Public School Policies

Recess has been a core component of the public education experience for generations. However, pressure from standardized testing, academic recovery efforts, and packed instructional schedules has often made outdoor playtime a casualty in the quest to improve academic performance. Some school districts have limited the amount of outdoor time students receive during the school day, while others have reduced recess in favor of additional classroom instruction. At the same time, many educators and health experts continue to advocate for protecting recess because of its proven benefits for students' physical, mental, and academic well-being.

New Jersey became one of the first states to guarantee daily recess for elementary students, and its legislation has since become a model for other states considering similar policies.

About S-1501

The bill introduced in the New Jersey Legislature as S-1501 eventually became law. Today, New Jersey requires all public elementary schools serving students in kindergarten through fifth grade to provide at least 20 minutes of recess each school day, excluding instructional time needed for physical education. Schools may only withhold recess under limited circumstances involving student safety or other exceptional situations.

State Senator Shirley Turner, who championed the legislation for many years, argued that students perform better academically when they receive regular opportunities to play and recharge during the school day. Since the law took effect, education leaders across the country have increasingly recognized recess as an important part of a well-rounded education rather than simply a break from learning.

Parents interested in learning

An anti-bullying bill in the throngs of the state legislature in Minnesota recently passed a major hurdle. The Minnesota House approved the bill designed to strengthen schools’ responses to bullying in a vote that mostly ran along party lines. While many applaud this step forward as a way to protect children from damaging behavior in school more effectively, others have voiced concern that state lawmakers are overstretching their reach to the public school system.

About the Bill

According to TwinCities.com, House representative Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) introduced the new anti-bullying bill. Davnie says that the bill is necessary because the current 37-word anti-bullying law for the state is inadequate in protecting bullied victims. Davnie asserts that if his bill is passed, it would take Minnesota from being one of the weakest states in the country on bullying to “instead, being a leader in building safe and supportive school climates for all students.”

According to a report at Minnesota Public Radio, one of the most important features of the bill is the fact that it defines bullying. Davnie explains, “It established clear definitions of bullying, cyber-bullying, harassment, and intimidation, and then sets a high bar for school involvement.”

This video from Minnesota Public Radio examines the issue of bullying in Minnesota public schools.

The new bill identifies bullying as any word or action that “disrupts a student’s education.” It also lists bullying based

This article has been reviewed and updated for accuracy and relevance as of 2026.

Prom is a rite of passage for many high school students; a chance to celebrate with friends before everyone heads in different directions after graduation. For students at some Georgia high schools, the evening celebrations were restricted according to the color of a student’s skin. Segregated proms have been going on in some areas of Georgia for decades since the schools backed out of sponsoring the events. In the hands of parents and students, proms have become an “invitation-only” event, with black students hosting one party and white students hosting another.

Change is in the Air

This year, four students at Wilcox County High School decided it was time for a change. The female students, two white and two black, have decided it is time for their school to have an integrated prom. The students created an Integrated Prom Facebook page, where they wrote, “We live in rural south Georgia, where not too many things change. Well, as a group of adamant high school seniors, we want to make a difference in our community. For the first time in the history of our county, we plan to have an integrated prom.”

The four friends began their campaign when they decided they all wanted to be able to enjoy their senior prom together. One of the girls, Quanesha Wallace, had been elected homecoming queen for her school in the fall. However, she was

The Newtown tragedy last December brought to light the vulnerability of public schools across the country. To answer concerns about student and staff safety, many have clamored for the addition of armed guards in every school nationwide. However, research suggests that placing armed police officers in schools may create more issues even as it is addressing the need for student safety. Police presence in schools may actually increase the number of students in the criminal justice system – often for minor crimes that could have been handled at the school level.

Not a New Idea

Despite the increased rhetoric surrounding police presence in school in recent months, the idea is not new. According to the New York Times, school districts have been using federal funding and other resources to bring police officers into schools since the 1990s. Known as “school resource officers,” these armed officers typically patrol high schools and middle schools, but some have been placed in elementary schools as well. Deseret News reports that the U.S. Department of Education recently found around 28 percent of all public schools report they have an armed security guard on school grounds during class hours at least once a week.

Hundreds of larger school districts, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Houston, have actually established their own police departments. These departments, boasting thousands of sworn officers and other staff members, are under the direct oversight of district officials. The Los Angeles School Police

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

Climate change has never been a consistent part of the school science curriculum. Some teachers have touched on the subject, but few have delved into the matter with the depth it requires for thorough understanding. Sometimes it is presented as a controversial theory, and at other times it is taught as irrefutable fact. Now, national and state science standards have helped streamline the educational approach to the subject of climate change.

About the New Standards

The science standards were created as a result of a partnership between the National Research Council and organizations including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and National Science Teachers Association. The non-profit group Achieve was also a part of the collaboration. Standards introduce the concept of climate change at a much younger grade and continue to expand on the subject throughout middle and high school. The standards, known as the Next Generation Science Standards, were released in 2013 and continue to influence science education in 2026. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provides information about the framework and standards that resulted from this work.

This video from Teacher TV offers an overview of climate change.

Until then, the only effort to establish national science standards was in 1996, when the National Science Education Standards were published by the National Research Council.