Education

The Associated Press reports: A Pennsylvania school board that banned books, Pride flags and transgender athletes slipped a last-minute item into their final meeting before leaving office, hastily awarding a $700,000 exit package to the superintendent who supported their agenda. But the Democratic majority that swept the conservative Moms For Liberty slate out of office hopes to block the unusual …

Cedar Rapids’ ABC affiliate reports: The Iowa Board of Regents has voted to approve recommendations from a study group that would water down currently existing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) functions. The Board of Regents formed a study group earlier this year after Governor Reynolds [photo] signed a bill directing a “comprehensive study and review of the diversity, equity and …

The Lynchburg News reports: The Lynchburg City School Board has voted not to accept a $10,000 grant from an LGBTQ-focused nonprofit, a possible temperature gauge for the board’s upcoming consideration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s model policies on the treatment of transgender students. At its meeting Tuesday, the board voted 7-2 against accepting the grant from the nonprofit It Gets Better …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House on Friday voted to strip school vouchers from the chamber’s massive education funding bill, effectively gutting Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priority from the legislation. The House voted 84-63 in favor of an amendment offered by Rep. John Raney of College Station, which removed the provision of the bill allowing some parents to use …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Hitmaker P!nk has teamed with free-speech advocates PEN America and will distribute banned books at her first couple of concert stops in Florida this week. P!nk, known for chart-topping hits such as “Raise Your Glass,” “Get This Party Started” and “So What,” kicks off the Florida leg of her current tour in Miami on Tuesday, with …

USA Today reports: AV Vary became a teacher to help teenagers through the painful experience of growing up and to teach some science along the way. Over the course of 15 years, Vary has taught in the Orlando area and in Maryland. Most recently, Vary taught at the Florida Virtual School, a statewide online public school. But on Oct. 24, …

The Associated Press reports: Voters in some of the highest-profile school board elections across the U.S. rebuked conservative candidates in local school board elections who want to ban books and restrict classroom conversations on race and gender. The American Federation of Teachers said candidates publicly endorsed by conservative groups such as Moms for Liberty and the 1776 Project lost about …

Religion News Service reports: In 2021, Andrew Wommack told his followers to “take over” Woodland Park, a mountain town of 8,000 near Colorado Springs. The televangelist and Charis Bible College founder had been saying for years that “the time has come” for Christians to stop focusing only on their faith and start working to gain political influence. “We have enough …

Religion News Service reports: The country’s largest Christian university is being fined $37.7 million by the federal government amid accusations that it misled students about the cost of its graduate programs. Grand Canyon University, which has more than 100,000 students, mostly in online programs, faces the largest fine of its kind ever issued by the U.S. Education Department. The university …

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee Republican leaders are escalating their calls to reject millions of federal dollars rather than comply with requirements over LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access and other hot-button issues. Already this year, the Volunteer State has rebuffed federal funding designed to prevent and treat HIV and money that would help clinics serving low-income women. Now, GOP lawmakers are …

“In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks on Israel, we stand united in solemn solidarity. As a symbol of our unwavering support and empathy for those affected by these tragic events, I have asked our schools to observe a moment of silence. This moment reflects our deep sorrow and hope for the people of Israel. Let us offer a …

Houston’s NPR affiliate reports: Yet another special session began in Austin on Monday, this time with Governor Greg Abbott asking state lawmakers to take up school vouchers — again. Or, as Abbott calls them, education savings accounts. The vouchers would use taxpayer dollars to allow some families to send some students to private schools. In many rural districts, there are …

The Birmingham News reports: After Alabama’s governor ousted a top state official over a “woke” pre-K training manual, officials dumped dozens of the books, totaling thousands of dollars, in the trash. A photograph shows more than 100 manuals, newly bought from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, scattered across the floor of a Montgomery waste recycling plant …

Charlotte’s NPR affiliate reports: The American Library Association celebrates Banned Book Week next week — but it’s been banned in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and could face challenges across North Carolina. The library association uses the week to celebrate freedom to read and to talk about attempts to censor books. But at a time when parents’ rights groups across the country are …

The Associated Press reports: An Ohio high school football coach resigned Monday after his team used racist and antisemitic language to call out plays during a game last week. Brooklyn High School coach Tim McFarland and his players repeatedly used the word “Nazi” as a play call in a game against Beachwood High School. Beachwood, a Cleveland suburb, is roughly …

The Daily Beast reports: Amanda Litman [photo], the co-founder of Run For Something, announced this week that the group would pump $10 million into local school board races that are being hijacked by the conservative Moms for Liberty group. Litman tells The New Abnormal co-host Danielle Moodie she is determined to see progressive voices on school boards, adding that there …

Cincinnati’s NPR affiliate reports: The debate over whether discussions about race, inclusion, and LGBTQ+ issues belong in Forest Hills Schools was reignited after Superintendent Larry Hook made the decision to paint over a student-created mural at the start of the school year. The mural depicted the hands of people of different races signaling love and solidarity surrounded by symbols of …

The Daily Beast reports: The uber-conservative advocacy group PragerU officially infiltrated another state’s classrooms on Thursday, with the New Hampshire Board of Education voting unanimously to allow a portion of their content to be used by students. New Hampshire is now the third state to approve PragerU material this summer, but its agreement with the right-wing non-profit appears to vary …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Manatee County officials have removed “Christian, the Hugging Lion” by Justin Richardson, a 32-page children’s book about two men who raise a lion named Christian in a London apartment. When Christian becomes too big, the two men release the lion into the wild in Africa. When the men go to visit Christian in Africa, they find …

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports: The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into New College of Florida’s trustees and administration following a civil rights complaint filed on Aug. 22, according to a letter sent Friday from the agency to college Interim President Richard Corcoran. The DOE’s Office of Civil Rights said it plans to investigate the college on the …