Tag Archives: education

Poll: 46% Say Open Schools With “Major Adjustments”

The Associated Press reports: Virtual instruction. Mandated masks. Physical distancing. The start of school will look very different this year because of the coronavirus — and that’s OK with the vast majority of Americans. Only about 1 in 10 Americans think daycare centers, preschools or K-12 schools should open this fall without restrictions, according to a new poll from The …

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Teachers Unions Sue FL Gov Over School Opening Plan

The New York Times reports: Teachers unions sued Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday over his administration’s emergency order pushing schools to fully reopen next month even as coronavirus cases in the state are surging. The suit, which appears to be the first of its kind across the country, sets up a confrontation between unions and politicians that could …

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Majority Of CA Schools Won’t Reopen In Fall [VIDEO]

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Schools in much of California will be blocked from reopening in-person classes this fall unless they meet strict guidelines to protect students and staff, and unless counties where they are located slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday. All public and private schools throughout California must also require staff and students …

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REPORT: Tennessee County School System Requires Parents To Sign “Death Waiver” For Returning Students

Knoxville’s ABC News affiliate reports: Anderson County will welcome their students back starting on August 10, but that will not be the same starting date for every school and grade. Ryan Sutton, Anderson County Schools communications/public relations coordinator says it will be a staggered start for various grade levels. Social distancing efforts will be in place for classrooms, hallways and …

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LA And San Diego Schools To Be Online Only In Fall

The Los Angeles Times reports: Los Angeles campuses will not reopen for classes on Aug. 18, and the nation’s second-largest school system will continue with online learning until further notice, because of the worsening coronavirus surge, Supt. Austin Beutner announced Monday. The difficult decision became unavoidable in recent weeks, Beutner said, as coronavirus cases have skyrocketed in Los Angeles County, …

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DeVos Won’t Say If Schools Should Abide By CDC Rules

CNN reports: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Sunday refused to say whether schools should follow guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on reopening, saying those guidelines are meant to be “flexible.” “The CDC guidelines are just that, meant to be flexible and meant to be applied as appropriate for the situation,” DeVos told CNN’s Dana Bash. …

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Trump Threatens Tax Exemptions For Universities: “Too Many Schools Are About Radical Left Indoctrination”

The Independent reports: Donald Trump escalated his feud with school systems and colleges that started over whether they should reopen this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, threatening their tax-exempt status. The president accused “too many” colleges and school systems of “radical left indoctrination” of students, verbiage ripped from his 2020 re-election campaign. According to the Association of American Universities, a …

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Trump Complaint Spurs New CDC Guidance On Schools

NBC News reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will release additional guidance next week on how to reopen schools safely, Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday during a White House coronavirus task force briefing at the Department of Education. The guidance, however, is only a recommendation and will not replace state and local decision-making, Pence said. Recommendations on …

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DeVos On Opening Schools: Space Flight Is Also Risky

The Daily Beast reports: On a call with the nation’s governors Tuesday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos chastised local officials for doing “next to nothing” to provide academic services to students and demanded they reopen schools in the fall regardless of the state of the COVID pandemic. The issue, DeVos stressed at one point, was merely a matter of calculated …

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NYC Schools To Reopen In “Blended Learning” Model

CBS New York reports: New York City students will return to school in the fall with a “blended learning” model, the mayor announced Wednesday. Mayor Bill de Blasio said most students will attend in-person classes two or three days a week, depending on the week. Families who aren’t comfortable sending their children back to school may continue remote learning. They …

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WH Pressures CDC To Endorse Reopening Schools

Politico reports: The White House is hammering a message of reopening schools even as coronavirus cases spike throughout the country, insisting it’s OK to move ahead and that decisions last spring to close doors came from states rather than health experts at the CDC. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, wrote an op-ed for USA Today advocating liability …

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FLORIDA: All Schools Ordered To Reopen Next Month

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran [photo] issued an emergency order Monday, requiring all schools to open in the fall and laying out the requirements districts must meet to offer any sort of non-traditional remote instruction in addition to their in-person option. “All school boards and charter school governing boards must open brick and mortar schools in …

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SCOTUS Rules Public Funds Okay For Religious Schools

USA Today reports: The Supreme Court delivered a major victory Tuesday to parents seeking state aid for their children’s religious school education. The court’s conservative majority ruled that states offering scholarships to students in private schools cannot exclude religious schools from such programs. The decision was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who has joined the liberal justices in three …

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TEXAS: Schools To Open In Fall, No Masks Required

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas students will be returning to public schools in person this fall, Gov. Greg Abbott told state lawmakers Thursday morning. The state’s top education officials confirmed the plans in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “It will be safe for Texas public school students, teachers, and staff to return to school campuses for in-person instruction this …

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TENNESSEE: Governor Gets Bill Allowing Students To Miss One Hour Of School Every Day To Attend Church

Hemant Mehta reports at The Friendly Atheist: The Tennessee legislature passed a bill yesterday, House Bill 2542/Senate Bill 2473, that would force public schools to allow kids to miss class for up to one hour each day in order to attend church. (They would also allow school buses to transport those kids, as long as the churches paid for it.) …

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Philippine President: No School Until There’s A Vaccine

Agence France-Presse reports: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he will not allow students to go back to school until a coronavirus vaccine is available, even as some countries resume in-person classes. Children were due to return to school at the end of August after classes for more than 25 million primary and secondary students were shut down in March as …

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Actress Lori Loughlin Takes Deal, Will Get Two Months

ABC News reports: Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have agreed to a plea deal in connection with their involvement in the so-called “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal. The “Full House” actress will serve two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine and have two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service, while her husband, a …

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LIVE VIDEO: Obama Gives Commencement For HBCUs

Deadline reports: Barack Obama has kept a relatively low profile since leaving the White House more than three years ago, but today the former President will deliver not one but two virtual commencement addresses for this season of coronavirus pandemic. Starting with Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition at 2 PM ET the ex-POTUS steps up as the marquee name …

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ACLU Sues DeVos Over New Sexual Assault Guidelines

Yahoo News reports: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ revised federal guidelines on how sexual assault allegations should be handled on college and K-12 campuses is the target of a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, claiming the changes would “inflict significant harm” on victims and “dramatically undermine” their civil rights. The suit, filed on behalf of four advocacy groups for sexual assault survivors, …

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Trump Rips Fauci On Opening Schools: Unacceptable

CNN reports: President Donald Trump voiced frustration Wednesday at the nation’s top infectious disease specialist after he warned a day earlier against reopening schools and businesses too quickly. “I was surprised by his answer, actually,” Trump said when asked about Dr. Anthony Fauci’s warnings during televised congressional testimony that reopening states too quickly could have dire consequences. “It’s just — …

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