Our team is always seeking the latest news in the field of education. As advocates for a high-quality education for ALL students, we know we have to stay up-to-date on everything that’s going on in the education spheres of our nation…from the White House to the local public school district, from new legislation to the small acts of bravery and kindness made by a single teacher, from the milestones and celebrations to the hazardous injustices affecting many of our nation’s students.

Here are the stories that we are focused on this week.

Big Stories that Drove the Week

Education Department implements special-education rule after losing court case via Washington Post

The Education Department told states this week that it was reversing course and enforcing an Obama-era regulation designed to ensure children of color are not disproportionately punished or sent to special-education classrooms.

Sanders’s Education Plan Renews Debate Over Charter Schools and Segregation via The New York Times

Many Democrats, most notably Barack Obama, support charters as a way to provide more options to families, especially those that are too poor to move to a higher-quality school district or pay for private school. The impact of charters on school segregation is hotly disputed in education circles, and by linking these elements, Mr. Sanders touched a nerve in a highly charged debate within the party.

When NYC neighborhoods grow whiter, public schools don’t always follow suit via NY Daily News

That crossing of zone and district lines may be another reason why increasingly white neighborhoods don’t always lead to whiter schools, says David Bloomfield, a professor of School Psychology, Counseling and Leadership at Brooklyn College. “It’s a kind of internal white flight,” Bloomfield says.

The new findings also cast doubt on the idea that New York can solve its school segregation problem by fixing neighborhood segregation, Bloomfield says, and point to the need for a citywide plan.

One thing to read this weekend

‘Can’t pay their bills with love’: In many teaching jobs, teachers’ salaries can’t cover rent via USA Today

In the first analysis of its kind, USA TODAY examined salaries and housing costs for teachers all over the country.

New teachers can’t afford the median rent almost anywhere in the U.S, the analysis shows — a point often made during recent teacher strikes across the country. But that’s not the full story.

Did any of these articles particularly speak to you? We would love to know your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below: