Education

Law & Crime reports: The school district that employs the teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old first grade student says that the teacher’s lawsuit against the district should be dismissed because she was injured in the course of her job — and therefore it’s a matter of workers’ compensation. In other words, the school district appears to be arguing, …

The Texas Tribune reports: Most West Texas A&M faculty have lost confidence in university President Walter Wendler, according to the results of a campuswide vote that came weeks after he canceled a charity campus drag show. Faculty senate leaders announced the results of the weeklong no-confidence vote Tuesday evening. According to faculty senate president Ashley Pinkham, there were 179 votes …

The Alabama Political Reporter reports: Dr. Barbara Cooper, secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, has resigned under pressure from Gov. Kay Ivey [photo] for the inclusion of a “woke” pre-K educator resource book in the state’s curriculum. Ivey’s office said it was brought to Ivey’s attention last week that the book included content “that is simply not …

The Texas Tribune reports: A little more than a year after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick declared war on faculty tenure at the state’s public universities, the Texas Senate approved a bill Thursday that would bar schools from granting the benefit to newly hired professors. Patrick’s push to end tenure in Texas started more than a year ago after some University …

Knoxville’s NBC affiliate reports: A bill that made its way through the Tennessee legislature aims to strengthen rules passed last year that can change how schools approach teaching many kinds of lessons in social justice, racial inequity, political science, social work, psychology and many other fields. The bill, HB 1376, was introduced by Representative John Ragan (R – Oak Ridge). …

NBC News reports: The mother of a 6-year-old boy who seriously wounded his teacher with a gun in January will face charges in the shooting, a local prosecutor in Virginia said Monday. A grand jury indicted Deja Taylor on charges of felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child, …

NBC News reports: Almost three months after Virginia teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot by a 6-year-old student, she filed a $40 million lawsuit Monday alleging school administrators shrugged off multiple warnings from staff and students who believed the boy had a gun and posed an imminent threat on the day of the shooting, and did so knowing the child “had …

Forbes reports: A survey released today finds that among Florida’s incoming college freshmen, dissatisfaction with Governor Ron DeSantis’s education policies runs deep—in some cases, deep enough to make them look for college opportunities in another state. In March, Intelligent.com surveyed over 1,000 Florida students, including 783 still in high school and 364 current undergrads. Among the survey’s findings: 91% of …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: The Florida House on Friday took a step toward expanding a controversial 2022 law that prevents instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in early school grades, approving a measure that would broaden the prohibition through eighth grade. The wide-ranging bill (HB 1069) also seeks to restrict the way teachers and students can use preferred pronouns …

Florida Politics reports: A bill that would loosen residency requirements for School Board candidates — bringing them more in line with most other local elected offices — has been readied for full House passage. The legislation (HB 411) from Republican Rep. Kevin Steele of Dade City is among a number of Republican bills aiming to reshape how School Board seats …

St. Louis’s NBC affiliate reports: Public libraries are feeling the heat after the Missouri House perfected budget bills that would eliminate state funding for libraries across state, citing a controversial lawsuit as the reason. Rep. Cody Smith (R-Carthage), the House Budget Committee chairman, proposed to cut the entire $4.5 million budget slated for Missouri libraries last week after the American …

Florida Politics reports: The Senate voted 23-17 on Wednesday to pass a measure that would increase the required percentage of union members who pay dues to 60% for all public sector employees excluding police, firefighters and correctional officers. The proposals also would affect how unions collect dues, set limits on the salaries of union officials, restrict when members can recruit …

Vice News reports: A high school athletics department in a small town in central Ohio is raffling off powerful firearms—including an AR-15—to raise funds to buy equipment for the track team. The gun raffle, in aid of the Upper Sandusky Rams Track and Field, has been so popular that this week the organizers announced all 500 $10 tickets have been …

The Arizona Mirror reports: A bill that critics say violates students’ constitutional rights by forcing them to recite the Pledge of Allegiance has continued to make its way toward becoming law. The bill from Rep. Barbara Parker, R-Mesa, requires that school districts and charter schools set aside a specific time each day for K-12 students to recite the pledge of …

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: The longtime principal of a charter school in southeast Volusia County resigned under fire Tuesday night after it was discovered she wrote a $100,000 check out of the school’s account to an Internet scammer posing as Elon Musk. Jan McGee claims she was scammed online by a fake Elon Musk after spending months talking to this …

Milwaukee’s Fox affiliate reports: A Waukesha teacher asked kids to sing a Miley Cyrus song, but administrators say it’s too controversial for elementary school. The song is called “Rainbowland.” It’s a duet between Cyrus and country star Dolly Parton. Superintendent Jim Sebert confirmed that “Rainbowland” was dropped from the set list. He cited a specific school board policy, saying: “It …

NBC News reports: The House passed GOP-sponsored legislation Friday aimed at providing parents with more information about their children’s educations, marking the congressional Republicans’ foray into culture war battles taking place across the country over what children are taught in public schools. Lawmakers approved the bill in a 213-208 vote after voting on several amendments. The Parents Bill of Rights …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Frustrated by the books being removed from school libraries, a Utah parent says there’s one that hasn’t been challenged yet, but that they believe should be, for being “one of the most sex-ridden books around.” So they’ve submitted a request for their school district in Davis County to now review the Bible for any inappropriate …

The Washington Post reports: As Florida Republicans are introducing and advancing a wave of bills on gender and diversity that are likely to be signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), one GOP lawmaker acknowledged this week that his proposed sexual health bill would ban girls from talking about their menstrual cycles in school. During a Florida House Education …

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: A federal judge on Thursday denied the state of Florida’s attempt to block an injunction on the Individual Freedom Act that was also called the “Stop Woke Act.” The 11th Circuit Court denied a stay requested by the state after a judge initially ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued the state …