“Most-clicked story of the week: K-12 schools and colleges have another year to comply with a new web accessibility rule after deadlines were extended under an interim final rule issued April 20 by the U.S. Department of Justice. For K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions in counties or cities with populations of 50,000 or more, the original compliance date of April 24, 2026, has been pushed to April 26, 2027. For districts or colleges in counties or cities with fewer residents, the April 26, 2027, deadline is now delayed to April 26, 2028. Number of the week: 27 The number of states that have expressed interest in participating in the first federal private school choice tax incentive program as of April 15, according to the IRS. Details on a formal opt-in process for states in the program set to launch Jan. 1, 2027, have yet to be released. Limits on tech and reading materials The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution on April 21 to create and enforce a screen time limit policy for students districtwide by the 2026-27 school year. The move marks a significant step toward curbing classroom tech use in the nation’s second-largest school system. The policy will include a ban on district-issued devices for students in early education through 1st grade, and it will require the district to set maximum daily and weekly screen time limits by grade level for older students. Less than 3% of book challenges in 2025 came from parents, and a full 92% were initiated by groups or government officials, according to an analysis of book challenges at public, school and college libraries published April 20 by the American Library Association. Some two-thirds of the challenged books, or about 5,668, went on to be banned, and an additional 920 were restricted in some way, marking the highest number of titles censored in a single year and the highest rate of censorship recorded between 1990 and 2025, according to ALA. Innovation spotlight Due to the budgetary impact of declining enrollment, Texas’ Donna Independent School District approved a plan in 2025 to close two elementary schools. But in doing so, the district was better positioned to launch three specialized academies for preschool and elementary — focusing on arts as well as science and sports — to launch in the 2025-26 school year. A 2023 Arkansas law improved teacher retention after boosting teacher’s minimum salaries from $36,000 to $50,000 and ensuring at least a $2,000 raise for teachers statewide, a University of Arkansas study found. The average raise spurred by the LEARNS Act was $4,246, while 1 in 4 teachers received over $5,940, the study said. But researchers warned that the law’s impact “may fade over time” if salaries aren’t continually raised and don’t keep pace with inflation.
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