A teenager who was suspended after posting pictures on social media criticizing her high school’s reopening has had her suspension lifted. Hannah Watters posted pictures of her high school’s reopening which depicted scenes of crowded hallways with little social distancing and few students wearing masks. The pictures quickly went viral. Soon after posting them, Watters […]
Supreme Court Exempts Religious Schools From Anti-Discrimination Laws
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that anti-discrimination employment laws do not protect employees at religious institutions, even if they do not primarily serve a ministerial purpose. The 7-2 decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, in which Justices Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer joined the court’s conservative bloc, could affect more than 100,000 […]
Trump Threatens to Cut Funding for Schools Unwilling or Unable to Reopen
As the United States faces a surge in reported COVID-19 cases, schools have recently been faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to reopen as the fall approaches. Given local, state, and federal guidelines, as well as those put in place by the CDC, returning to business as usual seems daunting, if not […]
ICE Says International Students Must Take In-Person Class to Stay in U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a rule Monday that prohibits international students from staying in the U.S. on their student visas if their college opts to hold courses entirely online. The order will affect F-1 and M-1 visa-holders, forcing students to either take in-person classes or risk deportation. Students in colleges teaching entirely online […]
Brown University Faces Challenge for Unequal Elimination of Varsity Teams
Plaintiffs in a 1992 lawsuit are challenging Brown University in court for violating its settlement agreement, arguing that the school’s recent demotion of multiple varsity sports teams did not protect gender equity. The motion, filed by the ACLU of Rhode Island and advocacy organization Public Justice, argues that the recent cuts to varsity teams further […]
Supreme Court Ruling Ends Religious Schools’ Exclusion From School Choice Programs
In a 5-4 decision yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that prohibiting religious schools from receiving state funding in school choice programs violates the First Amendment right to freely exercise religion. The court’s decision in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue was split along ideological lines, with Chief Justice Roberts, along with Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, Alito […]
Department of Education Issues Rule Increasing CARES Act Funding For K-12 Private Schools
A rule issued by the Department of Education (DOE) will grant K-12 private schools a large share of the $13 billion of federal coronavirus aid provided by the CARES Act. The rule requires school districts to utilize one of two plans to distribute the funds. Districts must either only utilize the funds for low-income students, […]
Lawmakers Denounce Title IX Decision on Transgender Athletes
28 lawmakers, including six of the seven members of Connecticut’s delegation, signed a joint letter condemning the U.S. Department of Education’s May 15 decision regarding transgender athletes. The lawmakers request that the Department of Education (DOE) reconsider its decision, as well as other rulings that “roll back” the rights of transgender students. They have tasked […]
Wisconsin Teachers Union Demands Police Be Removed from Public Schools
The Madison, Wisconsin teacher’s union, Madison Teachers Inc. (MTI), has changed its stance on school-based police officers and is now advocating for police to be taken out of the city’s main high schools and replaced with thirty-three additional support staff. This is the first time that Madison Teachers Inc. has demanded the removal of police […]
Chicago Protests Amplify Demands that Police Be Removed from Schools
Outrage over the murder of George Floyd by police has sparked activists in Chicago to demand that police officers be removed from Chicago Public Schools. Young people are urging the district to nullify the $33 million contract it entered into with the Chicago Police Department in August to station officers in CPS buildings. Approximately a […]
New Jersey Becomes First State to Include Climate Change in Curriculum
New Jersey public schools will become the first in the nation to incorporate climate change education into the K-12 curriculum. The 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards were adopted on June 3. The new standards will allow students to not only understand what climate change is, but also to explore necessary solutions. By implementing climate […]
U.S. Court Ruling Defines “Fairness” in Title IX Cases
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Court decided on May 29 that “fairness” defined in several colleges’s investigations of sexual harassment means that students must be given a live hearing and cross-examination process. The decision, written by Judge David Porter, stated that if a college’s policy under Title IX of the Education […]
Inclusion of Transgender Student Athletes Found to Violate Title IX
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has found that a Connecticut high school athletics policy that allows transgender students to participate in sports teams that match their gender identity violates federal law and could cost the state federal education funding. A 45-page letter, dated May 15, explained that the decision was based on the […]
DeVos Demands Public Schools Share Pandemic Relief Funds with Private Schools
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Friday that she would force public school districts to share a portion of federal relief funds provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, on private schools. The rescue package set aside more than $13 billion to help public schools struggling with pandemic-related deficits. DeVos […]
Nebraska Public College Pays $900,000 in Title IX Settlement
The Nebraska State College System will pay $900,000 in a settlement for inadequately addressing a case of dating violence that resulted in a student’s suicide in 2015. The settlement comes after the family of Fatima Larios, who died at 19, filed a federal suit in 2017. In addition to the monetary amount, Chadron State College, […]
ACLU and Other Groups File Lawsuit to Block New Title IX Rules
Survivor advocacy groups filed a suit yesterday to block Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s new Title IX rules that weaken protections for survivors. The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and another law firm, argue that the new rules make it harder for survivors to report sexual assault and harassment. The plaintiffs […]
California Colleges Sue DeVos Over CARES Act Fund Restrictions
California Community Colleges filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for making undocumented students ineligible for federally funded coronavirus relief. In the suit, California Community Colleges argues that the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) restrictions place an arbitrary burden on schools to find assistance for students who are ineligible for federal […]
Betsy DeVos Releases New Title IX Rule Favoring Accused Sexual Assault Perpetrators
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has issued the final version of a new rule governing how K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. The new 2,033-page regulation increases privileges for students and faculty accused of assault and requires colleges […]
Universities Face Decision Between Medical Disaster and Financial Ruin This Fall
Amidst great economic and political pressure to reopen in the fall, American colleges and universities must choose between enormous risk and liability if they do open and bankruptcy if they do not. Colleges and universities are among the most vulnerable institutions to disease outbreaks and would serve as efficient grounds the spread of coronavirus as […]
Women in Academia Struggle in the Wake of COVID-19
Women seem to be submitting comparatively fewer papers for review to academic journals as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elizabeth Hannon, deputy editor of the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, noted a “negligible number of submissions to the journal from women in the last month.” Anna Watts remarked upon the makeup of […]