Free Republic

The state has cited Grand Rapids Public Schools for suspending a “significantly disproportionate” number of black and special education students -- a move that has forced the district to shift $1 million in federal funds to address the problem. The district is reexamining policies and creating early intervention strategies, but it has not stopped suspending students for serious offenses, Superintendent Bernard Taylor said this week, seeking to dispel misconceptions. ”It is a misnomer that anyone has been told not to suspend students,” he said. “Every concerted effort is being made to address issues around safety,” Taylor said. “We have built...

Amid vibrant cheers, hamburgers grilling at tailgate parties, and the swing of marching bands, another season of college football is thrillingly underway. But in the background, like the blue-gray October sky of old, lies a quiet discord that is wrenching the heart of college athletics. For hundreds of athletes in sports like track, baseball, swimming, or wrestling, this season they will be told to stay off the fields of play, don't get on the track, get out of the pool, or stay off the mats — if the students happen to be men, that is. That’s because, despite the pleas...