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The Department of Education is excluding Asians, whites, "Arabs and other Middle Eastern ethnicities … many Latinos and some Africans" from a $60 million program for students from "disadvantaged backgrounds" unless they meet a two-prong exception, a new lawsuit alleges. The McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, named after the black scientist who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, awards grants to colleges to prepare undergraduates "for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities," with a goal of increasing PhDs "from underrepresented segments of society." The eligibility page says "at least two-thirds of the participants must be low-income,...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A guidance document from the United States Department of Education could threaten two extremely popular youth outdoor programs in West Virginia schools. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona moved to block funding from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to schools which offer hunter education and archery programs. Cardona’s guidance is in regard to the bi-partisan Safer Communities Act which passed last year. The act was approved with the help of 15 Republican Senators’ votes, including that of U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin was also a vote in favor of...

The New York City Department of Education has instructed its teachers that “objectivity” and “individuals” are “white supremacist” concepts. According to a report from the New York Times, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza gave a presentation about “white supremacy” culture. In the lesson, Carranza claims that concepts like “perfectionism,” “paternalism,” and “objectivity” are part of “white supremacy culture.” Surprisingly, documents from Carranza’s presentation do little to tie these concepts to “white supremacy.” A graphic from Carranza’s lesson explains why “objectivity” is a negative concept. “This can lead to the belief that there is an ultimate truth and that alternative viewpoints or...

Who would have thought the ubiquitous education superstar Michelle Rhee would be sitting next to Andy Stern on the board of the Broad Foundation? Yes, that's right. The Republican governors' siren and CEO of StudentsFirst works alongside the former SEIU leader, who's visited the White House more than anyone else in the past four years and who said "workers of the world, unite" back in 2007. Stern is the same guy who called the left-leaning former KB Homes executive Eli Broad his "favorite billionaire" in 2005 when the union elites and progressive business owners got together to seriously implement their...

The city’s Department of Education says it has found money to pay for the Advanced Placement exams this spring for low-income students, despite a cut in the federal subsidy for the exams. The Education Department will use $462,000 in its budget to cover the cost of the exams. “We made it a priority to identify funding so that all of our students have the opportunity to take their A.P. exams,” said a department spokeswoman, Barbara Morgan. The city alerted principals about the financing availability this week. Last month, it warned that the financing was in jeopardy for low-income students after...

Arne Duncan is not waiting (we can't wait!!!) for Congress to change the way America’s schools operate… The secretary of education is using grant money and waivers to change education policy, ..Duncan has used $4.35 billion in money from the 2009 stimulus bill to give grants to states that improve academic standards, lift caps on charter schools, and reward good teachers.

A California man who initially claimed to a local television station that he was roughed up by "SWAT team" members who allegedly battered down his front door to execute a search warrant related to his estranged wife's unpaid student loans was targeted due to an ongoing probe into alleged financial aid fraud. Local law enforcement officials have thus far not commented on the Stockton man's claim to ABC News 10/KXTV that he was grabbed by the neck and placed in handcuffs in back of a patrol car for six hours as his three children looked on during execution of the...

Once again, the overzealous young Obama administration is pushing politics too far into the federal agencies where it is supposed to be forbidden, this time at the Department of Education. The Obama White House first became known for reckless political tactics when the National Endowment for the Arts used several conference calls dragoon artists into promoting specific administration policies. A recent article by Doug Lederman from the web site Inside Higher Ed, reveals that the administration continues the conference call politics.

According to a recent study published by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), public school students are outperforming their private school counterparts in fourth grade mathematics and have equaled “private school students in fourth grade reading and eighth grade math.” However, as Shanea Watkins, Policy Analyst in Empirical Studies in the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation, explains, these results require greater scrutiny. Some commentators that reference the NCES report believe the study points to a causal relationship—that attending a public school will cause higher academic achievement in math. However, the study focuses on data provided by...

It’s official. We are a nation of illiterates, with college degrees. “As if this weren’t enough, there are also disturbing signs that many students who do earn degrees have not actually mastered the reading, writing and thinking skills we expect of college graduates,” the U. S. Commission on the future of higher education found. “Over the past decade, literacy among college graduates has actually declined.” “Unacceptable numbers of college graduates enter the workforce without the skills employers say they need in an economy where, as the truism holds correctly, knowledge matters more than ever.” The commission members, who serve without...

The Department of Education has announced that $21.6 million were being given in charter school grants. “Three organizations—the KIPP Foundation, the Charter School Development Corporation, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation—will receive a total of $21.6 million for three grants through the Charter Schools Facilities Grants program,” Secretary Spellings announced. The Department of Education released a preliminary breakdown of the grants. “The KIPP Foundation in San Francisco, Calif., has been awarded a $6.8 million grant; The Charter School Development Corporation in Washington, D.C., has been awarded a $6.6 million grant; The Local Initiatives Support Corporation in New York, N.Y., has...

NEW YORK (CBS) It seems city classrooms aren't just for learning anymore. On several occasions over the past week, teachers have been charged with kissing, touching, even having sex with their students. Now some lawmakers are trying to come up with ways to prevent it. It was the fifth such incident in a week. This time, it was a female math teacher charged with kissing a 15-year-old student at I.S. 55 in Brownsville. And on Thursday, the mayor said enough's enough. “It is not acceptable behavior to have our teachers having personal, sexual relationships with the students that we entrust...