Public Education

"A judge has ordered a Virginia school district to reinstate an elementary school teacher who was placed on leave after criticizing a proposed policy that would require him and other teachers to use the preferred names and pronouns of trans-identified students." - C.Post

"In many schools, meditation advocates have reframed religious practices such as meditation and yoga as secular to avoid legal challenges." - RNS

"While the recently signed legislation, HB 377, does not ban the teaching of critical race theory, it prohibits all public schools, including institutions of higher education and school districts, from teaching that 'any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.'" - C.Post

"The board had moved to forge ahead with a controversial plan to change the names of 44 schools that honor figures [allegedly] linked to historical racism or oppression. But on Tuesday, the board voted unanimously to suspend the effort when it approved a resolution saying it 'wishes to avoid the distraction and wasteful expenditure of public funds in frivolous litigation.'" - NPR

"In an address of sweeping historical breadth that quoted everyone from T.S. Eliot and Ronald Reagan to Russell Kirk, Secretary DeVos corrected two widespread misconceptions about U.S. education. First, she exposed the dichotomy between government-run education and family empowerment through choice.

"Some schools are preparing for the worst. Los Angeles and San Diego are opting for a completely virtual start to the year. ...Other districts are working on hybrid plans....Uncertainty, it seems, appears to be the only certain thing around." - WORLD

"In a new study from the American Enterprise Institute, however, researcher Lyman Stone finds a different answer. After consolidating data from a 400-year period, he identifies 'two compelling explanations: the expansion of secular education and the decline in marriage.'" - Acton

"In observance of National Religious Freedom Day, President Donald Trump hosted a gathering today (Jan. 16) of students from different religions to affirm the right of students to pray in school." - BPNews