[Weekly EdNews Round Up] Should the Education Secretary Be a Teacher?

No one knows better than educators about the importance of staying up-to-date. In Edmentum’s Weekly News Round Up, you’ll find the latest and most interesting education news, all in one place.

Since her appointment as Secretary of Education by Donald Trump, Betsy DeVos has received much criticism for many of her decisions in office. Now, Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is saying the role of Education secretary should be held by an educator. Read more about this story, and more, in this week’s EdNews Round Up.

Warren: Education Secretary Should Be a Teacher
U.S. News
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat running for president, pledged that if elected, she would tap a public school teacher to be her secretary of education.

SAT to use 'adversity score' for students applying to college
Fox News
The College Board, which oversees the SAT exam used by most U.S. colleges during the admissions process, plans to introduce an “adversity score” which takes into consideration the social and economic background of every student.

Kamala Harris’s Long-Shot Bid to Fix School Funding
The Atlantic
The senator and presidential candidate says America needs to reform how it funds schools, but the details of any alternative approach are scant.

NEA Report: Only Five States’ Charter School Laws Rate “Mediocre” or Better
neaToday
Does your state have charter laws that fall short of protecting students and leave taxpayers on the hook for fraud, waste, and abuse? Probably.

Ed Dept official: US ed spending now in 'full recovery' after recession
Education Dive
In the 2015-16 school years, seven years after the recession caused major hits to school districts' budgets, more real dollars were invested in Pre-K through 12 than before the recession.

Does Higher Ed Really Pay Off? New Gates-Funded Commission Aims to Find Out
EdWeek
As the cost of college rises and students go deeper into debt to finance it, families are increasingly asking whether higher education is worth the pricetag. A new commission has begun a project to provide information that could help answer that question.

Report on Title I Highlights Complex, Sometimes Unfair, Funding Mechanisms
U.S. News
A congressionally mandated report confirmed some of the worst suspicions about how the federal government doles out funds for the multibillion-dollar program.

Education policy is often a topic of conversation in state and federal legislatures. Stay in-the-know with this week’s top stories regarding education reform at the state and national level.

Mississippi's New Solution for the Teacher Shortage
EdWeek
Mississippi has launched the nation's first state-run teacher residency program to tackle two problems: a growing number of unfilled teaching positions in the state, and a lack of diverse teachers in the profession.

Schools can't withhold diplomas because of unpaid lunch debt, Minnesota attorney general says
Star Tribune
The opinion, regarded as law unless a court or the Legislature says otherwise, says existing statutes already prohibit withholding a diploma for nonpayment of fees or demeaning a child over unpaid lunch debt.

Georgia's governor vetoes a bill requiring elementary schools to have recess every day
CNN
Georgia lawmakers' attempt to get kids some daily exercise on school playgrounds has been shut down by Gov. Brian Kemp. Despite research that suggests children can benefit from a break from schoolwork, Kemp has vetoed House Bill 83, which would have required elementary schools to implement a daily recess for students.

Nevada officials pledge marijuana taxes for K-12 education, teacher raises
The Nevada Independent
In an effort to help school districts that say they can’t afford teacher raises promised by Gov. Steve Sisolak, state lawmakers have introduced two measures designed to increase or free up millions of dollars in education spending.

Online testing just finished in Tennessee – and it worked this time
Chalkbeat
One year after frozen computer screens and spinning cursors left many of her students and teachers in tears, assistant principal Tara Baker is giving Tennessee significantly higher marks for its handling of state tests completed.