Republicans seek to spotlight politics of schools in Georgia
2 years, 11 months ago

Republicans seek to spotlight politics of schools in Georgia

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Social conservatives are looking to push education policy to the forefront when Georgia lawmakers begin meeting Monday, driven by a national tumult over the pandemic and race. But conservatives also want to give parents a greater ability to examine school curricula, restrict sex education, ban transgender girls from playing high school sports and guarantee religious freedom for students. The state Board of Education in June adopted a resolution saying schools should not “indoctrinate” students and should not teach that anyone is inherently racist or should be treated differently because of their race. “I believe that I’m a stronger person because I understand and was taught not the simple pieces, but the complexity of who we are,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said in December. House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, a Milton Republican, said she seeks to prevent online access to inappropriate materials, saying she wants the state Department of Education to ensure all schools use adequate filtering programs.

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History of this topic

'Just not taught': Republicans get pushback as they attack critical race theory in House
2 weeks, 5 days ago

'Just not taught': Republicans get pushback as they attack critical race theory in House

Raw Story  

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers railed against what they called “woke” curriculum in schools during a Wednesday hearing in a U.S. House education panel, the latest example of culture wars rocking public education policy. Though critical race theory is used in college and graduate-level programs, GOP members on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education said the …

Students walk out demanding 'future free from gun violence' after Georgia shooting
3 months ago

Students walk out demanding 'future free from gun violence' after Georgia shooting

Raw Story  

Joined by educators, parents, and gun control advocates, thousands of Georgia students on Friday staged a classroom walkout organized by the youth-led March for Our Lives "to demand a future free from gun violence" following the September 4 mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, the deadliest such event in the state's history. "Across Georgia, Republican leaders—like those who …

Georgia House speaker aims to persuade resistant Republicans in voucher push
9 months, 1 week ago

Georgia House speaker aims to persuade resistant Republicans in voucher push

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns is leaning into the push to pass a voucher plan funding private school tuition and home schooling, looking to change the minds of fellow Republican skeptics. The bill would provide $6,500 education savings accounts to students attending public schools that rank in Georgia’s bottom 25% for academic achievement. Those include writing current teacher …

Georgia Senate considers controls on school libraries and criminal charges for librarians
10 months ago

Georgia Senate considers controls on school libraries and criminal charges for librarians

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — A proposal that would require school libraries to notify parents of every book their child checks out was advanced by Georgia senators Tuesday, while a proposal to subject school librarians to criminal charges for distributing material containing obscenity waits in the wings. “The logical endpoint of where this bill, as well as others, are taking us is for …

Some Georgia Republicans who sank an education voucher bill in 2023 aren’t changing their minds
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Some Georgia Republicans who sank an education voucher bill in 2023 aren’t changing their minds

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — On the last day of Georgia’s 2023 legislative session, 16 mostly rural House Republicans defied pressure from Gov. “I’m just not ready to give up on public education as we know it right now,” said Rep. J. Collins of Villa Rica, who added that “taking away money from public education is not the answer.” The Georgia push is …

'Absurd' firing of Georgia teacher shows how GOP laws are pushing classroom censorship: analysis
1 year, 5 months ago

'Absurd' firing of Georgia teacher shows how GOP laws are pushing classroom censorship: analysis

Raw Story  

Washington Post opinion columnists Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman on Wednesday highlighted the firing of a 5th grade teacher in Georgia that they say highlights the ways GOP-backed laws banning the teachings of "divisive" concepts have created a chilling effect that has resulted in classroom censorship. The teacher in question, Katherine Rinderle, is facing termination after she read her class …

Republicans continue push to restrict teachings on race in South Carolina
1 year, 7 months ago

Republicans continue push to restrict teachings on race in South Carolina

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Republicans are one step closer to restricting how teachers discuss race in K-12 classrooms. As conservatives nationwide push bans on so-called “critical race theory,” the state Senate passed a likeminded effort Wednesday in a late night 27-10 vote after nearly six hours of debate. Democratic Sen. Dick Harpootlian questioned who would determine the “facts.” He …

Book bans are on the rise in U.S. schools, fueled by new laws in Republican-led states
1 year, 8 months ago

Book bans are on the rise in U.S. schools, fueled by new laws in Republican-led states

LA Times  

Maia Kobabe, author of “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” poses for a portrait with the book, which was one of the most banned titles in U.S. schools last year. Fearing criminal penalties, public schools throughout Missouri removed hundreds of books from their libraries after state lawmakers last year made it illegal to provide students with “sexually explicit” material — a law …

Education takes an unusual back seat in Georgia election
2 years, 3 months ago

Education takes an unusual back seat in Georgia election

Associated Press  

LILBURN, Ga. — Like schools nationwide, those in Georgia face some big decisions in coming years. When it comes to education issues, Gwinnett County parent and former teacher Missy Purcell says, “I’m not hearing a lot.” It’s not that Republican incumbent Gov. “We’ve got to keep our teachers in the classroom and not the courtroom.” Kemp rolled out a more …

Column: Book-banning is on the rise, as part of the far-right’s assault on democracy
2 years, 4 months ago

Column: Book-banning is on the rise, as part of the far-right’s assault on democracy

LA Times  

Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel “Maus,” about his parents’ experience during the Holocaust and as survivors, was banned by a Tennessee school board this year, among many other works targeted by crusaders against the freedom of information. Nossel ties book-banning campaigns to other efforts to control educational standards — “what we call ‘educational gag orders,’ bans on the teaching of certain …

Georgia School District Allows Some Of Its Employees To Carry Guns
2 years, 5 months ago

Georgia School District Allows Some Of Its Employees To Carry Guns

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING ATLANTA — Georgia’s second-largest school district on Thursday approved a policy allowing some employees who aren’t certified police officers carry guns in schools, but excluded teachers from those who can be armed. The 4-2 vote by suburban Atlanta’s Cobb County school board split along partisan lines as opponents including gun control activists shouted “Delay the vote!” and …

Talk of race, sex in schools divides Americans: AP-NORC poll
2 years, 8 months ago

Talk of race, sex in schools divides Americans: AP-NORC poll

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Americans are deeply divided over how much children in K-12 schools should be taught about racism and sexuality, according to a new poll released as Republicans across the country aim to make parental involvement in education a central campaign theme this election year. “All that that’s happening these days kind of goes against the longer history of school …

Georgia lawmakers OK parent rights, divisive concepts ban
2 years, 8 months ago

Georgia lawmakers OK parent rights, divisive concepts ban

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers sent a bill to increase parental oversight of schools to Gov. House Bill 1084, which bans the teaching of “divisive concepts” on race in Georgia public schools, went back to the House for representatives to agree to changes after passing the Senate 32-21 on Friday. “CRT is wrong, it’s destructive and it views American history through …

Georgia House votes to ease parental challenges to books
2 years, 8 months ago

Georgia House votes to ease parental challenges to books

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — A bill that would force public schools to respond to challenges of materials parents consider obscene is moving closer to final passage in Georgia. “If parents do not want young children reading some very degrading-type material, then this is parent engagement, a process and due process for those parents to be able to challenge these materials,” Burchett said, …

Curriculum struggle has Kansas GOP pursuing ‘transparency’
2 years, 10 months ago

Curriculum struggle has Kansas GOP pursuing ‘transparency’

Associated Press  

TOPEKA, Kan. — Republican lawmakers seeking to limit what Kansas’ public schools teach about racism have settled on a proposed “parents’ bill of rights” aimed at giving people outside the education system more power to shape what happens in classrooms and school libraries. Both states’ laws ban lessons teaching that any person now “bears responsibility for actions committed in the …

Georgia bills seek to limit inappropriate school materials
2 years, 10 months ago

Georgia bills seek to limit inappropriate school materials

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers are advancing two measures meant to limit public school students’ access to inappropriate or obscene materials. On Thursday, a House Education subcommittee passed House Bill 1217, which is designed to tighten Georgia’s standards preventing schoolchildren from accessing material harmful to minors using school computers or internet networks. The measures are part of a broader conservative push …

Republicans declare war over race in public schools — and Black kids get left out of the discussion
3 years, 1 month ago

Republicans declare war over race in public schools — and Black kids get left out of the discussion

Raw Story  

Over the past year, Republicans have declared a war on how race and racism are addressed in public schools. However, because this dialect differs from the standard dialect, Black children who speak AAVE are told that they have a "home language" and a "school language." — with Black children's empirically demonstrated experiences of racism and it's hard to imagine a …

More Republican leaders try to ban books on race, LGBTQ issues
3 years, 1 month ago

More Republican leaders try to ban books on race, LGBTQ issues

NPR  

More Republican leaders try to ban books on race, LGBTQ issues Enlarge this image toggle caption Jeffrey Collins/AP Jeffrey Collins/AP In the latest call from Republican leaders to ban certain books in schools, South Carolina Gov. Sponsor Message McMaster's call is the latest instance of Republican elected leaders and local school board members lashing out at books in school libraries …

Florida bans ‘critical race theory’ from its classrooms
3 years, 6 months ago

Florida bans ‘critical race theory’ from its classrooms

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s state Board of Education banned “critical race theory” from public school classrooms Thursday, adopting new rules it said would shield schoolchildren from curricula that could “distort historical events.” Florida’s move was widely expected as a national debate intensifies about how race should be used as a lens in classrooms to examine the country’s tumultuous history. Ron …

Kemp urges safeguards against teaching on race in Georgia
3 years, 7 months ago

Kemp urges safeguards against teaching on race in Georgia

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — With rank-and-file Republicans in arms over fears that their public school students are being indoctrinated that the United States is inherently racist, Gov. Georgia’s Republican governor wrote a letter to the state Board of Education, whose members he appoints, urging them “to take immediate steps to ensure that Critical Race Theory and its dangerous ideology do not take …

Tennessee gov: Race shouldn’t be taught in ‘divisive’ way
3 years, 7 months ago

Tennessee gov: Race shouldn’t be taught in ‘divisive’ way

Associated Press  

FAIRVIEW, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Asked about the legislation, he also derided what he described as “a political commentary that’s divisive,” saying it’s “not factual education.” “We need to make sure that our kids recognize that this country is moving toward a more perfect union, that we should teach the exceptionalism of our nation and how people can live together …

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