Today’s Federal Flash covers a flurry of activity from last week around school safety, gun violence, and school discipline. It also spotlights two new bills in Congress to help students prepare for and complete college.

Today at 9:30 a.m. the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is holding a hearing on state and federal recommendations for enhancing school safety against targeted violence. In the following letter to Committee Chairman Ron Johnson and top Democrat Gary Peters, Alliance for Excellent Education President Deb Delisle outlines our ideas to ensure that students and educators feel safe in schools and are safe in schools.

Memorizing facts doesn’t lead to great scientists. Bringing experiments and projects to life, on the other hand, will not only stick with students longer but ensure they have more fun learning.

Today’s digest highlights real-world application in science teaching, exploring the secret to great teaching, a new podcast on sports and social-emotional development, and how to encourage students to think about how they learn.

In the years after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, school districts turned to busing students to achieve racial diversity. Today, sixty-five years after the Brown decision, did busing work? What do research and advocates say about busing, its impact, and possible solutions for an education system in which many U.S. schools are more segregated today than they were decades ago?

Sports provide a place for young people to grow, learn, and enhance their physical skills, but, with the help of good coaches, they will learn more than how to throw a pitch or perfect a layup.