One-third of U.S. K-12 students were behind grade level for the school year ending in June, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes from a nationwide sampling of schools.

• Why it matters: Schools are still dealing with the long-term effects of remote schooling and other pandemic-era learning disruptions.

How it works: The data is from a School Pulse Panel of nearly 4,000 nationally representative grade schools by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Education Department.

• The study's purpose is to track the impact of COVID.
• For the June '24 data, 1,651 schools responded.

📊 By the numbers: Schools out West are doing notably worse than those in other regions, with 39% of students behind grade level.

• The South is best, at 29% — 10 points ahead of the West.
• The Northeast and Midwest are each 31%.
• In 2022 — with a slightly different question, so the results aren't directly comparable — the West was also behind every other region.

🔬 Between the lines: 42% of kids in schools with over 75% students of color are behind grade level, compared to 22% at schools with 25% or fewer students of color.

• 38% of students at city schools are behind grade level, vs. 31% of those in the suburbs.

🔮 What's next: Schools are reporting success with strategies for learning recovery. These include hiring more teachers (55% of schools say that works), spending more time with certain student subgroups (35%), and family engagement/outreach (18%).

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Bulletin: President Biden told reporters this morning that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn't doing enough to get a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza, amid huge protests after Hamas killed six hostages.

• Biden spoke just before a decisive Situation Room meeting with Vice President Harris and the U.S. hostage-deal negotiating team, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.
• Asked if Netanyahu is doing enough, Biden said: "No."

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told families of American hostages that Biden is considering presenting Israel and Hamas with a final proposal for a hostage-release and ceasefire deal this week.

• Why it matters: The murder of six hostages held by Hamas in Gaza increased the urgency among Biden's top aides to present Israel and Hamas with a take-it-or-leave-it moment.

⚡ Behind the scenes: Sullivan and President Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk held an hourlong Zoom with family members of the seven U.S. hostages who are still held by Hamas in Gaza.

• Two sources said Sullivan and McGurk told the families they didn't know if a deal is possible. But they said there's a chance, and they hope it might happen as soon as two weeks from now.

Between the lines: The Philadelphi corridor, along the Egypt-Gaza border, is the main sticking point in the negotiations.

• Netanyahu is insisting that Israeli forces stay deployed along the border during the 42 days of ceasefire that are part of the first phase of the deal.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gen. Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and Mossad director David Barnea have all said they don't agree with Netanyahu on that demand.

• That led to an unprecedented shouting match between Bibi and Gallant.

Egypt and Hamas have so far rejected any proposal that included an Israel Defense Forces deployment along the Philadelphi corridor.

• Gallant and the security and intelligence chiefs stress that keeping forces there could undermine a deal and lead to the death of more hostages.

More photos: Thousands protest in Israel to demand Gaza deal.

• Get the latest.

Labor Day snapshot: Vice President Harris didn't get much of a convention bounce, but widened her advantage among women in a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.

• Among women, Harris leads by 13 points, 54%-41%.
• Among men, former President Trump leads by 5 points, 51%-46% (not statistically significant).

Why it matters: That's an 18-point gender gap.

🔎 Between the lines: Much of the female-male change occurred among white people.

• "White women have gone from +13 points for Trump pre-convention to a virtual dead heat (Trump +2) now; white men, from +13 points for Trump before the convention to +21 points now," ABC News polling director Gary Langer writes.

💡 Reality check: Top Democrats tell me they're very worried that many activists feel like this is a 60-40 race when the reality is more 50-50.

• Harris had what many insiders call the best month in the history of presidential politics. But the race is still tied.

👀 A finding from another poll that leaps out:

• Among swing-state women under 45, abortion has overtaken the economy as their top voting issue, according to N.Y. Times/Siena College polls of registered voters.

Gift link — no paywall ... More ABC graphics.

Journalists film South Korean marines after they land on a beach during a combined U.S.-South Korean exercise in Pohang, South Korea, today.

Two recent deals highlight the contrast between the wave of interest in professional women's sports and women athletes' harsh economic realities, Axios' Ina Fried writes.

• "We've come a long way, and we got a long way to go," soccer legend and Bay FC co-owner Brandi Chastain told Axios, noting that many women soccer players need income beyond what their salary provides. "We still have women who need support."

Why it matters: Despite an influx of attention and investment in their leagues, many athletes are still struggling to make a decent living.

⚽ State of play: Under a new program detailed first for Axios, Visa will help all members of BayFC, the San Francisco Bay Area's professional women's soccer team, earn the maximum amount of appearance fee money available under the league's contract with players.

• Historically, such appearances have been time-consuming, in-person affairs with not enough time or opportunities for most players to earn the maximum allowed under league rules.
• Visa's deal will allow players to earn the maximum amount, should they wish, through social media appearances that can help the athletes elevate their personal brands.

The National Women's Soccer League and its players union separately announced a new collective bargaining agreement that will offer players higher pay — and more say in which teams they play for.

• But the higher salaries phase in. Appearance fees, still available under the new deal, remain a much-needed way for players to increase their income.

Between the lines: The dollar amounts involved may not sound like a ton of money — the maximum appearance fee is $15,000 or so per player, according to a source. But that's a pretty big deal for non-stars in the NWSL, some of whom make as little as $37,000 in salary.

• The new deal between the league and its players will see minimum salaries rise to $48,500 in 2025, and $82,500 by 2030.

🖼️ The big picture: Professional women's sports in the U.S. — especially soccer and basketball — have seen a surge of people wanting to invest their time and money.

• Angel City, Los Angeles' NWSL franchise, was sold this year to USC dean Willow Bay and her husband, Disney CEO Bob Iger, in a deal that valued the club at $250 million — a record for a women's sports team.
• Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark has helped usher in a new wave of popularity for women's hoops.

🏀 Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neil said last week: "I'm glad they're getting the exposure. They definitely deserve it. Now we just gotta get 'em similar contracts as what some of these NBA guys are making."

• Keep reading.

Nostalgic school supplies, denim and sweatpants are in.

• Phones are banned in more schools. And leggings are out, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes.

The vibe: Status symbols include reusable cups — goodbye Stanley cups and hello Owala — and '90s staples like Trapper Keepers and colorful Bic pens.

🖊️ Bics, Trapper Keepers

What's old is new again with classics like Bic's 4-color pens and the TI-84, which have been part of back-to-school shopping lists for decades.

• Four-color Bics celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2020. The TI-84 debuted in 2004, following the brand's first graphing calculator — TI-81 — that was unveiled in 1990.
• The Trapper Keeper, which had its heyday in the '80s and '90s, staged a comeback in 2021.

🥤 Water-bottle trend

Water bottles continue to be a status symbol, but the hot brand keeps changing.

• Owala, Lululemon and Hydro Flask are "in," the N.Y. Times reports.

👖 Back-to-school fashion

"Sweatpants are the new leggings," youth consumer trends expert Casey Lewis said on a recent TikTok.

• Lewis, who writes the After School Substack, spent hours watching back-to-school haul videos on TikTok to identify fashion trends.
• "It seems to be all about denim — jean shorts, jean skirts, denim jackets are making a comeback," Lewis said.

📱 Bans, backpacks

Trends being forced on students are the continued move to clear backpacks and sweeping bans on phones in schools.

• Florida, Indiana, Louisiana and South Carolina have legislation that limits cellphone access. Governors in at least three states — Virginia, California and New York — have called on schools to restrict or ban phones.

Administrators say see-thru backpacks can combat violence.

• School districts in Virginia, Texas and Georgia announced new clear-backpack policies.

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