Equity Issues in Education


FCC Chair Proposes $200 Million Pilot for Data Security in Schools and Libraries

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel formally announced a proposal that would create a $200 million, three-year pilot program to help pay for data and information security services in K–12 schools and in libraries.

New Network Tool Measures Students' Connectivity Off-Campus

The new Digital Equity module, an extension to Lightspeed's Digital Insight network and ed tech analytics platform, provides real-time connectivity and device health data on students’ school-issued devices, enabling school leaders to know when students experience connectivity outages at home — allowing for interventions or assistance before learning outcomes are impacted, the company said.

Screenshot of the Hallo platform showing a student interaction with the AI-powered career coach chatbot Boris

Hallo's New Career and Jobs Platform for Students Features AI-Powered Coach, 'Boris'

Hallo has launched a revamped website for connecting students to career opportunities, and it features a personalized, AI-powered career coach named Boris built on GPT-4 technology, the company said in a news release.

Chalkboard image with text "movers and shakers" overlaid with company logos of Pearson, United Educators, Centegix, National Math and Science Initiative, BlazerWorks, Mentor, and D2L

People on the Move: Prentice, Ogden-Reese, Irwin, Cluver, Anderson, Myrie, Wilson, Kozyra, Yates, Kelsey, Sowin

Recent leadership and advisory roles announced by education and ed tech organizations include a new CEO at Pearson, a new CMO at D2L, a new COO at Centegix, a new board member at United Educators, a new CEO at National Math and Science Initiative, a new CEO at Mentor, and new special education advisory leaders at BlazerWorks.

LatinX Ed Tech Summit 'Bridging the Digital Divide' Tackles Sustainable Solutions for Underserved Areas

The Success Through Technology Education (STTE) Foundation will hold its second annual LatinX Ed Tech Summit, “Bridging the Digital Divide,” on June 16, 2023, in El Paso, Texas. It will focus on three key goals to develop digital education solutions for underserved areas, especially rural and LatinX communities.

ED Invites Districts to Apply to Fostering Diverse Schools Program; Deadline is July 7

The U.S. Department of Education is now accepting applications for the Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Grants program and will hold a pre-application webinar on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Applicants can sign on at oese.ed.gov/fostering-diverse-schoolprogram-fdsp/

image shows graphs and charts of student learning assessments illustrating data capabilities of Edulastic Data Studio

Edulastic Adds Big-Picture Data Views and Early Warning Features to Data Studio

Digital learning provider GoGuardian has added new big-picture data reporting to the Data Studio metrics dashboard within the Edulastic assessment platform, combining student data into overall performance trends and allowing administrators to set goals and receive early warnings when assessment data is trending below those goals, according to a news release.

title says " ‘I Had No Tools to Help Struggling Readers’:  A Teacher Turned Coach  Explains Why Every  Educator Prep Program  Should Include the  Science of Reading"

'I Had No Tools': Why Every Teacher Prep Program Should Include the Science of Reading

With nearly half of the nation’s new teachers still graduating without an understanding of high-quality reading instruction, former classroom teacher-turned-literacy coach Kathleen Law discusses why — now more than ever — every teacher prep program in the country should include the Science of Reading and give future teachers the foundational tools they need to help struggling readers.

ED Opens New CTE Challenge for High Schools Focused on Space Exploration

The U.S. Department of Education has launched a new CTE program called the Your Place in Space Challenge, inviting high schools to “submit designs for a product or service that will contribute to space missions and exploration,” and an informational webinar for educators is scheduled for May 10.

graphic shows student data, teacher data, and staff data all feeding into "School Passport" and coming out anonymized

School Passport 2.0 Puts Schools In Control of Data, 'Seamlessly Anonymizes' PII Shared with Ed Tech

Global Grid for Learning has unveiled its newest school data exchange solution designed to give schools better data analytics and control over data privacy while eliminating the need for vendors using the standards to access and share students’ protected private information, by using patented anonymization and API technology.