Welcome back. This week we’re looking at the data protections major teachers unions are putting in place, a new study on what makes ed tech contracts work, and a look at what's driving better reading scores this year.
1️⃣ Teachers Unions Win New AI Data Protections
Major teachers unions reached a legally enforceable agreement with Microsoft that sets specific safeguards for how student and teacher data gets used in AI tools. The agreement bars Microsoft from using that data to train AI models or selling it for advertising, and it puts schools in control of how their data gets used, retained, and erased. It also requires Microsoft's AI tools to carry strong security protections and avoid designs that create harmful or manipulative experiences for students. Districts can add the new standard to an existing contract without waiting for renewal, and it rolls out nationwide starting November 1. This gives districts a ready-made standard instead of negotiating these protections from scratch.
2️⃣ Homeless Toddlers Are Slipping Past Early Learning Programs
A new analysis from SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan finds that early learning programs, the main setting where staff can spot homelessness and connect families to help, are reaching only a small share of the youngest children who need them. California shows the scale of the problem. An estimated 86,000 children under age 3 experienced homelessness there in 2023-24. That is more than 5% of the state's infants and toddlers, and it marks a 15% increase from the year before. Only 14% of those children were enrolled in early learning programs. The gap suggests states are missing their most vulnerable children at the exact age when early intervention matters most.
3️⃣ What Top Reading Schools Have in Common
A year-long review from The 74's Bright Spots series set out to find schools that beat the demographic odds on reading, and it turned up a consistent set of traits. Strong readers cluster in schools with stable, instructionally focused leadership, a solid foundation in phonics, and high expectations that hold regardless of zip code or poverty rate. The findings are a useful counterpoint in debates over whether AI and screens are making reading obsolete, since the fundamentals still work when schools commit to them.
4️⃣ School Boards Are Fighting a Trust Problem
A new EdWeek Research Center survey of 494 school board members finds that financial pressure, academic performance, and student behavior are colliding with misinformation to erode trust between districts and families. Board members keep pointing to the same gap, a mismatch between what is happening in schools and what their communities believe is happening. The boards making progress treat trust building as an ongoing practice, leaning on strategic planning and visible empathy, rather than a one-time communications fix.
5️⃣ Outcomes-Based Contracts Need More Than a Signature
More district leaders, squeezed by tight budgets and unfinished pandemic recovery, are turning to outcomes-based contracts that tie part of an ed tech vendor's payment to student results. A new independent WestEd evaluation found districts using these contracts saw real performance gains, along with more frequent communication and stronger implementation support from providers. The model only works if districts treat signing the contract as the start of accountability rather than the end, shifting the vendor relationship from a one-time purchase to shared responsibility for outcomes.
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