TAG · Religion & Society
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's former deputy chief of staff Alex Kelly was named last week as the sole finalist for president of Pensacola State College, making him at least the 12th close ally of the term-limited governor to win a state…
2026-09-11 · 6 MIN READThe Justice Department filed four lawsuits Thursday against Hawaii, Arkansas, Utah and Washington, D.C., challenging state and local policies that extend in-state college tuition benefits to certain noncitizens. The filings bring the Trump…
2026-09-11 · 3 MIN READAn August Gallup poll shared exclusively with The Associated Press found 32% of American adults are 'completely' or 'somewhat' satisfied with the U.S. K-12 school system, an 11-point drop over two years and the lowest in 27 years of Gallup…
2026-09-08 · 3 MIN READMichigan third-grade reading proficiency fell to 38.2% on the state's 2026 standardized test — the lowest rate in the 12-year history of the assessment, according to results released Friday and reported by the Associated Press via Bridge…
2026-09-04 · 3 MIN READThe U.S. Education Department published the 2023-24 Civil Rights Data Collection on its website this week, about six months past the agency's own deadline for releasing the data. The dataset, drawn from nearly every public school in the…
2026-09-04 · 6 MIN READCalifornia lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk that would clarify how schools spend the roughly $1 billion in annual arts education funding created by Proposition 28, after reaching a compromise with Austin Beutner, the…
2026-09-03 · 4 MIN READSeven parents in a Philadelphia suburb have filed a federal lawsuit against the Lower Merion School District, arguing that a district technology policy under which parents cannot opt their children out of internet-connected devices at…
2026-08-31 · 3 MIN READA new federal program called Workforce Pell is expanding Pell grant eligibility to some short-term job training programs, ending a decades-long requirement that eligible programs run at least 15 weeks and 600 hours. Forsyth Technical…
2026-08-31 · 3 MIN READMeta this week announced new restrictions on how teenagers can use Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp as part of an $18bn (£13.25bn) settlement with US states over social media's effects on children. The company said it would set a daily…
2026-08-28 · 4 MIN READThe Federal Communications Commission is reviewing E-Rate, the federal program that helps schools pay for broadband service. The Associated Press reported that the review could end the program. More than 96,000 schools apply each year for…
2026-08-24 · 3 MIN READEducators in North Charleston, South Carolina, gathered in a high school auditorium ahead of the new school year and watched an artificial intelligence tool generate a world map riddled with misspellings. Instructor Amanda Bickerstaff…
2026-08-21 · 4 MIN READAn estimated 400,000 children were on waitlists for federal childcare assistance programs in the second half of 2025, according to a May report from the National Women's Law Center — a figure that has more than tripled in roughly two…
2026-08-19 · 4 MIN READTrump signed an executive order Monday urging parents to spread out childhood vaccines across more visits to pediatricians' offices and encouraging states to mandate fewer vaccines for school attendance. The order also directs the…
2026-08-10 · 3 MIN READMichigan schools physically restrain students or place them in seclusion thousands of times a year, according to a Bridge Michigan report published by the Associated Press. Many of the students affected are children with disabilities. The…
2026-08-14 · 3 MIN READ
Michigan schools physically restrain or seclude students thousands of times a year, with many of those students having disabilities, according to reporting by Bridge Michigan. The practice continues nearly a decade after the state enacted…
2026-08-14 · 3 MIN READThe University of Michigan will drop letter grades for first-semester freshmen starting in fall 2027, showing "pass or no credit" on transcripts instead. The university framed the pilot as an effort to curb a mental health crisis among…
2026-08-11 · 3 MIN READUNESCO said Tuesday that an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban took over the country. The Paris-based U.N. agency renewed its call for the immediate restoration of their…
2026-08-11 · 3 MIN READU.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent an open letter to American colleges on Monday asking administrators to commit to changes aligned with the Trump administration's higher education agenda before the end of the year. The letter…
2026-08-03 · 3 MIN READAn investigative report released Tuesday found that Old Dominion University was not told about Mohamed Bailor Jalloh's criminal history before or after his readmission to the school. Jalloh, who had spent eight years in prison for…
2026-07-28 · 3 MIN READThe Clinton Foundation on Monday launched the Clinton Policy Institute, a new initiative to help state and local governments develop nonpartisan policy solutions in health, economic security, and democracy, the organization announced.
2026-07-27 · 3 MIN READOklahoma voters will decide Aug. 25 whether to amend the state constitution to allow the Legislature to stop reimbursing local governments for property tax revenue lost when manufacturing facilities take advantage of a five-year tax…
2026-07-24 · 4 MIN READThe U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that the University of California San Diego School of Medicine unlawfully used race in its admissions process, favoring Black and Hispanic applicants over white and Asian applicants.
2026-07-21 · 3 MIN READThe number of federal student loan borrowers in default surged by more than 4.2 million in the year through March 2026, according to an Associated Press analysis, as pandemic-era protections lapsed and payments resumed. Around 9.5 million…
2026-07-20 · 3 MIN READCalifornia's fourth-grade reading scores have inched upward since the state began a multi-billion-dollar overhaul of its literacy programs, but a shortage of trained literacy coaches is limiting further gains, according to education…
2026-07-20 · 4 MIN READTeachers across Mississippi say the state's new digital platform for purchasing classroom supplies has made it harder for them to access their $748 annual allotment weeks before the 2026-2027 school year begins, according to the Associated…
2026-07-16 · 4 MIN READA Treasury select committee investigation has concluded that government promotional materials for student loans in England and Wales "amounted to mis-selling," citing comparisons to mobile phone contracts and a failure to disclose that…
2026-07-07 · 3 MIN READFlorida's Board of Education voted Tuesday to bar undocumented students from attending the state's 28 public colleges and universities, sparking criticism from immigrant advocates who called the move cruel and questioned its legality.
2026-07-02 · 3 MIN READThe Education Department has not released its Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2023-24 school year, now six months past its own December deadline. Lindsay Kubatzky, policy director at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said…
2026-07-02 · 4 MIN READThe U.S. Department of Education officially ended the SAVE student loan repayment plan on Wednesday, triggering a 90-day window for more than 7 million borrowers to choose a new repayment option as part of a broader overhaul of the federal…
2026-07-01 · 3 MIN READAs of July 1, federal Pell Grant dollars became available for short-term workforce training programs for the first time, but few existing nondegree courses meet the new eligibility criteria, leaving community colleges working to reshape…
2026-06-30 · 3 MIN READThe U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits Monday against Massachusetts and Rhode Island, arguing that state laws providing in-state tuition to certain undocumented immigrants violate a 1996 federal statute barring states from offering…
2026-06-30 · 3 MIN READThe Texas State Board of Education voted 9-5 on June 26 to approve a statewide reading list that will require Bible passages for more than 5 million public school students.
2026-06-29 · 3 MIN READThe Trump administration is moving significant portions of the U.S. Department of Education to other federal agencies through a series of interagency agreements, reshaping the landscape for students, states, and educational institutions…
2026-06-29 · 3 MIN READThe Trump administration's new caps on federal graduate student loans take effect July 1, limiting annual borrowing to $20,500, as economists remain divided over whether the limits will force colleges to lower tuition. Republicans have…
2026-06-28 · 3 MIN READThe Texas State Board of Education on Friday approved a new statewide reading list that will require Bible passages for more than 5 million public school students, advancing a conservative push to increase the role of religion in…
2026-06-26 · 3 MIN READA suburban Philadelphia school board voted 7-2 to repeal a policy that allowed parents to opt their children out of using school-issued devices, triggering angry protests from hundreds of parents who said the district was ignoring their…
2026-06-21 · 3 MIN READNew College of Florida, the liberal arts school seized by Gov. Ron DeSantis and remade into a flagship of his conservative higher education agenda, will triple its footprint next month by acquiring the Sarasota-Manatee campus of the…
2026-06-21 · 4 MIN READThe Trump administration on Tuesday announced it will move two of the U.S. Department of Education's largest offices — the Office for Civil Rights and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services — to the Justice Department…
2026-06-16 · 3 MIN READThe U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights division has launched investigations into 15 medical schools over allegations that their admissions processes may illegally use race as a factor, the department announced Thursday. The move…
2026-06-04 · 4 MIN READFormer Alabama football coach Nick Saban testified Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee in support of a bipartisan bill that would regulate payments to college athletes, limit player transfers, and restrict coaches from leaving…
2026-06-03 · 3 MIN READMore than 1,100 University of California math and science professors have urged UC regents to reinstate college-entrance exams, citing a sharp decline in student readiness that they say is lowering academic standards and straining teaching…
2026-06-02 · 3 MIN READMichigan has shifted away from requiring parents to attend in-person vaccine education sessions before obtaining school immunization waivers, adopting a hybrid online process as the state faces a measles outbreak and a record-high rate of…
2026-06-02 · 3 MIN READThe Treasury Select Committee of MPs began an inquiry into England's student loan system on Tuesday, as new research shows that a record 34% of people in 2025 believe a university degree is not worth the time and money — up from 14% in…
2026-06-01 · 3 MIN READHarvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to cap the share of A grades undergraduates can earn in letter-graded courses, the university announced. The policy will take effect in the academic year beginning in 2027, after a faculty vote…
2026-05-21 · 3 MIN READThe U.S. Department of Education fired thousands of workers last year, but the agency’s Office of Federal Student Aid is now adding about 380 new employees, according to internal documents obtained by NPR. The hires come as the Education…
2026-05-21 · 3 MIN READA coalition of Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit challenging new federal caps on student loans, arguing the limits will hinder students seeking certain healthcare degrees. The plaintiffs said the rule would…
2026-05-20 · 3 MIN READMichigan State University trustees voted 5-3 on Sunday night to adopt an updated ethics policy, with several members saying the changes reinforce obligations while others warn it could be used to silence dissent. The policy requires…
2026-05-20 · 3 MIN READA coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia sued in federal court Tuesday to challenge a Trump administration rule that narrows access to federal student loans for borrowers earning certain graduate degrees in healthcare-related…
2026-05-19 · 3 MIN READMichigan State University trustees must sign an updated board ethics policy by this weekend after approving the changes 5-3 during a special Sunday night meeting. The new policy outlines fiduciary duties, prohibits undermining board…
2026-05-19 · 3 MIN READA coalition of Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration to challenge new caps on federal student loans, saying the limits will restrict access to certain health care training. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, argues the rules will…
2026-05-19 · 3 MIN READEight Republican governors have announced partnerships to establish Turning Point USA chapters in every public high school in their states, an effort they describe as countering the suppression of conservative voices in education. The push…
2026-05-17 · 3 MIN READNationally, American students remain nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading scores, and the decline predates COVID-19 disruptions by years, according to a new Education Scorecard from researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and…
2026-05-14 · 3 MIN READCalifornia State University trustees voted to let campuses create three new types of shortened bachelor’s degrees, with a minimum of 90 units that typically take three years to complete. The system says the move is aimed at attracting more…
2026-05-13 · 3 MIN READThe California State University system's trustees voted unanimously last week to permit campuses to develop three-year bachelor's degree programs, a move aimed at attracting working-age adults and stemming enrollment declines across the…
2026-05-13 · 3 MIN READTens of thousands of Argentines protested Tuesday against President Javier Milei’s funding cuts to the public university system, as marches drew students and other demonstrators in major cities including Buenos Aires. Protesters denounced…
2026-05-13 · 3 MIN READThe American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday issued its first updated guidance on school recess in 13 years, calling unstructured play breaks essential for children's academic success and warning that schools should never withhold recess…
2026-05-10 · 4 MIN READCalifornia is preparing to launch its first registered teacher apprenticeship program this fall, offering aspiring educators a pathway to earn a wage and a teaching credential simultaneously, even as the state grapples with a persistent…
2026-05-10 · 5 MIN READCalifornia is rolling out its first registered apprenticeship program for teachers this fall, aiming to help students earn a wage while working toward a credential. The effort arrives as the state grapples with persistent staffing gaps,…
2026-05-10 · 3 MIN READThe Connecticut Senate voted 22-14 early Tuesday to pass the state's first regulations on homeschooling, requiring families to notify the state of their education plans and barring anyone under investigation for child abuse from…
2026-05-06 · 3 MIN READConnecticut’s Senate on Monday passed a bill that sets the state’s first homeschooling regulations, voting 22-14 shortly before midnight after a debate that split largely along party lines. The measure heads next to Democratic Gov. Ned…
2026-05-06 · 3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday revived the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, tying it to a return of an annual physical fitness test in U.S. schools. Speaking at an Oval Office event with children and athletes, Trump said his…
2026-05-06 · 3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump brought back the Presidential Physical Fitness Award in an Oval Office ceremony Tuesday, resurrecting a decades-old tradition that had been phased out under President Barack Obama.
2026-05-06 · 3 MIN READCalifornia lawmakers are weighing Senate Bill 1067, which would require schools to screen all kindergartners and first- and second-graders for basic math skills and provide extra help for students who need it. The proposal comes as…
2026-04-29 · 3 MIN READPlaintiffs in New Mexico’s landmark Yazzie/Martinez education case have asked a judge to let them rewrite the state Public Education Department’s court-ordered reform plan. In a joint motion, the plaintiffs outlined a potentially…
2026-04-29 · 4 MIN READMichigan is testing a pilot that will let eligible home-based child-care providers offer no-cost pre-K to some 3- or 4-year-olds, expanding the state’s “pre-K for all” effort beyond traditional schools and centers. The Associated Press…
2026-04-28 · 3 MIN READConnecticut Democrats won final passage for Gov. Ned Lamont’s vaccine recommendations bill in the state Senate on Thursday, with an uncharacteristically early 22-12 vote. The measure would expand the authority of the Public Health…
2026-04-26 · 3 MIN READThe number of 4-year-olds attending state-funded preschools hit record highs last school year, a new report found, driven by states expanding access and spending. The gains bring more children into public early education, but the report…
2026-04-26 · 3 MIN READCourt rulings are bolstering state mandates to display the Ten Commandments in U.S. public schools as supporters press for a larger role for religion in classrooms. On Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower-court…
2026-04-22 · 3 MIN READThe 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Texas can require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, rejecting arguments that the policy amounts to religious indoctrination. The 9-8 decision reverses a…
2026-04-22 · 3 MIN READOhio State University said an investigation found former president Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. violated school policy by trying to help a woman with whom he had a close personal relationship get a job and access to university resources. The…
2026-04-22 · 3 MIN READGov. Mark Gordon signed an executive order Wednesday directing the state to implement a federal summer meal assistance program for Wyoming children, moving unilaterally after the legislature rejected the initiative three times in as many…
2026-04-20 · 5 MIN READOrick Elementary School District in northern Humboldt County operates a single kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school with nine students. California spends $118,000 per pupil per year to keep it open — more than five times the state…
2026-04-20 · 3 MIN READRenewable energy sources surpassed coal as a share of global electricity generation for the first time in modern history in 2025, driven by record solar expansion in China and India, according to a comprehensive analysis by Ember, an…
2026-04-20 · 4 MIN READMore than 60 bills named after conservative activist Charlie Kirk have been proposed in over 20 states, according to an Associated Press analysis. The measures—ranging from campus free-speech protections to requirements that public schools…
2026-04-18 · 3 MIN READThe Tennessee Senate voted 18-14 on Thursday to expand the state's school voucher program to 35,000 vouchers for the 2026-27 academic year, nearly doubling the current enrollment. The expansion will direct approximately $260 million in…
2026-04-17 · 3 MIN READPalestinian siblings attempting to walk to school in the occupied West Bank found their path blocked by coiled barbed wire that Israeli settlers had installed overnight, according to video provided to the Associated Press. When students…
2026-04-16 · 5 MIN READDemocrats in Congress introduced resolutions aimed at overturning Trump administration changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, arguing the rule is political and could deny relief to some eligible borrowers. The program cancels…
2026-04-15 · 3 MIN READMichigan’s high school graduation rate hit a new high last year, but education advocates say only 27% of students left prepared for college based on state test performance. As chronic absenteeism and uneven access to career and college…
2026-04-14 · 3 MIN READTexas Tech University System chancellor Brandon Creighton ordered campuses to phase out academic programs “centered on” sexual orientation and gender identity, and to freeze admissions and bar students from declaring majors in the affected…
2026-04-14 · 3 MIN READ
