Dec. 18, 2025, 5:05 a.m. ET When the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition announced recently its high school winners in Paris, the grand prize went to a Chinese team from Shenzhen. Six of the nine runners-up were also from China. Only one American school ‒ Lambert High in suburban Atlanta ‒ made it into the…
The Waukesha School Board voted to close three elementary schools at the end of this school year in an effort to deal with declining enrollment. Board members voted 8-1 for the option that would close, repurpose or sell Bethesda and Hawthorne elementary schools and the Whittier building, which houses the district’s STEM elementary program. Diane…
Colorado voters resoundingly approved a ballot measure Nov. 4 to raise taxes on high-income households to pay for free school meals for all students at public K-12 schools. A separate measure also approved by a large margin allows the state to retain excess revenue already collected for the Healthy School Meals for All program, exempting…
A growing number of states — 35 — have passed laws or policies limiting students’ cellphone use in the classroom, but South Dakota isn’t yet one of them. Whether the state should enact a statewide ban on cellphones or leave it up to the local control of school districts and school boards has been debated…
Wisconsin has enacted a new law requiring school districts to create policies banning student cell phone use during class. Many districts, including Milwaukee Public Schools, already have policies restricting phone use, but will now review them for compliance. Some school administrators report that stricter phone policies have already led to improved student engagement and behavior….
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a bipartisan bill into law that will largely ban student cell phone use in public school classrooms. School boards are required to create a policy by July that generally prohibits cell phone use during the school day, with some exceptions. Exceptions to the ban can be made for emergencies, managing…
Can schools in Ohio legally confiscate or search students’ cell phone? In Ohio, state lawmakers voted this year to prohibit cell phone use during the school day under most circumstances. Each school district, community school, and STEM school must adopt a policy by Jan. 1 prohibiting students’ use of cell phones during the instructional day, with some…
More schools are adopting policies banning cell phones, from all-out bans that forbid students from taking their phones out at any time of day to more flexible policies that allow older students to have their phones out during lunch or other breaks. In some classrooms, students are even instructed to put their phones in what…