Education

The Guardian reports: Rightwing activist Christopher Rufo has links to a self-styled “sociobiology magazine” that is focused on the supposed relationships between race, intelligence and criminality, and which experts have characterized as an outlet for scientific racism. At the time of reporting, Aporia was one of 19 Substack newsletters Rufo links to in the “recommended” section on his own newsletter, …

The Associated Press reports: The repayment demands have Oklahoma’s education agency drawing fierce criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, some of whom say teachers shouldn’t be forced to give the money back. Average teacher pay in Oklahoma is about $54,800, which ranks 38th in the country, according to the National Education Association. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, …

The Messenger reports: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ so-called “anti-woke” crusade has now removed sociology as a core class from all 12 of the state’s public universities. What the board refers to as a “factual history course” is replacing Principles of Sociology in the universities in what is widely seen as the start of a general rout of sociology classes. When …

NBC News reports: Utah’s legislature became the latest in the U.S. to pass a bill Friday prohibiting diversity training, hiring and inclusion programs at universities and in state government. The bill that cleared the state House and Senate by wide margins now heads to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican who has said he is likely to sign such a …

Politico reports: Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature wanted to keep obscene books out of the hands of kids. But some are now acknowledging they created a “logistical nightmare” that lawmakers are trying to rein in. Legislators this month introduced a new idea to curb frivolous challenges to books — one of the first admissions the law, which tightened scrutiny around books with …

Via press release from the state of Florida: Today, the State Board of Education implemented strict regulations to limit the use of public funds for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, activities, and policies in the Florida College System (FCS). The rule adopted by the Board defined, for the first time, DEI and affirmatively prohibits FCS institutions from using state …

Popular Information reports: The Escambia County School District, located in the Florida panhandle, has removed several dictionaries from its library shelves over concerns that making the dictionaries available to students would violate Florida law. The American Heritage Children’s Dictionary, Webster’s Dictionary for Students, and Merriam-Webster’s Elementary Dictionary are among more than 2800 books that have been pulled from Escambia County …

The Harvard Crimson reports: Harvard President Claudine Gay will resign Tuesday afternoon, bringing an end to the shortest presidency in the University’s history, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. It is not clear who will be appointed to serve as interim president. University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain declined to comment on Gay’s decision to step down. Gay’s …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked key parts of an Iowa law that bans some books from school libraries and forbids teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues. Judge Stephen Locher’s preliminary injunction halts enforcement of the law, which was set to take effect Jan. 1 but already had resulted in the removal of hundreds of books …

Politico reports: Groups aligned with the conservative legal movement and its financial architect, Leonard Leo, are working to promote a publicly funded Christian school in Oklahoma, hoping to create a test case to change the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. At issue is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma’s push to create the …

Courthouse News reports: A federal court in Wisconsin declined to dismiss a teacher’s First Amendment retaliation claim against the school district that fired her for publishing a tweet critical of its decision to prohibit her first-graders from singing “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton at a school concert. She has shown that her employment was terminated for exercising her …

The Associated Press reports: A conservative-led Missouri school board has voted to drop elective courses on Black history and literature, five months after the same board rescinded an anti-discrimination policy adopted in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. The Francis Howell School Board voted 5-2 Thursday night to stop offering Black History and Black Literature. In July, the …

ABC News reports: New York City’s teachers union is suing to block planned cuts to the city’s public schools, warning that steep budget reductions proposed by Mayor Eric Adams would weaken key education initiatives and violate state law. For months, Adams has argued that slashing city spending – including a $550 million cut in education funding – is necessary to …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A total of 673 books, from classics to best-sellers, have been removed from Orange County classrooms this year for fear they violate new state rules that ban making “sexual conduct” available to public school students. The list also includes popular novels by Stephen King, Sue Monk Kidd and Jodi Picoult, classics like “A Tree Grows in …

The Long Island Press reports: Suffolk County Police have arrested a 17-year-old for threatening to “shoot up” Sequoya High School in Holtsville, according to District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office. Tierney’s office said in a news release that police had been made aware of an email sent to school administrators threatening to “shoot up the school” and warning them to “be …

The Berkshire Eagle reports: The plainclothed police officer who entered an eighth grade classroom to search for a book wore a body camera and recorded the incident, leading to more legal questions and concerns. The ACLU and other free speech advocates say they are alarmed by the recording, as well as the entire Dec. 8 incident that took place after …

The Associated Press reports: The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for felony child neglect by a judge who chastised her for abdicating her responsibilities as a parent. The sentence given to Deja Taylor by Circuit Court Judge Christopher Papile was much harsher than the maximum six-month …

The New York Times reports: The president of the University of Pennsylvania, M. Elizabeth Magill, resigned on Saturday, four days after she appeared before Congress and appeared to evade the question of whether students who called for the genocide of Jews should be punished. Support for Ms. Magill, already shaken in recent months over her approach to a Palestinian literary …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: New rankings show Florida students are posting some of the lowest SAT scores in America. We’re talking 46th place. Down another 17 points overall to 966, according to the combined reading and math scores shared by the College Board. Florida trails other Southern states like South Carolina and Georgia. We trail states where more students take …

The Bucks County Courier Times reports: While most of the newly sworn in members to the Central Bucks school board chose to swear their oaths on a bible, incumbent Karen Smith brought a stack of books to Monday’s meeting. Smith stood out at the Dec. 4 reorganization meeting as she took her oath of office with her hand placed on …