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News / Education / State

After awkward meeting, Ivey demands a new reopening plan from ALSDE

Frustrated lawmakers, including Gov. Kay Ivey, asked Alabama State Department of Education officials and board members to settle on a comprehensive plan to reopen Alabama’s public schools this fall.

July 15, 2020

Concerns mount over lack of detailed plans for opening schools

“We can no longer act as if we are operating under normal conditions. We are faced with an abnormal situation that none of us has seen before," Alabama Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton said.

July 14, 2020

Teachers are scared and frustrated about starting school. Many aren’t coming back

Teachers are scared to death. And the biggest reason they’re scared to death is because they haven’t seen any sort of real, aggressive plan from anyone.

July 13, 2020

Jones says Alabama is “in very dangerous territory” with the coronavirus

“We are still in very dangerous territory,” Jones said. “We are in the middle of this first wave, not in a second wave.”

July 8, 2020

Governor appoints Barbara Cooper as secretary of Department of Early Childhood Education

Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced the appointment of Barbara Cooper as secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education. “Dr. Barbara Cooper has spent her professional career dedicated to helping students achieve their greatest potential. She and I share the same goal, and that is to make Alabama a better place, which begins … Continued

July 1, 2020

Jones introduces bipartisan bill to help Alabama schools safely reopen this Fall

U.S. Senator Doug Jones has joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in introducing a bill to help Alabama schools and colleges cover the costs of protecting students and educators from COVID-19. The Reopen Schools Safely Act will establish a new federal grant program at the U.S. Department of Education to help school districts and colleges reopen … Continued

June 29, 2020

To close the homework gap in our schools, let’s close the partisan divide in Washington

As Alabama shut down its schools on March 16thand moved classes online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was saddened but not surprised when many Gulf Shores students told me they didn’t have broadband at home needed for their coursework. Having headed school systems in Piedmont, Huntsville and now in Gulf Shores’ first year … Continued

June 2, 2020

Legislators briefed on coronavirus crisis

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and her team on Thursday briefed state legislators on the latest developments on the coronavirus crisis that has gripped the state for the last ten weeks. State Public Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris told legislators that the state has 13,058 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. 528 Alabamians have died from COVID-19 … Continued

May 22, 2020

CDC issues new guidelines for schools reopening

Most Alabama children have not seen the inside of a school building since March 13. When schools reopen in early August, if schools reopen, much will be different about school as we know it. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines on on how schools should reopen in the fall. … Continued

May 21, 2020

Doug Jones, Lisa Murkowski call for increased federal investment in education

Thursday, Senators Doug Jones (D-Alabama) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) led a group of their colleagues in urging Senate leadership to include robust funding for America’s schools, educators, and students in the next round of COVID-19 relief funding. “It is not just teachers who will be impacted by these shrinking education budgets,” Jones and the other … Continued

May 20, 2020