The Martin County School District in Florida has joined a mass-action lawsuit against major social media companies, including Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok. The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California, alleges these platforms use addictive algorithms targeting children. More than 1,700 districts nationwide have joined the suit, which is set for trial in early 2026.

Alabama's new law banning phones in classrooms has led to immediate positive changes, says history teacher Jonathan Buchwalter, who notes students are more engaged, taking notes, completing assignments and socializing more. The law is part of a broader trend, with 33 states enacting similar legislation to address concerns about mental health and academic performance related to smartphone addiction.

Houston ISD will install self-checkout kiosks in school libraries for the 2025-26 school year to comply with Texas' READER Act, which requires parental access to their child's library records. The kiosks will be integrated with the Access It Library Management system, allowing students to independently check out books and improving circulation tracking.

Oklahoma school districts are preparing for a law effective in the 2026-27 school year that limits virtual learning to two days, or 12 hours, annually. Districts must submit plans by Nov. 1 to ensure student success during virtual days, addressing issues such as internet access, nutrition and transportation.

A symposium hosted by the Stanford Accelerator for Learning has explored the potential of generative AI to improve equity for students with disabilities. The event, which included a hackathon, resulted in prototypes such as tools for early identification of learning disabilities and support for individualized education programs.

We think our inner monologues are private -- something no one can detect, but researchers have developed a brain-computer interface that can decode what we say only to ourselves. Using electrodes implanted in the brain, the system detects neural signals associated with silently thinking words, and achieved up to 74% accuracy in translating internally spoken sentences. Far from being used to read everyone's mind, though, researchers say the technology could help people with severe speech impairments better communicate.