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Texas will require students to take the STAAR test in person
Read full article: Texas will require students to take the STAAR test in person(TEXAS TRIBUNE) – Texas public school students must show up in person to take the STAAR test this spring and districts can apply for waivers to socially distance test-takers, according to recent guidance released by the Texas Education Agency. School districts can set up sites outside of their schools, including performing arts centers, hotels and recreational centers where they can "ensure equitable access and maintain test security." Currently, Texas requires all districts to allow in-person learning for all students who want it, with few exceptions. Texas has already said students in younger grades who fail required STAAR exams can move up to the next grade. Morath said the data from the tests will show the extent of the educational gaps Texas students have experienced during a devastating pandemic.
DC charters offer innovations in pandemic-era education
Read full article: DC charters offer innovations in pandemic-era educationSmaller and more nimble than the D.C. Public Schools system, the charters have been able to adapt and modify practices on the fly, trading information and pushing the limits of pandemic-era education. It's a process that the D.C. Public Schools system has watched closely as it plans its own return to the classroom. “There’s a tremendous amount of trial and error,” said Shannon Hodge of the D.C. Charter School Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for the charter system. “There are real innovations coming out of it.”Each of the three student “cohorts” at the Social Justice School are assigned a specific bathroom to use. The school received its approval from the D.C. Public Charter School Board over the summer and opened its doors for the first time this fall.
Vermont looks to become first state to provide universal meals to public school students
Read full article: Vermont looks to become first state to provide universal meals to public school students(CNN) – A Vermont lawmaker is looking to make the state the first to provide meals to all public school students. State Democratic Sen. Debbie Ingram filed a bill last week that would provide free breakfast and lunch to all public school students pre-K through 12th grade. The Vermont lawmaker was not able to provide specific details about how funds would be diverted from the Education Fund to the meal program. Currently, roughly 16,400 public school students in Vermont receive taxpayer-funded breakfast and lunch, according to Hunger Free Vermont Executive Director Anore Horton. Horton told CNN the bill is about eliminating the "stigma and shame" students and families could experience incurring debt in the traditional school meals program.