After weeks of protests and public hearings, the Boston School Committee voted 5-2 on Wednesday to pass a controversial budget proposal of just over $1 billion from Superintendent Tommy Chang for the 2017 fiscal year. Earlier this month, Mayor Marty Walsh vowed to spare high schools from budget cuts after more than 1,000 BPS high school students walked out of their classes in protest of the proposed cuts..Read more >
Advocates should read this "listening session" focusing on girls of color, jointly released by the National Women's Law Center and Girls for Gender Equity. The session highlights the voices of girls of color, giving them a forum to speak about issues that uniquely affect their experiences in schools and society. The report also proposes solutions for these issues, including increasing youth advocates, restorative justice, and culturally competent counselors and other staff members. Read more (PDF) >
Mark your calendars for March 24! The Coalition for Community Schools will be hosting the last of its webinar series on ESSA. This will cover the new Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Full Service Community Schools, and Promise Neighborhoods. Read more >
The Education Law Center released their latest National Report Card on school funding. In most states, they found that public funding for schools is both unfair and inequitable: that is, not only are schools not receiving the funds they need, the schools that need funding the most are the ones with the most dramatic shortfalls. Read more >
UCLA's Civil Rights Project recently released a report that found high-suspending charter schools disproportionately suspend students of color and students with disabilities. One extremely concerning finding is that 235 charter schools suspend over 50% of their students with disabilities. Read the report to see more disturbing data about these schools' role in the school-to-prison pipeline. Read more >
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