Education

While omicron has forced some colleges to delay spring start dates or go virtual, the majority of four-year colleges are starting the spring semester in-person.

Tulsa Public Schools has become the largest traditional public school district in Oklahoma.

The loan servicing giant has agreed to cancel student loan debts owed by roughly 66,000 borrowers as part of a settlement reached with 39 state attorneys general.

Winsome Sears, a Republican, will be sworn into office Saturday in Virginia alongside Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin. Sears ran, in part, on the idea that the country's racial reckoning has gone too far.

People are sitting out college in droves. During the pandemic, undergraduate enrollment has dropped nearly 7%. The long-term effects of this decline could have a dramatic impact on the economy.

COVID safety concerns led to a five-day stalemate between Chicago's teachers union and school and city officials. Kids are back in school. Both sides are weighing whether it was the right decision.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Dr. David Rubin, primary care physician and director of PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, on how schools should consider navigating the current COVID wave.

With many teachers out sick with COVID-19, schools are scrambling to find substitute teachers. Texas schools are having to get creative so that students can continue going to in-person classes.

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with Stacey Davis Gates, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, about the return to in-person learning in the city — following disagreements over COVID-19 safety.

President Biden and others in his administration insist schools should stay open, even with the omicron wave making it harder than ever to manage.