ICYMI: MLK Weekend Edition (1/15)

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is a test that many districts fail. Districts in my neck of the woods take the weenie's way out-- it's an in-service day for teachers, and a day off for students, so no matter how you feel about the day, the district can claim it's in your corner. If you are in a place that doesn't enact such shenanigans, congratulations. 

Here's some reading for the week, which is scattered all over the place. Remember to share.

Pennridge LGBTQ students feel ‘erased’ after losing Pride symbols in schools, as Central Bucks considers its own ban

Exceptional piece from Emily Rizzo at WHYY/PBS, in which she actually talks to students about how a local version of Don't Say Gay affects them. The best quote, though, is from the Education Law Center: "Being gay or transgender is not a political statement that a student is making and with which others can agree or disagree; it is their identity and must be respected.”

Charter school innovation shouldn’t come at the expense of constitutional protections for students

One more piece about that dress code lawsuit that SCOTUS may or may not hear. Tressa Pankovits at The Hill manages to spot the issues at hand.

How School Security Changed Since the Pandemic, in 5 Charts

From EdWeek, by Sarah Sparks, a collection of interesting factoids in chart form. Make of them what you will.

5-4 Podcast on Kennedy v. Bremerton

I am not much of a podcast guy, but the CMO (Chief Marital Officer) here at the institute loves them, and she's recently been listening to 5-4, a podcast that looks at close decisions by the Supreme Court. This episode looks at the case of the post-game prayer coach. It's a good breakdown of the case. Warning: you could level a small country with the number of f-bombs these folks set off.

‘Public school dollars have to go to public schools’: Beshear backs charter school lawsuit

The courts decided that Kentucky's constitution does not allow for tax credit scholarships. Now that same reasoning is being used against charters. A report from LinkNKY.

Caldwell School District meeting ends in chaos

In Idaho, a first term legislator decides to do some grandstanding and lead an attack on elected school board members. 

Steve Perry and P. Diddy Harlem Charter School: Only One 8th Grader Proficient On State Math Test

Gary Rubinstein reports on yet another uninspiring moment in the history of Dr. Steve Perry.

Pro-Voucher Lobbying Group Funds a Questionable Report to Support Its Fight

Meanwhile, Jan Resseger in Ohio looks at a questionable piece of research put up by voucher lobbying groups hoping to squelch the Vouchers Hurt Ohio lawsuit.

DeVos-funded campaign for school voucher-like plan withdraws petitions in a sign of defeat

Betsy DeVos suffers another defeat, or rather, packs it in before the actual defeat arrives. Vouchers lose yet again. Story at Chalkbeat Detroit.

The Conservatives Who Attacked School Boards in 2022 Are Now Going After Libraries

In The New Republic, Melissa Gira Grant takes a look at the newest outgrowth of Moms for Liberty-- Moms for Libraries. And yeah, that's not "for" as in "we support them" so much as "for" as in "we are out to get them."

Keep Your Hands Off My Curriculum

Nancy Flanagan has some thoughts about people who want to tell teachers what not to teach. 

New data shows fewer students per counselor at nation’s schools, but caseloads remain high

Chalkbeat with a story about another one of those slow-brewing quiet crises-- schools are running short on guidance counselors.

A Leap in the Rankings When Nothing’s Changed

John Warner with another installment on Peleton Pedagogy, and why rankings are not to be trusted.

At Forbes this week, I took a look at the Network for Public Education report on charter profiteering, specifically the whacky world of cyber charters. 

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