Senate Confirms Catherine Lhamon to Civil Rights Post; Kamala Harris Casts Decisive Vote
“The Senate has confirmed Catherine Lhamon to lead the U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights, one of the most prominent jobs in the federal education bureaucracy. The Wednesday vote means that Lhamon, as assistant secretary for civil rights, will once again take charge of the office she led during the Obama administration. Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate to seal Lhamon’s confirmation. The Senate education committee’s consideration of her nomination resulted in a tie vote, meaning that an extra procedural step had to take place before her nomination was put to the full Senate for a final vote.” - Education Week, 10/20/21
The Next Place Woke Bureaucrats Want To Indoctrinate Kids Is In ‘Media Literacy’
“One of the stealth programs designed to hoodwink parents is labeled 'media literacy' or 'information literacy.' Curricula under these banners supposedly develop students’ 'ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms.' This sounds harmless enough, and perhaps even arguably useful in an age when students are chained to social media. But in practice, media literacy is actually critical media literacy, indoctrinating students to adopt only progressive principles offered by progressive media outlets.” - The Federalist, 10/20/21
State laws are corrupting the study of history by forcing 'opposing viewpoints' in the classroom
“SB3 and comparable legislation introduced in 27 states corrupts the study of history and reduces students to political pawns. Children deserve to learn history from teachers who are professionally trained to teach it, and they are entitled to a curriculum consistent with professional scholarship. If that history includes criticism of our nation, its institutions or even its people, such reckoning can take place constructively and even respectfully. But it is likely to generate 'discomfort,' and teachers should not be required (or even expected) to comfort students with an 'opposing viewpoint' that runs contrary to available evidence.” - The Hill, 10/20/21
John Eastman Is Not a Victim of Cancel Culture
“But what Eastman complains about is not cancel culture. Eastman actively sought to help Trump steal an election he did not win. Had they succeeded, the peaceful and orderly transfer of power that is the hallmark of any democracy would have been threatened for the first time in our nation’s history. Seeking to subvert and damage our democracy is not the same as speaking freely, and it does not warrant any platform. Once our nation’s leaders refuse to be bound by the rule of law, the entire underpinning of our liberal democracy is lost.” - The Atlantic, 10/20/21
Biden plan pits Hispanic-serving colleges against HBCUs
“On the higher education front, increased advocacy could cause tension between Hispanic-serving institutions and other minority-serving institutions as they fight over the same small pot of money in the multitrillion-dollar social spending package. The Build Back Better Act looks to allot $2 billion for research and development infrastructure and $1.5 billion in new funding for direct aid to all minority-serving institutions — an ill-considered division of dollars HBCU and HSI advocates say.” - Politico, 10/20/21
‘Promises Made Just Have to Be Promises Kept’: Black Colleges Feel Stung by Democrats
“As part of President Biden’s sprawling domestic policy agenda, he proposed tens of billions of dollars for historically Black colleges and universities as a long-overdue down payment on leveling the playing field between them and their wealthier, predominantly white-serving counterparts. But as Mr. Biden’s $3.5 trillion vision to rebuild the nation’s physical and social infrastructure has met the realities of a divided Congress and a shrinking spending plan, funding for some of the nation’s most underresourced higher education institutions has fallen way short.” - New York Times, 10/20/21
Pandemic fueled huge online-only enrollment growth, report finds
“Student enrollment in exclusively distance education saw a significant increase in 2020 due to institutions offering courses virtually that would have normally been offered on-campus, new data suggests. That's according to an annual report from the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, or NC-SARA ... Around 5.8 million college students were enrolled in exclusively distance education in SARA-participating institutions in fall 2020, nearly double the number of students whose courses were entirely remote the previous year. NC-SARA collected data from 2,201 institutions.” - Higher Ed Dive, 10/20/21
Parents Sue AG Garland for Violating Free Speech Rights with FBI School-Board Memo
“A federal civil rights lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of a coalition of parents against Attorney General Merrick Garland, claiming that his recent memo directing the FBI to investigate and potentially prosecute 'threats' leveled by parents against school board members is intended to chill speech. Judeo-Christian public interest law firm American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) brought the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of parents from Saline, Mich., and Loudoun County, Va. Both towns have developed reputations as hot spots for school board fights over equity and inclusion initiatives and critical race theory.” - National Review, 10/19/21
Against ‘Diversity Statements’
“A college professor is expected to do all kinds of things apart from research and teaching. Those duties include cooperating with the admissions office to bring in students and working with the advancement office to bring in cash. That also involves joining committees devoted to academic standards, work conditions, athletics, technology, and diversity. But for a growing number of universities, the last form of work is decisive, or so their job advertisements suggest.” - Commentary, 10/19/21
Christian Schools Boom in a Revolt Against Curriculum and Pandemic Rules
“In the 2019-20 school year, 3.5 million of the 54 million American schoolchildren attended religious schools, including almost 600,000 in 'conservative Christian' schools, according to the latest count by the Education Department. Those numbers are now growing. The median member school in the Association of Christian Schools International, one of the country’s largest networks of evangelical schools, grew its K-12 enrollment by 12 percent between 2019-20 and 2020-21. The Association of Classical Christian Schools, another conservative network, expanded to educating about 59,200 students this year from an estimated 50,500 in the 2018-19 school year.” - New York Times, 10/19/21
