Education in Focus

A federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to delay implementation of its sweeping changes to Title IX in another four states and at schools attended by students who belong to specific organizations or have parents who do. A Kansas district court on Tuesday blocked the Department of Education from implementing its updated rules expanding longstanding protections around sex discrimination to include gender identity in four more states and specific schools. It’s the latest in a series of rulings showing lawsuits challenging the rule ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline are likely to succeed. Courts have now halted the rule's implementation in over a dozen states. 

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Two separate Tennessee families filed a joint federal lawsuit on behalf of their children against Bill Lee, the governor of Tennessee, and the Williamson County Board of Education. The lawsuit claims that on separate occasions, a child from each family (students in the William County School District) was wrongfully arrested, incarcerated and suspended as a result of the district’s interpretation of the new Tennessee statute requiring a “zero tolerance” policy for “threats of mass violence.” The lawsuit claims that “none of the speech attributed to the minor plaintiffs rose to the level of a threat of mass violence or amounted to actions that a reasonable person would conclude could lead to the serious bodily injury, as defined in § 39-11-106, or the death of two (2) or more persons,” which was the definition set forth in the statute.

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After the California Department of Education issued guidance that schools should not disclose students’ gender-related record change requests to parents, some California school districts adopted rules requiring parents to be notified if their children request to officially change their pronouns, go by a different name, or use facilities or school programs for children of the opposite gender. California Attorney General Rob Bonta responded by supporting lawsuits against these school districts, and the current bill in question, AB 1955. AB 1955, introduced by Assembly member Chris Ward, D-San Diego, would ban parental notification policies, and expand resources for LGBTQ+ students and families. 

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After a report from the NYC Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) exposed how some New York City Department of Education employees lied about receiving the COVID vaccine during a mandate for educators, the district said the matter is “under review.” The investigation “substantiated” that 16 current and former employees of New York City's Department of Education knowingly submitted falsified and misleading documents claiming they were in compliance with the district’s vaccine mandate. The investigation found that the employees claimed they all were vaccinated by a pediatric nurse practitioner, Julie DeVuono, who later pleaded guilty to forging and selling Centers for Disease Control Vaccination Record Cards, according to the SCI.

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A former Buffalo Public Schools principal accused of manipulating grades in the New York district has been chosen to be the keynote speaker at a continuous improvement summit held by the Kentucky Department of Education. Teachers say while Marck Abraham was principal at McKinley High School, he reportedly pressured them to change student grades, calling into question the method he outlines in his book about how he raised the graduation rate for Black male students. An event page for the 2024 Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Education and accreditation company Cognia says it will provide professional development to school leaders.

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Researchers who analyzed an Algebra I online credit recovery course from Edmentum say it failed to challenge students, was vulnerable to cheating via Google searches and reused the same test questions. In a new paper that is under peer review, researchers at Vanderbilt University and Georgia State University have quantified how virtual credit recovery classes, which are often provided to students who have previously failed a course, are easily manipulated, reuse questions and fail to engage students at a higher level. After Chalkboard reported on the analysis of Edmentum’s online credit recovery course, the company responded that assessment results show its courseware is effective at boosting student knowledge and that it prioritizes academic integrity. 

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https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/accountability/article_f0551548-2db6-11ef-81d6-db1614e3efe5.html

https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/accountability/article_e19bdb5e-2f4b-11ef-983f-039c5dd6f501.html

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The Los Angeles Unified School District Board voted on a resolution Tuesday to revise its 2011 school cell phone policy to ban phones for students during school hours with few caveats. After a board vote, it chose to approve the resolution, 5-2, with board members George McKenna and Scott Schmerelson voting against the decision to begin banning phones during the entire school day. The board’s resolution says that “within 120 days, the Los Angeles Unified School District shall develop and present to the public at a board meeting updated cell phone and social media policies to prohibit student use of cell phones and social media platforms district-wide during the entire school day.”

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A federal judge has struck down the Biden administration’s rule expanding the definition of Title IX to include gender identity in six states, the latest in a salvo of legal challenges against the changes intended to protect LGBTQ+ students in recent days. Monday’s injunction from the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Kentucky prevents the Department of Education from implementing its proposed rulemaking ahead of its Aug. 1 effective date in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia and West Virginia. The court said in its ruling Monday that the state of Tennessee is likely to prevail in its lawsuit and that the new rule is not in line with the intent of the 1972 funding statute to protect educational opportunities for women in education settings and violates the Constitution.

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Chicago Public Schools used over $47,000 in federal funds for an event “to learn about and celebrate the galaxies of gender, sexuality and love” which taught 10-to-18 year old students how to be activists and reminded them they do not need to ask their parents before changing their name or pronouns at school. A portion of the district’s 2024 Galaxy Summit was sponsored by a HIV pharmaceutical company called Viiv Healthcare, which CPS said paid $9,000 for a catered lunch for students. The company, however, says it sponsored more than just the lunch of the March 2 event and provided resources to students. 

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Video platform TikTok has said that videos and accounts that promote online courseware cheating violate its policy governing frauds and scams, but reporting the videos doesn’t seem to have an effect and at least one removed account has returned. Last month, Chalkboard flagged two accounts that appear to violate TikTok’s policy on frauds and scams, which the company previously said governs accounts promoting cheating services to students using online classes. They are still operating and offering to help students complete their work. 

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