Tag Archives: education

Florida Now Going After Social Studies Textbooks

The New York Times reports: In Florida, textbooks have become hot politics, part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s campaign against what he describes as “woke indoctrination” in public schools, particularly when it comes to race and gender. Last year, his administration made a splash when it rejected dozens of math textbooks, citing “prohibited topics.” Now, the state is reviewing curriculum in …

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OK Allows Corporal Punishment For Disabled Students

The New Republic reports: A just society would not allow teachers to hit disabled kids at school. Sounds reasonable enough, right? Well, Oklahoma Republicans disagree. On Tuesday, the Oklahoma House, in which Republicans have a supermajority, voted against House Bill 1028, which would have outlawed school district personnel from “using corporal punishment on any student identified with a disability in …

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MN Rep Votes Against Free Lunches For Poor Students Since He’s “Yet To Meet A Hungry Minnesotan” [VIDEO]

NBC News reports: A Republican state senator in Minnesota said Tuesday he was voting against a bill to provide free breakfast and lunch for school students in part because he’d never encountered anyone in the state who was hungry. “I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry,” Sen. Steve Drazkowski said in remarks on the floor …

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Florida Advances Bill To Worsen “Don’t Say Gay” Law

Florida News Service reports: The Republican-controlled House Choice & Innovation Subcommittee voted 14-4 along almost-straight party lines to approve the proposal (HB 1223), after numerous LGBTQ advocates slammed the bill as harmful to vulnerable youths. Rep. Lisa Dunkley, D-Sunrise, voted with Republicans for the measure. The 2022 law, which drew national attention and federal court challenges, prohibited instruction about sexual …

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Arizona Schools Chief Launches Anti-Teacher Snitch Line

From the Arizona Department of Education: Arizona schools chief Tom Horne has launched the Department of Education “Empower Hotline” so that Arizonans can report inappropriate public school lessons that detract from teaching academic standards. These include those that focus on race or ethnicity, rather than individuals and merit, promoting gender ideology, social emotional learning, or inappropriate sexual content. The hotline …

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Texas Bill Would End Tenure For University Professors

The Texas Tribune reports: A bill filed Friday in the Texas Senate would prohibit public colleges and universities from awarding tenure to professors hired after September, legislation that critics have said would make it extremely difficult for the state to recruit top faculty and negatively impact the reputation of its higher education institutions. The bill, filed by Sen. Brandon Creighton …

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South Carolina School Sued After Student Says Teacher Assaulted Her For Refusing To Say Pledge Of Allegiance

Columbia’s The State reports: A 15-year-old student at River Bluff High School says she was physically assaulted by a teacher for refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Now her parents are suing Lexington School District One, Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait, River Bluff Principal Jacob Smith, River Bluff teacher Nicole Livingston and the S.C. Department of Education on her behalf. On …

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Cheney Takes Teaching Gig At University Of Virginia

USA Today reports: Former Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney is joining the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics following her ouster from Congress by a Trump-backed candidate last year. Cheney will serve as a professor of practice for UVA in an inaugural appointment. She will teach through the fall 2023 semester, according to a press release. Her duties include holding …

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Texas Copies Florida On University Diversity Hiring

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp has directed leaders of its 11 universities and eight agencies to stop asking job candidates for statements about their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in their applications. Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office sent a letter to public universities and state agencies saying that DEI hiring practices violated …

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Utah GOP Rep Introduces “Don’t Say Gay” Bill [VIDEO]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A Utah lawmaker is running a bill that would prohibit any discussion of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classrooms — legislation that directly copies language from a Florida law that was widely panned and referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” measure by opponents. LGBTQ groups in Utah have …

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College Students Protest DeSantis In Statewide Walkout

The Orlando Sentinel reports: For University of Central Florida students Izzie Uribe and Niyanna Jeffcoat, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to dismantle diversity and inclusion programs and interrogate campuses about health services provided to transgender students pose an imminent threat to their campus. The pair stood with hundreds of their peers on the university’s Memory Mall on Thursday afternoon, protesting what …

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DeSantis Issues Target List Of “Woke” School Leaders

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has formulated a so-called “target list” containing names of school board members across the state that he wants to challenge in their upcoming elections. DeSantis said those on the “target list” of 14 do not protect parental rights and have failed to protect students from what he calls “woke” ideologies. The announcement …

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School Official Resigns After Leaving Gun In Bathroom

Abilene’s ABC affiliate reports: Rising Star’s superintendent has resigned days after parents in the district learned he left a firearm unattended in a school bathroom for a 3rd grader to find. District staff confirmed Superintendent Robby Stuteville submitted his resignation from Rising Star ISD effective immediately. Last week, Superintendent Stuteville confirmed a 3rd grader found his gun in the bathroom …

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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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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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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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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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