NY State spent $10 million to retrain teachers in reading instruction. But literacy experts say the course relies on flawed methods the state pledged to replace. My latest for @hechingerreport.org:

“We’ve spent $10 million on this? Can I get a refund?” asks one expert after reviewing NY State’s science of reading teacher training course. Its critics say it could undermine the state’s literacy overhaul. My latest for @hechingerreport.org:

Teachers and education experts are sounding alarms over South Dakota’s math standards overhaul. Critics say the changes simplify content at the expense of rigor. My latest for @hechingerreport.org:

Reformers wanted kids under 12 out of the justice system. But in several New York cases, the response has been to jail moms. My latest for The Imprint:

From social studies to math, conservative groups are reshaping state standards. South Dakota’s math rewrite could influence other states next. My latest for @hechingerreport.org:

A little used child endangerment law is now being used in a new way: prosecuting parents for their young children’s alleged crimes. Public defenders say they’ve never seen it applied like this. My latest for The Imprint:

Small banks hold just 10% of U.S. banking assets but make more than half of loans under $1 million. Their survival increasingly depends on niche lending. My latest for Comstock’s Mag:

Small banks aren’t trying to beat Wall Street at scale. They’re beating it with specialization. My latest for Comstock’s Mag:

Alabama poured millions into improving elementary math instruction and scores are rising statewide. But students in the poorest districts still lag far behind wealthier peers in proficiency. My latest for @hechingerreport.org:

Summer math programs, high‑quality curricula and coaches have helped some Ala. students catch up. But optional attendance and resource disparities threaten long term gains. My latest for @hechingerreport.org:

Kids & immigration enforcement: One child asked her mom to teach her how to cook so she’d be able to feed herself if her mom was deported. In @hechingerreport: hechingerreport.org/parents-chil...

"Never before has there been a need to beg for lawyers to work for the DoJ": blog.simplejustice.us/2026/02/07/w...

Rarely used felony vandalism charges against Palestinian protestors.... filed by Calif. Dem prosecutors: boltsmag.org/stanford-san...

A publisher who lays off a reporter whose pen is freezing because she's covering a frigid war zone while dodging missiles is not an editor you want to work for, in a more perfect world

California farm exports are collapsing under retaliatory tariffs, with wine and rice shipments plunging and growers forced to destroy long-term crops. My latest for Comstock’s Mag:

Tariff hikes are squeezing small distributors who depend on imports: soaring costs and tight margins making it hard to pass higher prices to customers. My latest for Comstock’s Mag:

In the least surprising follow up to Trump's invasion of Venezuela, Chevron now prowling, reportedly granted sole export authorization of oil. www.infobae.com/venezuela/20...

"A newly unredacted FTC complaint shows that PepsiCo and Walmart worked together to rig grocery pricing, drive up pricing at competitors and protect Walmart’s dominance": www.forbes.com/sites/errols...

What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids? Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.

The question on the left is a valid inquiry into a matter of public opinion, whether the regime's illegal invasion is popular. The one on the right implies that Americans have the right to opine on deciding who leads a separate sovereign nation. We don't.

Principal to parent of Black child called a monkey: “Would you be offended if they called him a cat?” “Open season” on Black students in Lubbock TX: hechingerreport.org/probes-into-..., new from @hechingerreport.org

NC prison officials raise the markup on the wholesale cost of canteen goods from 20 to 25 percent in order to “adapt to shifting economic conditions”: boltsmag.org/north-caroli...

NYS legislators reopening debate on Raise the Age yet again. Maybe fix this: A tiny fraction of the prevention $ that were part of the RTA have been spent on prevention: ny1.com/nyc/all-boro... and context: drive.google.com/file/d/16e0K...

New York has no statewide rules limiting police from handcuffing children under 12. Most upstate departments leave it up to officer discretion, and lawmakers’ attempts to change that have failed. My latest for The Imprint:

Children as young as 8 and 9 have been handcuffed by police in upstate New York. Few agencies track when it happens. Most have no rules against it. My latest for The Imprint:

A two mile stretch of track near the Ashokan Reservoir has become a flashpoint in a fight over tourism in Ulster County. Death threats. Alleged sabotage. Community meetings boiling over. My latest for @chronogram_:

A threat to kill multiple people. Reports of tampering with railroad equipment. Angry public meetings. In the Hudson Valley a fight over a scenic corridor has turned toxic as residents debate rail versus trail. My latest for The Chronogram:

Way easier to find takes on what Kimmel said than a transcript of what he actually said. Here: people.com/what-did-jim...

Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People seems to come in handy these days:

Here’s a concept. This is a major highway. Next to it is a bike and ped lane. These are everywhere. Sweden, of course: photos.app.goo.gl/ynQ7ogqcWN2c...

A NY prison psychologist admitted to sexually assaulting a teen in custody. Advocates warn that cuts to federal prison rape protection resources put many more kids at risk. My latest for @theimprintnews.bsky.social:

The Trump admin’s rollback of resources for federal prison rape protection has been “fast sudden unexplainable and potentially catastrophic,” Youth in custody could pay the price. My latest for @theimprintnews.bsky.social:

A town hire in iconic Woodstock sparked outrage. The bigger issue is New York’s outdated risk system and public registries that have become banishment machines: . My latest for @therivernewsroom:

Woodstock (that Woodstock) is in turmoil after someone on NY’s sex-offense registry was hired for a town maintenance job. Behind the battle is this: does our banishment bureaucracy make anyone safer? My latest for The River Newsroom:

California is supposed to safeguard “abandoned” assets. Instead it sells them and funnels the proceeds into the state treasury. Critics call it a no-interest loan from residents to the state. My latest for @comstocksmag.bsky.social:

California has quietly seized $13 billion from its residents’ bank accounts, stocks and retirement funds under the state’s unclaimed property law. A system meant to reunite owners with assets now does the reverse. My latest for @comstocksmag.bsky.social:

A decade of mentoring, stipends, and scientific prep wiped out overnight. Federal cuts to UC Davis and Sac State programs could cost the region its next generation of STEM leaders. My latest for @solvingsacramento.bsky.social: buff.ly/aplOuM3

On the men who fled a dictatorship for the U.S., then had their protective status revoked, then this spring were deported to El Salvador where they say they were tortured: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMqz...

Students once funded to study neurodevelopmental disorders and fish health are now applying for tutoring jobs to scrape by. NIH cuts are shutting down Sacramento’s science training engine. My latest for @solvingsacramento.bsky.social:

2025 ASJA Awards: Excellence in Reporting Winner: “New York Set Out to Keep Half of All Foster Youth With Family. Some Counties Still Fall Far Short of That Urgent Goal” by Steven Yoder in The Imprint @stevenyoder.net

2025 ASJA Awards: Excellence in Reporting Honorable Mention: “Math ends the education careers of thousands of community college students. A few schools are trying something new.” by Steven Yoder in The Hechinger Report @stevenyoder.net

NY constitutional law professor on the Jan. handcuffing of an 11-y-o: “You have a child who’s completely compliant. Her friends are trying to be cooperative. They’re all answering questions. They look scared.” My latest for @theimprintnews.bsky.social: imprintnews.org/top-stories/...

“It violates the Constitution to have a policy of automatically handcuffing suspects,” especially children, says a New York constitutional law professor My latest for @theimprintnews.bsky.social: imprintnews.org/top-stories/...

Ah. The pro quo part of the mayor’s deal may have finally appeared: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/18/n...

A Black hair-care workshop at LSU was blocked. A pre-med student’s trip was canceled. Student gov bills are now pre-cleared by legal. Trump’s anti-DEI push is reshaping life on campus. 4 of us for @hechingerreport: hechingerreport.org/how-trump-is...

From revoked visas to canceled grants and purged websites, Trump’s first 6 months have sent shockwaves through higher ed. We visited 4 campuses to see how. 4 of us for @hechingerreport: hechingerreport.org/how-trump-is...

Rules for asking q’s in a congressional hearing are the opposite of those in journalism: 1. Turn your q into a statement. 2. Ask closed-ended q’s. 3. Ask multiple q’s at a time. Both sides of the aisle:: www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-r...

So much: thebloggess.com/2025/01/28/n...

Always wonder how this affects kids’ school performance. #CommasMatter

I hope he’ll be ok: midhudsonnews.com/2025/05/23/h...