🛝 Fears of Empty Classrooms, HBCU Prep School Success, Student Loan Chaos

Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what's next.

This week's reality check: While immigration enforcement sends attendance plummeting in immigrant communities, a single HBCU prep school in NYC gets 10x more applications than spots. Meanwhile, the Education Department admits its student loan servicing is broken and promises to fix it.

💎 Data Gem

In 2025, 18 K-12 cybersecurity bills were introduced across five states; seven new laws were enacted, according to the Consortium for School Networking's state legislation report.

Immigration Crackdown Linked to 22% Jump in Student Absenteeism

Student absences across five California Central Valley school districts increased by 22% on average during January and February compared to the same period in previous years, according to new Stanford research.

The timing wasn't coincidental. 

Immigration enforcement increases directly correlated with attendance drops, particularly among elementary students in communities with large immigrant populations.

Fresno Unified's superintendent Carlos Castillo saw attendance finally recover from pandemic levels by fall 2024, only to watch it drop again starting January 20th. "It's heartbreaking because at the root of it is fear of coming to school," he said.

The pattern extends beyond California. Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York City schools all reported similar attendance dips in immigrant communities following enforcement activities.

But here's the broader context: chronic absenteeism was already at crisis levels. 

About 22% of K-12 students - 10.8 million kids - were chronically absent during 2024-2025, down from a peak of 31% but still well above pre-pandemic rates of 15%.

Schools need better tools to track, engage, and support absent students. Think attendance intervention platforms, family engagement systems, and flexible learning options that work when kids can't physically attend school.

First-of-Its-Kind HBCU Prep School Opens with 1,000+ Applicants for 100 Spots

New York City just opened the nation's first HBCU preparatory high school in a major U.S. city, and the demand signals something significant about specialized education models.

The HBCU Early College Prep High School received over 1,000 applications for just 100 seats. Students had to complete essays solving community problems and record videos explaining how they'd use their degrees to give back.

What makes this model work? 

Starting in 11th grade, students take online college courses taught by Delaware State University professors. Graduates earn up to 64 college credits and guaranteed DSU admission.

The school addresses a real gap. 

HBCUs enroll nearly 10% of all Black undergraduates and produce the majority of Black doctors, lawyers, and judges, but there are no HBCUs north of Pennsylvania on the East Coast.

Principal Dr. Asya Johnson emphasized that the school welcomes all students, not just those who are Black, a key point as some institutions roll back DEI initiatives.

There's massive unmet demand for specialized prep programs that create clear pathways to specific college and career outcomes. The 10:1 application ratio shows families want more than generic college prep.

Education Department Admits Student Loan Servicing Is Broken

The Education Department's Federal Student Aid office just acknowledged what borrowers have known for years: student loan servicing is a mess, and they're finally doing something about it.

To address the problem, the agency is developing a common manual for loan servicers to fix "inconsistencies in Direct Loan servicing operations that have led to borrower confusion."

The problems are documented: borrowers get different outcomes based solely on which servicer manages their loans. 

There's no standard guidance for handling overpayments or communicating with delinquent borrowers, and the current piecemeal approach frustrates everyone involved.

As of June, 6 million borrowers were delinquent on their student loans, including 4 million at risk of defaulting within six months. 

Another 5.3 million were already in default.

The department is also rebranding its ombudsman office to focus on "proactive" financial literacy rather than just resolving disputes after problems occur.

This represents a shift toward earlier intervention and standardized processes. The manual should be completed by next July, just in time for the consolidation of multiple repayment options into just two.

For education innovators, this creates an opportunity. The federal government essentially admitted it needs better systems for financial literacy education, borrower communication, and servicer standardization.

Innovators can help by developing platforms that help students understand borrowing risks before they take loans, tools that standardize servicer operations, and financial literacy solutions that integrate with existing aid processes.

⚡️More Quick Hits

This week in education:

FCC targets school connectivity — Proposal would reverse E-rate eligibility for off-campus connectivity like hotspots and school bus Wi-Fi

California discipline disparities persist — New state data shows ongoing discipline disparities despite reform efforts, highlighting need for better measurement tools

NYC distributes 350,000 Chromebooks — Massive 1:1 device rollout across all boroughs during 2025-26 school year to close digital access gaps

Five states lead K-12 cybersecurity legislation — Arkansas, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas pass notable cybersecurity policies other states can emulate

📚 Weekend Reads

Monthly roundup of resources you might like:

• The Fiscal Effects of Enrollment Changes on School Districts — EdWorkingPaper analyzing 1998–2019 data finds declining districts saw larger per-pupil funding increases than growing districts because revenue losses weren't proportional to enrollment drops

• Parent Perspectives on School Choice Research — Conjoint experiment reveals parents prioritize test scores and college outcomes, with subgroup differences based on income, age, and political/religious views on school selection

• UNESCO: AI and the Future of Education — Collection of 21 essays examining ethical, pedagogical, and policy challenges of AI in education, advocating for human-rights-centered approaches to human-machine collaboration

• Common App End of Season Report 2024-25 — Record 10.2 million applications from 1.5 million applicants, with faster growth among underrepresented and first-generation students

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