The historic investment in growing the teacher workforce, with an emphasis on male educators, is part of a number of initiatives Moore’s Democratic administration is taking to address the crisis of young men and boys in his state. He previously created Maryland’s Young Men and Boys Initiative within the Governor’s Office of Children to focus on mentorship, educational support and community resources that combat systemic disadvantages. 

An objective study of the state of mental health, education and employment of men and boys in America would lead to only one conclusion: they are in a state of crisis. Nationally, two-thirds of those in the top 10% of high school classes are young women, while young men make up two-thirds of the bottom 10%.

In Maryland, boys scored 11 points lower than girls on the National Assessment of Educational Progress’s Grade 8 reading assessments, one of the largest gaps in the nation. Boys in Maryland remain behind throughout high school as only 82.6% graduate high school compared to 88.8% for girls.

For those young men who do graduate from high school, fewer and fewer are choosing to attend college. That choice is having a detrimental impact on young men. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one-third of young men with only a high school degree are out of the labor force. 

America needs more teachers, but the crisis among men and boys highlights how much America needs more male teachers, in particular. Nationally, men account for just 23% of teachers, down from 33% a generation ago. Similarly, in Maryland less than one in four teachers are men. The : Male educators influence student discipline, engagement, expectations, and academic outcomes for all students, but especially for boys. 

That’s why the is helping launch the Male Educator Network (MEN), which will answer the call of elected officials at the local, state, and federal level looking for policy solutions to the growing shortage of male educators. MEN will also give the over 700,000 current and future male teachers in America the first national association dedicated solely to their long-term success from high school, through college, to graduate school, and throughout their career in education. 

Already a bi-partisan group of governors is raising awareness about how young men and boys are struggling to show up in their schools, homes, workplaces, and communities. That includes ensuring young men and boys are not negatively impacted by the shortage of male teachers. 

In response to the growing crisis of mental health among young men and boys in California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last year issued an executive order directing state agencies to boost male recruitment in education and expand mentorship opportunities. Recently, California invested over $2 million in a marketing campaign to attract men to join the teacher workforce. 

In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive to boost male enrollment in post-secondary education and vocational training, including teacher apprenticeships. Michigan is taking a comprehensive approach with its Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative, which helps provide full financial support including tuition and fees to future teachers while enabling them to earn an income through a registered apprenticeship program. 

In Utah, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox raised the alarm nearly three years ago when he established the Task Force on the Wellbeing of Men and Boys. The task force was created to propose and implement policy solutions centered on addressing mental health, workforce and education. 

In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont took time out of his 2025 State of the State address to challenge his legislature: “Here is a DEI initiative, which folks on both sides of the aisle may appreciate. We’re doing outreach to get more men into teaching. Statistically, boys are most likely to be the disconnected youth. A few more male mentors in the classroom – and coaching – just might help. What say you, Education Committee?” State policymakers in Virginia and Washington have also introduced bills this session to study the state of men and boys and respond with policy solutions. , a bi-partisan group of lawmakers in Virginia passed SB447, establishing an advisory commission for men and boys. The commission is responsible for issuing annual reports with legislative recommendations. In Washington, a bill to establish a commission was voted out of committee but did not move forward as it failed to receive a public hearing by the cutoff date for the fifth year in a row.

The growing interest in the crisis of men and boys is incredibly important but not enough. Interest and attention must be matched with timely, research-based, policy and budgetary solutions focused not only on recruitment but retention of male educators. Far too many male teachers leave the profession each year, many due to isolation and lack of support from other men in education. Male educators need one another to not only address the growing demands of being a teacher, but also to access the training and network to move up in the profession. That’s what the Male Educator Network can bring.

Focusing on men and boys should not distract us from the plight of women and girls. We can do both. We can’t have a world of thriving women in a world of struggling men. Male teachers don’t only serve young men and boys, their presence improves the lives of all students.

The Senate on Thursday passed a short-term, $480 billion increase in the debt ceiling that lasts through Dec. 3 — a move that prevents the U.S. government from failing to pay its financial obligations. 

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, after vowing not to help Democrats with the issue, rallied 11 Republicans to end debate and allow the measure to move to a floor vote. Then  passed 50-48, with only Democrats voting in favor. The bill now moves to the House.

“Tonight’s votes are welcome steps forward in averting a default that would have been devastating for our economy and for working families. President Biden looks forward to signing this bill as soon as it passes the House and reaches his desk,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “As we move forward, there must be no question of whether America will pay its bills; Congress must address the debt limit in December and beyond – just as we’ve done almost 80 times over the last 60 years.” 

Dec. 3 is the same day Congress must pass the fiscal year 2022 budget or another continuing resolution to keep the government open, setting up another possibility that the government will once again come close to default and a government shutdown.
 

Federal funds that states depend on for low-income students, special education and school nutrition programs could be at risk if Congress doesn’t lift the government’s debt limit, the White House warned states last month.

The U.S. could be in default by Oct. 18, which could disrupt global financial markets and trigger what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week called a “parade of horribles.” Democrats have been trying to get bipartisan support to raise the limit — the total amount the Treasury Department can borrow to meet its financial obligations. But Republicans have balked, leaving Democrats to deal with the politically unpopular issue.

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“Raising the debt limit comes down to paying what we already owe,” President Joe Biden said Monday, stressing that the matter has nothing to do with his agenda for infrastructure or social programs.

While most education funds — about 90 percent — come from state and local revenues, some programs rely more on federal sources, such as Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Head Start and child care. A from the White House to state and local governments estimated that up to $50 billion in K-12 education funding could be affected. The standoff over the debt limit adds to the list of major budget challenges currently facing Congress. Members still need to pass the fiscal year 2022 budget and Democrats disagree over a major social spending package that includes funding for schools and early-childhood programs.

Default “would have reverberating effects for states and school districts, whose own finances would be thrown into uncertainty,” said Whitney Tucker, the deputy director of research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank. “Title I will have to stand in line with all the other federal obligations due.”

Tucker wrote about the last week, saying that if the issue isn’t resolved, states would have to turn to reserve funds to cover costs.

The potential loss of funds creates headaches for district finance officials.

“On top of everything else they’re managing right now, the last thing district leaders need is another layer of contingency planning,” said Jonathan Travers, a partner with Education Resource Strategies, a nonprofit that advises districts on financial matters. “As a field, we don’t have the extra bandwidth available right now to respond to debt ceiling brinkmanship in any sort of proactive, planful way.”

A default would impact the National School Lunch and National School Breakfast programs as well as other federally funded nutrition efforts totaling $30 billion, according to the White House memo.

School meal programs are “incurring costs and they rely on the federal government for reimbursement after the meals are served,” said Diane Pratt-Heavner, spokeswoman for the School Nutrition Association.

Because of supply chain delays and shortages of typical menu items, school nutrition programs are already spending higher prices on food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week announced in assistance to help them cover those costs.

that benefit children, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, would be affected as well. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen noted that parents receiving monthly child tax credit payments, part of the American Rescue Plan, could .

But Marguerite Roza, director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab, cautioned that while a default would certainly impact the stock market, states shouldn’t be worrying about their account balances running low.

“States are sitting on a lot of cash right now,” she said, referring to the American Rescue Plan, which included $122 billion for K-12. But most of those funds, she added, are still at the state level and haven’t reached districts.

Tucker agreed that the relief funds could provide a cushion, but some states haven’t yet received all of the funds and others have already allocated them.

from Politico and Morning Consult shows that voters would hold both parties responsible if the government goes into default, but they’re more likely to blame Democrats than Republicans.

In 2011, during the Obama-Biden administration, the U.S. came close to the , with Tea Party Republicans ultimately winning budget cuts in exchange for an increase in the limit. The debt limit became an issue again in 2014, but at that point, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted to allow the measure to to a vote. Democrats also helped Republicans increase while President Donald Trump was in office.

This time, Democrats wanted to lift the debt limit by adding language to a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government running through Dec. 3. The Republicans didn’t go for that and President Joe Biden ended up signing a resolution Thursday night without the debt limit increase.

The Democratic majority in the House on Wednesday passed a separate , but the Senate is not expected to pass it. Republicans want Democrats to lift the debt ceiling as part of Biden’s proposed social and education package. But that plan is on shaky ground, with Democrats divided on how much to spend and Biden already conceding that it will probably amount to much less than the $3.5 trillion he proposed.

Democrats could also move just to lift the debt ceiling using the budget reconciliation process, meaning they would only need a simple majority to pass. Biden asked Republicans to allow Democrats to do that.

“Republicans just have to let us do our job. Just get out of the way,” he said. “Let us vote to end the mess.”

Arkansas is creating a tutoring corps. Montana will provide more training for teachers working with American Indian students. And Wyoming wants to focus on supporting teachers who serve English learners.

Those are among the ways states are spending their portion of from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, according the U.S. Department of Education posted on Monday. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia met the June 7 deadline, but 23 states are still finalizing theirs, giving parents and advocates more time to weigh in on how they want states to direct the funds.

In April, states received $81 billion of the K-12 funds. States won’t receive their slice of the remaining $41 billion until their plans are approved, but the hold up shouldn’t affect districts’ initiatives to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss, experts said.

“Because states already have the lion’s share — two-thirds — of the … funds and are allocating them to districts this summer, states and districts should be able to implement activities in the fall, whether they formally submit their plan now or later,” said Anne Hyslop, the director of policy development at the Alliance for Excellent Education.

In a statement, the department said it is posting the documents online now so families, educators and community organizations can follow how officials plan to spend this once-in-a-generation influx of federal funds for education. While 90 percent of the funds are being distributed to districts, states still have a combined $12 billion to address learning loss and continue preparing schools for fully reopening in the fall. With several plans still outstanding, some experts say the extra time means states can gather more input from the community on how to best respond to students’ needs.

The extra time “could ultimately improve the quality and sustainability of the plans,” Hyslop said.

She said she’ll be interested to see whether states decide to create competitive grant programs, which, she said, could be an effective way to distribute the funds and focus on the needs of “students who’ve been most affected by the pandemic’s disruptions.”

But some will have a better grasp on whether or not students are off track. States that were able to test more students in-person this spring will have more reliable data.

“Because school doors were open for in-person instruction, we had a high participation rate for our statewide assessment. I’m anxious to dig into the data to learn more,” said Wyoming Superintendent Jillian Balow. “Rather than focusing on why students are behind, we have a rare opportunity to address it with federal funds and a keen focus on closing gaps, especially in literacy.”

States had to set aside 5 percent of their allotment to help students catch up, 1 percent for afterschool programs and 1 percent for summer learning and enrichment programs. New Mexico will join with local municipalities to offer for middle and high school students, and New Jersey is issuing grants for summer learning academies to focus on subject areas affected by school closures, such as the arts and STEM.

Most states, according to the department, are using a portion of the funds to address students’ social and emotional health. from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms teens, especially girls, have struggled with mental health issues since the beginning of the pandemic. Among adolescents, the proportion of emergency room visits related to mental health issues increased 31 percent between 2019 and 2020. And between February and March this year, suspected suicide attempts among girls had increased by half, compared to the same time period in 2019.

Oklahoma plans to spend $35 million to hire more counselors and other mental health professionals, and the District of Columbia plans to expand its on-site behavioral health system to increase students’ access to clinical services.

That was one of several requests the D.C. Charter Alliance made in of budget recommendations in February. The pandemic has created instability in finances, employment, housing and food, said Shannon Hodge, executive director of the Alliance. “And we know that those instabilities will affect students’ mental health and their readiness to learn. One of the easiest ways to improve access to mental health care for students is to make services available at school.”

‘Turning up the volume’

Six states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada and Wisconsin — don’t expect to submit plans until August or September. Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director for advocacy and governance at AASA, The School Superintendents Association, said while the wait doesn’t stop district’s efforts, it “does make it trickier.”

“Being in a state that submitted their plans will make it easier for [districts] to move forward in a timely manner while knowing the state expectations [and] commitments,” she said.

Dan Gordon, senior legal and policy advisor with EducationCounsel, added the delay could complicate matters if states communicate “a key policy priority” once school starts.

“Some of those might be great ideas, but waiting too long to share them could make it hard for districts to thoughtfully incorporate them into their own plans,” he said.

The delay, however, also gives parents and education advocates more time to influence officials’ decisions on where to direct the funds.

“Students will likely return to our school system in the fall with a host of needs that require additional training and supports for educators,” said Feliza Ortiz-Licon, chief policy and advocacy officer at Latinos for Education, a national advocacy organization.

California, where she used to be a state board member, is among those not submitting a draft until August. She said she hopes the state uses the extra time to get more input from the community and focus on increasing educator diversity. “The teacher shortage has been exacerbated by the pandemic and California needs to consider new and innovative ways to attract and retain talent,” she said.

Minnesota is expected to turn in its plan by June 30th.

Khulia Pringle, the coordinator of family engagement and advocacy for the Minnesota Parent Union is concerned that because Gov. Tim Walz announced his in January, long before the American Rescue Plan passed, he won’t incorporate parent feedback now.

She’s organizing a virtual town hall for later this month, arguing that Black, Hispanic and other minority parents — especially those whose children have disabilities — have not been well represented on a committee that is advising the state.

“We’re turning up the volume now,” she said. “We’re trying to engage them, but they’re not trying to engage us.”

Ashleigh Norris, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Education, said officials are currently gathering public comments and are “committed to authentic engagement.”