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EduClips: Nevada Has the Largest Class Sizes in the U.S., Study Finds; Houston’s Longest-Failing School Fell Short Again — and More Must-Reads From America’s 15 Biggest School Districts

EduClips is a roundup of the day’s top education headlines from America’s largest school districts, where more than 4 million students across eight states attend class every day. Read previous EduClips installments here. Get the day’s top school and policy news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the TopSheet Education Newsletter.

Top Story

TRANSGENDER STUDENTS — Alex Howe dreaded the long walk he had to take just to use the bathroom at his Texas high school — two unisex stalls in the middle of the sprawling building, far from his classrooms.

Because he’s a transgender boy, his school district barred him from the much more convenient boys’ restrooms. Conservative parents told the debate coach they didn’t want Howe sharing a room with their sons on trips to competitions. The frustrated coach argued that Howe should be treated the same as the other kids, but school administrators sided with the parents and wouldn’t budge. He roomed alone, singled out again.

After his graduation in 2017, Howe filed a complaint with federal civil rights officials at the Department of Education, hoping to ease the way for other transgender students at his school to use the bathrooms of their choice. But an examination of federal records by POLITICO shows that his complaint is one of at least five involving transgender students denied bathroom access that were thrown out by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who has halted such investigations. (Read at Politico)

National News

IMMIGRATION — Living in Deportation’s Shadow: How One Los Angeles Charter School Grapples With Immigration Enforcement (Read at The74Million.org)

RACISM — ‘You are animals who disgust me’: A school board candidate’s history of racist Facebook posts (Read at The Washington Post)

District and State News

NEVADA — Study: Average Class Sizes in Nevada Are Largest in the U.S. (Read at U.S. News and World Report)

TEXAS — HISD’s longest-failing school fell short again. Will 2018-19 be different for Kashmere? (Read at the Houston Chronicle)

NEW YORK — In a wide-ranging interview, Carranza takes issue with admissions to New York City’s gifted programs (Read at Chalkbeat)

TEXAS — Houston School Removes Sexist Quote From Hallway Amid Outrage (Read at HuffPost)

CALIFORNIA — San Jose district draws the line — to no avail — on adding another charter school (Read at EdSource)

FLORIDA — Miami-Dade County schools welcome back students, teachers — and police officers (Read at the Miami Herald)

CALIFORNIA — A quiet and important fight is brewing over how much must be spent on California’s schools (Read at the Los Angeles Times)

NEW YORK — Schools for scandal: The city’s too-sluggish review of scofflaw yeshivas (Read at the New York Daily News)

ILLINOIS — Gov. Rauner axes three education bills approved by Illinois General Assembly (Read at the Chicago Sun-Times)

FLORIDA — Here’s how cash-strapped teachers find a way to pay for classroom supplies (Read at the Miami Herald)

NEVADA — Report by Clark County teachers union proposes local tax (Read at the Las Vegas Review-Journal)

ILLINOIS — Morton School District breaks record with 37 new faculty hires (Read at the Peoria Journal Star)

Think Pieces

TEACHING – Renewing a Teaching License Doesn’t Help With Professional Growth, Report Finds (Read at Education Week)

CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION — Sahm: New NYC Computer HS Pairs Charter School Flexibility With Career & Technical Education. Charter Leaders Should Take Notice (Read at The74Million.org)

SCHOOL LUNCH — The Problem With School Lunch: How the Wealth Gap Is Shaming Students (Read at HuffPost)

RACISM — 5 Steps for Liberating Public Education From Its Deep Racial Bias (Read at Education Week)

Quote of the Day

“Think about, what if it was your kid? How would you feel?” —Stacey Burg, mother of Alex Howe, a transgender boy who complained about lack of access to the boys’ bathroom in high school. Under Secretary Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Department of Education has halted investigations into such complaints. (Read at Politico)

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