June 29th Weekly News Report: Delta Variant, CA Budget, and Private Meetings with Republican Legislators in Shelby County.

Editor's Note: This weekly media report covers national news in K-12 education, with a focus on Los Angeles and Memphis. Please be in touch with [email protected] with any questions.

News

• The Delta variant has districts concerned about what the fall semester will look like, from Los Angeles to Memphis and in between, and highlights the issue of how to navigate Covid-19 vaccinations. (Commercial Appeal, EdWeek, The 74 Million,  CNBC, The Chronicle of Higher Education)

 

• In California, the most recent budget is headed to Governor Newsom’s desk. Though it calls for record spending on education from Pre-K through college, the finer details - such as to whom and where the funds will go - remain in flux. (EdSource, CalMatters, Los Angeles Times)

 

• In Memphis, headlines were made when a group of parent advocates met with Republican lawmakers this week to discuss the need to improve Shelby County Schools. The meeting did not include representatives from the district.  (Chalkbeat Tennessee, ABC 24) 

 

Views

• LA Daily News (Linh Tat, K-12 Reporter):  ‘I’ve still got another chapter in me’: For LAUSD’s Beutner, a turbulent term but no regrets 

 

• Chalkbeat Tennessee (Marta Aldrich, K-12 Reporter): 10 Tennessee education laws, on topics from Common Core to vaccination, taking effect July 1

 

• The Hechinger Report (Jill Barshay, Hechinger Report): Proof Points: Should parents value academic achievement or academic growth in a school? 

 

• Education Next (Jon Marcus, Editor at Hechinger Report): Charter Schools Go to College

 

• The 74 Million (Linda Jacobson, K-12 Reporter): Chaos Theory: Amid Pandemic Recovery Efforts, School Leaders Fear Critical Race Furor Will ‘Paralyze’ Teachers

 

• The 74 Million (Kevin Mahnken, Senior Reporter): New Federal Data Confirms Pandemic Blow to K-12 Enrollment, With Drop of 1.5 Million Students; Pre-K Experiences 22 Percent Decline

 

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Disparities in Learning Mode Access Among K-12 Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic, by Race/Ethnicity, Geography, and Grade Level -- United States, September 2020-April 2021