The University of Florida (UF) is collaborating with 11 school districts across the Sunshine State to pilot a K-12 artificial intelligence (AI) education program this fall, according to a UF news release from Sept. 22.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded another round of funding for its Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) on Oct. 19. The $78 million will benefit approximately 175,000 students, bringing the total of those awarded with broadband services and devices to over 14 million.

Federal officials urged state and local government and education leaders this week to focus on some of the Federal government’s top existing resources in the fight against ransomware attacks – including one principle that’s easy to say but harder to do – don’t meet ransom demands.

Five months after launching the K-12 Digital Mapping Program, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced over 1,000 schools and 85 school divisions have committed to using Collaborative Response Graphics (CRGs) technology as digital mapping tools to better aid first responders in the event of an emergency.

The nation’s second largest school district is still recovering from a ransomware attack that took place over a month ago. In an Oct. 2 update, Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Superintendent Albert Carvalho said the syndicate group responsible for the cyberattack has leaked the stolen data.

Days before this legislative session ends, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will require K-12 school districts to report cyberattacks that impact over 500 students.

A recent report on edtech app usage in more than 100 K-12 school districts suggests that the introduction of the technology has established new security vulnerabilities and a need to tighten students’ data privacy practices.

A Minnesota-based edtech company has released a free professional development resource for teachers in response to the data released earlier this month indicating that math and reading levels have dropped in K-12 students.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is still taking steps to recover from a ransomware attack on its IT systems last week.

A new report put out by Aurora Institute offers policy recommendations for the K-12 education system to produce equitable outcomes for all students, including closing the digital divide.