Tag Archives: education

Pastor Resigns From MO School Board After Preaching That Children With Autism Are Possessed By “Demons”

Springfield’s NBC affiliate reports: On Wednesday, September 6, Beulah Church in Richland, Mo., held a live-streamed sermon hosted by Pastor Rick Morrow. In the sermon, Morrow made comments that caused a massive backlash in the Richland community and across the country. What’s more is that in addition to being a pastor, Morrow was on the board of Stoutland schools until …

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Florida Principal Resigns After Segregated Assembly

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Donelle Evensen, principal at Bunnell Elementary School, informed Superintendent LaShakia Moore that she is resigning from her post, the Flagler County School District said in a news release Thursday morning. Evensen and a teacher were placed on leave following the assembly that was held for “African American students that scored below a three on testing.” Furious …

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Florida Parents Can Spend Money From Private School Vouchers On Giant TVs, Theme Park Tickets, And More

The Tampa Bay Times reports: As Florida lawmakers expanded eligibility for school vouchers this year, they also gave parents more ways to spend the money. Theme park passes, 55-inch TVs, and stand-up paddleboards are among the approved items that recipients can buy to use at home. The purchases can be made by parents who home-school their children or send them …

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California Sues Over “Forced Outing” Of Trans Students

The Associated Press reports: California’s attorney general sued a Southern California school district Monday over its new policy requiring schools to notify parents if their children change their gender identification or pronouns, the latest blow in an intensifying battle between a handful of school districts and the state about the rights of trans kids and their parents. Attorney General Rob …

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Man Screaming About “Homosexuality And Satanism” Gets Hauled Out Of Fort Worth School Board Meeting

Fort Worth’s ABC affiliate reports: A Fort Worth school district board meeting turned tense Tuesday night as parents and community members sounded off on books in school and the district’s decision to close libraries while they catalog books ahead of a new state law in September. The Fort Worth Independent School District last week confirmed they were closing their libraries …

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Campus Pride Drops Florida Colleges From Rankings

Florida Politics reports: A group spotlighting positive college environments for LGBTQ students just dropped two Florida universities from its rankings. Campus Pride excluded the University of Central Florida (UCF) and the University of North Florida (UNF) from its Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities list. That’s despite both colleges earning high marks in prior years. Instead, the college …

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Arkansas: Turn In All Black History Material For Review

Little Rock’s NPR affiliate reports: Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva wrote to leaders of six Arkansas schools on Monday with the most specific concerns yet about the AP African American Studies course. The letter — sent to the handful of schools that plan to continue offering the pilot course — also asks the schools to submit course materials to the …

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New App Offers Teens Free Access To Banned Books

The Guardian reports: For the past two years, book banning has been on the rise in schools and libraries across the US, mainly due to far-right pressure. Now the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is trying to fight back. It recently launched the Banned Book Program, granting free nationwide access to books restricted in schools or libraries. It functions …

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Texas University Forced To Close LGBTQ Center

The Texas Tribune reports: Jamie Gonzales, a former program coordinator at the University of Houston’s LGBTQ Resource Center, hasn’t slept well ever since she heard that the center will be disbanded in accordance with Senate Bill 17, a law banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public higher education institutions. Although she knew the closure was coming after the bill …

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Denver Archdiocese Preschools Sue To Exclude LGBTQs

The Denver Post reports: The Denver Catholic Archdiocese along with two of its parishes is suing the state alleging their First Amendment rights are violated because their desire to exclude LGBTQ parents, staff and kids from Archdiocesan preschools keeps them from participating in Colorado’s new universal preschool program. The program is intended to provide every child 15 hours per week …

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Students Sue Florida For Repressing Free Speech

The Associated Press reports: College students and professors in Florida are suing education officials over a new law spurred by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ war on “woke,” saying it violates their constitutional rights by censoring academic freedom. The lawsuit was filed in federal court Monday by students and professors at New College, a progressive school with a prominent LGBTQ+ community …

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New MA Millionaires Tax To Fund Free School Lunches

The Insider reports: Students in Massachusetts will get free lunch and breakfast at school thanks to a new 4% tax put on people who earn more than $1 million. Massachusetts voters passed a constitutional amendment that went into effect at the beginning of 2023 to put an additional 4% state income tax on people who make more than $1 million …

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Arkansas Ends Credit For AP Black History Course

The Arkansas Times reports: Word came Friday from distraught educators that a new Advanced Placement course on African American history was suddenly on the chopping block, just two days before the first bell of the school year was set to ring in Arkansas high schools planning to offer the class. An official from the Arkansas Department of Education reportedly alerted …

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Texas School Board Members Say Racially-Inclusive Posters Are “Traumatizing” Students And Possibly Illegal

Houston’s ABC affiliate reports: Some Conroe ISD trustees want to crack down on displays of racial inclusivity and pride, saying they represent, “symbols of personal ideologies.” One trustee says a child was traumatized by a poster showing different colored children holding hands and had to switch classrooms. Citing “a number of parents reaching out to her about supposed displays of …

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FL Students Need Permission Slips To Use Nicknames

The Insider reports: Students who attend school in Florida will now need parental permission to use a nickname or preferred name in school, thanks to a law put in place by the state’s governor, Ronald Dion DeSantis, who famously goes by a nickname — Ron. The rule will soon hit all Florida districts and follows new legislation that was adopted …

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Florida Backs Down On AP Psychology Course Ban

ABC News reports: Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. has instructed Florida school officials to teach College Board’s AP Psychology course “in its entirety,” according to a letter obtained by ABC News from the state Department of Education. The letter follows the College Board’s announcement that Florida officials had effectively banned the course by instructing state superintendents “that teaching foundational …

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Florida Bans AP Psychology Because “Don’t Say Gay”

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Florida will not allow public school students to take Advanced Placement psychology because the course includes lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity, topics forbidden by the state, the College Board said Thursday. If so, that would mean that a week before school starts in many districts, about 5,000 Central Florida students and about 27,000 statewide …

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“Discipline Centers” To Replace Houston School Libraries

The Guardian reports: The largest school district in Texas announced its libraries will be eliminated and replaced with discipline centers in the new school year. Houston independent school district announced earlier this summer that librarian and media-specialist positions in 28 schools will be eliminated as part of superintendent Mike Miles’s “new education system” initiative. Teachers at these schools will soon …

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Academics Are Fleeing Florida’s State Universities

The Guardian reports: With the start of the 2023-24 academic year only six weeks away, senior officials at New College of Florida (NCF) made a startling announcement in mid-July: 36 of the small honors college’s approximately 100 full-time teaching positions were vacant. The provost, Bradley Thiessen, described the number of faculty openings as “ridiculously high”, and the disclosure was the …

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FL Cultist Seeks To Ban Book In PBS’s “Arthur” Series

The Daily Beast reports: A lone parent filed a complaint to a Florida school district that a book in the Arthur series—yes, the same Arthur from the beloved PBS animated show—contained references to Spin the Bottle, and now it’s possibly on the district’s chopping block. A member of the Clay County School District community filed the challenge on July 12 …

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