Free Republic

Six Department of Education employees used “forged permission slips” to take their own kids and grandchildren to Disney World and on other city-funded trips meant for homeless students, investigators alleged. The secret perks robbed some of the city’s most disadvantaged kids of a chance to enjoy the Magic Kingdom — a trip that cost $66,000 for 50 or so adults and kids, a staffer said — and other multiple-day trips in 2016 to 2019 to Washington, D.C; New Orleans; Boston; upstate Rocking Horse Ranch Resort; and Frost Valley YMCA campground, according to a newly released report by the Special Commissioner...

What do you think of these questions given to seventh-grade students at the Middle Village Prep Charter School in Queens County, New York? These are questions they were told to ask one another. And they were asked to write about them. "5. On an airplane, you are talking pleasantly to a person of average appearance. Unexpectedly, the person offers you $10,000 for one night of sex. Knowing there is no danger and that payment is certain, would you accept the offer? 14. What are your feelings about killing a handicapped child at birth? 19. What has been the worst sexual...

It is easy to picture pre-adolescent boys pretending to be Superman or Batman or GI Joe, but the imagination comes under assault when trying to think of where boys are going to put tampons. If we allow boys to choose, change or imagine they are a different sex than what the doctor decided at birth, why don’t we let those who think they are Superman, jump off a ten-story building..

Marxist ideology and practices have come to Minnesota schools disguised as new teacher licensing rules that take effect July 1, 2025. The Minnesota teacher licensing board is called the Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board or PELSB. Each board member was appointed by Governor Walz. The state adopted the new PELSB teacher licensing requirements on April 10, 2023. The new standards embed basic Marxist principles and practices such as Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI), fluid sexual identity, and gender politics as required instruction into all Minnesota public schools (this includes charter schools) and adoption for public school students. Standard Marxist...

Faithful members of the world's largest and oldest religions cannot in good conscience 'affirm' non-heterosexual sexual orientations and gender identities. Christians who do so publicly deny their faith' ... Gov. Tim Walz's ban on faithful Christians from teaching in Minnesota's public is set to hit the state's schools in just months. ... he is "poised to make similar bigoted, totalitarian and unconstitutional policies" for the entire nation, "should he be elected vice president." The report from the publication's executive editor, Joy Pullmann, explains the state has new teacher licensing rules that will take effect in July 2025, and they will...

eachers are quitting in droves as a new generation of appallingly behaved students push their patience to the limit. Born between roughly 2010 and the end of 2024, Generation Alpha will make up the largest cohort of children ever to live on planet earth. However, the two billion-plus toddlers and pre-teens are already being cited for their illiteracy, unruly behavior and an uncontrollable addiction to screens. Many blame lockdowns and school closures during the pandemic for the rise in bad behavior, while some are pointing the finger at Millennial parents who are opting to distract children with technology rather than...

Vice President Kamala Harris rallied thousands of members of the most powerful teachers unions in the country to join her in a fight against what she called former President Donald J. Trump’s plans to roll back their rights, gut their protections and undermine their profession.In a keynote address at the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers, Ms. Harris blasted efforts by “extremists” who she said wanted to take the country back to a “dark past” that included “failed trickle-down economics,” union busting, slashing social programs and curtailing student loan forgiveness.And before the crowd of 3,500 people, she assailed...

America’s second-largest teacher’s union has drafted a group of resolutions calling for the end of US military aid to Israel — and defending the anti-Israel protests that have rocked campuses across the country. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) — which is affiliated with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) that represents most teachers in New York City public schools — will vote on the controversial proposals at its national convention starting in Houston next Monday.One of the resolutions, which calls for a cease-fire between the Jewish State and the terror group Hamas, demands a halt to US military assistance...

The rate of sexual misconduct in public schools far exceeds the high-profile abuse scandals that rocked the Roman Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America.Every day millions of parents put their children under the care of public school teachers, administrators, and support staff. Their trust, however, is frequently broken by predators in authority in what appears to be the largest ongoing sexual abuse scandal in our nation’s history.Given the roughly 50 million students in U.S. K-12 schools each year, the number of students who have been victims of sexual misconduct by school employees is probably in the millions each...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, following its victory that resulted in the disbanding of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “Homeland Intelligence Experts Group,” America First Legal (AFL) is releasing the first tranche of the group’s internal meeting notes, exclusively obtained from litigation. This is the first installment of #DeepStateDiaries, a multi-part series of releases including newly obtained documents.As part 1, newly obtained documents reveal that the advisory committee that included John Brennan and James Clapper discussed ways for DHS to increase efforts to collect intelligence on Americans across the country, including attempting to “get into local communities in a non-threatening...

As it issues endorsements for the November election, the union representing Portland Public Schools teachers is asking candidates for city office whether Portland should do more to respond to “the ongoing genocide in Palestine.” The Portland Association of Teachers sent a questionnaire to City Council candidates prior to a May 30 group endorsement interview. WW has obtained a copy of the questionnaire, which included questions submitted by union members. “Do you believe Portland elected officials have done their due diligence in responding to the ongoing genocide in Palestine?” one of the 15 questions read.

The local teachers’ union encourages students to resist “Zionist bullies.” Portland, Oregon, has earned its reputation as America’s most radical city. Its public school system was an early proponent of left-wing racialism and has long pushed students toward political activism. As with the death of George Floyd four years ago, the irruption of Hamas terrorism in Israel has provided Portland’s public school revolutionaries with another cause du jour: now they’ve ditched the raised fist of Black Lives Matter and traded it in for the black-and-white keffiyeh of Palestinian militants. I have obtained a collection of publicly accessible documents produced by...

Randi Weingarten's American Federation of Teachers defends pro-Hamas campus occupations as 'peacefully demonstrating' The American Federation of Teachers led by Randi Weingarten claimed that anti-Israel protesters on college campuses were simply "peacefully demonstrating." The American Federation of Teachers led by Randi Weingarten claimed that anti-Israel protesters on college campuses were simply “peacefully demonstrating.” The Tuesday statement from the AFT came in response to a hearing last week from the House Education and the Workforce Committee where leaders of Northwestern University, Rutgers University, and the University of California, Los Angeles, were grilled regarding their response to campus anti-Israel encampments. ”AFT members...

By the time Stephanie Hartung returned to her suburban Seattle classroom this school year, the gash on her head, black eye, and bruising all over her body had healed. But she doesn’t know if the anxiety and stress from her attack – at the hands of a 12-year-old – ever will. **SNIP** But an investigation by eight local television stations, working together in seven states, found thousands of teachers across the country have had similar experiences. Nearly 8,300 teachers in 34 states participated in a voluntary survey asking about violent encounters with students, their opinions about possible causes, and possible...

It is hard to overstate just how much public education in the United States was permanently changed by extended school closures of 2020 and 2021. For an entire year, millions of students across the country were forced to attend classes via Zoom, wear masks that affected their cognitive abilities, and were generally socially isolated. At the same time, decision-makers in school districts from Virginia to California were pushing a political agenda that blatantly sought to shut parents out of the education of their own children. The swift and intense backlash from parents changed the politics of education forever. And documenting...

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill into law on May 2 banning “indoctrination” programs for teachers.The measure, HB 1291, prohibits programs, courses, and curricula in teacher training from “distorting” historical events or promoting political ideologies regarding race, sex, and gender.Accredited postsecondary institutions can seek Florida Department of Education approval to create institutes to educate teachers on improving classroom instruction and meeting requirements for certification or recertification.They can also seek approval for instruction on educating existing and potential substitute teachers on how to perform classroom duties and to teach those with baccalaureate degrees how to become certified.However, teacher...

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is negotiating a new contract with the public schools system and is understood to be calling for an extra $50 billion to pay for wage hikes as well as other demands such as fully paid abortions for its members, new migrant services and facilities and a host of LGBT-related requirements and training in schools. To put the figure into context, the total base tax receipts for the state of Illinois last year were $50.7 billion.

“All Jews need to be exterminated”: If you agree with that sentiment, you are 100% welcome in New York City’s public school system.

The Chicago Teachers Union's contract is set to expire in June which will soon prompt negotiations between educators and the school board. Union President Stacy Davis Gates said in early March that her proposed contract for 2024 to 2028 'will cost $50 billion and 3 cents.' 'And so what?' Davis Gates added. 'That’s audacity. That’s Chicago.' The teachers union is demanding nine percent cost of living adjustments every year. According to Indeed, the average salary of a teacher in Chicago Public Schools is $67,718. With raises every year for four years, teachers would be getting paid about $95,000 a year...

The phrase “arming teachers” has standard meanings: To provide teachers with arms or to force teachers to carry arms. “Arming teachers” puts teachers in a passive role, with someone else “arming” them. It is being used to oppose a mild gun law reform bill in Tennessee.The phrase is being used in an Orwellian way by those opposed to an armed population. It is used by the left to prevent teachers from being allowed to protect themselves and the children in their care. The phrase “arming teachers” has become equated with removing restrictions on the ability of teachers to arm themselves....