Trisha Powell Crain

School prayer bills advance in two Alabama House committees Both versions include financial penalties for school systems that refuse to comply, though the potential amounts differ significantly.

Two school prayer bills introduced by Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, were approved in two Alabama House committees Wednesday, leaving lawmakers with competing proposals that could cost school districts millions of dollars if they refuse to comply. #aledchat aldailynews.com/school-praye...

Bring Back the Try-Hard Student effort is way down. It's not their fault - it's ours.

Great piece by Tim Daly on the decline of student effort (which is only going to accelerate if we allow AI to run roughshod over education) open.substack.com/pub/timdaly/...

Career and Wellbeing Advice for Journalists Impacted by Layoffs The Education Writers Association compiled resources, tips, peer support groups, and journalism job openings for reporters.

With journalism layoffs in the news, @edwriters.bsky.social has a round-up of practical tips and strategies for reporters: ewa.org/members-news...

Montgomery Christian School sees growing interest as Alabama expands private school funding School leaders say a newer education savings account program is helping open additional doors for families seeking a private education.

ICYMI: Montgomery Christian School is seeing growing interest from families as more Alabamians explore private school options with help from state-funded options through the CHOOSE Act. The school also moved into a larger facility to expand enrollment. aldailynews.com/montgomery-c... #aledchat

Are private school choice programs helping students? Researchers say it may prove difficult to answer this question.

New: How will we know if new private school choice programs are working?

This will prove difficult to answer in the short term because publicly funded private schools don't typically take the same tests as public schools.

cbnewsletters.chalkbeat.org/p/are-privat...

Alabama will participate in federal school choice program, Ivey says BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama will participate in the new federal school choice program, Gov. Kay Ivey announced Friday morning when she signed an executive order to opt the state into the Federal Educat...

Alabama has opted in to the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit program, which begins in 2027. Student eligibility is based on household income but does not depend on the type of school a student attends, including public, private or religious schools. Story here: aldailynews.com/alabama-will...

One of ACHE’s charts really stood out to me. Associate degrees show an early bump in earnings, but growth levels off. Bachelor’s degree wages keep rising through the 30s, and that’s where the long-term payoff becomes clear. Full story and ACHE analysis linked below.

aldailynews.com/ache-college...

Seven takeaways from Alabama’s 2025 school report cards The state report card focuses on scores in each of six categories, while the federal report card adds deeper context about teacher qualifications, score breakdowns and school-level challenges that can...

Alabama’s 2025 school report cards are a mix of progress and concern. Magnet/specialty schools continue to excel. High-poverty schools face growing numbers of emergency-certified teachers. Fewer students scored at Level 1 this year. #aledchat

Two separate lawsuits are challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s revisions to a student loan forgiveness program that encourages college graduates to work in the nonprofit or public sectors.

Learn more: buff.ly/4Cpql8o

I loved writing it. Thanks for sharing. :)

'I got in!' Direct Admission gives high school seniors a new kind of hope BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – At B.C. Rain High School in Mobile, the news didn’t come all at once. Students trickled into the counselors’ office to say the words counselors Niki Dailey and Demetria Smith will n...

I love this: Every senior at an Alabama high school applied for college through a new program. The result: A record $31.7 million in scholarships at a school that's traditionally had a low rate of kids going to college. Via the must-read @trishcrain.bsky.social aldailynews.com/i-got-in-dir...

Ongoing Federal Shutdown Threatens Head Start Access for Over 65K Children 'We don't want to see our children ... caught in the crosshairs of these types of political fights,' national deputy director said.

Ongoing federal shutdown threatens Head Start access for 65K+ kids: "We don't want to see our children ... caught in the crosshairs of these types of political fights," Head Start's deputy director said. @amandageduld.bsky.social @the74.bsky.social #EduSky www.the74million.org/zero2eight/o...

New Okla. Schools Superintendent Rescinds Mandate for Bible Instruction in Schools The directive reverses an effort by former schools chief Ryan Walters that drew a legal challenge.

New Okla. Schools Superintendent Rescinds Mandate for Bible Instruction in Schools: The directive reverses an effort by former schools chief Ryan Walters that drew a legal challenge.

USC rejects Trump education compact aimed at shifting the university to the right USC interim President Beong-Soo Kim said in a statement that he had sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education turning down the Trump offer.

USC becomes the fourth university to outright reject the Trump campus "compact" -- joining MIT, Brown and UPenn www.latimes.com/california/s... @danielnmiller.bsky.social and I report:

I cover Alabama’s schools, students and ed policy for Alabama Daily News.

The Daily News Digest is an easy way to keep up with what’s happening in education - plus the top headlines across the state - delivered every morning.

You can sign up at the bottom of aldailynews.com

Special education oversight, civil rights enforcement hit hard in Education Department layoffs All workers except a small number of top officials are being fired at the office that implements the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the employees union said.

All workers except a small number of top officials are being fired at the office that implements the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the employees union said.

Jackson Schools Help Students Facing Water Shutoffs, Evictions The Jackson Public Schools district is helping students who are facing water shutoffs and evictions at the embattled Blossom Apartments.

“When we saw the news coverage, we started thinking about how we could respond, especially to find out if we had any scholars who live there,” Jackson Public Schools McKinney-Vento program manager Tiffany Jones said.

Judge Blocks Texas Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Schools

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new Texas law requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments in at least 11 school districts.

An illustration depicts workers leaving the Department of Education after losing their jobs.

New episode of Sold a Story.

𝟭𝟰: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝘀
The Trump administration is slashing government funding for science and dismantling the Dept of Ed. We look at what the cuts mean for the science of reading — and the effort to get that science into schools.

Listen: www.apmreports.org/episode/2025...

Alabama ACAP scores rise statewide, but gaps remain: See district, school results Alabama Daily News reviewed the spring 2025 ACAP results - and built interactive charts so you can look up results by district and by school.

@trishcrain.bsky.social has expertly detailed the gaps within school populations, both at the state and district level. For the first time, Alabama is parsing out scores between kids who live in poverty and those who don't.

And the results aren't pretty.
aldailynews.com/alabama-acap...

Excellent thread from @greezbock.bsky.social covering ACAP scores (good news!), her fantastic data-wrangling with R (I'm SO jealous) and how frustrating it is for journalists to deal with giant spreadsheets of test scores (it doesn't have to be this hard)! #aledchat

Alabama ACAP scores rise statewide, but gaps remain: See district, school results Alabama Daily News reviewed the spring 2025 ACAP results - and built interactive charts so you can look up results by district and by school.

Curious how your Alabama school or district did on ACAP?

We built an interactive chart where you can explore results yourself - and even download the full, clean dataset.

aldailynews.com/alabama-acap...

Sen. Britt, 9 other GOP senators urge release of frozen federal education funding BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama Sen. Katie Britt is among 10 Senate Republicans urging the Office of Management and Budget to release $6.9 billion in federal education funding currently under review, sayin...

“The decision to withhold this funding is contrary to President Trump’s goal of returning K-12 education to the states,” the letter stated.

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt joined 9 GOP senators in sending the letter. Dr. Mackey's response here, too. #alpolitics #aledchat
aldailynews.com/sen-britt-9-...

Excellent reporting from @jillbarshay.bsky.social for the @hechingerreport.org. Not gonna try to hide it - I have a huge amount of respect for Dr. Carr and am still processing what this means for federal education data's future. #aledchat

#977: New law, new questions for school choice, with Brian Jodice On this week’s Education Gadfly Show, Brian Jodice, National Press Secretary for the American Federation for Children joins us for a lively debate on the federal school choice provision embedded in th...

The big bill passed and it included a federal school choice initiative. The Gadfly goes deep on the details of this new federal-level push for choice and implications across red and blue states.

fordhaminstitute.org/national/res...

Gov. Kay Ivey highlights summer learning during Cullman STEM camp visit Gov. Kay Ivey visited the camp Tuesday morning to spotlight National Summer Learning Week.

Alabama's Gov. Ivey made a stop at a Cullman summer STEM camp to highlight National Summer Learning Week - students were building robots and marble runs as part of a two-week, grant-funded program. #aledchat aldailynews.com/gov-kay-ivey...

A summary of responses showing a slight uptick in public confidence in higher education, with community colleges doing better than four-year institutions.

New Lumina/Gallup survey data show a slight uptick in the share of respondents who have confidence in higher education, with Republicans giving much more support to community colleges than four-year institutions. It's a rare bit of good news for the sector.

news.gallup.com/poll/692519/...

Alabama's new public school funding formula could lighten ELL teachers' loads | Alabama Reflector Anna Hairston, director of federal programs for the district, said the system has already hired two ELL teachers with the nearly $1.4 million the state is allocating to the system for ELL students.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Under a new public school funding formula adopted by Alabama earlier this year, a rural school district in northern Alabama is getting almost half of its additional funding for students who are learning to speak English.

Alabama Community College System: Enrollment up, Gadsden State gets new president In addition to approving salary schedules, bond issues and construction projects, the board heard updates on enrollment and federal funding and voted to appoint a new president at Gadsden State.

While community college enrollment is recovering nationwide, Alabama’s community college enrollment is rising faster. Fall (to date) and summer enrollment are both up.

Also: A new president for Gadsden State and several big-ticket construction projects.

Read more:
aldailynews.com/alabama-comm...

Alabama Board of Education meeting briefs - July 8, 2025 MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State Board of Education on Tuesday elected new leadership and reviewed updates on student funding, school policies, and assessment results during its monthly meeting an...

Tuesday's #ALBOE meeting & work session covered a lot of ground:

✔️ New board leaders
✔️ Draft rules to fund schools under the RAISE Act
✔️ Statewide anti-vaping policy for schools
✔️ A real effort to streamline teacher paperwork

Meeting brief here:
🔗 aldailynews.com/alabama-boar...

#aledchat