Morning Announcements: NYC Dept. of Education to Lift Cell Phone Ban in Schools

New York City’s Department of Education plans to announce on Wednesday that it will lift the ban on cellphones in schools, a person familiar with the decision said Tuesday. The New York Times

Forbes Magazine presents its list, 30 Under 30 2015 in Education, a list of  young education leaders are those who are rethinking learning with the three Cs: code, college readiness and community impact.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey promised “serious reform” of Arizona’s public schools in an inaugural address Tuesday. The new governor noted the state’s imminent budget deficit but promising it, and other challenges, are “entirely within our power to overcome.” The Republic

Montgomery County, MD’s schools chief recommended Tuesday that the school board consider only no-cost approaches for moving high school bell times later in the morning, backing a proposal that would give teenagers 20 more minutes of sleep every morning. The Washington Post

As recent protests spur tough conversations about the racial bias of police officers, a national group of educators and policy analysts is urging teachers, too, to examine their own potential prejudices — especially in relation to school discipline. The Huffington Post

The 94 struggling schools in the city’s new turnaround program will undergo top-to-bottom audits beginning this month, which will include classroom visits, interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Chalkbeat NY

Only 10 percent of Colorado teachers are minorities, while 43 percent of state students belong to minority groups, a new report has found. The study was commissioned by a 2014 law. Chalkbeat CO

Windsor High School in Connecticut is using online learning to provide remediation for students at risk of not graduating on time and to support students with special needs. The Journal

The state of Colorado labels more than 100 schools with the same term: failing. But no two turnaround schools, as they’re sometimes called, are failing for the exact same reason. Chalkbeat CO

As internet access becomes essential for students, districts are finding ways to expand Wi-Fi coverage. Some districts in California are bringing Wi-Fi access to school buses to meet the demand.  eSchoolNews

As a three-term Colorado governor, Roy Romer, a Democrat, had to deal with a combative Republican majority in his state Legislature. But nothing was as difficult, he said, as running the Los Angeles Unified School District. The LA Times