Education
Debt limit deal hits turbulence in Congress as leaders prep for vote
WASHINGTON — Congress began moving the bipartisan debt limit package forward Tuesday, though frustrations with provisions in the bill could make for narrow passage in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats both aired their disappointment with the agreement forged over the weekend, but only GOP lawmakers are looking to possibly remove […]
More states line up to serve free school meals to all kids
During his long career as a high school teacher, New York state Sen. John Mannion often reached into his own pocket to cover the cost of lunches for kids who didn’t have the funds. “I watched kids get to the end of the line and not have enough money on their cards,” the Democrat said […]
DeSantis praises homeschoolers, gets in a dig at Donald Trump during speech
Gov. Ron DeSantis took a swing at Donald Trump during a speech Friday for daring to suggest that the governor’s battle with The Walt Disney Co. was a mistake. The former president had posted on his Truth Social platform recently: “DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney. His original P.R. plan fizzled, so now he’s […]
Biden student debt relief plan revoked in U.S. House vote
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday voted to overturn the Biden administration’s one-time student debt relief plan that is currently on hold awaiting a Supreme Court decision expected within weeks. Before the 218-203 vote on the resolution, the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it, arguing that the U.S. Department of Education has […]
NC Gov. Roy Cooper declares ‘state of emergency’ for public education
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper went on the attack Monday, blasting away at Republican legislation that he contends will “choke the life out of public education” in the state. The Democratic governor said that it’s time to declare a “state of emergency” and he urged North Carolinians to contact lawmakers to protest legislation that could […]
NAACP travel advisory on Florida provokes strong reactions
Over the weekend, when the NAACP issued a travel advisory on Florida that is “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” several Black lawmakers across the state — both Democrats and Republicans — quickly spoke up on Monday. “In Ron DeSantis’ Florida, Black Americans are absolutely less safe, so it is […]
Federal lawsuit: FL school district sued over removing, restricting books; violating Constitution
On the day that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a slate of bills to protect innocent children — including more restrictions on what kids can read in classrooms and school libraries — PEN America and others have filed a lawsuit in a federal court on book bans in Escambia County School District in Florida’s Panhandle. A […]
U.S. House GOP questions education secretary on transgender athletes, student loans
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Tuesday grilled the secretary of education about student debt cancellation and protections for transgender student athletes during a lengthy hearing on the president’s proposed budget request for the Department of Education. While the subject of the five-hour House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing was the fiscal 2024 budget […]
A contentious overhaul for higher education: DeSantis pushes far right in bill signings
While Gov. Ron DeSantis brags about top college rankings in Florida’s state university system — using specific metrics from U.S. News and World Report — families and college kids should know this: There won’t be a data point about preventing “woke ideologies” in the rankings. There won’t be other metrics in rankings that would essentially […]
The Fox-MAGA Florida government cannot handle the truth
Let me get this straight: it’s okay for Florida students to be exposed to the non-stop violence on the screen and regular reports of mass shootings at schools and malls, but a book with a gay kid, an analysis of socialism, or mention of the Black Lives Matter movement in class will damage their tender […]
Brevard School Board member Jennifer Jenkins ‘considering’ a run for U.S. Senate
As the Florida Democratic Party continues to search for candidates to challenge GOP U.S. Senate incumbent Rick Scott next year in his bid for re-election, Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins’s name has popped up as an emerging possibility. In an interview with the Phoenix on Friday, the 36-year-old said she will support any […]
FL teachers’ unions sue over Gov. DeSantis for takeover of dues-paying process
Teachers’ unions have filed a federal lawsuit targeting a new Florida law that bars public employee unions from collecting dues via payroll deductions, calling it “a naked effort to curtail the constitutional rights of those public unions that have crossed Gov. DeSantis.” The unions filed their complaint Tuesday — the day Gov. Ron DeSantis signed […]