Hundreds of U.S. schools will supplement fire drills and tornado training next fall with simulations of school shootings. In response to the December shootings by an intruder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, several states have enacted or are considering laws that require more and new types of school safety drills, more…

Whether they're organizing events, buttonholing legislators, or simply trading ideas and information, a growing number of "parent unions" are attempting to stake out a place in policy debates over education in states and districts, amid a crowded field of actors and advocates. As the term implies, some of these organizations see…

In a bid to help more students read proficiently in 3rd grade--a skill considered critical to their future educational success--new laws and initiatives springing up around the country require educators to step up their efforts to identify and help struggling readers even before they enter kindergarten. It's not unusual for states or school…

In an election year dominated by the pitched battle for Congress and major governors' races, state ballot measures involving education are largely tied to a similar theme: the burden of funding K-12 programs when state finances are shaky. In some cases, initiatives, constitutional amendments, and other ballot measures seek to tap new sources of…

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last September 2006 to take up the issue of when a teachers' union may spend the money it collects in the form of "agency fees" from nonmembers on political causes. The justices said they would review a Washington state law that requires nonmembers to "affirmatively consent," or opt in, before a…

This article reports the 7-2 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding a Washington state scholarship program that denies aid to theology majors. Disappointing proponents of tuition aid for students in religious schools, the court held that Washington state was well within its rights to exclude students' training for the ministry from its Promise…