The Weekly Connect 03/09/2026

K-12 Dive: Students Feel Safer in School When Their Concerns Are Heard, YouthTruth Finds
YouthTruth, a nonprofit that focuses on improving schools based on student input, released a report on students’ and school staff’s perceptions of school safety. Researchers surveyed nearly 200,000 students in grades 3-12 and over 19,000 educators in the 2024-25 school year. Sixty-seven percent of secondary students felt safest in their classrooms, while only 50% and 25% of students felt safe in school bathrooms and on the school bus, respectively. Black, Hispanic or Latino, and indigenous students, as well as LGBTQ+ students and English language learners, experienced higher rates of safety anxiety than their peers. There are also gaps between students’ and staff’s perceptions of safety. For example, 83% of high school staff believe that their school has clear safety instructions for security threats, while only 59% of high school students reported the same. Students were twice as likely to witness physical fights compared to school staff. The survey responses indicate that schools need to improve communication with students about safety mitigation efforts and ways to report concerns to lessen students’ anxieties in schools. 

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications: Longitudinal Bidirectional Relations Between Digital Literacy and Cyberbullying Experiences in Adolescence 
Children who experience cyberbullying have worse mental and physical health. Previous research has found that high digital literacy can be a protective factor against cyberbullying; however, the relationship between the two has not been deeply examined. The present study assesses the connection between digital literacy, cyberaggression, and cybervictimization. Adolescents from Hong Kong completed surveys on digital literacy and experiences of cyberbullying in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 school years. Findings indicate that high levels of cyberaggression are linked to low digital literacy. Adolescents with prior cyberbullying victimization were more likely to later have high levels of digital literacy, while those who had little improvement in their digital literacy were more likely to become victims of cyberbullying. These results suggest that digital literacy may lessen the impacts of cyberbullying and provide protection against victimization, and that these skills can be developed over time in the classroom to improve children’s digital awareness and health outcomes. See also: Study Links Increased Broadband Access to Suicide Risk Among Teens

The 74: Parents Favor Free Tutoring, Summer Camp, Open Enrollment … Annual Testing? Not So Much  
A survey conducted by 50CAN examined 23,104 U.S. parents’ satisfaction across five educational areas: school quality and opportunity; tutoring, summer, and mental health; out-of-school activities; information and engagement; and college and career readiness. Forty-seven percent of parents report being “very satisfied” with their child’s school, which increased by two percentage points since last year. In comparison, low-income parents’ satisfaction increased by five points. Parents are now less likely to support annual testing and are more likely to support free tutoring and summer camps. Fewer than half of parents reported that their public schools “definitely” academically prepared their children for next year. Across the political spectrum, parents are now more likely to support Education Savings Accounts and open enrollment policies, which allow students to attend a public school of their choosing. The majority of parents want schools to focus on improving tutoring and mental health supports, especially for low-income families.

The 74: COVID Relief Funds are Gone, But More States Commit to High-Impact Tutoring
After COVID-relief funds for tutoring services expired in 2024, the federal government provided states with $256 million in literacy research grants to continue these programs. Before the new funding was announced, nearly half of the states had a grants program or used school finances to help districts pay for tutoring initiatives. Eight states are now attempting to pass legislation for tutoring-related programs. Arkansas created two tutoring programs: one that provides grants to districts and charter schools, and the other that offers parents up to $1,500 to spend on literacy tutoring. In New Mexico, a bill aims to require high-impact tutoring for students with a reading or math “deficiency,” and in Ohio, the Senate passed a bill that would provide free tutoring for students with the lowest math and reading scores. While pandemic relief funds allowed states to experiment with tutoring models that would benefit students, a policy expert asserted that evidence of effectiveness was uneven, while others say that lessons have been learned about how effective, personalized support can be implemented at scale.  

The Hechinger Report: Massachusetts is Poised to Shake Up Literacy Instruction — and Some Educators Don’t Like It 
Massachusetts will soon enact one of the strongest reading laws in the country. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education estimated that only half of the state’s school districts have a high-quality, evidence-based curriculum for literacy instruction, and reading scores have declined in the past few years. The new legislation would require school districts to use state-approved, evidence-based curricula to improve instruction based on science-backed practices, which include lessons on phonemic awareness and comprehension. Districts can apply for a waiver, but the state must approve. Critics of the bill, including the state’s largest teachers union, believe that it will take away teachers’ autonomy in choosing instruction that would best serve their students. However, others believe that the legislation will improve student instruction and outcomes. The bill will soon head to Governor Maura Healey, who has praised the legislation as “another step toward ensuring every student has high-quality literacy instruction.”

K-12 Dive: Special Education Enrollment Keeps Growing. These 3 Graphics Show How.
The number of students who qualify for special education services has increased by 3.8% compared to the previous year, totalling around 8.2 million students. Simultaneously, public school enrollment decreased slightly by 0.3% in the last school year. The percentage of special education students in general education classrooms has also increased compared to previous years. This enrollment data is reflective of experiences across the country, with the number of students with disabilities increasing while overall student enrollment is decreasing. The increase in special education diagnoses is likely due to multiple factors, such as higher awareness, early identification of autism and ADHD, universal screenings, and developmental and language delays linked to the pandemic. Texas saw the highest year-over-year percent increase in students qualifying for special education, by 10.5% between 2023 and 2024. This is likely due to a new funding initiative that gives Texas schools an additional $1,000 for each special education evaluation to test students who may have a disability. 

AP News: As Literacy Rates Lag, a Pediatric Hospital is Screening for Reading Ability
Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, began offering screenings through its clinics to assess children’s literacy skills starting at age three. The program aims to recognize children’s reading struggles early on to provide guidance and resources to families. The pediatric hospital has assigned a literacy coordinator to half of its 13 clinics. The literacy coordinator identifies areas where children might need additional support through a ten-minute assessment. Children’s reading abilities are then reassessed at their annual check-up. Staff also refer families to early education programs and give children tools and activities to practice literacy skills at home. Similar to throughout the country, students in the Columbus City Schools need support in language and literacy skills. Research shows that students who enter kindergarten with low reading ability have more difficulty catching up with peers as they age. Several other pediatric care centers, including Boston Children’s Hospital, have started including literacy resources in their clinics.