Each week, AAE brings its members a round-up of what’s happening in education. From big, eye-catching headlines to the stories most papers overlook, we find the news our members really want to see. This week, there’s segregated school districts, a foster care threat, cyberattacks, and more!

America’s Segregated Schools: A new report from the nonprofit EdBuild reveals that the way we organize school districts increases racial and economic segregation in American schools. The report found around 1,000 school districts where the borders were drawn to create sharp distinctions between affluent and poverty-stricken districts. The report makes the claim that much of the blame can be put on the Supreme Court Case Milliken v. Bradley. In Millikin v. Bradley, the court ruled that governments can’t force districts to integrate across district lines. This creates the incentive for districts to hoard resources and makes it difficult for districts in poorer areas of the country to make up revenue gaps.

Foster Care Threat Unleashes Furor: A Pennsylvania school district made national news this week when it sent home a letter threatening putting students in foster care if lunch debts were not paid. Lunch room finances have made national news multiple times the past year as districts struggle with how to balance their own budgets without harming students. Nearly everyone in this case agreed the threat went too far, including the head of the county’s Children and Youth Services department. Almost immediately offers to cover the debts poured in, including one from the co-founder of La Colombe Coffee. Initially, the district refused the donations, but has now changed its mind. The district sent out a letter of apology announcing that they were accepting the donations to forgive lunch debts and from now on all students would receive free breakfast and lunch through USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service program.

Cyberattacks Threaten US Schools: Cyberattacks are becoming a more frequent threat for US schools. In one attack schools in Avon, Connecticut lost their ability to connect to the internet for a week, while in Louisiana, the governor announced a statewide emergency after several school districts were found to have malware in their computer systems. In Alabama, a school district has had to push back the start of the school year due to a malware attack on their system. According to the FBI, school districts are targets because of the sensitive, personal information they hold on their systems. Additionally, school systems have often failed to protect themselves from such attacks.

Happening Elsewhere:

Civil rights commission calls for schools to combat racial disparities in discipline

In the ‘Juul room’: E-cigarettes spawn a form of teen addiction that worries doctors, parents and schools

School readiness impaired in preschoolers with ADHD symptoms

School psychologists develop intervention to reduce hallway disruptions

Research Roundup: Three New Studies Of The Long Term Effects Of School Choice

Thousands of Students Could Lose Free School Meals if SNAP Changes

Electronic Gaming Federation to Launch National High School Esports Championship with ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in 2020

Decades after a grade-school program to promote social development, adults report healthier, more successful lives

23 Middle School Students Crowned 2019 National Speech & Debate Association Champions

Girls report more harassment amid rise in cyberbullying

Science gets hands on in summer STEM programs, but funding challenges remain

How Did Charter Schools Lose Their Luster? Our Reporter Explains

How One Student Manages School Under Strain of Family Separation

South Dakota Public Schools Add 'In God We Trust' Signs To Walls

Oregon Students Can Now Take 'Mental Health Days' Home From School

There is no maximum salary any longer for NJ school superintendents

Virginia school's transgender bathroom ban is back in court

Indiana virtual schools open for now despite closure looming over inflated enrollment numbers controversy

What’s going on where you are?

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