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
UTLA Endorses Vaccine MandateIt’s good news to see teachers’ unions endorsing vaccination mandates to protect students and staff. For Immediate Release UTLA Board votes to support vaccine mandate for LAUSD employees LOS ANGELES — The UTLA Board of Directors has voted overwhelmingly to support a vaccine mandate for all LAUSD employees. The UTLA Board had previously voted to not oppose a vaccine mandate. This stronger position
Oklahoma City Defies State Ban on MasksThe state leaders of Oklahoma banned any mask mandates by school districts, showing their contempt for local control. But Oklahoma City, the state’s largest district, declared that it would defy the state and require all students and staff to wear masks. The district cares more about students than the Governor and Legislature. Other districts in the state are following Oklahoma City’s lead. The T
US Supreme Court Rules that Indiana University May Require VaccinationsWhat a relief! The conservative Supreme Court sided with Indians University’s demand that all students must be vaccinated. The New York Times reported: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court allowed Indiana University on Thursday to require students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Eight students had sued the university, saying the requirement violated their constitutional rights to “bodily inte
AFT Passes Pro-Vaccine ResolutionToday the AFT Executive Council unanimously passed a resolution that supported vaccinations. WASHINGTON —The executive council of the American Federation of Teachers last night unanimously passed a resolution guiding the union on workplace vaccination policies. The resolution is one of several passed by the board since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, designed to protect the health and safety
NEA Endorses Mandatory Vaccination or Testing for TeachersThe best strategy to end the pandemic is mandatory vaccinations for everyone, unless they have a medical condition that makes it in advisable. Until now, both major teachers’ unions refused to take a stand. Last Sunday on Meet the Press, Randi Weingarten endorsed mandatory vaccinations for teachers, but she must get the support of her members. She will. Now NEA has changed course. The nation’s la
Texas: The Poor Performance of Charter SchoolsWilliam J. Gumbert has studied the performance of charter schools in the state, compared to public schools. He has consistently found that charter schools are lower-performing than public schools by every measure. And yet the Republicans who control the state insist on opening more low-performing charters and diverting money from the public schools attended by the vast majority of students. Texas
Gary Rubinstein: Another Sex Scandal at KIPPGary Rubenstein has written about the failed promises of charter schools many times. In this post, he reports on the latest sex scandal at KIPP. Maybe there’s something about the power dynamics of a “no excuses” school that encourages adult domination of children in their care. He writes: Today the US Attorney’s office for the southern district tweeted this [Open the link to see the tweet!]. The
Houston Federation of Teachers Thanks Superintendent for Imposing a Mask MandateGovernor Gregg Abbott of Texas is totally opposed to any mandate for masks or vaccinations. He insists that such decisions should be made solely by parents, not by the school or district or state. Major urban districts are defying Governor Abbott’s irresponsible views. The Houston superintendent, Millard House II, imposed a mask mandate, and the city’s teachers unions thanked him. Houston Federat
Newark: Students Fall Behind During Pandemic in “Reform” HotspotChalkbeat recently wrote abou t the dismal test scores posted recently by students in Newark, which attempts to show the effects of losing a year of school. Just 9% of students in grades 2-8 met state expectations in math based on the results of end-of-year tests taken this spring, according to Newark Public Schools data Chalkbeat obtained through a public records request. Only 11% of students me
Randi Weingarten Supports Mandatory Vaccinations for TeachersRandi Weingarten appeared on “Meet the Press” and endorsed mandatory vaccinations for teachers. She said on Sunday that she wants the union to support mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for teachers. Currently, the AFT (and the NEA) favor vaccination being a voluntary choice. Randi said: “Since 1850 we’ve dealt with vaccines in schools, it’s not a new thing to have vaccines in schools. And I thin
Jan Resseger: Public School Advocates Must Sharpen Their MessageJan Resseger writes here about the importance of honing the message about the importance of public schools. She refers to an article previously posted here by Chris Lubienski and colleagues about the language that reaches the public. You can be sure, she says, that the far-right is working day and night to advance the destruction of public schools. She notes with disappointment that Secretary of
California: Judge Rules Against Online Charter Schools in Class Action Funding LawsuitKristen Take of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on a s etback for online charter schools. A judge ruled against their class-action lawsuit that sought more funding from the state. The judge cited the online charters’ history of fraud and abuse. Earlier this year, the owners of the A3 online charter chain pled guilty to charges against them for self-dealing and agreed to repay the state $215 m
Florida: Governor Threatens to Cut Funding from Districts that Require Face MasksNPR reports that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is prepared to act against school districts that require their students to wear race masks, despite the fact that the coronavirus is surging in almost every county in the state. A battle is brewing in Florida over whether students will have to wear masks when they return to the classroom this fall. Several Florida school districts are keeping their m
Courtney Martin: Lessons in Choosing a School and the Stealth Racism of White LiberalsThe writer Anand Giridharadas writes a blog called The.Ink. In a recent post, he interviewed author Courtney Martin about her decision to send her child to the neighborhood public school, which was majority black and brown. Anand wrote a book that is very relevant to readers of this blog: Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World. In it, he argues that the global elite engage in g
Kentucky: Brave Teacher-Legislator Condemns Vague CRT Proposed LawAt the peak of the Teacher Revolt in 2018, educator Tina Bojanowski ran for a seat in the Kentucky legislature and won. She was re-elected in 2020. She is a teacher in the public schools of Jefferson County (Louisville). In this video , she explains to her fellow legislators that their efforts to ban “critical race theory” are nonsensical. There are real problems to be addressed, like youth suici
Arkansas Judge Halts Mask Ban; Florida Offers Vouchers to Students Who Don’t Want to wear MasksGovernor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas called a special session of the legislature to throw out the law he signed that forbade mask mandates. The legislature refused to do it. A judge acted and issued a preliminary injunction against the ban. Florida offered vouchers to students forced to wear a mask. Parents sued the state for banning masks in public schools. From the Washington Post : In Arkansas,
Denver: All Teachers and Staff Must Be VaccinatedMelanie Asmar of Chalkbeat reports that the the Mayor of Denver is requiring that all of the city’s school teachers and staff should be vaccinated, whether in public or private schools and universities. President Biden has ordered all federal employees to be vaccinated. Meanwhile, major businesses like Walmart are requiring their employees to be vaccinated. Personally, I believe that everyone who
The Arrogance of StupidityHeather Cox Richardson is an historian whose blog is called “Letters from an American.” She has a free version and a subscription version. She carefully documents whatever she writes. In her free version yesterday , she wrote about Republican resistance to vaccination, as well as a few Republicans who now regret their resistance, like Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Just remember, as the COVID
Steve Ruis: OMG! We Are That Stupid!Steve Ruis reacts to the millions of people who refuse to be vaccinated, for whatever reason, and concludes that it must be stupidity. They know that more than 600,000 people have died in this country. They know that the
