Education Slice
Become more informed in minutes....
Education Slice Logo
USA
17th August 2026
Together with

THE HOT STORY

Schools take heat precautions as dangerous temperatures threaten students and athletes

As students return to classrooms across much of the United States, a prolonged heat wave affecting roughly 97m people is forcing schools to take additional precautions to protect children from dangerous temperatures. With temperatures approaching 100 F and heat indexes potentially reaching 115 F in parts of the Southeast, some districts are keeping students indoors for recess when heat indexes reach certain levels, encouraging families to send children with bottled water, and canceling high school football activities. The conditions pose particular risks for student-athletes, with at least 58 players nationwide dying from exertional heat stroke between 1992 and 2024. Persistently high overnight temperatures are expected to provide little relief as schools navigate the extreme heat during the opening weeks of the academic year.

BLENDED LEARNING

An Administrator's Guide to Blended Learning

Online learning doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach. Explore blended learning with this comprehensive guide from FlexPoint®, which includes:
  • Worksheets to define your school’s needs
  • Outline of blended learning classroom models
  • List of questions to ask curriculum providers
  • Best practices for educator training
  • Instructional strategies and tips
  • Key benefits for you, students, and staff
Download the FlexPoint® guide to find the right mix of face-to-face and online instruction for your school or district.

Download Free Guide

 

TECHNOLOGY

Study finds child-focused AI modes show no significant overall safety advantage

A KORA child safety benchmark has found no statistically significant difference in overall safety scores between the child and adult versions of seven consumer artificial intelligence (AI) apps, with 41% of 14,839 simulated conversations rated as failures. The evaluation covered 12 products and 19 variants, using synthetic child personas and an LLM judge to assess 26 safety risks, alongside checks of privacy policies, onboarding, settings, and other product features. MagicSchool ranked highest with a score of 74 and was the only product to receive a B grade, while ChatGPT’s child mode scored 59, compared with 54 for its adult version. Although the child versions of ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini showed statistically significant improvements in conversational safety, none received an overall grade above C. KORA found particularly weak performance around educational integrity, privacy, emotional dependency, grooming, and parasocial attachment, while noting that its findings are limited by the use of synthetic users, short conversations, English-only testing, and the absence of quantitative inter-rater validation across the full dataset.

POLICY

Restraint and seclusion incidents fuel push for stronger Michigan safeguards

Michigan lawmakers are renewing efforts to ban seclusion and further restrict physical restraint in schools after nearly 18,000 incidents were recorded during the 2024-25 school year, the vast majority involving students with disabilities. State Sen. Stephanie Chang plans to introduce legislation this fall that would prohibit seclusion, limit restraint to emergencies involving imminent serious bodily harm, require reduction plans from districts deemed to use restraint excessively, mandate trauma-informed staff training, and expand public reporting of student demographics. Advocates argue that stronger safeguards are needed despite a nearly decade-old law intended to reduce the practices, while some special education administrators support clearer emergency definitions but warn that eliminating seclusion entirely could limit options during severe crises. The Michigan Department of Education has not taken a formal position on the proposal but has previously recommended clarifying state law, aligning state and federal guidance, and emphasizing prevention.

LEADERSHIP

Teacher team meetings should focus on learning and student outcomes

Education consultant and former teacher Elisa MacDonald argues that school team meetings should move beyond routine agendas and become focused opportunities for professional learning, collaboration, and improved student outcomes. Drawing on three decades of teaching and coaching experience, MacDonald recommends evaluating meetings based on whether they lead to measurable gains for students, particularly those who are struggling, and whether teachers change or improve their instructional practices. She says school leaders should establish clear priorities, bring together staff with relevant expertise, and ensure teams meet frequently enough to analyze data, observe peers, and engage in collaborative inquiry. MacDonald also encourages structured disagreement, with teams using data and established protocols to consider competing perspectives without allowing productive debate to become personal conflict.

Villalobos ready to lead Miami-Dade schools

Rafael Villalobos, the newly appointed South Region Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, is preparing to take over from Jose Dotres. In a recent interview with the Miami Herald, Villalobos discussed key issues such as teacher salaries, school closures, and the integration of AI in education. He emphasized the need for competitive teacher pay, stating: "We need to really thank them for the work that they do." Villalobos also addressed the challenges of school closures, particularly in under-enrolled areas, and the importance of consolidating resources for better educational outcomes. He expressed a commitment to maintaining fiscal responsibility while ensuring students receive quality education. Looking ahead, Villalobos aims to elevate Miami-Dade County Public Schools to be the premier school district in the country, focusing on academic proficiency and graduation rates.

DISTRICTS

Fort Worth ISD schools gain autonomy

Fort Worth ISD is implementing a new system that allows schools to operate with increased autonomy based on performance tiers. During a board meeting, Deputy Superintendent Daniel Soliz explained that schools will progress through three levels: Elevate, Emerge, and Exemplar. Each tier offers varying degrees of freedom from district regulations, with the Elevate tier focusing on the lowest-performing schools. “One time is a happening, two times is considered a trend and three times is a pattern that is established,” said Superintendent Peter Licata, emphasizing the importance of consistent performance. The Elevate Network will initially support 19 schools, expanding to 24 based on upcoming accountability ratings. Schools in the Emerge tier will have more flexibility, while Exemplar schools will enjoy nearly full autonomy in decision-making.  

Enrollment decline could leave up to 25% of Little Rock school space underused

The Little Rock School District will form a community task force to recommend changes, including potential school consolidations or closures, as K-12 enrollment has fallen 21.2%, from 23,676 students in 2013 to 18,648 in April 2026. The decline reflects falling birth rates, demographic shifts, and growing competition from private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling, with more than one-third of Little Rock’s school-age children now educated outside the district. After Little Rock West High School opens in fall 2027, district capacity will exceed 24,000 students, potentially leaving 20% to 25% of building space underutilized if enrollment remains stable. Closing five elementary schools could save an estimated $8.4m annually, while closing nine could save $15.1m, although board members warned closures could accelerate enrollment losses and disrupt students academically. The task force plans public meetings before presenting recommendations in the spring. Separately, the board is considering revised high school attendance zones, has extended Superintendent Jermall Wright’s contract through 2029 at an annual salary of $274,546.99, and has approved a contract worth up to $60,000 with Nichols Strategies to market the district to families.

Graduation rates reach record levels at Nevada's sole Native high school

Pyramid Lake High School, Nevada’s only Native high school, has recorded a 50% increase in graduation rates between 2019 and 2025, reflecting broader gains across schools operated by the federal Bureau of Indian Education. Nationwide, a record 79% of seniors at BIE schools graduated in 2025, more than 50% higher than a decade earlier, although changes in data collection have contributed to the reported increase. Educators also credit virtual learning, career and technical education, and hands-on job training with improving attendance and graduation outcomes. Nevada has supported Native students through a college scholarship program that now serves nearly 700 students, up from about 170 when it was established in 2021. Despite the progress, tribal leaders remain concerned about persistent disparities and whether federal changes to the administration of Native education programs could jeopardize recent gains.

SAFETY AND SECURITY

School safety advocates seek funding for faster emergency alerts across Illinois

Illinois has become the 13th state to enact a version of Alyssa’s Law, encouraging schools and districts to consider mobile panic alert systems as part of their emergency and crisis response plans. Recently signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the legislation is named for Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting, whose mother has advocated for faster emergency responses in schools. The technology can include wearable panic buttons that alert school offices or connect directly with first responders, while providing more precise information about where an emergency is occurring. Advocates say the systems could be used not only during school shootings, but also for medical emergencies and other safety incidents. Unlike some states that have mandated and funded the technology, Illinois currently requires schools only to consider its use and has not provided dedicated implementation funding. One vendor estimates that a mobile emergency alert system costs about $8,000 per campus annually, and advocates are now calling on state lawmakers and Pritzker to provide financial support to help districts adopt the technology.

Wichita seeks $500,000 federal grant for school emergency alert system

Wichita officials have approved a police department application for up to $500,000 in federal funding to install a panic-button-style emergency system in public schools, despite concerns about privacy, surveillance, and long-term costs. The proposed technology would allow school employees to alert emergency services and, once activated, potentially share locations, audio, photos, and videos with police in real time. Police say the system would not provide access to school surveillance camera feeds and would initially cover middle schools, high schools, and alternative education centers. The City Council approved the application 4-3, with further approvals required before the technology can be purchased or deployed.

ENROLLMENT

Enrollment decline and budget deficits put Minneapolis schools under pressure

Minneapolis Public Schools is considering school closures and consolidations as part of a new “transformation” plan aimed at addressing declining enrollment, underused buildings, and persistent multimillion-dollar budget deficits, raising concerns among North Side families about the potential impact on Black students. Enrollment stands at 30,079 students in a system built for 43,000, and 10 of the nearly two dozen schools falling short of district enrollment targets are on the North Side. Officials will present three restructuring options in September, with possible board action in November, although no individual schools have been identified for closure. Parents and community leaders are urging the district to ensure any downsizing preserves equitable academic opportunities, while opponents caution that closures may produce limited savings and could drive more families to neighboring districts or charter schools.

SCHOOL TRANSPORT

Detroit expands student transportation efforts to tackle chronic absenteeism

Detroit’s Ride to Rise pilot program, which provides free DDOT bus rides to all K-12 students, will become permanent after receiving $1m from the state budget as part of efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism. The program allows students to travel free not only to school, but also to jobs, sports, after-school activities, and other destinations. This fall, Detroit will also pilot rideshares at several schools with the highest chronic absenteeism and train 50 “transit ambassadors” to assist students on buses during peak travel times. The measures come as Detroit Public Schools Community District, which currently enrolls about 49,000 students, continues to contend with chronic absenteeism and declining enrollment.

STEM

NASA expands access to STEM internships, career programs, and mission-based learning

NASA has consolidated its internships, student competitions, technical career programs, citizen science projects, and mission-linked educational resources into a back-to-school guide designed to connect students and educators with the agency’s workforce and scientific activities. Opportunities include mentored internships, engineering challenges such as the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, career events for high school and community college students, and remote citizen science projects using NASA data. The agency is also offering classroom engagement tied to upcoming missions, including the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and SpaceX Crew-13, alongside live astronaut downlinks and sessions with NASA experts. Individual programs have separate application processes, deadlines, and eligibility requirements.

INTERNATIONAL

Alberta delays school flag rules as educators call for broader consultation

The Alberta government has delayed new rules that would restrict which flags can be displayed at schools, require schools to play the Canadian national anthem weekly, and give Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides the authority to name or rename public schools. The measures had been scheduled to take effect September 1st as part of An Act to Remove Politics and Ideology from Classrooms and Amend the Education Act, 2026, but the government said it will consult stakeholders, provide updated timelines, and support schools through the transition. Other provisions of the legislation, including a new student code of conduct, greater ministerial oversight of superintendents and school board priorities, and digital provincial exams, are still expected to take effect September 1st. Teachers and opposition critics have raised concerns that restrictions on Pride, Métis, Indigenous, francophone, and other flags could undermine students’ sense of inclusion and belonging.
Industry Slice Logo

Education Slice delivers the latest, most relevant and useful intelligence to key educators, administrators, decision makers and teaching influencers, each weekday morning..

Content is selected to an exacting brief from hundreds of influential media sources and summarised by experienced journalists into an easy-to-read digest email. Education Slice enhances the performance and decision-making capabilities of individuals and teams by delivering the relevant news, innovations and knowledge in a cost-effective way.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities within Education Slice, please get in touch via email sales team

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on XFollow us on Linkedin

This e-mail has been sent to [[EMAIL_TO]]

Click here to unsubscribe