Category: Education

Tennessee Proposal Could Send Children Who Threaten Schools to Juvenile Detention Centers, Fine Parents

Tom Pappert
Kid Being Bullied

Tennessee Professional Educators CEO JC Bowman told The Tennessee Star on Thursday he is crafting legislation to present to lawmakers that would give police the authority to immediately detain minors accused of threatening schools, giving officials a 72-hour window to determine whether their threats were credible while sending the bill to the parents of the accused.

The effort, which Bowman told The Star has already received attention from multiple lawmakers, comes amid a series of threats to Tennessee schools that have resulted in closures and law enforcement action across the state, including this week in Nashville.

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Covenant School Announces Plan for New Campus Years After Attack

Tom Pappert
Covenant School Gym

The Covenant School and Covenant Presbyterian Church announced in a joint statement Thursday that they will begin a capital campaign to move the school to a new campus years after the March 27, 2023, attack on the Nashville school.

A new web page for the capital campaign suggested the decision was prompted by the continued growth of the Covenant School. This growth prompted school and church officials to determine that students would return to the church campus for “a three-year rent-free lease agreement with continued financial support from the church.”

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University Health System Organizing Voter-Registration Drives in Heavily Democratic Area of Philadelphia

Admin
Voter Registration

Temple Health is using tax-exempt university resources to operate a get-out-the-vote effort in a predominantly Democratic area.

The university health system, affiliated with Temple University in Philadelphia, is operating a voter-registration drive and get-out-the-vote effort in North Philadelphia, which is predominantly liberal and votes overwhelmingly Democratic, according to internal documents obtained by Do No Harm and shared with The Daily Signal. Do No Harm is a Glen Allen, Va.-based nonprofit medical policy advocacy group focused on depoliticizing the health care system.

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Commentary: The Coming Election’s Effect on Education

American Greatness
Student

At the recent Donald Trump-Kamala Harris debate, the subject of education was nonexistent. Despite its hot button nature, the moderators did not broach the subject, and some parents are angry.

Michele Exner, a senior advisor at Parents Defending Education, commented that despite student literacy having “hit a crisis point,” those who were already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic are being failed now. Yet, the moderators did not ask one single question about education. “They completely ignored one of the top issues parents are worried about.”

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Proposed Tennessee Board of Education Rules to Limit Public Comment Faces Public Opposition from Sen. Brent Taylor

Tom Pappert
Brent Taylor

New rules proposed by the Tennessee State Board of Education to the General Assembly last Thursday met strong public opposition from Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), who on Tuesday vowed to vote against a change that would limit public comment to 10 individuals per topic and require parents to provide 48-hours notice of their intention to speak.

The rules were proposed during a Thursday meeting of the joint Government Operations Committee in the General Assembly. Among other new restrictions, they would limit comment to 10 members of the public per issue and require parents to fill out a form 48 hours in advance in order to speak.

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Arizona School Choice Lawsuit Alleges Spending Restrictions Are Unlawful

The Center Square
Classroom

The Goldwater Institute is suing Attorney General Kris Mayes over what they believe are overly-stringent restrictions on universal Empowerment Scholarship Account program purchases.

The complaint alleges that there were “legal threats” made by Mayes to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne asking that purchases by parents made outside of “pre-established curricula” should not be approved.

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Democrats Want ‘Climate Literacy’ in Schools as Actual Literacy Slips

Daily Caller News Foundation
Classroom students

The Democratic Party is pushing to increase “literacy” on climate change-related material in America’s schools while students are performing poorly with respect to actual literacy.

The party’s education platform mentions the importance of “climate literacy” for American K-12 students several times, emphasizing the purported need for students to be able to understand and interpret information relating to climate change. Meanwhile, the average reading score for both fourth and eighth grade students in 2022 had fallen by three points relative to 2019, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

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Florida Prepaid College Tuition Program Providing Refunds to Parents

The Center Square
College Students

Florida’s prepaid college tuition plan is generating enough revenue to provide refunds to parents in part because of strong earnings on the plan’s investments and low tuition statewide.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week part of those savings is how the state has held down tuition and other costs at the state’s colleges and universities. The plan factors in future tuition costs and when those costs don’t reach predictions, families can receive a refund.

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Six Books Removed from Tennessee Schools Contained Graphic Sex Scenes, Depictions of Slavery

Tom Pappert
School Board Meeting

Six books were successfully removed from schools in Rutherford County, Tennessee on Friday after school board members voted Thursday to place literature with graphic adult themes on a “mature reading list” that would prevent students from accessing the materials.

Multiple members of the public spoke ahead of the meeting, including a father named James Faulkner, who read from one of the books he argued includes “clear and obvious sections of pornographic scenes” that are unsuitable for minors.

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Multiple Memphis Schools Locked Down After Threatening Messages with Reported Foreign Origin

Tom Pappert
Marie Feagins

Multiple in Memphis and Shelby County locked down their campuses on Wednesday after authorities confirmed threatening messages were posted online. Authorities have stated there was no immediate threat to any schools in the area, and reportedly that the messages were believed to have been created using chat bots and originated outside the United States.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins revealed a press conference, where she spoke on Wednesday alongside with Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis and Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., that threats were first received by Southwind High School via a phone call, and later through social media.

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Group That Pushed SCOTUS to End Affirmative Action ‘Gravely Concerned’ Elite Colleges Aren’t Complying with Ruling

Daily Caller News Foundation
Supreme Court

The Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) sent letters Tuesday to Yale, Princeton and Duke questioning the universities’ compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action and threatening litigation.

The letters said SFFA is “gravely concerned that these schools are not complying” with the June 2023 landmark Supreme Court case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, in which the Court ruled race-based admission practices to be unconstitutional. Suspicions were raised by many over the admissions policies of the elite universities after the student demographics for the class of 2028 revealed little change compared to the previous year when the schools followed affirmative action policies.

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Tennessee Lawmaker Will Push for Third College Entrance Exam Option

The Center Square

Tennessee students could have a third option for a college entrance exam along with the ACT and SAT if legislation that Rep. William Slater, R-Gallatin, is proposing passes in January’s session.

Slater plans to again propose a bill allowing the Classic Learning Test as an option for students at public colleges and universities along with qualifying for the state’s Hope Scholarship program.

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Michigan Republicans Reveal Plan to Boost School Resources, Student Learning

The Center Square
Students in Class Learning

Following a Michigan Department of Education report showing drops in reading and math proficiency in some grades, Michigan House Republicans have unveiled a multi-step plan to boost student achievement and teacher support.

The plan would provide extra funding for school safety and mental health resources, waive state fees for teachers and modernize the standard curriculum, State Reps. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, and Nancy DeBoer, R-Holland, announced Monday.

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Superintendent over Apalachee High School Last Worked in Neighboring School System That Opposed School Resource Officers

Tom Pappert
Dallas Leduff

Barrow County School System Superintendent Dr. Dallas LeDuff was previously the Associate Superintendent of the Oconee County School System, which last year rebuffed calls from parents to station School Resource Officers (SROs) at its schools.

LeDuff was working for the Oconee County School System during the April 2023 push for it to adopt SROs at it schools, which Oconee County Observations reported occurred during an Oconee County Board of Education meeting.

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Ohio State University’s New Intellectual Diversity Center Director Will Teach Students to ‘Engage with Fellow Citizens in a Civil Way’

The College Fix
Professor Lee Strang

A new civics center at Ohio State University will help students learn how to “engage with fellow citizens in a civil way,” according to the director.

Former University of Toledo Professor Lee Strang is now at Ohio State University to lead the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. It is one of five new “intellectual diversity” centers at public Ohio universities that are in the works.

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New England Christian Schools Ask Appeals Courts for Justice Against State Discrimination

Just the News
Bangor Christian Schools

Christian schools in New England are fighting for their right to participate in state-run programs without compromising their beliefs, including that sex trumps gender identity, sexuality is reserved for heterosexual marriage and Christianity is the only path to salvation.

Public interest law firms announced appeals of lower court decisions in favor of Maine and Vermont in the 1st and 2nd U.S. Circuit courts of appeal on behalf of Crosspoint Church, which runs Bangor Christian School, and Mid Vermont Christian School and a family whose children attend there.

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Tennessee Schools Can Now Purchase Panic Buttons Similar to Those Credited for Rapid Response at Apalachee High School

Tom Pappert
Teacher with Centegix badge

The Tennessee General Assembly last year provoked a change within the Tennessee Department of Education that allows school districts in the Volunteer State to purchase identification badges for teachers which contain buttons to request rapid response from school administrators, a nearby School Resource Officer (SRO), or request an immediate law enforcement response.

Such a system, created by the company Centegix, was in place at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last Wednesday, when police say 14-year-old Colt Gray committed an attack that claimed the lives of four and injured nine more before he was quickly confronted by armed SROs.

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University of Virginia Ranks First for Free Speech

The Center Square
UVA Students

The University of Virginia tops the 2025 free speech ranking on college campuses, a first for the school founded by Thomas Jefferson.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression surveyed over 250 colleges and universities in its rankings. The foundation survey, administered by College Pulse, surveyed nearly 60,000 undergraduates enrolled full-time in four-year degree programs.

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Elite Universities Ranked Lowest for Free Speech, Report Finds

Daily Caller News Foundation
NYU Students

Some of the most prominent elite universities in the nation have been ranked lowest for freedom of speech, according to a report released Thursday.

Harvard, Columbia, New York University (NYU), the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and Barnard College make up the bottom five in a free speech ranking of 251 universities, according to a report by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse. The report cited several incidents of “suppression of free expression” at the schools, including disruption of events and sanctions on students and staff for expressing their views as the reasoning behind the schools’ low rankings.

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DeWine Issues Memo to Schools Following Georgia Shooting

The Center Square
Mike DeWine

In the wake of a Georgia high school shooting that killed four and injured nine, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued a memo to school superintendents across the state reminding them of safety options.

The state started the Ohio School Safety program in 2019, spreading safety support personnel across 16 regions covering all 88 counties. The program helps K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and first responders prevent, prepare for, and respond to threats and acts of violence.

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Former Minnesota School Board Member Sues over Explicit Snapchat, Seeks Board Return

Alpha News

A former West Central Area School District board member is suing multiple individuals after resigning last year over a sexually explicit video he posted on Snapchat.

According to the lawsuit, Jared Olson, who recently filed to return to the school board, claims the video was intended for his wife, but was instead shared to his Snapchat “stories” by accident.

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Yost Tells Columbus Schools to Bus Choice Students

The Center Square
Kids getting on school bus

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is threatening to sue the Columbus Public School District if it doesn’t restart transportation for charter- and private-school students.

About two weeks before school began last month, the state’s largest school district sent a letter to private- and charter-school parents saying busing would stop for students living within the district’s boundaries because it was impractical.

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33 Percent of K-12 Students Behind Grade Level

American Greatness
Teacher and Student

A recent study shows that roughly one-third of American K-12 students in the 2023-2024 academic school year are behind their grade level in a variety of subjects.

As Axios reports, the data was compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) through their “School Pulse Panel,” a survey of almost 4,000 grade schools that are considered nationally representative. The data from June of 2024, taken from the responses of 1,651 schools, shows that there has been virtually no change from the 2021-2022 school year, when 33% of students were learning at a level that was below their actual grade.

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Professor Paid $2.4 Million to Settle First Amendment Retaliation Suit Goes After HR Chief’s New Contract

Just the News
Matthew Garrett

A month after Matthew Garrett secured a $2.4 million settlement from the Kern Community College District over termination proceedings for the “dishonesty” of disagreeing with colleagues on diversity issues and “unprofessional conduct” of questioning the data used to create a “racial climate task force,” the former Bakersfield College tenured history professor isn’t done yet. 

He has started a campaign to pressure the KCCD Board of Trustees to rescind a contract extension and pay boost for the human resources official who oversaw his proceedings, citing newly obtained sworn testimony of the colleague who he says sicced students on Garrett with racially charged complaints that were “ultimately found to be baseless” – and used class time to do it.

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26 States Have Blocked Title IX, Nearly 700 Schools Won’t Comply

The Center Square
Riley Gaines

In addition to the 26 states protecting blocking the Title IX revisions put in place under the Biden-Harris administration, hundreds of colleges across 48 states will do the same.

Biden’s new gender-affirming Title IX rules that redefine sexual discrimination to include sexual orientation are blocked by injunction in 26 states, while nearly 700 schools will not be required to enforce the revisions if students are members of Young America’s Foundation or Female Athletes United, two of the suing groups. The Title IX revisions became effective Aug. 1 and allow males who identify as female in female spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms.

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Climate Change Classes Should be ‘Mandatory’ in Med School, Doctor Says

The College Fix
Lisa DelBuono, MD

Climate change courses should be “mandatory” for aspiring doctors, according to medical students and clinicians in Michigan.

“My personal opinion is that it should be mandatory,” Dr. Lisa DelBuono told The College Fix via email. “Climate change has been politicized, but it is not a political issue… It would be irresponsible to not prepare future practitioners for the realities they will be facing.”

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Ohio Lawmakers Eye Changes to ‘Name-Image-Likeness’ Rules for College Athletes

The Center Square
The Ohio State Buckeyes

Two Ohio lawmakers want to clean up the state’s laws on how college athletes can be compensated.

The potential legislation is expected to bridge the gap between the NIL Collective and state colleges and universities and allow schools to directly participate in paying student-athletes.

The bill, introduced by State Reps. Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon, and Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, awaits a bill number and committee assignment.

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Two-Time Failed Presidential Candidate Chris Christie to Teach Ivy League Course ‘How to Run a Political Campaign’

Daily Caller News Foundation
Chris Christie

Former Republican New Jersey Governor and failed presidential candidate Chris Christie will teach a course at Yale University on how to run for office, according the description.

Christie, who was governor from 2010 to 2018 and dropped out of the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections, will teach “How to Run a Political Campaign” during the fall 2024 semester, according to the catalog. The course offers one credit for students, is taught once a week and is offered as an elective.

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The U.S. ‘Hates Women,’ Faces Future of Cannibalism, ‘Forced Breeding Camps,’ Arizona State University Professors Posit

The College Fix
ASU Professors Jenny Irish (r) and Angela Lober (l)

Two professors discussed dismantling capitalism and electing a female president to restore reproductive rights, and warned of a dystopian future with “cannibalism” and “forced breeding camps,” at an event held Wednesday at Arizona State University.

“Jenny Irish’s HATCH: A Speculative Future for Reproductive Rights” was held both in person and via Zoom.

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Tennessee Equality Project Criticizes New Law Requiring Parent Notification of Student Pronoun Changes

Peter D'Abrosca

In a new online form electing feedback from students, teachers, staff, administrators, school counselors, parents or legal guardians, and LGBT allies, the LGBT group Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) bemoans a new state law that requires school officials to give parental notice of a student wishes to change their pronouns or “gender identity.” 

“Tennessee Equality Project is tracking how school districts and schools are implementing the new state law (SB 1810) that targets transgender and gender expansive students: the requirements of the law are triggered when a minor-aged student makes a request to a teacher to use a name and/or pronouns that may not align with their medically assigned sex on their birth certificate,” the form says. 

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Enrollment Growing for Virginia’s Four-Year Colleges, Community Colleges Declining

The Center Square
Students at University of Virginia

College enrollment declined nationwide by 15 percent from 2010-21 and still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, though the 2023-24 school year was the first since 2020 that schools saw an average increase in enrollment. 

Virginia colleges also experienced these trends but over a slightly shorter period. As of fall 2023, enrollment in the state’s four-year universities was actually higher than it was at its peak in 2012 but much lower for its community colleges. 

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Cell Phone Bans, Restrictions Are on the Rise in School Districts as Mental Health Concerns Arise

Just the News
Kid on Cell Phone

Mental health has been widely discussed in the public sphere over the past few years, specifically how technology may play a role in it particularly for young people.

Recently, districts in different states have been implementing restrictions and bans on cell phones in schools in order to tackle the mental health crisis rising among teenagers and young adults. 

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Minnesota School Board Member Questions If People Will Survive Climate Change, White Supremacy

Alpha News
Jen Westmoreland

At a recent school board workshop meeting, Hopkins School Board member Jen Westmoreland questioned whether people will survive climate change and white supremacy.

“If we look at climate grief, if we look at the impacts of white supremacy, if we look at all of these systems of oppression that are bearing down—I mean, there’s like a survival element that we’re talking about, right?” Westmoreland said. “So it’s not like, are you going to go out and get [inaudible] job? It’s like, are you going to survive?”

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Tim Walz Signed a Law Creating ‘Ethnic Studies’ Requirements Extending to Elementary School Students

Daily Caller News Foundation
Tim Walz with children in classroom

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz signed a law in May 2023 as Minnesota governor that will require schools to offer “ethnic studies” courses that may include lessons on “resistance” and discussions on “social identities.”

The law requires elementary and middle schools to teach ethnic studies classes by the 2027 to 2028 school year, while high schools must offer a course on the topic starting in the 2026 to 2027 school year, though some districts have already begun implementing ethnic studies programs. The program is described as an “interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity” and says it will emphasize “perspectives of people of color” and analyze “the ways in which race and racism have been and continue to be social, cultural, and political forces.”

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Commentary: Cell Phone Bans in Schools Is a Growing Trend

Admin
Student with Cell Phone

Navigating the complexities of smartphone use in K-12 education is a collective effort that requires ongoing adaptation as technology evolves. We expect the Tennessee General Assembly to draft legislation on this issue in the next session. There is an increasing push to safeguard young individuals from spending too much time in front of screens.

States and public school districts are advocating cellphone bans in schools, driven by concerns about distractions and their adverse effects on student well-being. This growing trend should not just be about restrictions but about creating a more focused and conducive learning environment. Teacher buy-in is critical to this process.

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Lowest-Spending Virginia School Districts Surpass Top Spenders in Some Subjects

The Center Square
Classroom students

Recent data on school district spending gathered by the Virginia Public Access Project appear to support the conclusion of a late-February Reason Foundation study assessing the relationship between state K-12 education spending and student outcomes. 

The foundation concluded that increased spending does not always correlate with higher test scores, and less spending doesn’t always mean poorer outcomes.

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University of Pennsylvania Temporarily Bans Encampments

The Center Square
UPenn Students participating in a pro-Palestinian protest

In response to pro-Palestine unrest on campus last semester, the University of Pennsylvania has temporarily banned encampments and overnight demonstrations for the 2024-2025 school year.

“To ensure the safety of the Penn community and to protect the health and property of individuals, encampments and overnight demonstrations are not permitted in any University location, regardless of space (indoor or outdoor),” the university announced in its policy book’s section entitled Temporary Standards and Procedures for Campus Events and Demonstrations section.

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Cornell University Vandalized with Pro-Palestinian Graffiti on First Day of Classes

Daily Caller News Foundation
Cornell Students

Cornell University’s main administrative building was vandalized Monday with pro-Palestinian messages, marking a tumultuous start to the fall semester, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.

The building’s glass door was shattered and the messages “Israel bombs, Cornell pays” and “blood is on your hands” were written in red spray paint on the morning of the first day of classes, according to the Sun. Cornell is one of many universities that saw protests and other unrest in the fall and spring semesters following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that left over 1,200 dead.

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New Member Appointed to Arizona State Board of Education

The Center Square
Dr. Jose Luis Cruz Rivera

Northern Arizona University President Dr. Jose Luis Cruz Rivera was appointed by Gov. Katie Hobbs to the state Board of Education this week.

“He has been a steadfast leader for the students and faculty at NAU, and he will bring that leadership to the State Board of Education. As a Lumberjack, I could not be more thrilled to appoint him to this position, and know that he will work tirelessly to create a public education system that ensures every Arizonan has a chance to thrive,” Hobbs stated about the appointment to the board, which focuses on K-12 education.

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