K-12

Amid a growing body of research and lawsuits related to the subject, social media addiction was the focus of a presentation at the National School Boards Association conference this week, featuring a student with firsthand experience.

VR headsets and 3D printers help the Verizon Innovation Learning Lab create interest in STEM at the Dorothy Height Charter School. Educators and school leaders toured it during the National School Boards Association Annual Conference.

Houston Independent School District will roll out programs in career and technical education over four years, starting with entrepreneurship, networking systems, distribution and logistics, and health informatics.

Traverse City Area Public Schools in Michigan canceled classes Monday and Tuesday to test critical infrastructure after seeing a disruption to its network last week, with no indication that information was compromised.

While developing a manufacturing facility for EV batteries in Liberty, North Carolina, Toyota donated money through its charitable foundation to nearby school districts for programming in STEM and advanced manufacturing.

Officials at Quincy School District in Washington say phones have changed the dynamics of bullying by extending it beyond school hours, and most bullying incidents start on social media.

Another California school is investigating the creation and dissemination of inappropriate AI-generated images of students, following the expulsion of a handful of Beverly Hills eighth-graders earlier this year.

The NOTICE Coalition, on behalf 42 advocacy organizations representing various student groups, argued in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that AI-powered security systems violate privacy and human rights.

A Vancouver nonprofit recently sponsored a trip for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) middle and high schoolers to the Clark College Columbia Tech Center, where they learned about its mechatronics program.

Following the rollout of its guidelines for AI use in K-12 in January, Washington state's latest version provides updated resources such as policy suggestions, practical implementations, terms and FAQs.

Iterate.ai, based in Denver, is offering its threat detection software to K-12 districts free of charge. The company’s initiative was followed by state legislation calling for school grants to pay for security systems.

Restricting student access to phones during class tends to upset at least some parents and students, but others have come around to the idea, and teachers are observing fewer distractions and behavioral incidents.

Data and anecdotes alike have shown excessive use of smartphones and social media are negatively impacting students' social-emotional skills. Many school districts are implementing programs to counter this.

Starting in the 2024-2025 academic year, tuition-free remote instruction will be available in grades K-12 across Pennsylvania, grades K-10 in Southern California, and K-11 at Louisiana R-II School District in Missouri.

A pair of recent EdWeek Research Center surveys found that more than two-thirds of teachers and school and district leaders expect that AI will have a negative impact on teens' mental health over the next decade.

The grand prize winner in Teach for America's fourth annual EduPitch contest this week was Playground IEP, a special education software that streamlines case-management tasks to reduce workload for overwhelmed staff.

According to a survey of 953 educators conducted between Jan. 31 and March 4, one of the major reasons some teachers aren't using AI in the classroom is because they haven't received professional development on it.

The new Government Coordinating Council will work with all levels of government to open channels of structured communication and put best practices into action in K-12 districts nationwide.