🛝 Phone Ban Transforms School, Credential Chaos, Early FAFSA

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

This week's reality check: AI just became states' top ed-tech priority while a Kentucky high school proves phone bans actually work. Meanwhile, career credentials are booming in high schools—but most don't lead to jobs or better wages.

💎 Data Gem

AI just became states' #1 K-12 ed-tech priority, overtaking cybersecurity, according to SETDA's 2025 State EdTech Trends report.

A Kentucky School Banned Phones. Library Checkouts Jumped 67%

Ballard High School in Louisville implemented a bell-to-bell cellphone ban this year - no phones during lunch or between classes, not just during instruction.

The results were immediate and quantifiable.

Students checked out 891 books in August 2025 compared to 533 books in August 2024. 

That's a 67% increase for a student body of 2,189.

Librarian Stephanie Conrad saw it coming. She'd prepared for the uptick based on similar patterns at other schools with phone bans. But even she was surprised by how much kids started reading and talking to her about books again.

"They weren't talking to me about books," Conrad said about recent years. "Now I'm having those conversations with students again, about books that they like."

The cafeteria changed too. 

Principal Jason Neuss said students used to sit with "heads down, just scrolling, not really interacting." 

Now they're playing card games, going outside for informal recess, and on Fridays, playing bingo.

Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, argues that overcoming dopamine withdrawal due to lack of phones is part of the point. "You're training your brain to learn how to live without the phone for a certain amount of time," she said. "It's a really good skill to learn how to focus."

For innovators, the phone ban data raises questions about what schools need when devices disappear. Schools implementing bans may need alternative engagement activities, and ways to measure behavioral and academic outcomes beyond anecdotal evidence.

Ed Department Launches FAFSA Earlier Than Ever After Historic Failures

The Department of Education just launched the 2026-27 FAFSA form - the earliest in program history. 

Two years ago, the Biden administration's botched FAFSA rollout caused chaos for millions of students. 

This year's launch came with significant modernization.

Key improvements include a redesigned contributor invite process using simple codes, instant verification for new accounts, and what the department calls "industry-leading best practices" for fraud protection.

Beta testing data shows strong performance: 97% of respondents reported satisfaction, 90% said completion time was reasonable, and 23,840 applications were processed without rejection out of 24,793 submitted.

The department also introduced FAFSA Central, a new centralized digital portal, and an upgraded virtual assistant called Aidan.

Congress mandated the October deadline after previous delays, passing the FAFSA Deadline Act specifically to prevent future chaos. 

States and colleges now have reliable timelines for financial aid planning. With the FAFSA opening so early, education innovators have a unique opportunity to develop tools, resources, and outreach strategies that help students and families make more informed, timely decisions about college access and affordability.

How Worthwhile Is That Career Credential?

The number of students earning career credentials has tripled in some states over recent years. 

But a new analysis reveals massive problems with what students are actually learning.

Just 1 in 8 career credentials leads to better wages than without them, according to Burning Glass Institute estimates.

Students are earning credentials employers don't want - like OSHA safety certificates and basic construction skills - while undersupplying credentials employers do want, like Microsoft Office Specialist certifications or nursing and electrical licenses.

Ohio offers an example. 

The state actively consults employers and rates credentials by value. 

It even awards schools extra money for high-value credentials through its Innovative Workforce Incentive Program.

Yet of 141,000 approved credentials Ohio students earned last year, only 22,000 - just 16% - came from the high-value IWIP list.

Cleveland school district, with 34,600 students, earned just 23 IWIP credentials with students focusing instead on CPR certificates and RISE UP customer service credentials - certifications that require only written tests with no workplace training.

Columbus and Cincinnati, similar in size, earned 10 times more credentials from the high-value list.

The problem extends nationally. 

Advance CTE found that only 34 states formally review and approve credentials for schools. Just 34 asked employers what credentials they recommend. 

Less than half looked at employer demand or wage data.

Only eight states - Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, and South Dakota - can track jobs students land and wages they earn after receiving credentials.

This shows that schools urgently need better data systems to track outcomes, employers need clearer signals about student skills, and students need transparent information about which credentials actually lead to employment and higher wages.

⚡️More Quick Hits

This week in education:

FCC removes bus Wi-Fi from E-rate — Federal Communications Commission reversed E-rate coverage for school bus Wi-Fi and hotspots, denying pending FY25 funding requests

States advance cybersecurity legislation — Arkansas and Texas enact cyber insurance requirements, AI policies, and incident response mandates as other states introduce similar bills

Ed Department reopens mental health grants — Two programs reinstate $270M in funding focused on school psychologists, though student-to-psychologist ratios remain far above recommended targets

Special education pay gap persists — New report shows only 18 states differentiate compensation for special educators despite persistent staffing shortages

📚 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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