While a lot of districts and schools struggled on their own during the early months of the pandemic to come up with ways to figure out which of their students needed access to computing gear and broadband, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has had a better idea: Why not come up with a standardized way to collect that information that local education agencies can turn to when the need arises?
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/14/21
The United States Department of Education has approved school plans from four more states and delivered a total of $2.817 billion in remaining American Rescue Plan funds to those states.
On Friday, Oct. 8, President Biden signed the K–12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021 into law. The act comes in response to growing data security incidents impacting K–12 schools in recent years, including a dramatic rise in ransomware and other forms of malware.
Alachua County Public Schools in Florida has received the first grant under the Biden administration's Project to Support America's Families and Educators (Project SAFE) program, which is designed to compensate schools that lose some portion of their funding as a result of COVID-19 policies that come into conflict with state policies.
Student device monitoring disproportionately affects kids who cannot afford their own devices and, according to a new report, poses threats to student privacy (such as LGBTQI+ students who might be "outed") and creates a significant chilling effect on student expression.
The United States Department of Education (ED) has approved school plans from four states for the use of American Rescue Plan ESSER funds, distributing about $1.84 billion in remaining funds.
School districts whose funds are being withheld by their states for implementing mask bans (or for other measures taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus) will see some relief from the federal government. A new grant program, announced Sept. 9 by the United States Department of Education (ED), is expected to open in the "coming weeks."
The nonprofit K12 Security Information Exchange (K12 SIX) has released its highly anticipated cybersecurity standards of practice for K–12 schools and districts, a companion to the K12 SIX Essential Cybersecurity Protections released in August. The group also released a free self-assessment tool for information technology and information security leaders.
The majority of Americans now support masks in schools — support that coincides with the wide-held belief that the worst of the pandemic is not yet over.
More K–12 educators are spending their own money on classroom essentials like books and other learning materials, according to a new survey. At the same time, most are not being given a say in how American Rescue Plan funds are being allocated.