The Algorithm Age

A number of new education-related laws took effect in Virginia on July 1, bringing changes to teacher training requirements, student safety protocols, and access to health services in schools. Here’s a look at what’s new: Limits on teacher training (HB 1626 / SB 822): Public school teachers can no longer be required to participate in non-academic training sessions more than once within six months of being hired and once every five years after that. The total amount of non-academic training required cannot exceed 25 hours over five years, with exceptions only for certain secure testing-related violations. Extreme heat safety for student-athletes (HB 1663 / SB 1104): The Virginia Board of Education must now create and regularly update guidelines for protecting student-athletes from extreme heat. Local school boards are required to adopt policies that monitor Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) levels, establ...

A crackdown on childcare centres in South Australia found half were not meeting national quality standards, a parliamentary committee has heard. Giving evidence in the budget estimates committee on Monday, Education Minister Blair Boyer and his department heads said $7.11 million in additional funding had been given to the Education Standards Board over three years. The funding was the result of a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care, and has allowed the board to more than double the number of compliance officers from 18 to 39 full time equivalents. Acting chief executive of the Education Standards Board, Sean Heffernan, told the committee that before the funding increase, some services had gone for up to a decade without being assessed. "There has been such a big gap between assessment and rating visits so where there has been a service that hasn't been assessed or rated potentially between eight or 10 ...