All articles tagged with #education
France’s parliament approved a two-stage plan to block under-15s from creating social-media accounts and to ban mobile phone use in schools, with new accounts blocked from Sept 1 and existing ones from Jan 2027, pending a Constitutional Council review that could delay implementation; supporters say the measure protects children online while opponents warn about constitutionality and enforcement challenges.
Vanderbilt University plans to open a new art college on the California College of the Arts site in San Francisco in fall 2027, funded by a $75 million matching gift from Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang. The Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang College of Art, Architecture and Design would offer a tech-forward curriculum focused on engineering, entrepreneurship and design and enroll about 1,000 students. CCA will close after the 2026–27 year, with teach-out agreements at other institutions; current CCA students aren’t guaranteed admission to Vanderbilt. The move follows prior Nvidia partnerships and state grants on the site, and Vanderbilt says it will preserve CCA’s legacy while launching a new era of arts education in San Francisco.
Renowned author Dave Eggers criticized OpenAI for promoting AI-generated writing, calling it “pastiche nonsense” that harms students’ ability to learn to write. After publicly challenging CEO Sam Altman over an AI short story, Eggers was invited to OpenAI’s headquarters to speak to employees, arguing that the technology risks silencing a generation of writers and making educators’ jobs harder, while noting the encounter left him feeling energized—“I had a ball.”
Texas public schools will require a diverse mix of texts—from Shakespeare and Orwell to folktales and children’s biographies—for about 5.4 million students across kindergarten through 12th grade, signaling a broad curriculum that spans classics, culture, and foundational literature.
AP News reports a rise in borrowers defaulting on federal student loans after pandemic-era protections expired, signaling increased borrower distress and potential policy implications for loan relief and repayment rules.
Defaults on federal student loans are rising as the pandemic-era payment pause ends, leaving millions of borrowers facing resumed payments, potential delinquencies, and credit consequences while policymakers and lenders highlight repayment options and relief programs to ease the transition.
Defaults on federal student loans surged after pandemic relief ended, with about 9.5 million borrowers in default by early 2026 and more than 4.2 million adding to defaults since 2025. The upheaval follows a rollout of changes to income-driven repayment and the dismantling of the SAVE plan, triggering wage garnishments, damaged credit, and sharply higher monthly payments for many. Borrowers—often from for-profit schools or with loans transferred among servicers—describe confusion and stress as they try to restart their lives, with some hoping PSLF or other forgiveness paths might help, even as the overall system remains chaotic and opaque.
Author Dave Eggers told about 200 OpenAI staff during Sam Altman's invitation that ChatGPT has a catastrophic effect on educators, making teachers' lives harder and depriving students of learning to write and finding their own voice, effectively silencing an entire generation.
Guardian's Molly Oldfield hosts a family-friendly five-question science quiz created by children, covering topics from whale navigation and the sun–Neptune distance to SpongeBob’s look, why arms swing when we walk, and sharks’ ecological role; readers are invited to submit their own junior brainteasers for future quizzes.
In New Delhi, police forcibly hospitalised activist Sonam Wangchuk after 20 days of fasting to protest alleged corruption in India’s exam system. The High Court ordered hospital care following doctors’ advice as security tightened around the Jantar Mantar protest site. The Cockroach Janta Party movement, which has drawn large online support, demands Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, an overhaul of the exam system, and compensation for families of students who died amid exam-related stress. Background context includes mass retakes after leaked exam questions and a temporary Telegram ban. Further demonstrations were planned as Parliament session began.
The Department of Homeland Security finalized a rule ending the longstanding duration-of-status policy for F-1 international students, limiting stays to four years unless an extension is approved and tightening rules on changing majors or institutions; proponents say it improves screening and reduces visa abuse, but critics warn it will deter international students and disrupt degree timelines, especially for Ph.D. students, amid USCIS processing backlogs. The rule takes effect September 15.
A Kobe-based second-grader, Jo Nagai, with guidance from entomologist Dr. Martha Weiss, conducted home-based experiments showing swallowtail caterpillars can be conditioned to avoid a lavender scent after mild shocks, with 80% of the conditioned group later avoiding the scent as butterflies. Nagai then explored whether memories could be inherited by offspring, reporting preliminary evidence that memories may be passed to the next generation. He plans to present the findings to the Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society and hopes to pursue a career as an insect vet.
Michigan has spent more than $12 million on Jenner & Block’s investigation into the Sherrone Moore ouster and athletic department culture, with two new invoices for about $200,000, but the university is refusing to release the findings citing attorney‑client privilege; a Detroit Free Press FOIA lawsuit seeks access, while outlets like The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic have reported details.
Apple's 2026 Back-to-School promotion is live in select Asian countries (China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam), offering students and educators a free gift with the purchase of a qualifying Mac or iPad. Gift options vary by country and include a four-pack of AirTags, AirPods 4, an Apple Pencil Pro, or an Apple Gift Card; some countries also offer discounts on higher-value accessories. Exclusions apply (MacBook Neo, iPad mini, entry-level iPad, desktop Macs). The offer runs through August 27, with rollout in the U.S., Canada, and Europe expected soon.
Utah’s state board of education expanded a statewide ban on Stephen King’s Different Seasons after several districts removed the four novellas for “objective sensitive material.” The collection—linked to films like Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption—includes Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body, and The Breathing Method and was previously available to grades 7–12. Bans are triggered when enough districts (three, or two districts plus five charter schools) deem material harmful to minors; as of mid-July Utah lists 35 banned titles. The ACLU filed suit in January challenging the bans as unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, highlighting ongoing clashes over censorship in U.S. schools.