Category: Education

Pennsylvania Lawmaker Proposes Bill to Inform Parents of Sexual Content in Schools

Bradley Vasoli

A lawmaker is urging his colleagues to back a bill he is sponsoring to ensure Pennsylvania parents get notified when sexually explicit content is distributed in their children’s K-12 schools. 

State Representative Russ Diamond (R-Jonestown) announced he will introduce a companion bill to a Senate measure authored by Senator Ryan Aument (R-Lititz). The legislation would mandate that schools note sexually explicit texts and other media assigned or displayed as part of students’ coursework. The bill would further instruct schools to tell parents when a book their child accesses from their school library features sexually frank content. 

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‘Gone with the Wind’ Features Trigger Warning About ‘Harmful Phrases’ and Racism in New Edition

Just the News

The publisher of “Gone with the Wind” added a warning in the front of a new edition to advise readers that author Margaret Mitchell’s Civil War epic contains “racist” elements and “hurtful or indeed harmful phrases.”

“Gone with the Wind is a novel which includes problematic elements including the romanticisation of a shocking era in our history and the horrors of slavery,” the book’s publisher, Pan Macmillian, wrote in the opening page of the 2022 edition, The Telegraph reported Saturday.

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Tennessee Department of Education Announces New State Chief Academic Officer

TC Weber

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) announced Jackson County Superintendent Kristy Brown as the state’s new chief academic officer. Brown replaces former Deputy Secretary Eve Carney. who recently tendered her resignation effective July 1.

The announcement comes just a week before Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds is slated to assume the role of Tennessee’s new Commissioner of Education at the beginning of July. Reynolds replaces Penny Schwinn, who resigned on June 1.

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University of Minnesota Accused of ‘Genocide,’ Should Pay Native American Reparations: Report

Admin

The University of Minnesota is guilty of “genocide” of Native Americans and should atone for it with reparations forever and the return of land.

The “Towards Recognition and University Tribal-Healing Project,” shortened to “TRUTH Project,” released a 215-page report that accused the Big Ten university of “persistent, systemic mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.”

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Florida Sues Federal Government over School Accreditation Collaboration

The Center Square

The state of Florida filed a lawsuit this week to challenge federal collaboration with accreditation organizations to usurp recent reforms to the Sunshine State’s higher education system.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida on Thursday with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

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Commentary: Prof Jenkin’s Summer Reading List for Young Conservatives Part I

Admin

If you’re a conservative college student hoping to spend your time profitably this summer, here’s a suggestion: Read a book. Read several. That will broaden your horizons, deepen your understanding, and improve your vocabulary.

Plus, tackling longer works—as opposed to short pieces like this, which, don’t get me wrong, you should also read—helps you develop self-discipline and improves your powers of concentration.

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U.S. 13-Year-Olds Show ‘Historic Declines’ in Math and Reading

Susan Berry, PhD

Math and reading achievement for 13-year-olds in the United States is at its lowest level in decades, according to test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) examination, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

According to results released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average mathematics score for 13-year-olds plunged nine points between the 2019‒20 and 2022‒23 school years, while the average reading score declined four points over the same time period.

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Homeland Security Secretary Appoints AFT President Randi Weingarten to Security Council to Advise on Keeping Schools Safe from ‘Terrorism’

Susan Berry, PhD

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced Wednesday that American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten is among 20 new members appointed to his Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council (HSAPC), which seeks to advise the DHS secretary on “campus safety and security, improved coordination, research priorities, hiring, and more.”

“The newly appointed members are a diverse group representing higher education associations, campus law enforcement, two- and four-year colleges and universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and Asian American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions,” DHS said in a press statement about the new appointments.

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New State Budget Sends New Hampshire School Spending Soaring, Even as Enrollment Declines

Admin

Fewer students and falling test scores couldn’t stop New Hampshire politicians from pouring even more money into the state’s public school system. It is part of a decades-long trend of Granite State taxpayers spending more money to teach fewer children and getting declining results.

Gov. Chris Sununu bragged the FY 2024-25 budget “provides more money for public education than ever before.”

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Commentary: School Choice’s Rapid Post-Pandemic Expansion Sets Up a Big Pass/Fail Test for Education

RealClearWire

A growing number of states are adopting a comprehensive new type of school choice program that would pose a threat to public schools if many students were to leave them for a private education. 

Eight states – including Arizona, Florida, Indiana, and West Virginia – have approved “universal” or near-universal school choice laws since 2021. They open the door completely to school choice by making all students, including those already in private schools and from wealthy families, eligible for about $7,000 to $10,000 in state funding each year for their education. 

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Colorado Health Clinic Promoted Drag Story Hour to Kids with Autism

Admin

A Colorado health clinic that works with children who have autism promoted a Drag Story Hour event featuring adult drag queens performing for children, according to documents obtained by a parental rights’ group.

Seven Dimensions Behavioral Health uses Applied Behavior Analysis, a therapy used primarily with those who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), to work with patients of “all ages and diagnoses serving the Colorado front range.” The organization sent a May 16 email to parents advertising a Drag Story Hour for their children and promising that it would include a “mix of stories/activities and age appropriate performances by 5 drag artists.”

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Middle School Math Scores See Biggest Drop in 50 Years

Admin

Math test scores for 13-year-old students have plummeted by the largest drop ever recorded in 50 years, according to a Wednesday report.

Between 2020 and 2023, 13-year-old students’ math scores dropped nine points and the students’ reading scores dropped four points, according to test data from the National Center for Education Statistics, better known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” The latest set of data demonstrates the learning loss students have suffered as a result of education disruptions, such as remote schooling, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Former Penn President Amy Gutmann Earned Nearly $23 Million in 2021: Report

Admin

Former University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann earned $22.76 million in 2021, most of which was due to a contractual accrued deferred compensation payout, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

“Gutmann’s total figure for 2021, reported on the 990 tax form, includes her annual compensation of a base salary of $1.56 million and a bonus of $1 million and the $20.2 million deferred compensation and supplemental retirement funds, which also includes investment gains the money made over 17 years,” the Inquirer reported June 17.

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Johns Hopkins Takes Down LGBTQ Glossary After backlash, Says ‘Lesbian’ Definition Was ‘Not Approved’

Admin

Johns Hopkins University has taken down its “LGBTQ Glossary” after backlash erupted against its definition of “lesbian.”

The glossary of LGBTQ terms was posted on the webpage of the Gender and Sexuality Resources office at Johns Hopkins’ Diversity and Inclusion department. The glossary defined lesbian as a “non-man attracted to non-men.” But after fierce backlash on social media, the office took down the glossary, claiming that the definition was not approved.

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New York State’s ‘Best Practice’ Document Urges Schools to Keep Child’s Gender Transition from Parents

Susan Berry, PhD

The New York State Department of Education (NYSED) published a “legal update and best practice” document last week that encourages schools to keep a child’s claim of a new gender identity from parents.

“The student is in charge of their gender transition and the school’s role is to provide support,” the document states. “Only the student knows whether it is safe to share their identity with caregivers, and schools should be mindful that some TGE [transgender and gender-expansive] students do not want or cannot have their parents/guardians know about their transgender status.”

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Tennessee Department of Education Releases Third-Grade Retention Appeals Data

TC Weber

On Thursday, The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) released data on the results of third-grade retention appeals filed with the state. Parents of third-grade students who did not meet the criteria for promotion to 4th grade based on Spring TCAP results are provided an opportunity to appeal that decision.  The released data comes with approximately two weeks left in the appeals window.

Since the appeals window opened on May 30th, the department has received 9,205 appeals forms, representing 8,206 individual students.

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Lawmakers Demand Answers on Illegal Immigrant Child Labor as Universities Perpetuate Illegal Workforce System

Admin

The House Education and the Workforce Committee is demanding answers from the Biden administration on child labor among illegal immigrants.

In a letter to Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) called on the Department to take action to stop migrants from being exploited for illegal child labor.

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University of Connecticut Hosts Second Annual ‘Queer Science Conference’ for High Schoolers to ‘Celebrate Science – and Themselves’

Admin

The University of Connecticut (UConn) celebrated Pride Month by hosting its second annual “Queer Science Conference” June 4th, which is offered “to give queer and trans youth role models in various STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] fields.”

According to an online recap, the one-day event “connected high school students with LGBTQIA+ faculty, staff, and graduate and undergraduate students at UConn who work in STEM disciplines, offering community and mentorship as well as state-of-the-art laboratory experiences and opportunities for hands-on science demonstrations.”

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Dairy State Lawmaker Leads Fight Against Biden Administration’s War on Chocolate Milk

M.D. Kittle

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) has introduced a bill that would stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s war on chocolate milk in school lunchrooms.

The Milk is Indisputably Liked by Kids Act of 2023 – MILK Act — would amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require schools to offer flavored milk under school lunch program. 

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College Professor in Wisconsin Says American Flag Causes Him ‘Anxiety’

Admin

A Marquette University professor said the American flag makes him “anxious” in a National Public Radio interview Wednesday.

Philosophy Professor Grant Silva told an interviewer with WUWM, an NPR affiliate station in Milwaukee, that he feels “anxious” when he sees an American flag. In the interview, Silva described how “excessive imagery” of American flags is borderline “nationalism.”

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College Board Declines to Alter AP Courses to Comply with Florida Law

Just the News

The College Board, the organization that oversees the administration of Advanced Placement (AP) tests and courses, has declined to alter the contents of its materials to comply with Florida law restricting the discussion of certain sexual topics in public schools.

Florida bars discussion of those matters from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. The state previously limited such discussion from kindergarten through the third grade, but expanded the measure. The state had previously asked the College Board to review its materials to determine which of its courses would require adjustment to comply with the expanded state guidance.

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NYC Teachers Union Gets Massive Pay Raise as Student Math Scores Plummet

Admin

The New York City teachers union struck a deal Monday guaranteeing a large pay raise in their new contract with the city while students’ math test scores continue to plummet, according to Reuters.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the United Federation of Teachers agreed to a $6.4 billion, five-year contract that includes a 15% pay raise for teachers over the period of the contract, according to Reuters. The new contract comes as just 38% of the city’s third through eighth graders met math grade-level expectations in 2022, an almost eight point decline from 2019, according to the Chalkbeat New York.

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Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ Administration Sued for Discrimination Against Catholic Schools

Susan Berry, PhD

St. Dominic Academy in Auburn, Maine filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the administration of Gov. Janet Mills (D) and the Maine Human Rights Commission that alleges the state has continued to “outmaneuver” the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Carson v. Makin by excluding religious schools from its longstanding program whereby students residing in districts without a public school are given the opportunity to attend the public or private school of their family’s choosing.

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Texas Gov Abbott Signs Bills Banning DEI in Public Higher Education, Reforms Tenure

The Center Square

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed two bills into law designed to reform public higher education institutions in Texas. One bans them from implementing DEI policies and another revises the tenure structure. 

Both bills, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, passed the legislature during the regular legislative session. Senate Bill 17 bans public colleges and universities from implementing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies that prioritize gender, race, ethnicity and ideological beliefs as factors for hiring or admission policies. Earlier this year, Gov. Abbott’s chief of staff sent a letter to public higher education institutions and state agencies saying if they were implementing DEI policies, they were violating federal law. In response, the heads of Texas colleges and universities said they were “pausing” and reviewing their DEI policies. The new law requires them to terminate them.

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Wisconsin Law Firm Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Sun Prairie Schools over Transgender Shower Incident

M.D. Kittle

The Sun Prairie Area School District now faces a civil rights complaint following an incident earlier this year involving an 18-year-old biological male identifying as a woman who exposed his genitals to four freshman girls in a high school shower.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed the sex discrimination complaint Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.

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TEA Fights Payroll Deduction Law, Possibly Puts Pending Teacher Raises at Risk

TC Weber

Three of Tennessee’s teacher associations have filed a lawsuit against Tennessee over a new law prohibiting payroll deductions for labor association dues. The law, scheduled to go into effect on July 1, includes provisions for increased educator pay.

Governor Bill Lee and Interim Education Commissioner Sam Pearcey are named in the lawsuit. TEA is asking for a restraining order and temporary and permanent injunctions on the payroll dues deduction ban.

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Virginia Attorney General Subpoenas School District over Merit Awards Investigation

Just the News

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) officials announced that they’ve been subpoenaed by the Virginia Attorney General’s Office to release a report on an investigation into the district’s failure to notify some students of their National Merit Awards. FCPS says it’s fighting the subpoena by taking “legal action.”

FCPS says it conducted an independent investigation into their notification process and released a summary of the investigation in March. The investigation concluded that educators did not do anything to intentionally harm students or their college applications, according to FCPS.

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Massachusetts Middle School Students’ Protest of Pride Celebration Draws Uproar

Susan Berry, PhD

School officials and parents of LGBTQ students in Burlington, Massachusetts, are calling for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training in the district following the actions of some middle-school students who organized a counter-protest of a “pride” celebration by reportedly tearing down “pride” stickers and chanting, “USA are my pronouns.”

“Parents and teachers are outraged over the response to a middle school pride event,” reported WBZ News. “Now families are demanding school officials do more to protect LGBTQ students.”

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Parents Furious at Wyoming School Board for Pushing LGBT, Sexual Content on Kids Despite Them ‘Opting Out’

Admin

A district-wide library book policy has parents accusing a Wyoming school board of failing to stop the “sexualization” of their kids, according to ABC13 News.

Laramie County School District No. 1 (LCSD) has given parents the option to opt their kids out of particular LCSD library books by filling out a form asking them the reasoning for the request. During the school board of trustees meeting on June 5, the school board was criticized for how it handled library resources, causing parents to call for a change in the library book policy.

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Growing Concerns Around Tennessee’s Grow Your Own Teacher Prep Program

TC Weber

Tennessee’s teacher prep program, Grow Your Own (GYO), is in flux. Participating educator preparation providers (EPP) are awaiting Thursday, when they will be notified of how many seats they’ll be available to offer teacher candidates, along with the amount of funding available. The lack of clear answers is making some providers anxious for the fall.

“It is throwing off our staffing plans for next year as we can’t get an answer from Emma McCallie at TDOE or Erin Crisp at the GYO Center,” a source who wished to remain anonymous told The Tennessee Star.

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Baraboo Schools Accused of Holding Racially Discriminatory Focus Groups on ‘Racism as a Public Health Issue’

M.D. Kittle

The Baraboo School District held focus groups as part of a “Racism as a Public Health Issue” initiative that was exclusively for black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) middle schoolers, offering the minority students in attendance a $100 gift card plus a pizza party. 

According to records obtained by The Wisconsin Daily Star, the public health session was part of a $35,000 grant issued to Public Health Sauk County by Governor Tony Evers’ Department of Health Services.

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Loyola Marymount President Blasts DeSantis in Op-Ed, Praises Woke Students for ‘Indoctrinating Us’

Admin

Loyola Marymount University President Timothy Law Snyder recently wrote an op-ed for the Miami Herald arguing Ron DeSantis is on the losing end of the woke battle in education since most students today are already socially liberal by the time they enter college.

Snyder suggests that DeSantis is out of touch with undergraduates, stating, “Has DeSantis met the college students of the year 2023? If he has, he has somehow missed entirely their makeup and conviction.”

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Johns Hopkins University Eliminates the Term ‘Women’ in Inclusive Language Guide

Susan Berry, PhD

Elite Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has eliminated the term “women” in its LGBTQ Glossary, in which a “lesbian” is now defined as a “non-man attracted to non-men,” even as a “gay man” is still defined as a “man who is emotionally, romantically, sexually, affectionately, or relationally attracted to other men.”

The glossary, found on the “Diversity & Inclusion” website’s page titled “Gender & Sexuality Resources,” continues regarding the definition of the term “lesbian” that “[w]hile past definitions refer to ‘lesbian’ as a woman who is emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually attracted to other women, this updated definition includes non-binary people who may also identify with the label.”

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Biden Official Bankrolls Group Claiming Charter Schools Teaching ‘Classics’ Are ‘Far-Right’ Ideologues

Admin

A Biden administration official is a major donor to an organization that characterized Christian charter schools teaching a classical education as “far-right” ideologues attempting to advance “Christian nationalism.”

The Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee and her partner Mark Simon gave at least $5,000 in 2022, the highest level of sponsorship, to the Network for Public Education, a left-wing activist group focused on promoting public schools, according to the organization’s sponsors page. The Network for Public Education released a June 2023 report which notes that “right-wing ideology” is growing in charter schools that teach a “classical” or “traditional” education.

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California Voters Overwhelmingly Support Parental Rights

Susan Berry, PhD

Results of a poll targeting California voters have found an overwhelming majority say parental rights continue when children attend government schools.

The survey, conducted by Rasmussen Reports and Real Impact, an organization that seeks to “equip the Church to stand for righteousness in the public square,” observed 82 percent of respondents disagreed with a statement that says, “A person loses their parental rights when a child enters public school.”

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‘Rainbow Library’ Program Pushes LGBTQ Content to Kids as Young as 5 Years Old

Admin

by Reagan Reese and Megan Brock   The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a nationally known LGBTQ activist organization, uses its “Rainbow Library” program to teach kids about “they/them” pronouns and push books on gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom, according to a video unearthed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Launched in 2019 by a third-grade teacher, GLSEN’s “Rainbow Library” program, which provides “LGBTQ+ affirming K-12 text sets,” is in 5,800 schools and libraries across 31 states, according to a 2022-2023 school year request form. The initiative makes books and resources on transgenderism and sexual orientation available to children as young as 5, according to a GLSEN 2021 recorded online workshop on the initiative. “The Rainbow Library, we send LGBTQ+ affirming books to schools and libraries for free along with additional GLSEN resources,” Michael Rady, the Rainbow Library Program manager, said in the 2021 workshop. “We have four different grade ranges for the books that we send out: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. We put a major emphasis on books that center the voices of trans and nonbinary people as well as books that attend to the voices of BIPOC [black, indigenous, people of color] LGBTQ+ people.” The initiative…

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New Documentary Exposes Ivy League Privilege and the Students it Shuts Out

Admin

“Exclusion U,” a feature documentary released this year, details how Ivy League universities accumulate billions of dollars as they restrict class sizes, turn away qualified students, and favor the children of the rich.

“Ivy League endowments are worth $193 billion dollars, but they only educate 0.3 percent of U.S. undergrads,” the film’s narrator stated. “That’s less than 63,000 students.”

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University of Cincinnati Professor Melanie Rose Nipper Defends Giving Student a Zero Grade for Use of ‘Biological Women’

Admin

A gender studies professor defended her decision to give a student a failing grade on an assignment because she used the term “biological women,” claiming the phrase perpetuates “systemic harm.”

Olivia Krolczyk, a student at the University of Cincinnati, made a viral video discussing how her unnamed professor had awarded her a zero on an assignment in which she had argued that biological men, or transgender women, have an unfair advantage over biological women when they compete on the same sports team, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. University of Cincinnati Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies professor Melanie Rose Nipper admitted to the outlet that she awarded Krolczyk a zero for her use of “biological women,” stating that the right to free speech and debate ends when “you are, intentionally or unintentionally, participating in a systemic harm of some kind.”

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Education Hotline Allegedly Catches CRT in Arizona Schools, Violating State Law

The Center Square

Since Department of Education Superintendent Tom Horne introduced the Empower School Hotline in March, the department has received calls and emails reporting critical race theory in Arizona schools.

The Department of Education said Thursday that parents had called the hotline with evidence that schools have offered students content regarding gender issues forbidden under state law. Examples include keeping pronoun changes within the classroom, or providing emancipation paperwork to all students in a Gay-Straight Alliance club meeting.

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