Free Republic

Happy New Year. Have you resolved to remove your kids from the public school system yet? In "Get Out Now: Why You Should Pull Your Child from Public School Before It’s Too Late" (2019, Regnery Press), Mary Rice Hasson and Theresa Farnan sounded a wake-up call to parents with children in public schools: “The truth is that nearly everything in America’s public schools — the culture, discipline, curriculum hiring practices, school policies, even the names of schools themselves — is determined by progressive ideologues, both inside and outside the school systems. … Public education has been incredibly successful in one...

“Jesus Christ” is said in many places, including church and Bible study. But one mother in Tennessee said her 7-year-old son was written up in school for saying “Jesus Christ.” Shonna Coleman said she got a call from her son’s first grade teacher telling her the boy had said a bad word that day. “So we was like, ‘OK, so...

A half dozen states in recent years have enacted laws that aim to give parents more authority over what and how their children are learning. Individual districts and the U.S. House of Representatives have also passed their own versions of these policies, known as parents’ bills of rights. They vary by jurisdiction, but they often restrict instruction on race, gender, and sexuality, particularly at younger grade levels. Some require parental permission before a student can use a name or pronouns that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth. The policies can also give parents more latitude to opt their...

A Brooklyn high school principal lashed out at parents who ripped her decision to boot students out of the classroom the day after 2,000 migrants moved in for a night. “How dare someone say that I don’t care about kids,” roared James Madison High School principal Jodie Cohen on a Zoom call Tuesday at parents seething that she “sold the kids out” by having them go remote the day after the migrants were evacuated from Floyd Bennett Field because of a torrential rain storm.

A history teacher at a Seattle high school reportedly told students that identifying as “straight” is “offensive.” Ian Golash, who recently came under fire for lessons on sexual orientation, told some male students they are a “product of the patriarchy that teaches young boys not to care,” according to a complaint filed by an angry parent.

One of the more disturbing facts about public schools–and let’s face it, almost all facts about our public school system are disturbing–is that foreign governments and Left-wing nonprofits now design a good chunk of the curriculum. Planned Parenthood provides curricular support. The United Nations does. China does. And, in this case, Qatar is doing so. I’d love to see some investigative reporter dive into all the different groups that provide curricular material and/or funding to our public schools in order to slip into the curriculum their preferred propaganda.A map of the "Arab World" hangs in PS 261, a public school...

A Missouri high school student is facing criminal charges after a distressing viral video showed her wrestling and repeatedly punching her 65-year-old teacher, leaving her hospitalized. One clip seen more than 1.3 million times on X by Friday shows the St. Louis educator on the floor desperately trying to protect herself from the student standing over her and pummeling her in the head. The Normandy High School student continues to punch and slap the teacher even when she rolls on top of her, clenching the educator between her legs as other students gasp in shock at the hallway brawl. The...

A public New York City elementary school is being accused of “Jewish erasure” because a map in one of its classrooms showed all of the countries in the Middle East except for Israel — which it labeled as Palestine. The map, labeled the “Arab World,” appears in a classroom at PS 261 in Brooklyn, where Rita Lahoud gives students lessons in the Arab Culture Arts program — which is funded by Qatar Foundation International, the American wing of the Qatar Foundation, a nonprofit owned by the country’s wealthy ruling family. It was manufactured by Arab education company Ruman and features...

When it comes to education, Chicago, America’s “Second City,” is nowhere near second. The kids aren’t learning despite piles of money being spent, and families are abandoning the system. According to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), just 15% of Chicago’s 8th-grade students are proficient in math, and 21% are proficient in reading. Money is certainly not the problem, as Chicago Public Schools spend about $29,000 per student. So, a class of 20 students costs the taxpayer almost $600,000 per year. Additionally, Chi-town teachers aren’t suffering; a rookie teacher makes $64,000 a year and eventually can earn up...

In September 2023, Governor Hochul today legislation to declare Asian Lunar New Year a public school holiday across New York State. “By designating Lunar New Year as an official school holiday, we are taking an important step in recognizing the importance of New York’s AAPI community and the rich diversity that makes New York so great,” Governor Hochul said. “It is not just a day off from school – it is an opportunity for our children to learn about and celebrate their own or different cultures and traditions.” The new legislation ensures schools are not in session on Lunar New...

Parents and pols are outraged that students were booted from a Brooklyn school to make room for nearly 2,000 migrants during Tuesday’s storm — and warned it could become part of the city’s playbook as officials stumble to keep pace with the runaway migrant crisis. “We never know what’s going to happen with the weather,” state Assemblyman Michael Novakhov (R-Brooklyn) said outside James Madison High School. “They can be moved here again depending on the weather conditions,” Novakhov said. “If the weather is bad again are migrants supposed to be moved to this school again? Because schools are not the...

There was an uproar on the social media platform X on Tuesday afternoon as news hit about what was happening at James Madison High School in New York City. The city is evacuating almost 2,000 illegal aliens who are staying in a tent on Floyd Bennett Field due to concerns about the weather because the field is not a livable environment in the face of a potential torrential rain storm and high winds. But city officials are now moving the illegal aliens into the second-floor gym of James Madison High School in Brooklyn. “To be clear, this relocation is a...

A couple from Michigan is suing their child’s former school district after discovering that officials had secretly “transitioned” their daughter without their knowledge or consent. Dan and Jennifer Mead allege that the Rockford Public School District was urging their daughter to lead a secret double life behind their backs. The Meads say their daughter was treated as a male student while at school with the help of teachers and district officials. The parents discovered that district employees had been treating the couple’s middle-school daughter as a boy, actively taking steps to conceal these actions from them, they allege in the...

With school choice being such a hot topic these days, it can be helpful for parents to learn more about what the experiences are like in different learning environments. Though there may be pros and cons to each option, the differences may surprise you. The Babylon Bee is proud to help parents make more well-informed decisions with the following list of differences between public school kids and homeschooled kids: Homeschooled Kids: Learn how to manufacture paste using complex chemical processes. Their mother then sells the paste as a side hustle. Public Schooled Kids: Eat paste. Homeschooled Kids: Read War and...

Emergency personnel work at the scene of an active shooter situation at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa. Developing.......................

The Deep State has been working to sexualize children for decades; in recent years these efforts have become increasingly pathological. Yes, parents have every right to protest books in schools that are plainly pornographic; these books are unsuitable for adults, much less for grade-school children. This Book is Gay is available throughout the United States, and gives details on how to find homosexual partners online; its glossary provides the terms for “licking the bottom” and ingesting feces, and advises children about anal and oral sex. Gender Queer includes photos of sexual acts between a boy and a man, and illustrations...

Anti-Israel teachers in NYC public schools get away with unchecked antisemitism while critics of Palestinians are immediately reprimanded, critics charge. James Parra, a paraprofessional at Brooklyn Arbor Elementary School in Williamsburg, shared a photo of himself on Instagram — apparently inside the school — wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf. He wrote, “It’s a good time to remind y’all that Palestine will be free from the river to the sea within our lifetime.” “That alone for us is a direct call for a genocide,” said Shy Galor, a Jewish and Israeli mother in Brooklyn’s District 14. In another Instagram post, Parra...

A Philadelphia suburb school district issued a memo instructing employees to remove Christmas-themed decorations and attire, following complaints from parents. The district later clarified that holiday displays are not banned, but employees should aim to create an inclusive environment. “As per Dr. Marseille” — Wagner Marseille, the superintendent of the Wallingford-Swathmore School District — “he has been receiving complaints from parents concerning District employees displaying ‘Christmas’ themed decorations and/or wearing clothing of the same nature,” the memo read. “If you have decorated your bus with anything specific to the Christmas Holiday or any other decorations relating to a specific religion,...

Two furious parents are suing a Michigan public school district for using male pronouns for their eighth-grade autistic daughter without their knowledge. Dan and Jennifer Mead filed a lawsuit against the Rockford Public School District on Monday after discovering the school had been referring to their child using 'he/him' pronouns last year. The lawsuit alleges the school violated the parents' First and 14th Amendment rights by using a masculine name and pronouns for their child, as reported by NewsNation. According to court documents, the school complied with its policy by using the student's chosen name and pronouns. The Meads withdrew...

A police officer searched a Massachusetts middle school after someone reported that a book with explicit material was being read in an eighth-grade classroom. The plain-clothes cop was reportedly wearing a bodycam when he entered W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School in Great Barrington. The officer was looking for the graphic novel, Gender Queer: A Memoir, after police received a complaint on December 8 about 'concerning illustrations' in the book. Great Barrington Police Chief Paul Storti said the person who made the complaint provided an image that showed illustrated characters in sexual acts. The officer was escorted by school officials...