St. Louis: Stealth Effort to Push More Charter Schools Enrages School BoardA coalition of organizations in St. Louis combined to promote a new vision of education. Even the superintendent of schools added his name. But when the school board realized that the “new vision” was funded by Opportunity Trust , a pro-charter outfit, they insisted on a moratorium. Once again, an astroturf group was planning to hasten the pace of privatization. The city currently has 18,000 stud
Texas: Disability Advocates File Federal Lawsuit Against Governor Abbott’s Masking BanIn Texas, a federally authorized organization filed a federal lawsuit to block Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on masking mandates. Abbott has repeatedly said that the decision to wear a mask should be made by parents, not by school boards. CONTACT: Edie Surtees, Communications Director esurtees@drtx.org 512-407-2739 First Federal Lawsuit Challenging Mask Mandate Ban Filed Against Texas Governor and T
Texas Supreme Court Rejects Gov. Abbott’s Intervention, Allows Districts to Mandate Masks, for NowCNN reported last night that the Texas Sypreme Court denied Governor Gregg Abbott’s effort to intervene in a court case overruling his decision to block mask mandates. The Supreme Court of Texas refused Gov. Greg Abbott’s request to intervene Thursday in the case of mask mandates established by several local jurisdictions. As a result, the lower court ruling allowing school districts to require m
We Have Lost a Dear Friend: Laura ChapmanLaura H. Chapman was a devoted supporter of public education, the Network for Public Education, and this blog. I was honored to post her carefully researched and well documented comments on this blog. Although her health clearly was in decline, she faithfully attended every annual meeting of NPE. Laura was a distinguished arts educator. Please read her obituary in The Cincinnati Enquirer . We hav
Biden Administration Will Take Action Against States That Ban Mask MandatesPresident Biden announced that the U.S. Department of Education will take legal action against the eight states that do not permit school districts to require students and staff to wear masks. In so doing, these states put students at risk and violate their right to education. Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Erica L. Green wrote in the New York Times : President Biden, escalating his fight with Republica
Steven Singer: Why Does Your Child’s Right to Unmask Usurp My Child’s Right to a Safe School?Steven Singer, who teaches in Pennsylvania, is outraged that his school district refuses to mandate masks and treating mask-wearing as a personal decision, rather than a public health necessity. He is worried about his daughter in classrooms where masking is optional. He writes: Nationwide, nearly 94,000 new child Covid cases were reported last week- a substantial increase, according to the Ameri
UnKoch My School! The Koch Attack on Public SchoolsThe attached report was prepared by Unkoch My Campus and SOS Arizona. Unkoch My Campus is an activist organization that exposes the nefarious influence of the Charles Koch network in higher education. It decided to examine the Koch effort to capture K-12 education and teamed up with SOS Arizona. The result is a brilliant, informative, important critique of a billionaire-funded attack on American
California: Culver City School District is First in State to Require All Eligible Students to Be VaccinatedA sign of sanity, common sense, and responsibility: Culver City schools require all eligible students to be vaccinated. Superintendent estimates that about 1 in 20 parents object. Why should their objection override the public health of all students? The Culver City Unified School District has issued a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all eligible students — believed to be the first such requirem
A Tribute to the Great Mike RoseI received a notice a few days ago from a scholarly organization, informing me that Mike Rose had died. Mike was a beloved teacher, scholar, and author. He had keen empathy for working people. He taught at UCLA. I met him a decade ago, and we became friends. You may have met him through such books as Lives on the Boundary , or Why School? , or Possible Lives. Other people knew Mike far better tha
Gates, Walton, and Chan-Zuckerberg Join to Find “Breakthroughs” in EducationWhy do so many billionaires think that it is their responsibility to redesign education? I, personally, would prefer to see them spend their time figuring out how to reduce poverty, how to provide medical care in low-income communities, how to provide affordable housing for all. But they don’t ask me. Chalkbeat reported recently that three of our biggest billionaires are combining forces to disco
Governor Abbot of Texas Tested Positive for COVIDGovernor Abbott opposes mandates for masks and vaccinations. Yesterday he tested positive for COVID. He has been holding large meetings where no one is masked.
Florida: Miami-Dade and Broward Counties Defy DeSantis on MaskingGovernor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order that prohibits school districts from adopting mask mandates for all students and staff, even though Florida hospitals are overflowing withbCOVID patients. DeSantis has presidential aspirations. The leadership of Miami-Dade County and Broward County have decided to defy DeSantis’ reckless decision and protect their students and staff. MIAMI – Superin
Florida: COVID Cases Surge in SchoolsAs you know, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order barring school districts from adopting mask mandates. Every family should make it’s own decision, he has said. As schools open, the disastrous results of this reckless policy are becoming clear. AFT President Randi Weingarten tweeted yesterday: “Just heard….nearly 5600 Hillsborough County students in quarantine…. As a result, Hi
Texas Supreme Court Supports Gov. Abbott’s Ban on Mask MandatesLet me be clear: Any state that prevents school districts from mandating masks for students and teachers is displaying extreme indifference to human life and public health, as well as overriding local control of schools. In my view, every state should mandate masking when indoors in public spaces. The Los Angeles Times reported that most states are leaving the mask decisions to school districts b
UTLA Speaks Out Against “Internal” Voucher SchemeSome members of the Los Angeles school board are proposing a stealth voucher plan. Unsurprisingly, the United Teachers of Los Angeles opposes the plan. DeVos-funded consultant pushes internal voucher scheme in LAUSD This fall UTLA members will be building a vision for how to use the historic infusion of funding to transform education for our students. The privatizers have their own game plan to d
John Thompson: Oklahoma Educators Go Meek Against State Mandates Banning MasksHistorian and former teacher John Thompson sat in on three different panels about the reopening of schools. He heard the concerns of leading educators and medical experts. The latter were all in favor of masking and vaccinations, but the educators were cautious about making powerful people angry. The Oklahoma state legislature has banned mask mandates and vaccinations are out of the question. The
Censoring “Persepolis”Chicago Public Schools was first to ban the popular graphic novel Persepolis ,” in 2013. The book has sold millions of copies. The author, Marjane Satrapi, was born in Iran and used the book to tell her story. Chicago school officials decided to pull the book from classrooms and school libraries , after receiving complaints that the book was not “age-appropriate.” The officials saw two pages that
Peter Greene: What’s Wrong with For-Profit Charter Schools?Peter Greene writes in Forbes about the furor that erupted when House Democrats passed legislation to ban federal funding of charters managed by for-profit organizations. The charter industry and its lobbyists went bonkers, falsely claiming that the bill would prevent them from buying food from for-profit companies or hiring plumbers who work for profit. He wrote: The House Appropriations Committ
Racism Flourishes in This Michigan TownThere’s been much discussion around the nation about racism. Is it persistent? Is it systematic? Is it behind us? Read this story that appeared in the Washington Post and it should end the debate (although it won’t). An African American man, who happens to be a veteran, brought his teenage son with him as he went house hunting with a real estate agent (also black) in Wyoming Michigan. A neighbor
Peter Greene: Federal Court Rules That Charter Schools Are Not Public SchoolsPeter Greene writes about a charter school in North Carolina that had a strict dress code for female students. Parents sued to overturn the rule as a violation of Title IX. They won. But then a federal appeals court reversed the ruling. The judges reasoned that charter schools are not public schools and not subject to the same laws as public schools. He wrote: In North Carolina, Charter Day Schoo
