Education

NBC News reports: The Newport News School Board on Wednesday voted to replace its embattled superintendent amid the continuing fallout from a 6-year-old boy shooting his first-grade teacher this month. The board voted 5-1 to remove George Parker III as the head of the district of about 26,500 students. His separation is effective Feb. 1, School Board Chair Lisa Surles-Law …

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump is planning to file a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the rejection of an Advanced Placement African American Studies pilot program. Crump announced the planned lawsuit during a Wednesday news conference at the Florida Capitol, where he was joined by leaders from the American Federation of Teachers, politicians …

The Associated Press reports: A Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student during class will sue the school district, the teacher’s attorney announced Wednesday. Diane Toscano, a lawyer for Abigail Zwerner, said Wednesday that on the day of the shooting, concerned teachers and employees warned administrators three times that the boy had a gun on him and was …

Popular Information reports: Teachers in Manatee County, Florida, are being told to make their classroom libraries — and any other “unvetted” book — inaccessible to students, or risk felony prosecution. The new policy is part of an effort to comply with new laws and regulations championed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R). It is based on the premise, promoted by right-wing …

The Washington Post reports: The Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student repeatedly asked administrators for help with the boy but officials downplayed educators’ warnings about his behavior, including dismissing his threat to light a teacher on fire and watch her die, according to messages from teachers obtained by The Washington Post. The previously unreported incidents raise fresh …

“I am enthusiastically behind Ron DeSantis saying that Black-centered education has no place in Florida schools, obviously. It’s bigoted from its premise. “First of all, Western culture is better and it’s a thoughtcrime to say it out loud. Number two, Blacks were sold into slavery by other Blacks. Can’t say that out loud, Thomas Sowell wrote that in great detail. …

Florida Politics reports: Parents of a K-12 public school-age child in Florida would be eligible to receive a voucher to send their student to a private school next year under a bill filed in the Florida House. The bill (HB 1) is a top priority for House Speaker Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, who touted the measure at a …

The Associated Press reports: Books containing “sexually explicit” content — including depictions of sexual or gender identity — would be banned from North Dakota public libraries under legislation that state lawmakers began considering Tuesday. House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, of Dickinson, introduced the bill and said public libraries currently contain books that have “disturbing and disgusting” content, including ones that …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Yovanna Pineda, hired more than a decade ago to teach Latin American history at the University of Central Florida, rebranded one of her signature courses last fall. Striking references to “dictatorships” and “human rights” from the title, she decided to simply call her class “History of South America.” Pineda said many of her colleagues are making …

Florida Politics reports: A court challenge to stop Gov. Ron DeSantis’ survey of “woke” activities on the state’s campuses has been rejected, and now Speaker Paul Renner is sending a more extensive request regarding institutions’ diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory. His memo asks for 16 different items, due by Feb. 13. The request includes emails, text messages …

Hampton Roads’ NBC affiliate reports: During a virtual Town Hall with Richneck parents on Thursday, officials said that at least one administrator knew that the six-year-old student may have had a weapon on him hours before the shooting happened. Superintendent Dr. George Parker (photo) revealed that there was a report that the boy might have had a weapon on him …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Rockwall-Heath head football coach John Harrell has been placed on administrative leave after multiple players were hospitalized following an intense workout last week that required athletes to do nearly 400 push-ups. A Heath parent, who didn’t want to be identified because of fear of retaliation, said her son has been hospitalized and diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, …

The Columbus Dispatch reports: Shale Meadows Elementary School third grade teacher Mandy Robek was reading “The Sneetches” to her class as part of NPR’s latest episode of “Planet Money” about the economic lessons in children’s books. During the podcast, which aired Friday, Amanda Beeman, the assistant director of communications for the school district, stopped the reading part way through the …

Tampa’s Fox affiliate reports: A Florida school district banned a book about a real-life same-sex penguin couple from classrooms and school libraries. The award-winning 2005 children’s book, “And Tango Makes Three,” tells the story of a real-life same-sex penguin couple that creates a family together. “We removed access to ‘And Tango Makes Three’ for our Kindergarten through third-grade students in …

CBS News reports: The teacher, identified as 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, was teaching a lesson when the child drew the weapon, Police Chief Steve Drew said a a news conference. The teacher “took a defensive position” and held up her hand, Drew said; the bullet passed through her hand and entered her chest. He said there had been no physical fight …

The Washington Post reports: The first-grade class at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News was in a small reading group about to go to art when one of their classmates pulled a handgun from his backpack and pointed it at his teacher, according to Brittaney Gregory, whose son was in the class. “She was going to confiscate it, and that’s …

The New York Times reports: The 6-year-old, a first grader at Richneck Elementary in Newport News, Va., shot a teacher with a handgun on Friday afternoon, the Newport News Police Department said, in an incident that the police said was “not an accidental shooting.” The boy and the teacher had been involved in an altercation in a classroom before the …

CBS News reports: A 6-year-old student shot a teacher during an altercation at a Virginia elementary school on Friday, police said. No students were injured in the incident at Richneck Elementary School, Newport News police said in a statement. “This was not an accidental shooting,” Police Chief Steve Drew told reporters during an evening press conference. The boy was taken …

Bloomberg News reports: Hillary Clinton will join Columbia University as a professor focusing on global politics and policy in the fall. The former US secretary of state will work as a professor of practice at the School of International and Public Affairs and as presidential fellow at Columbia World Projects, Columbia President Lee Bollinger announced today. Clinton, 75, will work …

ABC News reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office has requested data on courses and programs that include “diversity, equity and inclusion” and “critical race theory” despite legal challenges to his law restricting such content. In the memo, Office of Policy and Budget Director Chris Spencer asked State University System and Florida College System administrators to document “the expenditure of state …