Education

The Houston Chronicle reports: The Austin school district, one of the largest in the state, will not comply with a request from the Republican leader of the Texas House General Investigating Committee to confirm whether it carries certain books in its libraries. “After doing more legal research, we’ve decided that a response is not necessary, especially since anyone can search …

The Los Angeles Times reports: The Los Angeles Unified School District was among the first school systems in the nation to require employees to be vaccinated. The Oct. 15 deadline prompted a last-minute surge among thousands who were hesitant. No vaccine meant no entry onto a campus — and likely no job. Similar vaccination deadlines — and decisions — are …

From the Texas Teachers Association: Rep. Krause’s letter demanding that school superintendents provide him with lists of books dealing with certain subjects on their school bookshelves is disturbing and political overreach into the classroom. Nothing in state law, not even in HB3979 or SB3, gives a legislator the authority to conduct this type of witch hunt. This is an obvious …

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: The families of 52 people killed, injured or traumatized during the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High have reached a $25 million settlement with the Broward School District, the lawyer for the families confirmed Monday. The largest payments will go to the 17 families whose children or spouses were killed, and they will each …

The Associated Press reports: A Vermont high school homecoming football game turned into a “drag ball” runway at halftime, with a mix of students and faculty members parading in gowns, wigs and makeup — and a big crowd in rainbow colors to cheer them on. “Things went amazing,” Ezra Totten, student leader of the Gender Sexuality Alliance at Burlington High …

From the Carroll County School District: As the Superintendent of Schools, I express my sincere apology regarding the online article and news story released today. During the conversations with teachers during last week’s meeting, the comments made were in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history. Additionally, we recognize there are …

NBC News reports: A top administrator with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake advised teachers last week that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News. Gina Peddy, the Carroll school district’s executive director …

The Hill reports: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced during a press conference Monday that 95 percent of staff from the city’s Department of Education are vaccinated against the coronavirus as an employee mandate takes effect. The mayor touted the public school employee vaccination rate, which reached 96 percent among teachers and 99 percent among principals, saying it …

New York City’s ABC News affiliate reports: The deadline has passed for unvaccinated New York City public school employees to get their first dose of the COVID-19 shot or face suspension and possible termination, after Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined to provide a last minute reprieve Friday. Sotomayor denied the request by a group of teachers for an emergency …

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that his state will be the first to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for children in public and private schools. Under the mandate, the COVID-19 vaccine will be added to the list of other compulsory vaccinations required for schooling such as vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella. As with the …

The Des Moines Register reports: Hundreds of thousands of dollars are at stake for a suburban Des Moines school district Friday if incensed parents follow through with a plan to artificially lower the district’s enrollment numbers. Ankeny Community School District families angry over a new mask mandate are threatening to unenroll their children from school ahead of the state’s Oct. …

The New York Times reports: New York City’s vaccine mandate for nearly all adults working in its public schools can proceed as scheduled, a federal appeals panel ruled on Monday, reversing a decision made over the weekend that paused enforcement of the mandate until later this week at the earliest. Mayor Bill de Blasio had originally ordered well over 150,000 …

New York City’s ABC News affiliate reports: A new roadblock could put New York City’s vaccine mandate for schools in jeopardy as it closes in on Monday’s deadline. A federal appeals court has temporarily delayed the city from implementing its vaccine requirement for public school employees. The temporary restraining order was granted by a judge on the federal government’s Second …

Jacksonville’s NBC News affiliate reports: A troubling series of videos posted to social media this week appears to show a group of students hurling hate speech at other students at a St. Johns County high school. Students can be heard using homophobic slurs in the videos, which have been edited by News4Jax to shield the identities of students. Parents told …

Denver’s NBC News affiliate reports: A Douglas County judge on Friday said she hoped to prevent another school shooting from ever happening again when she sentenced the man responsible for the deadly shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch to 1,282.5 years on top of the mandatory life sentence for his first-degree murder conviction. “I obviously disagree that imposing a sentence …

ABC News reports: Two Florida middle schoolers with an apparent interest in the Columbine High School massacre were allegedly plotting to carry out a school shooting of their own until a teacher was tipped off about a possible concealed weapon, authorities said. The teacher at Harns Marsh Middle School in Lehigh Acres, near Fort Myers, alerted school administrators and a …

The Associated Press reports: Kentucky lawmakers, many not wearing masks, voted Thursday to scrap a statewide mask mandate in public schools and shifted masking decisions to local school boards, acting in a special session as the state’s worst COVID-19 surge threatens to overwhelm hospitals. Gov. Andy Beshear responded late Thursday night by vetoing portions of the bill nullifying mask mandates …

The New York Times reports: Los Angeles is the first major school district in the United States to mandate coronavirus vaccines for students 12 and older who are attending class in person. With the Delta variant ripping across the country, the district’s Board of Education voted, 6-0, to pass the measure on Thursday afternoon. The Los Angeles Unified School District …

The Washington Post reports: It’s back-to-school week for many families in the United States — just as coronavirus cases surge among children and teens. Weekly pediatric coronavirus cases surpassed 250,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to the most recent data published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Its data shows that more than a …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: The Wake County school board voted 8-1 on Tuesday to continue its universal masking requirement to comply with a new state law requiring monthly votes on mask policies. Board members said Tuesday they need more time and information before they can agree to require either COVID testing or vaccinations. Jasmine Raeford, a kindergarten teacher, …