This week saw a Duluth high school go on lockdown because of a threat received by authorities. School social workers across Minnesota say with campus safety still a big priority, they're carrying out approaches to make their environments less ominous and more welcoming.

The latest threat follows last month's nationwide social media scare on TikTok, as well as a deadly school shooting in Michigan.

Sarah Mages - licensed social worker at the St. Peter Middle School - said students have increasingly dealt with more anxiety over the past couple of decades, with threats of violence playing a part.

She said emotional connections between staff and students are important.

"We've just found that if there's that connection," said Mages, "kids are able and willing to talk to those adults because they feel like they're cared for."

Her district has conducted surveys with high-school students and fifth-grade students, asking if they feel supported by at least one adult in their building. In both surveys, three quarters of students said they do.

Social workers in other districts say home visits and crisis-intervention teams are also helpful approaches that complement standard security measures.

Prior Lake High School Licensed Social Worker Nancy VanHorne said social media messages often blend the outside world with campus environments.

If those scenarios make a student not want to come to school, her staff might visit them at home to make them feel reassured or accompany them on campus.

"You know, I had a student come in before students got here one morning," said VanHorne, "and we kind of walked the building and we talked through some anxieties she was having."

Kathy Kimani is the director of the Office of School Support for Saint Paul Public Schools. She said de-escalation efforts are important when trouble arises.

But she said there are other important ways to foster a safe environment, including social and emotional learning.

"We might do things like implement some restorative practices," said Kimani, "which would start off as students actually sitting in a circle, building community, getting to know one another. "

All three of these professionals, members of the Minnesota School Social Workers Association, said the pandemic has added to the anxiety students are feeling.

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defends and expands his call to have military veterans bypass the teacher certification process to become educators, former educators say the move is a dangerous gamble despite the current teacher shortage.

On Tuesday, DeSantis said he wants to expand a new law allowing military veterans to become classroom teachers without a bachelor's degree, including retired first responders such as police, firefighters and EMTs.

Ulysses Floyd, a retied teacher and member of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, said he taught classes when he served in the military and later used his experience to become a certified teacher. He said he does not like the proposed changes because the certification process ensures you know what to do as an educator.

"You must be certified in the area in which you are teaching," Floyd contended. "Just because you have a bachelor's and something else other than teaching, so I think, in order for you to be able to teach, you must know how, what you're doing, how to do it."

Describing college education as "overtaken by ideology," DeSantis argued the certification requirement is too strict. The state's new recruitment program will waive exam fees for the state teacher's certification exam for retired military and first responders, but participants must have a bachelor's degree.

Florida currently has a shortage of more than 6,000 teachers, according to the Florida Education Association.

Vanessa Tillman, a retired teacher and board member of Florida Education Association, said people may not realize one child brings at least six personalities. She explained when you multiply it by 18 children for a single teacher to manage, politicians overlook a lot of work.

"I do feel the political era is horrible as to politicians wanting to tell teachers how to teach," Tillman asserted. "They want to legislate everything and not understand we are there to educate the whole child."

Tillman emphasized there should be no room for what she called the politicization of classrooms on issues such as Critical Race Theory, cutting district funding, and the rise of politics in nonpartisan school board races.

DeSantis and Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz also rolled out a second proposal tailored to current classroom teachers: a scholarship program to allow current teachers to get master's degrees to teach dual enrollment classes.

The state has just launched the California Student Loan Debt Challenge, to let public service employees - like teachers, law enforcement, nurses, and government workers - know that time is running out to restructure their student loans.

The Biden administration has temporarily loosened the rules of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which wipes away a person's remaining college debt after 10 years on the job.

But State Attorney General Rob Bonta warned that people need to apply for a waiver by October 31 - or miss out on tens of thousands of dollars in debt relief.

"Nearly 1 million Californians can qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness," said Bonta, "but only about 10,000 have received it. So, let's get those numbers up."

The state is also asking public service employers to publicize the waiver to their workers, who can now claim credit for years of payments that had been excluded under previous rules - and thus reach the ten-year mark earlier.

The waiver applies regardless of the repayment plan, the loan type, or the timeliness and extent of past payments. Find out more on the website 'studentaid.gov/pslf.'

Bonta pointed out that he sued the last administration because the Department of Education was denying the vast majority of PSLF applications.

"During the first round of eligible loan cancellations, the Trump administration denied 99%," said Bonta. "My office sued, Congress took action, we joined with the advocates here - and ultimately, we won the fight."

The state blames the low rate of participation on poor administration of the program, misconduct by some of the loan servicers, and a highly complex application process.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

CORRECTION: The $3.7 billion figure represents an increase in education investments during the eight-year Wolf Administration, not the Pennsylvania state education budget, which is $16 billion. (1:25 p.m. MDT, Aug. 10, 2022)

After eight years, the Pennsylvania school-funding lawsuit is in the hands of the judge, creating a waiting game heading into the new school year.

The oral argument ended in July. Advocates argued the way Pennsylvania schools are funded violates the education clause and equal-protection provision of the state constitution.

Deborah Gordon Klehr, executive director of the Education Law Center, said students of color are disproportionately affected in underfunded districts in low-wealth communities, where they lack such basics as functioning school libraries and up-to-date textbooks.

"The inadequate resources prevent many Pennsylvania students from meeting academic standards set by the state," Klehr asserted. "The state legislature has an obligation to ensure that every student, not only those living in select ZIP codes, receive the basic resources they need."

Klehr added Pennsylvania has one of the widest gaps between low-wealth and high-wealth school districts in the nation. A typical high-wealth district in the commonwealth spends about $4,800 more per student than a low-wealth district, and the gap has been growing.

With trial proceedings are over, Klehr acknowledged the judge's decision may take some time, and predicted it may not signal the end of the battle.

"We are confident about our case," Klehr stated. "But whatever the outcome, an appeal by the losing side is likely, to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court."

Klehr noted the General Assembly does not have to wait for the outcome of the case. It has a legal obligation under the state constitution to solve the school-funding crisis as soon as possible.

Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced his administration had increased education funding by more than $3.7 billion since 2015, including a $1.8 billion increase for the coming school year.

Klehr emphasized it is an important confirmation of the spending levels needed in coming years.

"Those kinds of increases will need to be sustained in the years ahead to help get local districts to adequate, equitable levels of funding," Klehr contended. "And bring Pennsylvania up from the bottom in the share of education funding that is provided by the state."

Klehr stressed Pennsylvania currently relies on local funding for schools more than almost any other state. Her organization advocates shifting the funding system to recognize the very different needs of different communities.