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1st May 2026
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THE HOT STORY

New federal rules cap student borrowing and phase out Grad PLUS loans

The U.S. Department of Education has finalized new regulations that tighten federal student lending, including lower borrowing caps, fewer repayment options, and the phase-out of Grad PLUS loans, in line with recent legislation aimed at reducing student debt. A key feature of the rule is a narrow definition of “professional student,” which limits higher borrowing caps to 11 fields such as law, medicine, and dentistry, excluding major graduate disciplines like nursing and education despite widespread opposition. Students in designated professional programs can borrow up to $50,000 annually and $200,000 total, while other graduate students face significantly lower limits, including a $20,500 annual cap. The regulations also introduce a new aggregate borrowing cap of $257,500 for all federal student loans, with transitional allowances for some current borrowers, and replace existing repayment plans with two streamlined options: a fixed-payment plan and an income-based plan, with other plans set to be phased out by 2028. Officials argue the changes will curb excessive borrowing and help control tuition inflation, but critics warn that restricting federal loan access could push students toward more expensive private loans and exacerbate workforce shortages in excluded fields.

DIGITAL CURRICULUM

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FINANCE

Waukegan District supports measure that could raise $122m for school projects

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 has voted to support a proposed 1% countywide sales tax to fund education in Lake County, moving the measure closer to appearing on the November ballot. The district, the county’s largest with 13,640 students, joins six others in backing the initiative, bringing total support to 27.6% of students—just over halfway to the threshold required for the referendum to proceed. If approved by voters, the tax is expected to generate about $122m annually, with roughly $14m allocated to District 60. The funds would be restricted to capital projects such as facility improvements, safety measures, and mental health resources, rather than operating expenses. While supporters argue the measure would provide a stable funding source for long-term needs, some board members raised concerns about the added tax burden and limitations on how the funds can be used. District leaders plan to educate voters on the proposal’s benefits as additional districts consider joining the effort.

TECHNOLOGY

Child online safety bills could expand data collection and reshape digital privacy

A wave of bipartisan federal legislation aimed at protecting children online could significantly transform digital privacy standards, with implications for schools, technology companies, and all internet users. Congress is advancing several bills, including the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would impose a legal “duty of care” on platforms to protect minors from harmful content and design features, and an updated Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), extending privacy protections to teenagers up to age 16 or 17. Additional proposals would require age verification, restrict messaging for younger users, and mandate parental oversight tools. While each bill targets specific risks, experts warn that together they could require platforms to verify users’ ages, monitor activity, and collect significantly more personal data. This raises concerns that efforts to improve child safety could expand surveillance, increase the risk of data breaches, and create unintended consequences, including potential limits on free expression if users feel constantly monitored. For schools, the impact is likely to be indirect but substantial, particularly through ed-tech vendors that must comply with new requirements. Smaller companies may face significant technical and financial burdens to implement age verification systems and securely manage sensitive data such as government IDs or biometric information.

Students to lead national effort to create AI policy for schools

Students and school leaders will collaborate this summer to develop a model artificial intelligence (AI) policy for U.S. school districts, addressing a major gap as AI adoption in classrooms accelerates. The three-day workshop in Boston, hosted by MIT’s Day of AI, will bring together superintendents and students from across the country, with students taking the lead in drafting guidelines on AI use, privacy protections, and educational standards. Using a legislative-style simulation, participants will debate and build consensus on how AI should be integrated into schools. The initiative comes as most districts lack formal AI policies and teacher training remains limited, with surveys showing only a small share of educators have clear guidance on AI use. Organizers aim to capture student perspectives, recognizing that young people are often the earliest adopters of new technology and directly experience its benefits and risks. The resulting policy will be shared nationally, offering districts a framework to navigate AI use, while highlighting the importance of including student voices in shaping education policy.

CLASSROOM

Research shows stable learning outcomes post-pandemic

A large-scale study of more than 10,000 students across 15 school districts in Northwest Arkansas suggests that overall learning levels remained relatively stable through the COVID-19 pandemic, with only modest declines concentrated among lower-performing students and no evidence of widening achievement gaps. Using student-level data from 2018 to 2022, researchers compared results from the ACT Aspire (achievement-based) and CogAT (cognitive ability) assessments across two cohorts, applying detailed statistical analysis to examine performance across the full distribution of students. The findings indicate that, unlike many national narratives, the pandemic did not significantly exacerbate inequality in this region, likely due in part to shorter school closures and a quicker return to in-person learning. However, the relationship between cognitive ability and academic achievement weakened after the pandemic, suggesting disruptions may have altered how student potential translates into measurable outcomes. A second analysis focused on gifted and talented identification found only moderate and inconsistent correlations between the two tests, with variation across cohorts, meaning they cannot reliably be used interchangeably. As a result, researchers recommend that schools adopt multiple assessment measures when identifying gifted students, particularly to ensure more equitable screening and to avoid overlooking disadvantaged students.

EMPLOYMENT

Real wages for teachers and school staff decline despite nominal pay rises

Teacher salaries in the U.S. rose 3.5% to an average of $74,495 in the 2024–25 school year, but inflation has significantly eroded those gains, leaving pay 4.6% lower in real terms compared with a decade ago, according to a National Education Association report. The analysis highlights persistent concerns over educator pay, with higher salaries concentrated in states like California and New York that also have high living costs, while lower-paying states often leave teachers earning below typical household expenses. Education support professionals saw even weaker progress, with nominal pay rising modestly to $38,494, but only increasing by about $300 after inflation, and falling 9% in real terms over the past decade. Many continue to face financial strain, often needing multiple jobs. The report underscores ongoing challenges in maintaining competitive wages for educators, amid rising living costs and continued debate over funding and pay reforms.

Internal tensions grow as Oregon teachers union questions political alignment

A growing faction within the Oregon Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, is pushing a more activist, politically expansive agenda, challenging the organization’s traditional alignment with mainstream Democratic politics and its historic focus on classroom issues. The shift has been driven in part by newer leadership and post-pandemic momentum, with some members advocating for a more confrontational, strike-ready approach to secure increased school funding and advance broader goals such as economic justice, housing, taxation of the wealthy, and international political issues. This evolution has coincided with internal restructuring, leadership turnover, and a reallocation of resources toward organizing and bargaining support, alongside the closure of programs that emphasized collaborative labor relations. The union’s changing stance is also influencing labor negotiations and state politics, contributing to more contentious contract talks, a rise in strike activity, and a willingness to back more progressive or socialist-leaning candidates, sometimes in opposition to established Democrats. While leadership maintains that the union represents a broad spectrum of views, critics argue the expanded agenda risks alienating members and the public, while supporters say it reflects grassroots dissatisfaction and a necessary shift toward a more mobilized, member-driven approach.

LEGISLATION

Iowa lawmakers pass education budget with modest increases

The Iowa Legislature has passed a fiscal year 2027 education budget allocating more than $1bn, representing a 1% increase, with funding for the Iowa Board of Regents and tuition grants held flat despite targeted increases in areas such as special education, community colleges, and school services. The budget includes additional funding for school food services, special education ($5m), community college infrastructure ($3.5m), dyslexia training, and cybersecurity, while also shifting some tuition grant funding toward vocational programs. However, several Democratic-backed amendments,  including funding for university mental health services, cancer research, and support for high-needs schools, were rejected. Democrats criticized the package as underfunding education and failing to treat it as a long-term investment, highlighting stagnant higher education funding, rising reliance on tuition, and cuts to certain research initiatives. Republicans defended the budget as a reflection of fiscal constraints and constituent priorities, emphasizing efficiency and targeted spending. The bill passed both chambers with majority support, but ongoing debate underscores tensions over education funding levels and priorities across the state.

SCHOOL TRANSPORT

NYC urged to invest $3m to address school transport gaps for foster students

Advocates for Children, along with 24 other organizations, are urging New York City officials to allocate $3m in the upcoming budget to improve transportation for students in foster care. Despite recent improvements, such as the establishment of a dedicated office by the New York City Department of Education to oversee transportation for foster youth, advocates report that it can take “weeks or even months” for bus service to commence. This delay leaves vulnerable students with limited options for getting to school. The advocates emphasize that “students should be able to rely on continuous, consistent access to school as a critical source of stability.” Proposed solutions include utilizing vehicles from the Administration for Children's Services or contracting vetted car services to ensure safe transport without the need for chaperones. Education Department spokesperson Dominique Ellison acknowledged the ongoing efforts to enhance transportation processes for foster youth.

ACCOUNTABILITY

What education can learn from baseball’s data-driven umpire accountability

A new automated challenge system in Major League Baseball offers a model for improving accountability in education, particularly in how teacher performance is evaluated, according to the author. The system uses technology to identify clear umpiring mistakes rather than perfectly rank performance, a principle that Michael Hartney, Bruni Family Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and an associate professor of political science at Boston College, argues could apply to teacher evaluations. Past efforts in education, such as value-added measures based on student outcomes, were most effective at identifying top and bottom performers but faced political resistance and were largely abandoned. He highlights several lessons for education: objective data should complement subjective judgment, especially in identifying consistently ineffective performance; evaluation systems must carry real consequences to be meaningful; and reforms often fail when stakeholders prioritize protecting incumbents over improving outcomes. In contrast, baseball’s union has accepted a hybrid approach that incorporates data while preserving human judgment. The author also argues that education systems frequently lack accountability mechanisms tied to performance, such as rewarding excellence or addressing underperformance, and instead rely on seniority-based decisions. Ultimately, the piece contends that education should prioritize student outcomes above institutional or adult interests, using imperfect but useful data tools to reduce clear failures in teaching quality.

LITERACY

Wisconsin rolls out literacy coaches to boost early reading skills

Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction has selected 54 public and private schools to receive literacy coaches as part of the state’s 2023 reading law, Act 20, backed by more than $9 million in funding to improve early literacy outcomes. The program will place coaches in schools over the next two years to support teachers in strengthening reading instruction, with the goal of increasing the number of students meeting grade-level standards by third grade. The initiative comes as nearly 37% of early-grade students statewide scored below the 25th percentile in literacy assessments. The funding will cover approximately 36 full-time equivalent coaching roles, with schools selected based on need, infrastructure, and student performance data. In Milwaukee Public Schools, which has particularly high rates of struggling readers, seven coaches will support 11 schools. The effort is part of broader reforms under Act 20, including a shift toward phonics-based instruction and targeted interventions for students needing additional support, though districts have reported mixed progress due to implementation challenges and costs.

INTERNATIONAL

N.W.T. to decide distribution of $30m education funding after federal shortfall

The Northwest Territories government will disclose in June how C$30m ($22.09m) in new education funding will be distributed, with Education Minister Caitlin Cleveland confirming details will follow legislative approval after the next Assembly sitting. The funding is intended to offset the loss of federal support from Jordan’s Principle, which had previously contributed nearly C$60 million annually and is expected to result in the loss of 250 to 350 school support jobs, while the territory considers longer-term solutions including adjustments to federal funding models and territorial budget support. Cleveland noted that reliance on federally administered funding, which schools applied for directly, limited the government’s ability to plan for potential cuts, and called for a more tailored approach to funding that reflects the unique needs of territories compared to provinces.
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