TOP NEWS Detroit Free Press The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state has to refund $554 million that was taken from school employees during the height of the last recession. The 3 percent taken from their pay checks to help fund retiree health care was deemed unconstitutional. Read more>> District Administration Survey District Administration States mandate PD for bus drivers, office staff, administrators and other non-instructional staff in area such as bullying prevention, opioid abuse and sexual harassment. DA wants to interview district leaders about best practices is managing these requirements. Please follow the link to connect with us. Contact us>> Treasure Coast Newspapers One sentence in a new state law could drag down graduation rates across the state. School districts are expecting lower graduation numbers for the Class of 2017 after learning students who left for some private schools no longer will be counted as graduates. They will be dropouts. Read more>> KGOU The state’s largest virtual charter school reported staggering growth for 2017-18, adding more than 4,000 students to its roster, according to the latest enrollment data. The numbers make Epic Charter Schools the 11th largest “district” by size. Read more>> New York Daily News City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña is announcing her retirement and decision to leave at the end of the school year, or sooner. The search for her successor has been going for weeks, but city officials and the city's mayor reportedly can’t agree on a replacement. Read more>> CNN Money There's a tax break for parents who send their children to private elementary and high schools in the GOP tax bill. It would expand the use of 529 savings accounts so that families can withdraw up to $10,000 a year tax free to use for public, private or religious elementary or secondary school expenses. Read more>> Statesman Journal The Oregon Department of Education has not focused enough on improving education for at-risk students in alternative and online schools, according to an audit. Nearly half the state’s high school dropouts come from these programs. Read more>> District Administration Survey District Administration Research over the last few years has highlighted the impact of teacher absences on instruction. DA would like to interview administrations who have found solutions and strategies to manage absences effectively. Please follow the link to connect with us and share your insights for an upcoming DA features story. Contact us>> OPINION The Atlantic When a policy doesn’t achieve its intended purpose, regularly incentivizes the opposite outcome, and hits the poor and racial minorities harder than everyone else, it ought to be repealed. And that ought to be the fate of many if not all drug-free school zone policies. Read more>> The Hill Properly implemented threat assessment allows schools to recognize a serious threat as well as avoid over-reacting to threats that are not serious. School authorities can intervene early in potentially serious conflicts before they reach a crisis point. Read more>> The Detroit News During the past 20 years, unbridled choice has destabilized public education and lowered academic performance. Charter schools are part of our education landscape, and we expect them to remain so, but we cannot have choice on steroids at the expense of education for all. Read more>> From DA Magazine DA's TechXcellence Innovative professional development programs, supported by technology, have helped these schools achieve greater faculty engagement with PD and better classroom results. Read more>> INDUSTRY NEWS Cricket Media, Inc./BookNook Through a new partnership, 350 titles from Cricket Media’s catalogue of fiction and nonfiction content will be integrated into BookNook Inc.’s adaptive reading instructional platform. Read more>> Ginger Labs The Notability app gained new features, enhancements and bug fixes, including faster search speeds, and improved reliability for audio recordings and iCloud integration. Read more>> ✭ Visit the District Administration's PR Portal ✭ CONSTRUCTION WATCH The Journal News The overcrowded city school system can finally begin to plan construction of three new buildings with the promised help of about $78 million in new reimbursements from the state. Read more>> Wyoming Tribune Eagle The total estimated budget for the School Facilities Division is about $197 million with a recommendation to raise it to $199.2 million. The State Construction Department is requesting $141.3 million for major maintenance for K12 schools. Read more>> The Advocate East Baton Rouge Parish school officials have trimmed their school construction wish list for the next decade by $132 million as they prepare to ask voters in April to renew a 1-cent sales tax. The overall price tag now rests at $413 million, which would fund school construction between 2019 and 2029. Read more>> Brian Nadel Until recently, the quality of classroom instruction relied almost entirely on a teacher’s resourcefulness, motivation and intelligence. Soon, it will also depend on artificial intelligence. Read more>> From DA Magazine | 