Category: Education

Biden Administration Investigates Alleged Anti-Muslim Discrimination at Emory University Following Complaint by CAIR-Georgia

Tom Pappert
Emory University Campus and Students

A federal civil rights investigation into Emory University was confirmed on Thursday, with Biden administration officials asked to determine whether the university discriminated against Muslim students following the devastating October 7 surprise attack by Hamas fighters against civilians in Israel.

The Department of Education is now investigating Emory University to determine whether it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in its treatment of Muslim students following the October 7 attack.

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Lawsuit Alleges Pro-Palestinian Groups Behind Campus Protests Collaborate with Hamas

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Sign at a Palestine campus protest

American and Israeli victims of the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against pro-Palestinian and Muslim advocacy groups over their alleged promotion and support for Hamas.

Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping hundreds of others, which prompted sweeping pro-Palestinian protests across the country. A group of law firms representing the victims are suing American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) over allegations that the groups have worked to propagandize and advance Hamas’ goals — including through recruitment efforts on embattled college campuses — thereby making them accomplices in the terrorist group’s atrocities.

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Police Arrest University of Arizona Protesters, Clear Anti-Israel Encampment on Tucson Campus

Tom Pappert
University of Arizona Police Gaza Protest

The University of Arizona (UA) reportedly called police to clear protesters and disperse the anti-Israel encampment that formed on its Tucson campus, with authorities arresting demonstrators and clearing their debris just after 2 a.m. on Wednesday. University President Robert Robbins reportedly told police to “immediately enforce campus use policies and all corresponding laws without further warning” early on Wednesday morning, resulting in what Arizona’s Family described as multiple arrests “by authorities in riot gear” before the camp was cleared. Though it remains unclear how many protesters were arrested, the outlet reported “there were about 70 protesters inside the encampment and around 300 supporters outside the police line” prior to the police action. Ellie Wolfe, a higher education reporter for Arizona’s Daily Star, reported on the social media platform X that Robbins ordered police to end the protest at 2:02 a.m. PROTESTERS AND POLICE CLASH, ORDERED BY UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA PRESIDENT ROBERT C ROBBINS pic.twitter.com/5M2NBQcGJP — Ellie Wolfe (@elliew0lfe) May 1, 2024 Wolfe later reported that demonstrators ultimately retreated from the encampment as officers followed them, and the tents were completely cleared by 2:50 a.m. Video that surfaced an hour earlier showed police attempting to gain access to the anti-Israel encampment,…

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Congressional Probe Opened on ‘Mealy-Mouthed, Spineless College Leaders’

The Center Square
US Rep Virginia Foxx

For “mealy-mouthed, spineless college leaders,” actions will have consequences, the North Carolina congresswoman leading a key U.S. House of Representatives committee said Tuesday amid ongoing college campus disruptions.

The war between Israel and Hamas has led to significant demonstrations or encampments on at least four dozen campuses nationwide, a national observer of such activity reports. U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., with support of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the Committee on Education and the Workforce she chairs has opened a congressional probe and on May 23 will hear from presidents of Yale and Michigan and the chancellor of UCLA.

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Commentary: Efforts to Control Gaza Protests Threaten Free Speech and Academic Freedom

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Pro-Palestine protest

When I was in college, one of my professors had written her PhD thesis on the cultural aspects of the post-civil-war militias, organizations that would evolve into the National Guard of today. These units proliferated at the time to give men, who lived in the shadow of their fathers’ and grandfathers’ Civil War service, a chance to emulate their exploits. When the Spanish-American War began in 1898, the men of these militias volunteered en masse. They finally had a chance to prove themselves worthy of their forbears and do something daring and dangerous.

My professor suggested that she and other academics were in an analogous situation. For them—and they were almost all on the left—missing out on the 1960s meant they missed out on a period of revolutionary change and ferment. For left-leaning academics, the 1960s was the era of breaking rules, smashing idols, and inventing new ideas and methods to address the abandonment of the old authorities. This period featured the debut of influential prophets of “unmasking” so prevalent in academic life today, such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Herbert Marcuse

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Emory University President Admits Anti-Israel Encampment Remarks ‘Not Entirely Accurate’ amid No Confidence Vote

Tom Pappert
President Gregory Fenves

The president of Emory University on Monday acknowledged he was “not entirely accurate” in his reporting of the number of university “community” members who participated in an anti-Israel encampment last week.

Emory University President Gregory Fenves made the new remarks about the Thursday protest after Emory faculty members arranged a no confidence vote against him that will conclude on Friday.

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Congress Seeks to Unmask Funding for Students for Justice in Palestine and Its Anti-Israel Protests

Just the News
National Students for Justice in Palestine

The National Students for Justice in Palestine is a driving force in the anti-Israel protests sweeping across the country at college campuses. The national group says it supports 350 “Palestine solidarity organizations” throughout North America, primarily SJP chapters across America.

The funding of the student chapters largely come from U.S. universities, however, National SJP is funded through intermediaries and it is not required to disclose its own finances. This dark money arrangement has obscured funding sources and donations to the group and has spurred congressional interest.

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Tennessee A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti Announces New Title IX Lawsuit Against Biden Administration in Press Conference with Riley Gaines

Tom Pappert
Jonathan Skrmetti

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced on Tuesday that Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky are leading a coalition of states in a new lawsuit seeking to stop the Biden administration’s revisions to Title IX that critics argue endanger women and girls.

“The U.S. Department of Education has no authority to let boys into girls’ locker rooms,” Skrmetti stated. He charged, “Under this radical and illegal attempt to rewrite [Title IX], if a man enters a woman’s locker room and a woman complains that makes her uncomfortable, the woman will be subject to investigation and penalties for violating the man’s civil rights.”

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More Than 100 Colleges Cave Closed or Merged Over Last Eight Years

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University of Saint Katherine

The University of Saint Katherine, a small nonprofit in North San Diego County, recently announced it will close May 18, citing “financial pressure due to unprecedented inflation and rising state-mandated labor costs.”

It’s not alone. Nationwide, universities face financial hardships that appear to be getting worse. More than 100 colleges and universities have closed or merged, or announced plans to, over the last eight years, according to a tracker updated this month by Higher Ed Dive.

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Arizona State University’s School of Social and Behavioral Sciences Hosts Book Talk on ‘The Politics of Perverts’

Debra McClure
Arizona State University

Arizona State University’s School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, known for its Social Justice and Human Rights degree program, recently hosted a book talk titled “The Politics of Perverts.” The event was sponsored by the university’s faculty and attracted attention for its exploration of non-traditional sexual orientations and practices.

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Protesters Brought Children to ‘Gaza Liberation Encampment’ at Virginia Tech Prior to Arrests, Video Shows

Tom Pappert
Virginia Tech pro-Palestine protest

Activists who participated in the “Gaza Liberation Encampment” at Virginia Tech brought children to the ill-fated protest before dozens of protesters were arrested by police, suggests video posted to social media on Sunday. 

One video that surfaced on the social media platform X on Sunday after police ordered protesters to leave the encampment included a child who led the protesters in a chant. The video was captioned to ask police whether they are scared by children.

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Anti-Israel Protests Cost Colleges Millions in Property Damage While Major Donors Back Out

Just the News
Police controlling anti-Israel campus protest

Anti-Israel encampments and vandalism have targeted dozens of U.S. college campuses, costing millions of dollars in estimated damages as prominent donors pledge to no longer support the schools.

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, closed down its campus on Saturday “due to ongoing occupation of Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall, as well as continued challenges with individuals breaking laws in the area surrounding the buildings and the quad,” the northern California public university said. Classes were moved online and students who live on campus are allowed to remain in their residence halls and in dining facilities, but they are not allowed on any other parts of campus.

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Concealed Carry Now Allowed for Approved Tennessee School Staff

The Center Square

Tennessee school staff are now eligible to concealed carry firearms at school if they have met the criteria and gained proper approval.

The law went into effect after it was signed by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. Several school districts have already said they will not take part in the concealed carry option, which requires the approval of the school principal, superintendent and local law enforcement department.

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Police Clear Encampment at Major University After Protesters Shout ‘Kill the Jews’

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Northeastern University encampment

Law enforcement began clearing a pro-Palestine encampment of protesters on a major university’s campus Saturday morning after some demonstrators apparently chanted “kill the Jews.”

The Northeastern University campus police and officers from other departments moved in to break up the encampment in Boston after the demonstration was “infiltrated” by outside protesters, the university said in a Saturday post to X. Some demonstrators apparently chanted “kill the Jews” and used other antisemitic slurs on Friday night, according to the university.

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White High School Principal Framed by Black Colleague with A.I.-Generated Racist Comments

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Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert

A white Baltimore County Public Schools principal accused earlier this year of denigrating black students and Jewish families is now in the clear. After a months-long investigation, it was revealed that Pikesville High School Athletic Director Dazhon Darien, who’s black, had used an AI-generated voice of the principal, Eric Eiswert, making the (bogus) remarks. According to WBAL-11, law enforcement believes Darien made the recording in retaliation for Eiswert looking into his “potential mishandling” of school funds. In January when the recording hit the news and social media, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said it was “deeply disturbing” and added the district would “not tolerate disparaging remarks about any member of the Team BCPS community.” Rogers noted at the time the district could not “confirm the veracity” of the recording but was working to do so. Eiswert was temporarily suspended, and the school was subjected to numerous “many hate-filled messages.” Commenters on X, formerly Twitter, had demanded Eiswert’s dismissal. Posts said the principal “should’ve been let go on the spot,” “he better be gone soon,” and “no way any parent or teacher can have any confidence in him from here on out. He will resign or be canned.” However, at least one commenter was prescient.…

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Youngkin Vows to Protect Free Speech on Virginia College Campuses While Protecting Jewish Students from ‘Hate Speech and Intimidation’

Tom Pappert
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin in a Sunday appearance on CNN pledged to protect the First Amendment on Virginia’s college campuses, but also vowed to keep Jewish students safe from “hate speech and intimidation” from anti-Israel protesters.

The governor stated during an appearance with Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union that his administration will allow protesters to peacefully demonstrate against Israel while preventing the establishment of anti-Israel encampments and protecting the rights of Jewish students.

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Commentary: College Administrators and Professors Finally Reap What They Sow

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Harvard student protesters

by David Huber   One of my favorite all-time films is 1982’s “The Verdict” starring Paul Newman as down-and-out attorney Frank Galvin who takes on a case against the Archdiocese of Boston. After astonishingly turning down a settlement offer from the defendant and opting to go to trial, Galvin soon loses his star witness. Desperate and not knowing what to do, Galvin goes to the home of the trial judge late at night to beg for a continuance. The judge slowly closes the door in his face and says “I have no sympathy for you.” Consider me the judge these past few weeks when it comes to far-left college professors and administrators, most especially those in the Ivy League. Their campuses have transformed into literal encampments of overly privileged crybullies who really believe Israel is the villain in the current Mideast conflict, and the long-time terrorist group Hamas is the good guy. Though many of these dolts must think COVID is still a threat judging by the number of masks they have on, any of their rhetorical masks are now off as blatant antisemitism is freely expressed and celebrated. Stuff like “Zionists don’t deserve to live” courtesy of Columbia U. Gaza…

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Arizona State University Confirms Students Among 72 Arrested at Anti-Israel Encampment on Tempe Campus

Tom Pappert
ASU protesters

Arizona State University (ASU) confirmed on Saturday a number of its students were among the 72 protesters arrested for the creation of an anti-Israel encampment on the school’s Tempe campus.

A university statement declared, “ASU Police arrested 72 people for trespassing after they set up an unauthorized encampment Friday,” noting that such encampments are not allowed on the institution’s property.

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Virginia Board of Education Progressing with ‘Accreditation and Accountability Redesign’

The Center Square
Virginia Board of Education

The Virginia Board of Education recently reviewed takeaways from 15 listening sessions it hosted as part of its “Accreditation and Accountability Redesign.”

“Virginia is one of the few states that continues to combine an accreditation and accountability system,” said Todd Reid, assistant superintendent of strategic communications for the state’s Department of Education. “Combining these systems into one measurement makes it virtually impossible to really determine how the students are academically performing at that school and how the school is shaping educational outcomes.”

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Georgia Senator Greg Dolezal Says Promise Scholarship Act Puts Parents in Charge Regarding School Choice

Debra McClure
Greg Dolezal

Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming), who sponsored Senate Bill 233, said that the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act puts parents in charge regarding school choice options for their children. The bill was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on Tuesday.

Senator Dolezal told The Georgia Star News on Friday, “The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act will ensure that parents and children are at the center of the education decisions in Georgia. I am excited to empower parents to make decisions on education opportunities for their children that best fit their needs. We have seen a school choice wave sweeping the County, and we can add Georgia to the list of states where parents are in the drivers seat of control.”

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Parents Question Why Virginia High School Staging Drag Musical, Brunch

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West Potomac High School Principle Jessica Statz

A high school theater troupe is staging the risque musical “Kinky Boots” just outside the nation’s capital “in collaboration” with a leading Virginia school syste’’s “Pride” programs, prompting concern and questions from some parents.

The Beyond the Page Theatre Company at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Virginia, will perform “Kinky Boots” eight times between Thursday and May 4, according to emails obtained by The Daily Signal.

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‘Stop Cop City’ Protesters Confronted by Police over Emory University Campus Encampment for Palestine

Tom Pappert
Emory University Protest

The Stop Cop City movement reported on Thursday that Georgia State Police confronted its protesters as they attempted to create a pro-Palestine encampment on the Emory University campus.

A post to the social media platform X by Stop Cop City activists claims “an encampment in the Emory quad” was established at 7:30 a.m. “to demand total divestment from Israeli apartheid and Cop City,” the activists’ preferred term for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

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Commentary: Biden’s Title IX Revisions Aren’t Good News for Women

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Girls Sports

Locker rooms and bathrooms at schools that accept public funding are about to become dangerous places for women — even in states that have the kind of commonsense legislation intended to keep women’s private spaces private.

Last week, the Biden administration released a host of changes to Title IX, the federal legislation that is best known for dictating equal treatment of men and women in sports and for governing the way schools handle sexual assault charges. While the administration hasn’t yet decided whether biological men who identify as female should be allowed to compete in women’s sports, it redefined “sex” as “gender identity” in almost every other context while simultaneously allowing schools to violate the due process rights of students accused of sexual assault.

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Roger Simon on Pro-Hamas, Anti-Israel Protests on College Campuses: ‘What Happened in Germany in 1937’ Is ‘What We’re Undergoing Now’

Kaitlin Housler

Roger Simon, the co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, said the pro-Hamas protests unfolding on Ivy League college campuses across the nation are comparable to the scene in Germany in 1937.

Simon made the comments on Tuesday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show after listening to audio of a clip taken from Columbia University where pro-Palestine protesters formed a human chain to keep Jewish students out of an encampment on the university’s campus.

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University Antisemitism Reaches Fever Pitch with Calls for Violence Against Jews

The Center Square
Anti-Israel protest

A Jewish Yale student was reportedly stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag during a pro-Hamas protest on campus over the weekend, the latest incident highlighting the ongoing tensions on college campuses since the Hamas terror group attacked Israel Oct. 7 and ignited an ongoing war.

Amidst ongoing calls for violence, lawmakers have ramped up calls for accountability for the taxpayer-funded universities as well as groups supporting Hamas, which the State Department has officially labeled a terrorist organization.

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Columbia University Shifts Classes Online After Pro-Palestinian, Anti-Israel Protest Takes Over Campus

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Pro-Palestine, Anti-Israel protesters demonstrating on campus of Columbia University

Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik ordered classes to be held virtually on Monday following an unauthorized pro-Palestinian encampment on campus late last week, calling for a “reset.”

New York Police Department (NYPD) officers arrested, at the direction of Shafik, over 100 protestors on Thursday who camped in tents across the Ivy League’s South Lawn of Morningside campus. The president announced in a statement early Monday that classes would be held online to “deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps” as the pro-Palestinian protest enters its sixth day.

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Commentary: Veteran Teacher Explains What’s Wrong with Traditional Schooling

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Classroom Work

For 19 years, I was a master of time. Down to the minute, I controlled time for others and used it to meet my and others’ ends, irrespective of the desires of those in front of me. In short, I was a public-school teacher, and controlling time was my talent. Although I and other adults often talked about helping students reach their potential and grow as learners, what we really did each day was control their time and force upon them ideas and subjects in which most of them had little to no interest.

What if there were a better way? A way to help each student learn the way he or she learns best, develop autonomy, explore passions, and take control of his or her own time? Thankfully, that way does exist in the form of alternative schools and learning programs that continue to increase in number each day.

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Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale Announces Removal of Inappropriate Books from Media Centers

Debra McClure
Chris Ragsdale

Cobb County School District (CCSD) Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced the removal of four books containing “lewd, “vulgar,” and “sexually explicit” content from school media centers in a Board of Education meeting Thursday night.

“Tonight, I am announcing that four additional books are being removed after having gone through our very thorough district process: ‘It Ends with Us,’ ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ ‘Lucky,’ and ‘Thirteen Reasons Why.’ The review found all four of these books to contain lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit and graphic content inappropriate for a public school,” Superintendent Ragsdale said during the meeting.

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Tennessee Lottery Raises over $113 Million for Education in Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2024

Kaitlin Housler
Lottery Balls

The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation announced Tuesday it raised $113,820,000 for education in the Volunteer State during the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), which spanned from January 1 through March 31.

“The Lottery is proud to announce this quarter’s results, which reinforce our commitment to funding vital education programs for Tennesseans,” Tennessee Education Lottery President and CEO Rebecca Paul said in a statement.

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Commentary: The Teachers’ Unions Are More Political than Ever

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Becky Pringle

In the past, teachers’ unions concentrated on fighting to keep all teachers employed—competent or otherwise—laying off teachers by seniority when necessary and soaking taxpayers every chance they could. While those activities are still part of their mission, they have, over time, increasingly delved into the political/social realm, promoting Black Lives Matter, Critical Race Theory, DEI, class warfare, gender-bending, etc. And their current level of engagement is staggering.

Americans for Fair Treatment, a national nonprofit organization that educates public employees about their rights in a unionized workplace, recently released a report detailing the National Education Association’s (NEA) financial filings from Sept. 1, 2022, through Aug. 31, 2023.

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State Republicans Accuse DFL, Walz of Playing Politics with Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Results Release Date

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Classwork in school

For more than 20 years the Minnesota Department of Education has released to the public aggregated results of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment test during the first weeks of the school year — before or by Sept. 1, to be exact. That’s almost certain to change.

Last week DFL lawmakers who control the House stood firm in defending a provision in their education policy bill that would give MDE a 12-week extension to release MCA results to the public.

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Florida’s DeSantis Signs Education Reform Bill into Law

The Center Square
Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an education reform bill into law on Tuesday that will have long-reaching implications for the state’s education system.

House Bill 1285 does several things, including addressing school districts with “Turn-Around” status, repeals the Florida College System’s employment equity and accountability program and requires the State Board of Education to establish specialized teaching certificates for classical school educators.

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Gen Z Returning to Trade and Vocational Schools

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Gen Z Students learning construction

Just when it appeared that skilled trades and vocational schools appeared to be on a permanent decline in the United States, members of Generation Z are beginning to embrace such professions in what may mark the beginning of a comeback.

According to Axios, the amount of enrollments in vocational programs has been gradually increasing as members of Gen Z, also known as “Zoomers,” are turning to trade schools as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive four-year universities.

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Report: Chronic Absenteeism in Public Schools a National Crisis

The Center Square
Empty Classroom

A record number of students are skipping school, propelling chronic absenteeism to a national crisis, according to an analysis of public-school attendance data.

The analysis comes as public school districts nationwide are laying off teachers, citing high inflationary costs, budget deficits, and spending decisions related to federal COVID-era funding, which is running out after schools received windfalls in federal subsidies for three years.

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Arizona Governor Blasted by State Rep. Pingerelli, Superintendent Tom Horne After Vetoing Bill to Limit Phones in Schools

Tom Pappert
Arizona State Rep Beverly Pingerelli, Gov. Katie Hobba

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs received rebukes from State Representative Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria) and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne after she used her veto power to block legislation that limited the use of smartphones in classrooms.

“There is a growing body of research that clearly links the use of wireless devices like cell phones to increased negative social harms among our youth,” said Pingerelli, who chairs the House Committee on Education and introduced HB 2793 to curtail phone use in schools.

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Arizona U.S. Reps. Gosar, Biggs Call Out Biden Administration: Grand Canyon University Is Being Targeted Over Religious Views, Political Animus

Debra McClure
Biggs and Gosar GCU

U.S. Representatives Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) are pushing back against the Biden administration’s record $37.7 million fine of Grand Canyon University (GCU), calling the Department of Education “weaponized” in its “targeted” attack of the Christian school.

The six-term congressman told The Arizona Sun Times, on Tuesday “GCU is being targeted for its religious views and for being the largest Christian university in the country. The Department of Education should recognize GCU’s lawful nonprofit status and stop the harassment.”

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