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 […]
Students Have Fundamental Right to Literacy, Appeals Court Says
A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that students in Detroit have a right to a “basic minimum education” ensuring literacy. Gary B., et al. v. Whitmer, et al. was filed by students on behalf of students in the Detroit Public Schools system. It argued that conditions in the schools had deprived them of a […]
Trump Administration Asks for Census Delay
The Trump administration has moved to delay deadlines for the 2020 United States Census due to concerns over COVID-19. The changes, requested by Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, would delay the deadline for delivering state population counts for apportionment from December 2020 to April 2021 and for giving states […]
Democrats and Civil Rights Groups Demand Delay of New Title IX Rule
The Education Department’s new proposed Title IX rules have already been cleared by the White House and are scheduled to be implemented in the coming weeks. Three senators signed on to a letter—along with multiple civil rights’ and human rights’ organizations—calling for the delay of these rules until the COVID-19 crisis is under control. The […]
California Special Needs Students Left Behind Amidst COVID-19 Education Changes
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guarantees disabled students access to equal, high-quality, and free public education. However, as California nears its third week of physical school closures amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, special needs students are being left behind in the struggle to navigate the uncharted territory of distance learning. Approximately 800,000 California students receive […]
Education Department Sanctions Penn State Again for Sexual Misconduct Procedures
On Thursday, the Department of Education announced that after a recent investigation, it is ordering Pennsylvania State University to implement significant changes to the way the school handles complaints of sexual misconduct. The released investigation finds that the university persistently mishandled cases after the Sandusky scandal. A federal investigation released Thursday identified “serious deficiencies” in […]
Trump Administration Proposes Rules Undermining Separation of Church and State Which Would Increase Sex Discrimination in Schools
February 18, 2020 marked the end of the 30-day public comment period on nine proposed federal rules loosening federal funding restrictions on religious social service providers and schools. The Department of Education’s (ED) proposed rule to implement religion-related executive orders received nearly 16,000 comments and would have broad negative impacts if enacted. The ED’s proposed […]
Rep. Maloney Announces the Smithsonian Women’s History Act
Today Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) introduced the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act, which has 293 cosponsors and is expected to go to the U.S. House floor for a vote tomorrow afternoon. This bill will establish a Smithsonian museum dedicated to women’s history on the National Mall. “We are […]
Chloe McKenzie Wants to Close the Wealth Gap for Black Women
In 2015, Chloe McKenzie, a former JP Morgan investor, launched Black Fem – an organization “dedicated to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty”. The racial wealth gap is still steadily widening, according to studies done by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies. When asked about why she wanted to start Black Fem, Ms. […]
