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EduClips is a roundup of the day’s top education headlines from America’s largest school districts, where more than 4 million students across eight states attend class every day. Read previous EduClips installments here. Get the day’s top school and policy news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the

Top Story

DEVOS — U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said in a Constitution Day appearance in Philadelphia that the nation’s schools are giving short shrift to civics and history, in part because of the pressure to focus on reading and science, technology, engineering, and math—the STEM subjects.

And she criticized colleges and universities for putting what she described as severe limitations on students’ freedom of speech and expression, citing conservative students who say their views were sidelined by more-liberal college administrations.

During her speech last week, DeVos said that schools need to teach students to engage with others with whom they might disagree. And she said that needs to begin at the K-12 level, where she noted that civics education hasn’t been a priority. ()

National News

CHARTERS — Appeals Court: Charter School Must Recognize Union ()

PUERTO RICO — Average Puerto Rican Student Missed 78 Days of School After Maria, Study Finds ()

ARMING TEACHERS — Democrats Pan ‘Dangerous and Dumb’ Idea to Arm Teachers as Gun Concerns Hijack ESSA Hearing (Read at The74Million.org)

LITERACY — What Literacy Skills Do Students Really Need for Work? ()

EQUITY — The Architect: How One Texas Innovation Officer Is Rethinking School Integration (Read at The74Million.org)

DIVERSITY — Boundary struggles: A Maryland school system looks for more diversity ()

District and State News

CALIFORNIA — L.A. Unified makes 6% offer to teachers ()

TEXAS — Paxton takes a stand for Cy-Fair ISD in case of student who sat for Pledge of Allegiance ()

FLORIDA — ‘Joke’ school threats on the rise after Parkland massacre ()

ILLINOIS — CPS nixes photo ID requirement to attend board meetings after outcry ()

NEW YORK — Three things to watch as the release of New York’s test scores draws near ()

CALIFORNIA — Lead problems in water linger at Los Angeles schools, despite years of testing and repairs ()

ILLINOIS — Education a key issue for candidates in Illinois’s 59th Senate race ()

NEW YORK — Law would make city reveal PTA fundraising information ()

TEXAS — Texas Education Agency considers cutting high school cosmetology programs ()

NEVADA — Raiders donate $35K to Henderson school to help students ()

Think Pieces

ACHIEVEMENT GAP — America’s Achievement Gap — Made, Not Born? What a Study of 30,000 Students Reveals About Lowered Expectations and Poorer-Quality Instruction for Kids of Color (Read at The74Million.org)

TEACHING — A new report argues that students are suffering through bad teaching and simplistic classwork. Is that true? ()

SPECIAL ED — Special ed needs to change. Vermont shows how. ()

CAREER EDUCATION — Starting Career Education In Middle School ()

Quote of the Day

“Administrators too often attempt to shield students from ideas they subjectively decide are ‘hateful’ or ‘offensive’ or ‘injurious,’ or ones they just don’t like. This patronizing practice assumes students are incapable of grappling with, learning from, or responding to ideas with which they disagree.” —U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. ()

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