On January 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) sent a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) to school principals and district administrators across the country. The purpose of the DCL, signed by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, was "to emphasize a strategy where school principals and district administrators have a unique…
On January 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced $50 million in grants for states to connect millions more children to critical health care services, particularly for mental health, at school. Made possible by the historic…
It appears that the March deadline for the much-anticipated U.S Department of Education (USDE) final Title IX regulations banning sex-based discrimination - including sexual assault - in federally funded K-12 schools,will come and go without approval. The USDE had set a March deadline for the regulations but hasn’t yet cleared…
On January 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the release of a report on its critical incident review of the law enforcement response to the tragic school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the review shortly after the tragedy…
On January 17, 2024, the White House announced a Fact Sheet titled Improving Student Achievement Agenda for 2024, which is focused on proven strategies that will accelerate academic performance for every child in school. The Fact Sheet lays out an agenda for academic achievement for every school in the country,…
On January 18, 2024, Congress approved a stopgap measure to keep the federal government funded through March 8th, successfully avoiding a partial shutdown that would have otherwise taken effect on January 20th. The Continuing Resolution (CR) delays deciding the FY24 budget for federal agencies that include the U.S. Department of…
On January 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the release of a report on its critical incident review of the law enforcement response to the tragic school shooting at Robb Elementary School. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the review shortly after the tragedy on May 24,…
State education departments in Alabama, Arizona, California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and the Northern Mariana Islands received grants that combined totaled more than $32 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Supporting America’s School Infrastructure grant program, the Treasury Department announced Jan. 4th. Most grants were between $4.5 million…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide food access for students during the 2024 summer break. The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer-EBT) program was created by the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 to provide school aged children who are income eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) with an additional…
The federal process for approving state waiver requests to exceed a 1% cap on the number of students with significant cognitive disabilities who take alternate assessments is "generally appropriate" according to an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), however, has room…
