The National Center for Education Statistics at the Department of Education has released data on bullying, criminal victimization, and hate speech faced by students. It makes for sobering reading. Among the findings: "There were measurable differences between students in public and private schools who reported being victims of any crime or theft at school in school year 2016–17. Students in public schools reported being the victims of any crime (2.2 percent) and theft (1.5 percent) at higher rates than students in private schools (0.8 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively). In addition, the rate of students reporting no victimization in private schools (99.2 percent) was higher than for public schools." Read the full report here.

A recent piece in the Christian Science Monitor looks at students from China studying in the US: "In 2005, US high schools enrolled only 639 Chinese students. By 2016, that number had risen to more than 33,000. While elite boarding schools have long catered to wealthy foreigners, the biggest beneficiary of the Chinese boom has been religiously affiliated private schools." Also of interest: "International students make up around 35 percent of all students at traditional boarding schools in the US and Canada, up from less than 20 percent just 15 years ago, says Peter Upham, who runs The Association of Boarding Schools. But that rapid growth, led by China, has stalled. 'There is significant evidence that growth has flattened out and in some cases started to turn down,' he says."

High school students considering college options have a new tool at their disposal: USDE's redesigned College Scorecard . According to a USDE release , "For the first time ever, students will now have access to information on the median earnings and median debt of a school's graduates, based on their chosen field of study. That means, for example, a student interested in studying engineering can now compare outcomes, such as first-year earnings and student loan debt, among engineering programs within an institution and among those offered at other schools. Students will be able to see if a career and technical education program at a two-year institution might generate a higher return on investment than a more traditional program at a four-year institution. Rather than having to rely on reputation-based rankings, the Scorecard will also allow students to choose a program based on the outcomes of students who have already completed that program." https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a piece on legislation that would help military families choose a private education: the Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act. "The bill would allow families to 'pursue alternative educational options to apply for an education savings account worth $6,000 annually,' according to the sponsors. That would make it easier to enroll in a private school with much more flexible requirements, or help a family cover part of the cost of home schooling."

An official with the office of Georgia's Lieutenant Governor indicated that the groundwork is being laid for the Georgia General Assembly to take up education savings account (ESA) legislation in 2020. See the full story here.

Legislation proposed by the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, that would establish a tuition grant program for students residing in the Harrisburg School District, has been approved by the House Education Committee. Under the bill by Speaker Mike Turzai, Harrisburg students would be abler to receive a grant up to $8,200 to attend the school of their choice. Click this link for more information on the bill.