Education

NBC News reports: Two of the largest banks in the U.S. say they will stop donating millions of dollars to Florida’s private school voucher program after a newspaper investigation found that some of the program’s beneficiaries discriminate against LGBTQ students. In a statement to NBC News and CNBC on Wednesday evening, Wells Fargo confirmed that it would no longer participate. …

Louisville’s NBC News affiliate reports: A lawsuit has been filed after a Kentucky high school student was expelled from her Christian school after images appeared on social media showing her celebrating her 15th birthday while smiling next to a rainbow cake. The suit, filed Thursday, contends that Whitefield Academy expelled the teen due to her perceived sexuality. School administrators said …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken another whack at former first lady Michelle Obama’s signature achievement: Establishing stricter nutritional standards for school breakfasts and lunches.  On Friday, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Brandon Lipps announced new proposed rules for the Food and Nutrition Service that would allow schools to cut the amount of vegetables and fruits …

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: Virginia Union University has revoked permission for a group that planned to honor President Donald Trump at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony. A flyer distributed Tuesday listed Trump, along with son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, as honorees at Urban Revitalization Coalition’s planned Jan. 20 event at the Richmond university. (There was no indication that …

Axios reports: Former First Lady Michelle Obama is partnering with the digital media company ATTN: to launch a video series on IGTV, Instagram’s video platform. “A Year of Firsts” shows inspiring stories about students navigating their first year through college. Why it matters: The Obamas have maintained a strong media presence through civic media projects on newer tech platforms. The …

CBS News reports: Thousands of students in Seattle have 10 days to get vaccinated or they will not be allowed to go to school. This comes after Washington state had two measles outbreaks this year, one forcing a state of emergency. The Seattle Public Schools district issued a notice to families saying their kids could not attend school “until the …

ABC News reports: A sheriff’s deputy caught on security video twice body-slamming a child under the age of 12 at a North Carolina middle school was fired on Monday morning and state investigators are deciding whether to file criminal charges against him, officials said. The deputy’s termination is “effective immediately,” Vance County, North Carolina, Sheriff Curtis Brame told ABC station …

CNBC reports: The University of Phoenix, which is owned by Apollo Education Group, has agreed to pay $191 million to settle charges that it falsely advertised close ties with major U.S. companies that could lead to jobs for students, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. The University of Phoenix will pay $50 million to the FTC to return to …

The Marietta Daily News reports: A former Kennesaw State University cheerleader who took a knee during the national anthem at a KSU football game has been paid $145,000 in a subsequent out-of-court settlement, documents show. Former KSU cheerleader Tommia Dean filed a lawsuit in 2018 after receiving backlash to her public protest with four other cheerleaders during the national anthem …

Law & Crime reports: U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her Department of Education (DOE) violated a court order which prohibited the agency from collecting student loan payments from defrauded borrowers–and then she drastically under-counted the number of former students who were impacted by that initial illegal decision. In a 14-page compliance report filed with the U.S. District Court …

This story is just bonkers. The Detroit Free Press reports: A total of about 250 students have now been arrested since January on immigration violations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a sting operation by federal agents who enticed foreign-born students, mostly from India, to attend the school that marketed itself as offering graduate programs in …

The Arizona Daily Star reports: The vice chairman of the House Education Committee wants schools to teach students less about dating abuse — but tighten up laws that require them to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction, is proposing to repeal a state law that now allows — but does not require — schools to provide …

Cincinnati’s CBS affiliate reports: Ohio lawmakers are weighing in on how public schools can teach things like evolution. The Ohio House on Wednesday passed the “Student Religious Liberties Act.” Under the law, students can’t be penalized if their work is scientifically wrong as long as the reasoning is because of their religious beliefs. Instead, students are graded on substance and …

NBC News reports: Multiple people were injured, at least two of them critically, in a shooting at a Southern California high school on Thursday morning, officials said. About an hour and a half after the shooting was reported at about 8 a.m. at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, sources said the suspect was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. …

Axios reports: “Sesame Street” officially turns 50 this weekend. That’s 50 years of Bert and Ernie, 50 years of Oscar and Big Bird, and 50 years of expanding minds, stretching boundaries, and occasionally stirring up controversy. Why it matters: As was the original intent, “Sesame Street” has played a huge role in teaching generations of kids not only how to …

The Montgomery News reports: The Student Government Association at the University of Alabama is warning groups that protesting President Trump during the Tide’s Saturday game vs. LSU could result in loss of reserved seating for the remainder of the season. A letter from Jason Rothfarb, vice president of Student Affairs, said additional security will be in Bryant Denny’s student section …

The Daily Northwestern reports: Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has championed students’ rights to free speech on college campuses throughout the country. On Tuesday, he spoke against the students protesting a talk he gave at Lutkin Hall on Tuesday, criticizing what he called their “stupidity” and adding that Northwestern should not tolerate such behavior. “I’m just going to tell …

Ms Magazine reports: Since 1981, Congress has spent over $2.2 billion on shame-based, abstinence-only sex education programs—even though data shows that those very programs are failing. One 2011 study funded by the University of Georgia Research Foundation concluded teens in states that prescribe more abstinence education are actually more likely to become pregnant. Comprehensive sex education curriculums could be the …

The Washington Post reports: A federal judge on Thursday held Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in contempt for violating an order to stop collecting loan payments from former Corinthian Colleges students. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco slapped the Education Department with a $100,000 fine for violating a preliminary injunction. Money from the fine will …

The Washington Post reports: A trove of documents released Tuesday by the House Education and Labor Committee shows the Education Department provided $10.7 million in federal loans and grants to students at the Illinois Institute of Art and the Art Institute of Colorado even though officials knew the for-profit colleges were not accredited and ineligible to receive such aid. The …