives the right support at the right time. This article discusses practical strategies for identifying when students need remediation, intervention, or both.

Read more about intervention vs remediation

 

FINANCE

North Idaho superintendents call for funding reform as schools rely on local levies

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield and three North Idaho superintendents are urging lawmakers to overhaul the state’s K-12 funding system, arguing that the decades-old formula no longer reflects schools’ modern needs or fixed operating costs. Critchfield has made rewriting the formula a priority for the 2027 legislative session, pointing to gaps involving technology, career and technical education, virtual schools, and charter schools. Local superintendents also criticized the state’s attendance-based funding model, which can reduce district funding when students are absent even though expenses such as staffing, transportation, and utilities remain largely unchanged. The education leaders highlighted districts’ reliance on supplemental levies, which are currently used by 95 of Idaho’s 115 school districts, often to cover staffing costs. Coeur d’Alene Superintendent Shon Hocker is also advocating for four-year supplemental levy terms to reduce voter fatigue, while the superintendents urged business leaders to support funding reforms as an investment in education and Idaho’s future workforce.

Richardson ISD targets enrollment growth and deeper cuts as budget pressures mount

Richardson ISD (RISD) is pursuing enrollment growth and further spending cuts as it faces a $20.8m budget shortfall for 2026-27, its sixth consecutive deficit year. The Texas district has cut nearly $42m over three years and plans to identify another $20m in savings for 2027-28. RISD is also seeking to boost revenue through open enrollment, which has attracted more than 500 out-of-district students over two school years, alongside a $200,000 marketing investment. Amanda Brownson, deputy executive director of the Texas Association of School Business Officials, said districts facing declining enrollment must continually adjust spending. “Unfortunately, it’s not a one-and-done,” Brownson said. With nearly 85% of RISD’s operating budget funding employee compensation, Brownson said significant savings inevitably put staffing under scrutiny. “The vast majority of funding is tied up in people,” she said. “It is very hard to make a meaningful impact on that budget without looking at staffing.” She said districts hope lawmakers will continue investing in public education, but added that they must also “take their fate into their own hands and work on right-sizing those budgets.”

TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft, teacher unions set new AI data protections for Schools

Microsoft, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) have introduced a National AI Safety and Privacy Standard giving U.S. school districts greater control over student and educator data used by AI products. Districts can add the safeguards to Microsoft agreements, making them contractual requirements rather than voluntary guidelines. The standard prohibits covered data, including prompts, AI-generated responses, and uploaded files, from being sold, used for unrelated purposes, or used to train general-purpose AI models. It also restricts behavioral tracking, requires human oversight for significant AI-driven decisions, and requires providers to notify affected education customers within 72 hours of a confirmed or reasonably suspected data breach. Districts can terminate agreements or pursue other available remedies for unresolved material violations. Other AI providers working with AFT’s National Academy for AI Instruction can also adopt the standard if they agree to its full set of protections.

OPERATIONS

Austin mayor backs parent petitions to head off state school takeover

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson has proposed closing Webb and Burnet middle schools through parent petitions in an effort to prevent the Texas Education Agency (TEA) from taking control of Austin ISD. Both schools received preliminary fifth consecutive failing accountability ratings, triggering a state law that requires intervention if the ratings become final. Under Watson’s proposal, parents representing a majority of students at each school would petition for closure rather than a district-wide takeover. The petitions must be submitted to Superintendent Matias Segura for validation by October 15 and, if validated, sent to Education Commissioner Mike Morath by December 1. State rules generally require Morath to order the action requested by parents, although he could side with Austin ISD’s board if trustees formally oppose the petitions. Watson argued that the approach would give affected families more control over the district’s future. He also pointed to Austin ISD’s improved B rating and a 42% increase in A- and B-rated campuses since 2024 as evidence of broader progress.

Nearly 1,200 Michigan schools have closed as districts confront the ‘Big Shrink’

Nearly 1,200 public and charter schools have closed in Michigan since 2000, and education leaders expect more closures as declining birth rates reduce the state’s school-age population. K-12 enrollment has fallen about 20%, from 1.69m students in 2002-03 to 1.35m in 2025-26, leaving many districts with more buildings than they can afford or effectively use. Grand Rapids Public Schools, for example, is implementing a multiyear plan to close nine buildings by 2032 after finding its facilities were operating at an average of just 51% capacity and that unused space was costing about $4m annually. Detroit, which has closed more than 200 school buildings since 2000, is also continuing to consolidate facilities as enrollment has fallen dramatically. Experts describe the trend as the “big shrink,” arguing that districts need to plan proactively for continued enrollment declines. However, closures remain controversial because they can disrupt families, eliminate neighborhood institutions, and force students to travel farther to school. State grants have helped some districts consolidate and renovate facilities, but demand has substantially exceeded available funding.

DISTRICTS

NYC schools face tests on enrollment, special education, and technology

New York City public schools are beginning their first full school year under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with several major education policies taking effect but significant questions remaining about his broader K-12 agenda. The administration is launching 2,000 free childcare seats for 2-year-olds, restricting generative AI and screen use for younger students, and promising improvements to special education. The city also faces declining enrollment, persistent achievement gaps, and elevated chronic absenteeism. Public school enrollment has fallen 16% since 2017-18 to about 790,000 students, leaving nearly 340 schools with fewer than 250 students and raising the prospect of additional mergers or closures. Other tests include expanding free childcare to a planned 12,000 children next year, addressing payment and staffing challenges in early education, and implementing restrictions on generative AI from preschool through eighth grade. Mamdani has also pledged to improve services for students with disabilities, including school transportation and special education programs, although questions remain about how quickly those changes can be delivered.

NUTRITION

Study links end of universal free school meals to student hunger and stress

Students experienced greater hunger, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating after a pandemic-era universal free school meal policy ended, according to a study based on interviews with 25 teachers at six elementary schools in Anchorage, Alaska. Teachers reported that fewer students ate school meals after the policy ended in the 2022-23 school year, while some children worried about meal costs or relied on donated food. Educators also described hungry students as more likely to become distracted, irritable, or disengaged during lessons. Researchers found that teachers saw no benefits from ending universal free meals and concluded that policies ensuring access to school meals could support students’ nutrition, well-being, and ability to learn. Several states have introduced their own universal free school meal programs since the federal policy ended.

WORKFORCE

Chicago school lunch workers seek higher pay and staffing

Chicago Public Schools lunchroom workers have launched a “Lunchroom Pledge” asking school board candidates to support higher wages and increased cafeteria staffing as contract negotiations remain unresolved after more than 14 months. UNITE HERE Local 1, which represents 1,800 attendants, cooks, and porters, wants CPS to stop eliminating vacant lunchroom positions and bring workers’ hourly wages in line with custodians. The union has requested fact-finding, scheduled for mid-October, and has raised the possibility of a strike if an agreement is not reached. The dispute comes as CPS faces significant financial pressure, having addressed a $732 million deficit through department cuts, layoffs, and a budget amendment that relies partly on uncertain state funding, while its 2026-2027 budget includes a 3.5% reduction in lunchroom funding.

TUTORING

Arkansas emerges as leader in efforts to sustain high-impact tutoring

States are continuing to invest in high-impact tutoring despite the expiration of federal pandemic relief funding, offering researchers optimism as schools work to reverse years of declining academic performance. A new Stanford University report found that many states have maintained tutoring programs but will need permanent funding, stronger accountability measures, and supporting infrastructure to sustain them. Arkansas was highlighted for its extensive approach. The state provides about $20m in grants for high-impact tutoring and roughly $8.5m for literacy tutoring grants for K-3 students. High-impact tutoring typically involves sessions of at least 30 minutes, three times per week, in groups of no more than four students. Arkansas has also introduced outcomes-based contracts, under which at least 40% of tutoring providers’ payments depend on meeting predetermined student performance targets. Researchers say properly implemented high-impact tutoring can provide the equivalent of three to 15 months of additional learning, while recent data indicates Arkansas students have begun recovering some of the academic ground lost in recent years.

EARLY YEARS

State Pre-K programs could buffer Mississippi from proposed Head Start cuts

The Trump administration has proposed major changes to Head Start regulations that could increase class sizes, reduce required health screenings, and allow shorter program days. In Mississippi, where about 18,000 children are served by Head Start, advocates warn the changes could reduce educational quality, strain teachers, and make it harder for working parents to find affordable childcare. Under the proposal, Mississippi Head Start classrooms could follow state staffing ratios, meaning one caregiver could be responsible for nine toddlers instead of four. Programs would also no longer be required to provide some medical, dental, vaccination, and insurance-related screenings. Federal officials say the changes would reduce bureaucracy and allow programs to serve more children, but critics question whether projected savings would be reinvested in Head Start. Mississippi may be partly insulated because some Head Start centers participate in the state’s highly rated early learning collaboratives, which maintain stricter standards. Advocates are urging the state to expand those partnerships, although funding remains limited. They also warn that weaker Head Start requirements could affect the broader childcare system, including families already waiting for childcare assistance.

INTERNATIONAL

Students voice concerns as Ontario puts greater weight on exams and attendance

Ontario high school students are adjusting to a new grading system for the 2026-2027 school year that places greater emphasis on final exams, attendance, and classroom participation. For Grades 9 and 10, classwork accounts for 65% of the final grade, final evaluations for 20%, and attendance and participation for 15%. For Grades 11 and 12, the breakdown is 65%, 25%, and 10%, respectively. Several students said the heavier weighting of final exams could increase anxiety and argued that schools should provide more support as they prepare for higher-stakes assessments. Reactions to attendance grading were mixed: some students questioned whether attendance should affect grades when work is completed, while others said the policy could discourage skipping. Excused absences, including illness and cultural days, will not negatively affect students’ grades.
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