K-12

New Mexico schools are part of a nationwide push to curb phone use in classrooms, driven by teacher concerns about disruption and growing worries about record daily screen time.

Some teachers say school districts should view computer science not simply as a precursor to specific college degrees, but as a foundation for thinking critically, creatively and confidently.

Starting a computer science program at the elementary school level involves gathering support, explaining the “why,” letting teachers play and experiment, establishing tech teams and formalizing new expectations.

As digital tools become more embedded in teaching and learning, questions about wellness, engagement and balance are affecting how districts think about instructional quality and responsible technology governance.

The Parents and Kids Safe AI Act would mandate age assurance, limit data use for minors, require child-safety audits and expand parental controls. It revises a similar, unsuccessful bill from 2025.

TDS Telecommunications LLC has announced that Mooresville High School, part of the Mooresville Graded School District in North Carolina, is the recipient of its $10,000 TDS STEM-Ed grant.

Schools in the state have until July 1, 2026, to enact their own AI usage policies. The new model AI policy is intended to assist districts, which can either adopt it or customize it to meet their needs.

The current law, adopted last year with bipartisan support, prohibits students through eighth grade from accessing personal electronic devices — including tablets — during the school day.

Known as the Hands-On Learning Restoration Act, the bill would take effect at the start of the 2027-2028 school year and would apply to all subjects for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Republican and Democratic leaders in the Kansas Senate have pre-filed a bipartisan bill that would require all public and private accredited school districts to adopt policies banning phones.

Five students at Dow High School in Midland, Mich., have co-authored research about agriculture in space that will soon appear in a major scientific journal.

A group of citizens has enlisted the ACLU to look into a visitor and student management system at Andover Public Schools Americans that uses facial recognition to screen and verify guests and volunteers instantly.

Carnegie Mellon University is training a cohort of educators in Beaver County, Pa., with a background in AI who will be able to spur conversations about the technology and what it might look like in individual districts.

Effective this year, Illinois will prohibit community colleges from using AI as the sole source of instruction for a course. It also directed the State Board of Education to develop guidelines for AI in K-12 by July.

A recent survey of career and technical education teachers found several common factors in programs they rated highly, including good facilities, business partnerships, diverse offerings, and district- and state-level support.

The nonprofit believes preparing students for a digital future is less about expanding access to devices than about ensuring technology use is grounded in purpose, understanding and meaningful outcomes.

Hartford Public Schools in Connecticut have contracted with Timely, because budget constraints and reduced staffing have made it increasingly difficult for the district to create master schedules.

A survey of educators who work in career and technical education found that nearly a third of those who don't already have programs in IT and cybersecurity at their school expect one will launch in the next five years.