Education

The Hill reports: An unvaccinated elementary school teacher in California who was diagnosed with COVID-19 infected half of the students in their classroom and sparked a community-wide outbreak, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The teacher showed up to work while symptomatic, and continued to teach for two days before receiving a test. …

Via press release from Liberty University: As part of its ongoing monitoring of positive COVID-19 rates on campus as well as active community cases and local hospital capacity, Liberty University administration announced on Thursday that it is enacting a temporary mitigation period from Aug. 30-Sept. 10. The university is making adjustments to campus operations during this time, which are designed …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: A Texas man stripped during a contentious school board meeting to make a point about wearing masks, causing a stir in the small town of Dripping Springs. When James Akers first approached the microphone for his allotted 90 seconds to speak before the board and the socially-distanced audience gathered in the auditorium, he was fully …

The Detroit Metro Times reports: Paul Marcum, who witnesses say flashed a Nazi salute and chanted “Heil Hitler” at a raucous Birmingham Board of Education meeting last week, has lost his job as a tennis instructor at the Sports Club of West Bloomfield. Police are investigating Marcum after witnesses said he flashed the Nazi salute and repeated “Heil Hitler” Wednesday …

New York City’s NBC News affiliate reports: All New York City public school teachers and other staffers will have to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, officials said Monday as the nation’s largest school system prepared for classes to start next month. The city previously said teachers, like other city employees, would have to get the shots or get tested weekly …

Peoria’s CBS News affiliate reports: A current part-time Morton High School teacher is facing accusations of homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and racial insensitivity. Student testimonies show these claims go as far back as 2009. The district’s superintendent Dr. Jeff Hill twice confirmed in e-mails that there is an ongoing investigation into these allegations against French teacher Kim Johnson. “I remember comments …

Fort Myers’ ABC News affiliate reports: The woman caught on camera yelling racist insults at a mother and kids is no longer employed by the Collier County School District. According to CCPS’ staff email directory, Patricia Schmidt was an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Specialist at Lely Elementary School, but she has since been fired, a spokesperson for CCPS confirmed. “Are …

Axios reports: After record-shattering daily COVID-19 counts, school boards in Florida’s Hillsborough and Miami-Dade Counties held emergency meetings Wednesday and voted to again require face coverings on campuses. The districts are the nation’s fourth- and seventh-largest — representing more than 600,000 students. They join Broward, Leon and Alachua Counties in openly defying Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department …

Fort Myers’ NBC News affiliate reports: The woman caught on camera yelling racist insults at a mother and kids was placed on administrative leave by the Collier County School District. According to CCPS’ staff email directory, Patricia Schmidt is employed as an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Specialist at Lely Elementary School. The video shows Schmidt mocking the child behind the …

Jacksonville’s NBC News affiliate reports: The State Board of Education on Tuesday voted in favor of a recommendation to “use its enforcement powers” against Alachua County Public Schools after the district defied a statewide order to allow students to opt out of wearing a face mask without a doctor’s note. With a unanimous vote, the board authorized the Florida Department …

From the Hillsborough County School Board: The Hillsborough County School Board will hold an Emergency School Board Meeting on Wednesday, August 18, from 1-3:30 p.m. in the School Board Auditorium. Board Members will meet to discuss the latest district COVID-19 impact and will discuss the best way to mitigate against the spread of the virus, up to and including mandatory …

The Austin Statesman reports: The Texas Supreme Court stepped in Sunday evening to block lower-court orders that had allowed Dallas and San Antonio to impose mask mandates in defiance of an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. The action voided temporary restraining orders, issued by separate District Court judges and upheld Friday by two intermediate appellate courts, that halted enforcement …

Phoenix’s NBC News affiliate reports: A coalition of Arizona school entities filed a lawsuit against the state’s ban on mask mandates in the classroom on Friday. The lawsuit states that the mask mandate ban pushed by Gov. Doug Ducey undermines the rights of school children in the state and was passed illegally. The Arizona School Boards Association, the Children’s Action …

Miami’s NBC News affiliate reports: The Broward Teachers Union confirmed Thursday that three teachers and a teacher’s assistant have died from COVID-19 within the two days. Union president Anna Fusco said those teachers were on summer break when they got the virus. Their colleagues learned of the sad news on Wednesday when teachers returned to the classroom to prepare for …

The New York Times reports: Schoolteachers and school staff in California must have proof of vaccination against Covid-19 or else face weekly testing, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday, making the state the first in the nation to make the move. The move comes as such mandates gain momentum both among public and private employers as cases across the United …

The Texas Tribune reports: Resistance is growing to Gov. Greg Abbott’s May executive order that Texas schools can’t require masks, with an advocacy group suing to block the order and two of the state’s biggest districts indicating that they want to mandate masks anyway. Dallas Independent School District officials announced Monday morning that they will require students and teachers to …

The New Jersey Advance reports: Insisting it’s “the right thing” to do to combat a new rise in COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday announced New Jersey will mandate students in preschool through 12th grade, as well as staff members and visitors, to wear masks inside all schools when the new academic year begins with statewide in-person classes. Murphy announced …

CNN reports: The Biden administration is extending the pause on federal student loan payments one last time until January 31. The pandemic relief benefit was set to expire on September 30 after an unprecedented 19-month suspension. The freeze was initially put in place by Congress and then extended by both the Trump and Biden administrations. “As our nation’s economy continues …

Miami’s NBC News affiliate reports: A South Florida school district that voted last week to require facial coverings when in-person learning resumes this month now says it will comply with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order preventing mask mandates in schools, rather than enforce the recommendation of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Broward County Public Schools intends to …

Lynchburg’s ABC News affiliate reports: A 15-year-old reported being sexually assaulted at a Liberty University camp, according to a class action lawsuit, but university police blamed her for violating the “Liberty Way” and needlessly had her strip naked and spread her butt cheeks for a photograph. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court for the Eastern of New …