Education

Texas School Official Leaves Gun In Student Bathroom

Abilene’s NBC affiliate reports: A 3rd grader in Rising Star found a gun the superintendent left in a school bathroom. Superintendent Robby Stuteville confirms the 3rd grader found the gun back in January and notified a teacher immediately without moving or touching the weapon. Stuteville walked KTAB and KRBC through the incident, explaining that both he and the school principal …

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Anti-AP DeSantis Was AP Student Of The Year, Praised AP Courses As “A Gateway To Success In Life” In 2020

The Daily Beast reports: When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis floated the possibility of eliminating Advanced Placement classes from his state’s curriculum, he conveniently left out an important fact. DeSantis was once the “AP US History student of the year,” according to his high school yearbook, pages of which were obtained by The Daily Beast. Before turning on AP classes in …

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Florida Teacher Fired For Post About Empty Bookshelves

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Brian Covey, a substitute teacher at Mandarin Middle School, posted a video on Jan. 27 showing rows of empty bookshelves in the school’s library. The jarring video quickly went viral and now has over 13 million views, it made national headlines and was even fodder on a late night talk show. On Tuesday, First Coast News …

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Antisemitic Slurs Spur Brawl At FL School Soccer Match

The New York Post reports: An ugly brawl broke out after a heated soccer game between two private high schools — one Jewish and the other Catholic — in Miami this week, with some players saying they were hit with anti-Semitic slurs. Footage of the incident between Scheck Hillel Community School and Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School shows players battling. …

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DeSantis Blames “School Unions” For Removed Books

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: Duval County schools recently removed a book about Puerto Rican baseball legend “Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates,” by Jonah Winter and Raúl Colón, as part of a “review” for age appropriateness. A blurb for the Clemente book describes the racism the outfielder endured. DeSantis responded to concerns over book banning by largely dismissing them. …

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DeSantis Doubles Down On Banning All AP Courses

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to outline a path away from the College Board’s products in the wake of a dispute over an African American Studies Advanced Placement course proposal. “I don’t think anyone should be concerned about our high school students not having opportunity for that. They absolutely will. And it’s just a matter of what’s the …

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Three Dead, Five Injured In Michigan Mass Shooting

The Detroit Free Press reports: Michigan State University was swarmed with police, ambulances and fear Monday night as an active shooter situation unfolded, with officials reporting three people dead and five others injured. The school sent an alert at 8:31 p.m. telling students to “run, hide, fight” with a report of shots fired on the school’s East Lansing campus. The …

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DeSantis Threatens To Ban All High School AP Courses

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Tens of thousands of Florida high school students take Advanced Placement courses every year to have a competitive edge heading into college. Now, Gov. Ron DeSantis says he wants to reevaluate the state’s relationship with the College Board, the private company that administers those courses and the SAT exam. And that has some high school …

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College Board Denounces FL On Black History Course

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Taken aback by Florida’s attacks against its new AP African American studies course, the College Board late Saturday denounced the state Department of Education, saying it used the course to advance a politically motivated agenda. The organization’s letter, published at 8 p.m. Saturday, came just two days after it released another statement that did not …

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Iowa Gov’s Bill Would Ban Books, HPV Vaccine Info

Des Moines’ CBS affiliate reports: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds unveiled a sweeping education bill Thursday that would set new standards for what students can and can’t learn. The bill would require each school district to publish online all materials used in all classes throughout the district and a detailed process for parents to request any material be removed. Any book …

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Florida Schools Pull Books On Prominent Latino Figures

NBC News reports: A book about late Afro-Puerto Rican MLB legend Roberto Clemente can’t be found in the shelves of public school libraries in Florida’s Duval County these days. “Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates” by Jonah Winter and Raúl Colón — and other books about Latino figures such as the late Afro-Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz and Justice …

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FL Pressured College Board On Black History Course

The Washington Post reports: Florida’s education department had been privately complaining to the College Board for months about a new Advanced Placement African American Studies course before the board released revisions that critics saw as caving to political pressure, according to a timeline released by the state. The complaints, outlined in a letter this week to the College Board, feed …

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FL Drops Plan To Ask Student Athletes About Periods

CNN reports: At an emergency meeting Thursday, the Florida High School Athletic Association approved a proposal to remove all questions about menstrual cycles from medical forms required to participate in high school sports in the state. The emergency meeting was held after the FHSAA faced months of criticism for a proposed change in policy that would require athletes to report …

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PA School Board Member Pays For “Litter Boxes” Sign

The Leighton Times-News reports: Plans for the installation of a unisex bathroom in Palmerton Area School District’s weight room and wrestling room have one school board member questioning its intent. Earl Paules, board vice president, recently paid for a sign located along Delaware Avenue. The handicapped accessible, unisex bathroom was added to the plans late, Paules said. “Everyone thought this …

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Publisher Offers Free Downloads Of Black History Books

Via press release from Haymarket Books: The racist governor of Florida continues to escalate his attacks on the freedom to learn and teach history. We at Haymarket stand in solidarity with all those in Florida and across the country who are organizing to resist. We know that books can be dangerous to those in power, especially when they are in …

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Newsom Calls “Bullshit” On College Board’s Revisions

Fox News reports: California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday slammed College Board CEO David Coleman as a “puppet of Ron DeSantis” after the Board revised an AP African American studies course by removing much of the content the Republican governor had criticized. In response to a New York Times report on the College Board stripping down its Advancement Placement Curriculum …

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School Cancels “Vulgar” Musical With Gay Characters

Cleveland’s Fox affiliate reports: After months of planning, a local school district abruptly canceled its musical, claiming it was “vulgar.” In a statement, the Cardinal Local Schools superintendent Jack Cunningham said, “The Cardinal Local School District has decided that its spring musical production will not be ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.’ Its dialogue and song lyrics contain vulgarity …

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DeSantis Appointee Wants Newspaper Banned From College Board Meetings Over Comments By Readers

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports: Eddie Speir, a Christian school founder appointed by DeSantis to the New College of Florida board clashed with legal counsel David Smolker over his request to open the board meeting with prayer. He said Smolker initially denied the request, but in his latest Substack said that decision was reversed and an opening prayer will be allowed. …

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Florida Schools Get Training Video On Removing Books

Jacksonville’s PBS station reports: Duval teachers say they are being instructed to “cover or store” classroom libraries they have used for years to supplement their students’ reading. In what appears to be an internal training video obtained by WJCT News, the district’s chief academic officer, Paula Renfro, tells teachers to temporarily pull books from classrooms. Duval Schools confirmed to WJCT …

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DeSantis Appointees Seek Power To Fire College Faculty

Tampa’s ABC affiliate reports: Faculty and staff at New College of Florida got their first glimpse Wednesday at what the future of the liberal arts college may look like. Two newly appointed — and politically conservative — members of the school’s board of trustees met with faculty for the first time for two question-and-answer sessions that were, at times, contentious. …

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