Education Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Kia, TJ Maxx Listed as Corporate Sponsors of ‘Rainbow Library’ Pushing Trans Books to Preschool Kids

December 19, 2024December 18, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Retailer T.J. Maxx and automaker Kia are listed as co-sponsors of a program that distributes LGBTQ-themed books to K-12 schools across the U.S., according to a Wednesday report from conservative nonprofit Consumers’ Research obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The initiative, titled the Rainbow Library, is run by national LGBTQ+ activist organization the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and sends participating teachers books that push transgenderism and homosexuality onto kids as young as five, Consumers’ Research found. Over 8,100 schools in 33 states nationwide participate in the program.

Federal Data: School Leaders Say 40 Percent of Students Are Behind Grade Level

December 17, 2024December 16, 2024 The Center Square

According to a federal survey of school leaders, 40% of students in the nation’s public schools were behind grade level in one or more subjects at the beginning of the school year.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) announced its findings this week that the percentage of students school leaders estimated to be behind where they should be was down 7% from the 2022-23 school year but still 8% higher than before the pandemic.

Clemson University Expands Capitalism Institute with $25 Million Donation

December 11, 2024 The College Fix

Parents of a Clemson University graduate who were “incredibly impressed” by its capitalism institute recently donated $25 million to expand the popular program.

California’s Major University Accreditor Wants to Elimanate DEI Requirements

December 9, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is considering removing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) language from its accreditation standards.

The accreditor is responsible for overseeing the entire University of California (UC) system, the California State University system and several religious institutions. The proposed update to the standards would remove language requiring universities to commit to DEI in order to receive accreditation.

Grand Canyon University Wins Nonprofit Status Lawsuit Against Department of Education

December 4, 2024 The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) may soon recognize Grand Canyon University’s nonprofit status after the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit remanded the school’s case back to the department.

The university announced that “in a significant win for Grand Canyon University, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a 3-0 decision, held that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) acted unlawfully by applying the incorrect legal standard in determining GCU’s nonprofit status and remanded the case back to ED.”

College Closures Expected to Skyrocket as Americans Turn Away from Higher Education

December 4, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Annual college closures may increase as enrollment at higher education institutions continues to decline, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia report.

If enrollment at universities continues its downward trend, as many as 80 additional colleges may be forced to shut down, according to a December report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Recent data shows freshman college enrollment has reached its lowest point since the pandemic, declining by over 5%.

Arizona State University Professor Condemns ‘Anti-Trafficking Movement,’ ‘Deviant Framing’ of ‘Sex Workers’

December 4, 2024 The College Fix

Professor Crystal Jackson and panel discuss sex workers

Arizona State University Professor Crystal Jackson condemned the “anti-trafficking movement” and “deviant framing” of “sex workers” during an event on campus last week.

During the “Queer X Faculty Flashtalks” event, Jackson told the students and staff in attendance that “Sex workers have been and are at the heart of queer liberation.”

Commentary: San Jose State University Trans Volleyball Player’s Career Ends and So Should Men’s Participation in Women’s Sports

December 4, 2024 The College Fix

Transgender athlete Blaire Fleming on San Jose State University’s women’s volleyball team likely played the last game of his career after losing to Colorado State University on Saturday.

Fleming was San Jose State’s top performer in the Mountain West Tournament match, leading the team with 17 kills. However, he also made nine errors and struggled with his hitting in the first two sets, Fox News reported.

About 70 Percent of Education Department Enforcements Have Targeted Christian Universities: Report

December 1, 2024 Just the News

A recent report showed 70% of enforcement actions that were put forth by the Biden administration’s Education Department were imposed on religious universities.

The report was published by the American Principles Project.

Pro-Life Scholars Sue After ‘Discriminatory’ Retractions by Academic Journal

November 29, 2024 The College Fix

Pro-life scholars and Sage Publications continue to battle over retracted articles.

Dr. James Studnicki and his fellow authors sued Sage Publications to compel arbitration after the publishing company retracted three articles for allegedly “pretextual and discriminatory reasons,” according to the legal filing.

University at Buffalo Hosts Event About ‘Decolonizing Thanksgiving’

November 28, 2024 American Greatness

The New York University at Buffalo hosted a forum last week with a clear anti-Thanksgiving bias, questioning whether or not it is “right to celebrate Thanksgiving,” and discussed “decolonizing” the historic holiday.

As reported by Breitbart, the event was hosted on November 21st in the university’s Intercultural and Diversity Center (IDC), as part of a series of forums titled “Tough Topics.” These events are described as “weekly open forums” where current events, national and global, are discussed.

Sharp Drop of Pro-Palestinian Protests, Encampments on Colleges Campuses After Tighter Rules: Report

November 25, 2024 Just the News

Pro-Palestinian protests and encampments on college campuses dropped sharply by nearly 70% after the institutions tightened their rules, according to data compiled by the Nonviolent Action Lab at Harvard University’s Ash Center.

Some of the stricter rules include locking campus gates and tougher punishments.

Minnesota Public School Teacher Tells Students to ‘Take Today to Mourn’ Following ‘Heartbreaking’ Election

November 13, 2024November 13, 2024 Alpha News

A teacher at Minnesota Connections Academy, an online public school, sent an email to eighth grade Language Arts students saying he wondered how he “could possibly come to school” following last week’s election of President Donald Trump.

“It’s the fact that it’s pushing an agenda. The Democrats are saying that it’s not happening, but it very clearly is,” Antonio Pici, a law enforcement officer and veteran, shared with Alpha News.

Donald Trump Details Plan to Create the ‘American Academy’ to Provide Free Higher Education to All Citizens

November 13, 2024 Kaitlin Housler

President-elect Donald Trump plans to assist the nation’s population without a college degree by creating the online “American Academy” which would make higher education available to all U.S. citizens for free.

Commentary: Indoctri-Nation

November 9, 2024 American Greatness

An essential mission for many educators throughout the country is the indoctrination of their students. The newest arrival on the propaganda front is Israel. In August, one of the topics of a United Teachers of Los Angeles meeting was “How to be a teacher & an organizer. . . and NOT get fired.”

Analysis: A Survey of Trump’s Possible Education Secretary Candidates and His Commitment to Dismantling the Department of Education

November 8, 2024 The College Fix

President-elect Donald Trump said several times during his campaign that he would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, but it’s a pledge that may be more rhetoric than reality.

Commentary: Tim Walz’s Progressive Education Policies Could Doom Harris

November 1, 2024 RealClearWire

Donald Trump currently holds a razor-thin 0.6 percent lead over Kamala Harris in the RealClearPolitics Polling Average for Pennsylvania. With this key swing state potentially deciding the outcome of the Electoral College, Democrats can only wonder how different the polls might look if Pennsylvania’s popular governor, Josh Shapiro – once considered a frontrunner for Harris’ VP pick – were on the ticket instead of Tim Walz.

Medical Schools Are Politicizing Health Care, Putting Lives ‘On the Line,’ Watchdog Warns

October 30, 2024 The College Fix

The report “Activism Instead of Anatomy” from Do No Harm states that diversity, equity, and inclusion politics are crowding out scientific medical education at many schools across the country.

“If medical schools are short-changing rigorous training in science for the political indoctrination of future doctors, there are real consequences. Lives are on the line,” author and senior fellow Jay Greene wrote.

Education Secretary Censors Mom on X for Showing He Supports ‘Pornography in School’: Lawsuit

October 25, 2024 Just the News

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona censored a Rhode Island mother who responded to his criticism of efforts to remove sexually graphic books from public school libraries by posting images from those books on his X account, a First Amendment lawsuit claims.

Report: College Enrollments on the Decline as Americans Reject Higher Education

October 25, 2024October 24, 2024 American Greatness

The rate of freshman enrollment at colleges across the country, from private to public, has dropped to the lowest levels since before the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Daily Caller, freshman enrollment at public universities decreased by 8.5% in 2024 compared to 2023, while private enrollment dropped by 6.5% in the same span of time. This comes despite the fact that freshman enrollment rose slightly in 2023 compared to 2022, with a mere 0.8% increase.

Commentary: Extending Tax-Credit Scholarships

October 24, 2024 American Greatness

According to a just-released Education Opportunity in America report by 50CAN, only 39% of public school parents are satisfied with their child’s education.

Other polling results are also discouraging. Released in August, EdChoice’s annual Schooling in America Survey revealed that 64% of parents think K–12 education in America is on the wrong track. Not only is this an eight-point increase from last year, but it is also the highest level of pessimism among parents since the question was first asked in 2014.

Tim Walz Welcomed Chinese Communist Party Officials into His Nebraska Classroom

October 23, 2024October 23, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, welcomed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials into his Nebraska classroom while working as a teacher in the 1990s, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.

In February 1996, a delegation of three “educators” from southeast China visited Walz’s Alliance High School social studies class “to study the education system,” according to an unearthed Alliance Times-Herald article. However, the delegation included CCP officials who at the time worked for an institute serving a Chinese influence and intelligence agency, according to a DCNF review of Chinese government records.

Voters Overwhelmingly Say Schools Should Not Keep Student Gender Transitions Hidden

October 22, 2024October 21, 2024 The Center Square

The overwhelming majority of Americans do not believe schools should hide a student’s gender change at school from parents, according to a recent poll of over 2,200 likely voters.

The issue of parental notification regarding a student’s gender transition has been hotly contested in recent years, especially in California, where the state has sided against school districts that have passed policies to let parents know students are using different names or pronouns.

Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Implementation of Bible Lessons in Oklahoma Schools

October 18, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

A group of parents, teachers and religious leaders filed a lawsuit Thursday with the Oklahoma Supreme Court challenging a new state requirement to teach the Bible in public schools.

Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters announced the mandate for children in grades five through 12 be taught lessons on the Bible “as an instructional support into the curriculum” in June, and was quickly met with pushback from schools refusing to implement the rule. The suit alleges the mandate, which allocates $3 million to the Bibles, violates the state Constitution’s prohibition on spending public funds on religious items and is contrary to religious freedom.

Poll: Americans Broadly Support Federal School Choice Program

October 17, 2024October 16, 2024 The Center Square

A new national poll shows a majority of Americans support school choice measures that would allow families to use taxpayer funds to attend a private school.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll conducted by Noble Predictive Insights found that over two-thirds of the more than 2,200 likely voters polled support giving families choices using public funds.

Minnesota Teachers Union Conference to Feature Sessions on ‘Pronoun Usage,’ ‘2SLGBTQIA+’ Ideology

October 15, 2024October 15, 2024 Alpha News

Public school teachers from across Minnesota will meet in St. Paul Oct. 17 to participate in a conference put on by Education Minnesota, the state’s teachers union.

At Education Minnesota’s 2024 MEA Conference, educators will learn about, and discuss, various public education topics in conference sessions throughout the day. While some of those sessions appear to cover noncontroversial topics, others are steeped in what Center of the American Experiment policy fellow Catrin Wigfall described as “ideological agendas.”

Scholars Refuse to Provide Details on $30 Million Effort to ‘Braid’ Indigenous Knowledge into Science

October 13, 2024 The College Fix

Two top scholars leading a $30 million federally funded effort to “braid” indigenous knowledge into science are ignoring requests for comment to explain exactly what that looks like in practice.

Moms for Liberty Defeats School District That Birthed It, Speaking Rules Deemed Unconstitutional

October 12, 2024 Just the News

The Florida school district that birthed Moms for Liberty as a repudiation of its COVID-19 mandates on their children is parenting the conservative group all wrong, so to speak, according to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Its Tuesday ruling smacked down Brevard Public Schools and four current and former school board members for unconstitutional restrictions on public comments at their meetings in a lawsuit by Moms for Liberty’s founding Brevard County chapter and its members, putting public schools on notice across the court’s jurisdiction of the Sunshine State, Alabama and Georgia.

School Choice Helps Close Performance Gap for Low-Income Students, Study Finds

October 12, 2024October 11, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Cities with robust charter school programs have drastically lowered the performance gap between low-income students and their peers, a study published in October found.

The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) found that student performance rose in every city with a majority of low-income students when 33% or more are enrolled in charter schools, according to the report. Non-white students make up a large percentage of those benefiting from school choice policies.

Migrants Are Overwhelming School Districts in Pennsylvania, Saddling Taxpayers with Hefty Price Tag

October 11, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

A massive influx in non-English speaking students in Pennsylvania is overwhelming school districts across the state, and the logistical strain on administrators could be leaving other students behind.

The number of English Language Learners (ELL) in school districts in Pennsylvania has surged nearly 40% since 2021, forcing public schools to shell out more cash to try and meet the needs of these students, according to documents obtained via records requests and open-source information reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The surge for many schools began in the 2021-2022 academic school year, coinciding with the onset of the Biden-Harris administration and the subsequent border crisis.

Kansas Professor Leaves School over Backlash to Video Calling to Shoot Men Who Won’t Vote for Harris

October 11, 2024 Just the News

AUniversity of Kansas (KU) professor is no longer employed at the school as of Friday, after a video of him claiming men that do not vote for Vice President Kamala Harris because of her gender should be “lined up” and “shot,” went viral, according to local reports.

Supreme Court Declines to Take Case Alleging Weaponization of DOJ Against Parents Who Spoke Out Against Schools

October 7, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected to take on a case that accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of targeting parents who voiced concerns over school curricula, mask mandates and vaccine requirements.

CDC: Record Number of Kindergartners Had Vaccine Exemptions in 2023-24 School Year

October 4, 2024 Just the News

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday revealed that the 2023-2024 academic school year held the record for the most kindergartners declining at least one vaccination.

The CDC said a total of 3.3% of kindergartners nationwide, equaling 127,000 kindergartners, were granted exemptions on at least one vaccine, which beats the previous record of 3% in the 2022-2023 school year.

Commentary: Classical v. Unclassical Curricula

October 3, 2024 American Greatness

Chad Aldeman, a Virginia-based researcher who focuses on education-related issues, recently detailed the educational experience of his daughter, who completed sixth grade in June. He writes that her teachers didn’t use textbooks, assign homework, or expect kids to study at home for tests, didn’t teach kids to sound out words, and didn’t drill times tables. He also mentions that there were no spelling tests, students didn’t practice handwriting of any kind, cursive or otherwise, and didn’t learn the 50 states and their capitals, let alone world geography.

Aldeman is very concerned by this shift, arguing that her educational experience has “reduced instructional time devoted to science and social studies and emphasized isolated skills such as critical thinking or reading comprehension over teaching students a coherent body of knowledge and facts.”

Minnesota Teacher Fired over Vax Mandate Warns: Gov. Tim Walz Is a ‘Petty Tyrant’ and ‘Not a Man of Reason’

October 1, 2024September 30, 2024 Alpha News

A college instructor who taught for nearly 30 years was fired due to the strict COVID protocols in Minnesota — just weeks before they were rescinded.

Russ Stewart was an instructor at Lake Superior College in Duluth where he taught ethics, logic and philosophy. The school is part of the Minnesota State System of Colleges and Universities and, as such, Stewart was a state employee.

Universities Secretly Take Billions in Foreign ‘Ghost Dollars’: Report

September 30, 2024 The Center Square

American colleges and universities are accepting billions of dollars in foreign money without reporting it, according to a new report.

The National Association of Scholars released the report, which says that taking money from foreign governments and organizations without reporting it has become commonplace among American universities.

Arizona State University Scholars Ruben Espinosa and Curtis Austin Condemn ‘White Ownership’ of English Playwright and Poet William Shakespeare

September 30, 2024 The College Fix

Two faculty members condemned “white ownership” of William Shakespeare and the state’s manipulation of black history during an “Appropriation Series” at Arizona State University last week.

The scholars are pushing for changes in curriculum and leadership that reflect more “diverse” voices. During the panel, they spoke to eleven ASU students in the audience and other faculty members via Zoom.

New Research Shows Students from Schools That Closed During COVID Are Not Returning

September 30, 2024 The Center Square

New research shows that school enrollment has declined in over 5,000 public schools in the U.S., suggesting families are rejecting traditional schools because of the pandemic.

The Fordham Institute’s new study, conducted by researcher Sofoklis Goulas from the Brookings Institution, released Wednesday, found that families were over twice as likely to leave low-performing public schools.

Commentary: Contaminating Children’s Minds and Ruining Their Future

September 28, 2024 American Greatness

In parts one and two of this series, we’ve examined how Democrats and their poisoned ideology have declared war on America’s children. If anyone has any doubt as to the intention of the Progressive left to poison the minds of children and ruin their future, look no further than America’s teachers’ unions, especially Randi Weingarten’s American Federation of Teachers.

Historically working in tandem with the Democrat Party, teachers’ unions are intense advocates for curriculum that does not include basic knowledge to get ahead in life. Rather than actual education, its agenda includes social justice propaganda, racial division, climate change dogma, and promotion of sexual deviancy.

Investment Giants Leveraged Texas Universities’ Endowment Funds to Back Anti-Oil Agenda, Report Finds

September 27, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Several asset managers leveraged two major Texas university systems’ endowment funds to advance anti-fossil fuel shareholder proposals in 2022 and 2023, according to a report from the conservative watchdog group American Accountability Foundation (AAF).

BlackRock-owned Aperio Group, Cantillon, former Vice President Al Gore-chaired Generation Investment Management, GQG Partners and JP Morgan Asset Management collectively manage approximately $4 billion for The University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) as of July, which handles the university systems’ endowments.

Ivy League School Suspends Conservative Professor Amy Wax for a Year on ‘Zero Evidence’ of Discrimination

September 27, 2024 Just the News

Six years after the University of Pennsylvania sanctioned a tenured law professor for allegedly lying about the academic performance of black students but never itself providing the supposedly correct figures, the Ivy League school seems to be daring another one to quit or sue.

Commentary: The Coming Election’s Effect on Education

September 26, 2024 American Greatness

At the recent Donald Trump-Kamala Harris debate, the subject of education was nonexistent. Despite its hot button nature, the moderators did not broach the subject, and some parents are angry.

Michele Exner, a senior advisor at Parents Defending Education, commented that despite student literacy having “hit a crisis point,” those who were already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic are being failed now. Yet, the moderators did not ask one single question about education. “They completely ignored one of the top issues parents are worried about.”

Democrats Want ‘Climate Literacy’ in Schools as Actual Literacy Slips

September 23, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

The Democratic Party is pushing to increase “literacy” on climate change-related material in America’s schools while students are performing poorly with respect to actual literacy.

The party’s education platform mentions the importance of “climate literacy” for American K-12 students several times, emphasizing the purported need for students to be able to understand and interpret information relating to climate change. Meanwhile, the average reading score for both fourth and eighth grade students in 2022 had fallen by three points relative to 2019, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Group That Pushed SCOTUS to End Affirmative Action ‘Gravely Concerned’ Elite Colleges Aren’t Complying with Ruling

September 18, 2024September 17, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

The Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) sent letters Tuesday to Yale, Princeton and Duke questioning the universities’ compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action and threatening litigation.

The letters said SFFA is “gravely concerned that these schools are not complying” with the June 2023 landmark Supreme Court case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, in which the Court ruled race-based admission practices to be unconstitutional. Suspicions were raised by many over the admissions policies of the elite universities after the student demographics for the class of 2028 revealed little change compared to the previous year when the schools followed affirmative action policies.

Six Juveniles Arrested Since Sunday over Online Terroristic Threats Made to Alabama Schools

September 11, 2024 Admin

A total of six juveniles have been arrested and charged with making terroristic threats that sent shockwaves through the River Region over the weekend after multiple social media posts making violent threats to surrounding schools flooded social media.

University of Minnesota DEI Professor Reported to Bias Team for Using ‘Piñata of Shame’ Phrase

September 10, 2024 The College Fix

University of Minnesota Professor Valerie Tiberius

An anonymous person reported a University of Minnesota (UMinn) professor to the bias team for using the phrase “piñata of shame” in an editorial.

It is one of the 175 bias reports filed in the 2023-24 school year and obtained recently by The College Fix through a records request.

More Than a Dozen States Pledge to Address Chronic Absenteeism Crisis in Public Schools

September 9, 2024 The Center Square

Fourteen states have joined an effort to cut chronic student absenteeism by 50% over the next five years.

New England Christian Schools Ask Appeals Courts for Justice Against State Discrimination

September 9, 2024 Just the News

Christian schools in New England are fighting for their right to participate in state-run programs without compromising their beliefs, including that sex trumps gender identity, sexuality is reserved for heterosexual marriage and Christianity is the only path to salvation.

Public interest law firms announced appeals of lower court decisions in favor of Maine and Vermont in the 1st and 2nd U.S. Circuit courts of appeal on behalf of Crosspoint Church, which runs Bangor Christian School, and Mid Vermont Christian School and a family whose children attend there.

Elite Universities Ranked Lowest for Free Speech, Report Finds

September 8, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Some of the most prominent elite universities in the nation have been ranked lowest for freedom of speech, according to a report released Thursday.

Harvard, Columbia, New York University (NYU), the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and Barnard College make up the bottom five in a free speech ranking of 251 universities, according to a report by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse. The report cited several incidents of “suppression of free expression” at the schools, including disruption of events and sanctions on students and staff for expressing their views as the reasoning behind the schools’ low rankings.

Former Minnesota School Board Member Sues over Explicit Snapchat, Seeks Board Return

September 7, 2024September 6, 2024 Alpha News

A former West Central Area School District board member is suing multiple individuals after resigning last year over a sexually explicit video he posted on Snapchat.

According to the lawsuit, Jared Olson, who recently filed to return to the school board, claims the video was intended for his wife, but was instead shared to his Snapchat “stories” by accident.