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The "conflict-resolution room" at Ypsilanti High School in Michigan is where students go when they're on the verge of being suspended. It's an alternative approach to discipline that could keep kids in school and out of trouble.

Roughly half of U.S. states have passed laws making home-schooled students eligible to play for their local school teams. But in Indiana, an attempt to find a middle ground hasn't calmed the debate.

The CSCOPE curriculum had come under intense criticism for lessons some conservatives called un-American. Activists called the attack on the lesson plans a "witch hunt."

Students deemed "willfully defiant" accounted for nearly half of California's 700,000 suspensions last year. Many educators are cheering the Los Angeles Unified School District's decision to ban such suspensions, arguing the category is too broad and disproportionately targeted black students.

For the past year, Louisiana has allowed some students in poorly performing public schools to use public money to pay for private schools.

On April 26, 1983, a panel appointed by President Ronald Reagan released an ominous report that painted a dire picture of the U.S. education system. Thirty years later, many educators point to the report as the catalyst for divides that still split education reformers.

Forty-five states have adopted the Common Core State Standards. Proponents say these new guidelines will significantly improve what is taught and how students are prepared for college and work. Skeptics say it's a misguided effort to create the first-ever national curriculum and tests.

A group of Phoenix charter schools is facing criticism for using a teaching tool based on the work of L. Ron Hubbard, best known for founding the Church of Scientology. The tool has concerned parents in other schools, but the Phoenix schools' leader insists it has nothing to do with the church.

What was once a local issue is growing into a nationwide concern, as civil rights activists argue that school closings are disproportionately hurting minority communities. But cities are in a bind with budget shortfalls, and closing under-populated schools may offer a way to cut costs.

Alabama's Gov. Robert Bentley has signed a sweeping education bill that gives tax credits to parents who want to transfer their children from a failing public school to another public or private school. The bill became law one day after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled a lawsuit against it was premature.