Los Angeles schools to set limits on classroom screen time The school district, which serves about half a million students, is looking to reduce its reliance on devices after the pandemic.

In case you missed it -- good morning!

What Will It Take to Get A.I. Out of Schools? “I find myself speaking with my kids about A.I. in the same terms that we might discuss a creepy neighbor who lives down the block,” Jessica Winter writes. Read her report on the push for A.I. in educ...

An outstanding, comprehensive rebuke of AI mania in K-12 by @winterjessica.bsky.social that rounds out by highlighting the growing coalition of parents, educators, and other concerned humans that is working fast and hard to tamp it down.

Tell Congress: Fund Students Not For-Profit-Run Charter Schools For-profit charter school operators have found a way to exploit a legal loophole — collecting federal education dollars meant for students and funneling them into their own pockets. Now, a bill introd...

Tell Congress: Fund Students Not For-Profit-Run Charter Schools. Write one here: actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...

@npeaction.bsky.social

⚠️ The Millionaires Tax constitutional amendment passed committee yesterday and is on to a full house vote. Call your rep TODAY and ask them to vote YES so it appears on November ballots!

Find their number here:bit.ly/find_my_lL_legislator

Onward to fair, full K-12 funding...

Image of fact sheet titled “Equitable Recenue Policies Illinois Families Need to Thrive” from: https://www.illinoisrevenuealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026-overview-for-website-1.png

Details on what the Illinois Revenue Alliance is proposing:

Illinois Democrats still weighing budget options as strong revenue mixes with uncertain outlook Article Summary Illinois Democrats are waiting to see April revenue numbers before making final decisions ahead of their May 31

“‘The money’s there,’ Sen. Javier Cervantes, D-Chicago, said. ‘It’s a choice if we don’t go get that money. The billionaires don’t need the breaks. Our families need to survive.’” capitolnewsillinois.com/news/illinoi...

🚨 Action Alert: Call your rep about millionaires tax! Taking action for the public good

🚨 IL Action Alert: Call your rep about millionaires tax TODAY.

A millionaires tax could still appear on the Nov ballot! The last day for the Gen. Assembly to approve a resolution to put a ballot referendum to amend the Constitution is May 3rd—discussions are happening now. More info/sample script:

Both of Illinois' US Senators signed on as sponsors to Kelly’s Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act to repeal the federal voucher program!

Right on, @duckworth.senate.gov and @durbin.senate.gov!

Chicago’s school board election is coming. Here’s what to know and what’s at stake. November’s election will be the first time voters decide all 21 members of the school board, including the president.

Chicago voters will elect all 21 members of the Chicago School Board this November for the first time.

It’s a major shift from mayoral appointments to a fully elected board: deciding leadership, budgets, school closures, and CPS priorities.

Learn more here:
www.wbez.org/education/20...

Fewer young Americans are pursuing sewing careers. These Chicago tailors think they know why. Chicago’s emerging and longtime tailors have observed industry shifts they believe have led to fewer professional sewers.

"She wishes more 'homegrown' Americans would pursue the craft like her father did, but given that students no longer take high school home economics classes or learn to sew at home... their baseline skill levels are not what they used to be" www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/21/f...

Maine Passes Millionaires’ Tax and Pushes Back on Federal Changes Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Friday put her seal of approval on a supplemental budget bill that includes a “millionaires’…

Maine passed a millionaires' tax, making the state's tax system fairer while raising revenue to support families, workers, and students.

How much revenue will it raise? Nearly $100 million next year.
itep.org/maine-passes...

PowerSchool, Chicago Public Schools to settle student data privacy lawsuit for $17 million In addition to the $17.25 million payout, which will be split between more than 10 million potential class members, the settlement requires PowerSchool to establish a “web governance” committee to mon...

More on the settlement: therecord.media/powerschool-... @therecordmedia.bsky.social

We would love to hear if people are getting mail or emails about the settlement! DM or info@ilfps.org

(Note: CPS stopped using Naviance after the 2022-2023 school year. Lots of Illinois school districts are still using Naviance.)

PowerSchool Holdings LLC agreed to pay $17.25M to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging the company, along with Hobsons Inc., Heap Inc., and the Chicago Board of Ed, unlawfully intercepted students’ confidential & sensitive communications when they used the Naviance education technology platform.

If you haven’t received a notice, you can still submit a claim here: powerschoolnaviancesettlement.com

The claim deadline is July 27, 2026.

Communication will come from the company that is processing the settlement, Kroll Settlement Administration. Postcards are sent if no email address is available.

If the student is now over 18, they should receive an email notice with instructions on how to file their claim. If they are under 18, parent and student should both receive an email.

Students who used Powerschool in ANY US school district are part of this settlement, NOT just Chicago Public Schools students!

Blue background with a light green laptop outline. Light green text on laptop screen: Students’ confidential and sensitive communications were unlawfully intercepted when using the Naviance college/career planning software. White rectangle with blue text:PowerSchool Naviance CPS $17.25 Million Class Action Settlement White text: Any student in the US who used Naviance between 2021 and 2026 may be eligible to claim a cash payment Illinois Families for Public Schools logo (outline of the state of IL with the text, Illinois Families for Public Schools, on wide ruled notebook paper)

⚠️ Student data privacy violation settlement—If your child logged into Naviance (PowerSchool's college and career planning product) at least once between Aug. 18, 2021, and Jan. 23, 2026, they may be eligible to claim a cash payment from a class action settlement.

"...Iowa's private schools have been raising their prices...by the program's third year, ESAs had led to a roughly 40% increase in tuition."

School choice is booming in Iowa. Are students better off? With school choice programs ascendant not just in Iowa but across the U.S., Cedar Rapids offers a preview of who wins and who loses when education meets the free market.

"This school year, McCarville said, 98% of Xavier families are using an ESA, including many who were there, able and willing to pay tuition, before the program began." www.npr.org/2026/04/19/n...

Education experts to Mamdani: why are you foisting AI on our kids? | Fortune "If a local children's hospital told parents, 'We've got this new drug, it has potential, just trust us,' people would be horrified."

“We just don’t want to waste another 10 years in which our kids’ education is undermined,” said Leonie Haimson, executive director of the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy. “It took more than 10 years to ban cell phones from schools. We can’t afford that again.” https://bit.ly/4ceLfF1

Our elected leaders are making it loud and clear that this voucher scheme is unpopular and an opaque, unaccountable, and inequitable means of dispersing public dollars to our schools.

The Boards of Illinois’ largest school district AND largest county also said NO to federal school vouchers!

Sen. Duckworth AND Sen. Durbin signed on to sponsor the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act, which would repeal Trump’s school voucher scheme. The unified voice of both our Illinois senators sends a strong message to Congress, Gov. Pritzker, and the IL General Assembly to reject this program.

graphic with tan background and a transparent image of the Illinois state Capitol building in the background. Text: no federal school vouchers for Illinois. Image of a sheet of notebook paper with text: Rejecting Vouchers Action Steps RESULTS! A checkmark list w/ text: Both of Illinois' US Senators signed on as sponsors to theKeep Public Funds in Public Schools Act to repeal the federal voucher program; Cook County’s Board shelved a pro-voucher resolution.;The Chicago Board of Ed unanimously approved an anti-voucher resolution. Text: collective advocacy FOR THE WIN!; ilfps.org

Together, we’ve achieved BIG advocacy wins in the fight against the new federal school voucher program.

Thank YOU for springing into action and boosting the NO vouchers advocacy steps across all levels of government.

🧵 #edusky

Senate Bill Proposes Rollback Of Federal School Vouchers Before federal vouchers can go into effect, a new Senate bill has been proposed that would undo them entirely.

Senate Bill Proposes Rollback Of Federal School Vouchers www.forbes.com/sites/peterg...

“Children with disabilities have federally-protected rights to special education in public schools – but not in private schools. Allred said she's seen her competitors either reject a disabled student outright or admit them, only to push them out when they become too much work.”

“But the district told NPR that it lost about 230 kids to Blietz's new school last fall, and each of them took more than $8,000 of state and local funding with them. So, even though Prep is a kind of public school, its gain is the district's financial loss.”