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Kennewick School Board files federal complaint over state policy on trans athletes

UPDATED: Fri., March 28, 2025

An Eastern Washington school board is pleading for urgent federal intervention to force the state to comply with the Trump administration’s policy on transgender athletes.

News > K-12 education

Tri-Cities school board wants ‘urgent’ federal intervention over WA athlete gender laws

UPDATED: Fri., March 28, 2025

The Kennewick School Board on Thursday filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education over Washington state policies on who can use female locker rooms and compete on girls sports teams. The board voted 4-0 at its Wednesday board meeting to file the complaint, with board member Michael Connors abstaining. He said the complaint was a “wildly partisan document.” The complaint claimed ...

News > K-12 education

‘It’s a big family’: Professional basketball stars show Spokane youths the ropes prior to NCAA March Madness games

UPDATED: Thu., March 27, 2025

The Warehouse was alive with the sound of squeaking shoes, bouncing basketballs and gleeful chatter Thursday afternoon as area youths learned some tips and tricks from several professional basketball stars.

News > K-12 education

Mead School Board proposal suggest it would follow Trump orders that conflict with state law on transgender policy

UPDATED: Wed., March 26, 2025

A proposed policy on transgender students in the Mead School District suggests it would follow “federal guidance” over “state directives,” setting up a likely showdown with state officials tasked with enforcing state anti-discrimination law.

News > K-12 education

Mead School Board to discuss ‘noncompliant’ transgender students policy at Monday meeting

Mon., March 24, 2025

The Mead School Board will evaluate its “transgender students” policy at the next school board meeting Monday as it awaits potential backing from federal officials.

News > K-12 education

School jazz bands compete for honors at Mead festival

UPDATED: Sun., March 23, 2025

Hundreds of young musicians flowed into the Mead High School auditorium over the weekend as they competed for best school jazz band honors and picked up tips along the way.

News > K-12 education

No job is too small for Mt. Spokane High School principal, awardee of state principal of the year: ‘When you work for her, you feel valued’

UPDATED: Fri., March 21, 2025

Vacuuming floors isn’t often something advertised in a school principal’s job description. It may not be the first task one associates with leading 1,491 students and 83 teachers at a school.

News > K-12 education

Pacific Northwest Qualifier pledges to pay for Madison Elementary volleyball courts if voters pass $200m SPS bond

UPDATED: Wed., March 19, 2025

A national volleyball organization that serves up millions of dollars to Spokane’s economy each year is poised to help rejuvenate Madison Elementary School.

News > K-12 education

Spokane Public Schools to move ahead with property consolidation to save $5 million, maybe more if $200 million bond passes

Tue., March 18, 2025

The Spokane Public Schools board on Wednesday unanimously approved the first phase of the school district’s property consolidation plan that’s connected to, but not contingent upon passage of, its proposed $200 million bond for November ballots.

News > K-12 education

On five-year anniversary of COVID shutdowns, schools and hospitals reflect on ever-present effects

Fri., March 14, 2025

Five years ago this week, the United States locked down to slow the spread of COVID-19. What was initially thought to be a short few weeks before children returned to school and businesses opened turned out to last for years and continues to reverberate today.

News > K-12 education

State Superintendent weighs in on Mead School Board letter to feds: ‘Follow state law, follow state law and then if you’re not sure, follow state law’

UPDATED: Thu., March 13, 2025

With the Mead School Board saying it’s caught in a “legal dilemma,” Washington Superintendent Chris Reykdal cautioned the board to follow his guidance as the Trump Administration’s executive orders continue to contradict Washington civil rights laws.

News > Education

Thousands of highly trained WA teachers could have their pay cut

UPDATED: Wed., March 12, 2025

SEATTLE – State lawmakers are considering legislation that would reduce the pay of more than 8,000 highly trained Washington teachers by thousands of dollars annually.

News > Education

Student privacy vs. safety: The AI surveillance dilemma in WA schools

UPDATED: Wed., March 12, 2025

One student asked a search engine, “Why does my boyfriend hit me?” Another threatened suicide in an email to an unrequited love. A gay teen opened up in an online diary about struggles with homophobic parents, writing they just wanted to be themselves.

News > K-12 education

Mead School District implores feds to help solve ‘legal dilemma’ of state laws on gender policies that conflict with Trump’s executive orders

UPDATED: Tue., March 11, 2025

The Mead School Board is urging the federal government to step in as the Trump administration continues doling out directives on gender-identity issues that clash with Washington’s progressive state laws.

News > K-12 education

Mead High School principal to resign, athletic director to take over

UPDATED: Tue., March 11, 2025

The Mead High School principal will resign her post at the end of this school year, she announced Tuesday.

News > K-12 education

Yasuhara Middle School NASA launch watch party ends with popsicles, no Anne McClain launch

UPDATED: Thu., March 13, 2025

Thirty or so kids at Yasuhara Middle School sat on the school’s massive stairs long after the final bell rang Wednesday.

News > K-12 education

North Central senior surprised with coveted UW Presidential Scholarship

UPDATED: Tue., March 4, 2025

Something intangible woke North Central senior Atasha Velarde on the first of March.

News > K-12 education

Court places Mead School District in contempt over withholding documents in hazing lawsuit

UPDATED: Mon., March 3, 2025

The Mead School District is in contempt of court over the release of documents in a case alleging the district did not address sexual abuse and hazing in its football program, a judge has ruled.

News > K-12 education

Feds to investigate Tumwater district that let trans athlete play basketball game

UPDATED: Mon., March 3, 2025

Washington’s Tumwater School District faces a federal investigation from the Trump administration over allowing a transgender athlete from an opposing team to compete in a girls’ high school basketball game last month.

News > K-12 education

Trump has teased disbanding the Department of Education. Here’s how its funding touches Washington schools

UPDATED: Mon., March 3, 2025

Almost as soon as its modern inception in 1979, politicians have advocated for closing the Department of Education.

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