Changes to the online back-to-school packet, updated cellphone policies and planning for projects to support student well-being are coming to Arlington Public Schools this year.
School leaders hope that some of the changes will deliver a smoother process leading up to the first day of class, which begins one week from today on Monday, Aug. 25.
Defying demands from the U.S. Department of Education, Arlington Public Schools has announced plans to retain its current policy on transgender students’ access to facilities.
In a statement to parents and an accompanying letter to the federal agency, the school system argued that it cannot legally comply with federal attempts to stop letting transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender identity.
Artificial-intelligence tools will play a larger role in Arlington Public Schools classrooms and operations in the coming school year.
After a pilot program last year that involved about 400 educators, the school system has selected SchoolAI as its primary artificial-intelligence tool. In addition, staff will have access to Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and NotebookLM for professional use.
Arlington Public Schools is kicking off the school year with a more nuanced approach to curtailing athletic activity for hot and humid weather.
School Board members have adopted a new policy designating the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) as the benchmark covering athletic contests and practices.
Arlington Public Schools leaders are playing their cards close to their chests following the end of a federal investigation into the school system’s anti-discrimination policy.
In response to demands from the U.S. Department of Education, which targeted policies allowing transgender students to use facilities corresponding with their gender identities, Superintendent Francisco Durán said only that APS has received the findings and is formulating a response.
Construction is continuing at full tilt at Arlington Career Center’s new home, with a planned opening date at the start of the 2026-27 school year.
The forthcoming Grace Hopper Center, located adjacent to the existing Career Center building at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive, has been rapidly taking shape since the project broke ground in May 2024.
New summer school programs at Arlington Public Schools are hoping to find success where other efforts have fallen short.
Two new pilot programs are meant to help measure the impact of different learning models — and perhaps improve on mediocre results from summer school programs in 2024.
Arlington Public Schools ended the 2024-25 school year with nearly a quarter-million dollars in uncollected debt for student meals.
School Board members authorized the transfer of $248,523 in funding to cover the shortfall on Thursday. Of that total, about 80% was from students who have graduated, while the remainder was from students classified as inactive, according to a staff report.
A freeze on federal education dollars cast $1.5 million in Arlington Public Schools funding into doubt.
This was the amount of funding at APS that the U.S. Department of Education withheld for weeks as part of a review to ensure that spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.
A new policy on notifying parents about confirmed and suspected drug overdoses could be going into effect at Arlington Public Schools.
To comply with a new state law that went into effect July 1, the Arlington School Board is considering a new policy statement requiring the notification of all parents or guardians at a school within 24 hours of a school-connected student overdose.
Arlington’s new School Board chair is promising to protect community values she sees as under threat from the state and federal governments.
Bethany Zecher Sutton’s colleagues unanimously selected her to chair the School Board at a meeting yesterday (Tuesday), replacing Chair Mary Kadera.
More partnerships with civic and business leaders could be coming to Arlington Public Schools as the school system seeks to rebuild relationships that suffered during the pandemic.
Superintendent Francisco Durán spotlighted a work-based readiness program at a meeting with School Board members earlier this month. He said that enhancing the program is one of the primary goals of a partnership improvement plan.
