Tag Archives: education

USA Today reports: Bruhat Soma entered the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee with three smaller spelling bee victories already under his belt in 2024, and the 12-year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida, won the big prize Thursday by defeating fellow 12-year-old Faizan Zaki in a spell-off. “My heart was pumping so fast when I realized I won,” Soma said. “I had …

Popular Information reports: Training materials produced by the Florida Department of Education direct middle and high school teachers to indoctrinate students in the tenets of Christian nationalism, a right-wing effort to merge Christian and American identities. Thousands of Florida teachers, lured by cash stipends, have attended trainings featuring these materials. According to speaker notes accompanying one slide, teachers were told …

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports: San Diego state Assemblymember Chris Ward introduced legislation Wednesday, May 22, that would require school districts and charter schools to keep students’ gender identity and sexual orientation private, amid legal battles — including in San Diego County — over what schools should and should not tell parents of LGBTQ+ students. Assembly Bill 1955 would prohibit …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is sounding off about sociology yet again. And this time the architects of the American experience have his back. The Governor went back for a second slam of the academic discipline in as many months on Thursday, in remarks to the Florida Homeschool Convention in Orlando. “Florida used to require all students to take …

The Associated Press reports: North Carolina’s public university system board voted Thursday to repeal a nearly five-year-old diversity, equity and inclusion policy, meaning its 17 schools will likely join other major universities in cutting diversity programs and jobs. The 24-member University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved its agenda, which included the diversity policy repeal, with two members voting …

Bloomberg Law reports: Maryland’s largest public school system doesn’t have to allow parents to excuse their kids from classroom lessons involving LGBTQ-themed books while the families’ constitutional challenge proceeds, a divided federal appeals court said Wednesday. The parents haven’t shown they’re likely to succeed on their arguments that the Montgomery County school system’s attendance requirements violates their religious freedom, free …

CNN reports: Florida A&M University is putting a purported $237.75 million donation “on pause,” after media reports and college board leaders raised concerns about the actual value of the stock gift—and the details surrounding the donor’s previous donations. It’s a stunning reversal from the fanfare last Saturday at FAMU’s commencement ceremony, when the announcement of the gift made headlines as …

Harrisonburg’s ABC affiliate reports: For the first time in United States history, a school district that changed the name of schools that honored Confederate generals, voted to restore the Confederate names years later. The Shenandoah County School Board held a public hearing on May 9 at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School to discuss restoring the names of Mountain View High School …

Bloomberg Law reports: A gay teacher saw his sex bias win against a Catholic high school overturned Wednesday by the Fourth Circuit, which said because he played a “vital role as a messenger” of the faith, he was a “minister” excepted from the protections of federal sex discrimination law. Charlotte Catholic High School teacher Lonnie Billard’s appeal is the latest …

NBC News reports: The University of Mississippi has opened at least one student conduct investigation after videos of pro-Palestinian protesters surrounded by counterprotesters circulated online, including one that many have singled out as racist. Chancellor Glenn F. Boyce sent a letter to students and staff on Friday noting that Ole Miss leaders were aware of behaviors that were “offensive, hurtful, …

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: The University of North Florida’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion shut down Wednesday, along with several campus programs, to comply with a new state law. The Florida law bans universities from spending money on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. Four different centers on campus that were all under the umbrella of the Office of Diversity and …

Roll Call reports: The Biden administration on Friday finalized new rules designed to bolster legal protections at colleges and universities for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students and victims of sexual misconduct. The new rules do not address the politically contentious issue of transgender athletes competing on women’s sports teams, however. The rules released Friday update Title IX, the 1972 law that …

Florida Politics reports: K-12 students are one step closer to getting some lessons from designated “patriotic” groups after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on allowing certain groups access to K-12 campuses. Rep. Wyman Duggan’s bill (HB 1317) allows representatives of so-called “patriotic organizations” time to meet with students and distribute recruitment materials, with schools providing designated time for these groups …

Today reports: Openly gay actor Maulik Pancholy was disinvited from speaking at a middle school anti-bullying assembly after concerns were raised about his political activism and what two school board members called his “lifestyle.” Pancholy’s scheduled appearance at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was unanimously overturned by the district’s school board in a public meeting on April 15. …

Wisconsin Public Radio reports: School board members in a Sheboygan County district listed “Christian values” and “conservative politics” as desired characteristics in a posting for a superintendent position at a public school. The original post for the Cedar Grove-Belgium School District job was amended after potential candidates raised questions. Retired St. Francis Superintendent Carol Topinka became aware of the posting …

Pew Research reports: About a quarter of teachers (23%) say they experienced a lockdown in the 2022-23 school year because of a gun or suspicion of a gun at their school. Some 15% say this happened once during the year, and 8% say this happened more than once. High school teachers are most likely to report experiencing these lockdowns: 34% …

UPI reports: At least four states are considering legislation to follow North Dakota in mandating the showing of an animated fetal development video in elementary school classrooms. The particular video suggested, Meet Baby Olivia, developed by the anti-abortion organization Live Action, is factually incorrect and rife with misleading information. Following North Dakota’s passage of a similar bill last year, lawmakers …

The New York Times reports: Alabama Republicans pushed through a sprawling measure on Tuesday that would not only ban state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities, local boards of education and government agencies, but also limit the teaching of “divisive concepts” surrounding race, gender and identity. The bill passed with broad support in the State Legislature, …

Axios reports: Conservative states are pushing to allow chaplains in public schools, in theory to help solve a persistent shortage of counselors. Since Texas introduced it own blueprint last year, allowing schools to use safety funds to hire chaplains who do not have the same licensing as counselors, similar bills have ricocheted across more than a dozen states including Florida, …

Florida Politics reports: The mistakes made by the Soviets, the Chinese and other communist regimes are one step closer to being part of Florida K-12 classrooms. The House passed by a 106-7 vote SB 1264, a “History of Communism” product previously passed by a 25-7 vote in the Senate, putting the bill on a path for a Gov. Ron DeSantis …