Inside Los Angeles Unified’s Hidden World of Art, Archives and Artifacts
Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second‑largest, maintains an Art & Artifact Collection of roughly 100,000 pieces ranging from 19th‑century paintings to 2,100 BCE Mesopotamian tablets. A 2008 appraisal placed the collection’s value at more than $12 million, and the district has been digitizing the inventory since 2004, offering free public access. Curator Cintia Romero oversees preservation, relying on a small staff and volunteers to catalog items discovered during school renovations. Recent thefts have spurred tighter security, but the archive remains a teaching resource rather than a commercial asset.
State Finds California District Failed to Handle Sex Abuse Allegations
The California Attorney General reached a stipulated judgment with the El Monte Union High School District, ending an 18‑month investigation into its mishandling of sexual abuse complaints. The settlement mandates sweeping reforms, including a compliance coordinator, centralized record‑keeping, and mandatory...
Florida Educator Tapped to Lead Fort Worth Schools Under Texas Takeover
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath has named former Florida superintendent Peter B. Licata as the new leader of Fort Worth Independent School District, which is currently under state control. Licata, who briefly headed Broward County Public Schools, will oversee a...
Opinion: Teaching Protest in the Age of ICE Raids — Through Songs
Bruce Springsteen’s new track “Streets of Minneapolis” turned the grief from recent ICE raids into a protest anthem, joining a wave of musicians condemning immigration enforcement. Federal ICE presence in Minneapolis fell sharply from roughly 3,000 agents to about 650...
Building a Mindset: Amp Lab Makes Entrepreneurship, Work Skills Its Mission
Amp Lab, a career‑technical high school in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, opened in 2022 to teach an entrepreneurial mindset rather than traditional trade skills. The school places every junior and senior in a real‑world business challenge, internship, or student‑run venture, partnering with...
Opinion: When Language Becomes a Barrier to Special Education
Latino families navigating special education often hit language barriers that delay critical services. A 2022 ISLA NC initiative, *Padres Investigadores*, trained parents to study these obstacles, revealing that over 40% of families waited six months or more for evaluations and nearly...
Oklahoma Has Led the Way on Teacher Pension Funding. Can It Keep It Up?
Oklahoma has dramatically improved its teacher pension health, shrinking the unfunded liability from $10.4 billion in 2010 to $6.1 billion and lifting the funded ratio from 47% to 80% by mid‑2024. The gains stem from benefit cuts, a higher retirement age, longer...
Missouri Doula Program Shows Early Success as Lawmakers Look to Expansion
Missouri’s Medicaid program now offers free doula services to pregnant and postpartum mothers, reaching about 625 participants in its first 15 months. The initiative, championed by bipartisan lawmakers, aims to curb the state’s high maternal mortality rate—70 deaths annually, 80%...
Opinion: Student Data Has Changed. Privacy Rules Haven’t. It’s Time for That to Change
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), enacted in 1974, still governs student data under paper‑based assumptions despite schools now operating in a fully digital environment. Recent high‑profile ed‑tech breaches have highlighted the law’s inability to address modern data‑security...
States Are Increasingly Using Child Care Waitlists, Leaving Parents in Limbo
States across the U.S. are increasingly placing families on child‑care subsidy waitlists, leaving parents like Virginia resident Taylor Moyer in prolonged uncertainty. Fourteen states have recently introduced or expanded these lists, while only about a quarter of the 8 million eligible...
10-Year-Old Debuts a Runway Collection in Paris
Fourth‑grader Max Alexander became the youngest designer ever to present a collection at Paris Fashion Week, debuting his runway show in March 2026. The ten‑year‑old’s collection featured playful silhouettes, bold colors, and sustainably sourced fabrics, drawing attention from industry insiders...
Bill Requiring Immigration Status Checks in Tennessee Public Schools Advances in Legislature
Tennessee lawmakers advanced a bill requiring public schools to collect and report student immigration status data to the state education department. The measure, originally allowing schools to deny enrollment or charge tuition to undocumented students, was stripped of those provisions...
AllHere Set Meeting With LAUSD Leaders Months Before Landing $6.2M Chatbot Deal
In January 2023 LAUSD leaders met with AllHere CEO and consultant Debra Kerr, a close associate of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, months before the district approved a $6.2 million AI‑chatbot contract. The deal later became the focus of FBI raids, an investigation...
Parents Are Feeding Their Babies Sticks of Butter
A wave of parents and social‑media influencers are giving infants aged six months to two years sticks of butter, touting benefits such as deeper sleep and accelerated development. The practice has spread through short video clips and anecdotal testimonials rather...
The State of Youth Apprenticeships: Policy, Practice and Pathways to Scale
On Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET, The 74 and the Progressive Policy Institute will host a Zoom conversation titled “The State of Youth Apprenticeships: Policy, Practice and Pathways to Scale.” The panel features California’s apprenticeship chief Adele Burns, ApprenticeshipNC director Chris Harrington,...
Opinion: Making Afterschool & Summer Programs More Affordable for Millions of Families
A new America After 3PM study shows that while parents of nearly 30 million children desire after‑school or summer programs, only about 7 million are actually enrolled. Cost remains the primary obstacle, with almost 60 % of families unable to afford participation and...
Worry for Teacher Pensions Prompts Criticism of Oklahoma Ed Funding Plan
Oklahoma Senate leaders unveiled a plan to redirect $254 million from the Teachers’ Retirement System’s apportionment subsidy toward a $2,500 teacher pay raise, additional school funding, and expanded private‑school tax credits. The proposal does not cut current retiree benefits but would...
A Record Share of U.S. Workers Now Have Access to Paid Leave
A record 32 percent of U.S. private‑sector workers—about 46 million people—now have access to paid family and medical leave through state‑run programs, the highest share ever recorded. Fourteen state laws, ten enacted in the past decade, cover workers in 13 blue...
How Early Stress Shapes the Developing Brain
Decades of developmental research, highlighted by Professor Megan Gunnar’s work, show that stress in the first years of life reshapes brain circuitry and later behavior. Sensitive periods make early experiences especially potent, with misbehavior often serving as a visible cue...
Modern Parenting Means Apps for Sports, School and More. Where Is the Data Going?
California Assemblymember Dawn Addis is championing AB 1159, a bill that would tighten privacy protections for K‑12 and college students by closing loopholes in the state’s 2014 education data law and restricting AI companies’ use of student information. The proposal...
NYC Parents Want Career Aptitude Assessments for All High Schoolers
NYC parents, through the Citywide Council on High Schools, have passed a resolution urging the Education Department to implement career aptitude assessments for all ninth‑ and eleventh‑grade students. The proposal argues that standardized, research‑based tools can help students—especially those from...