Education Department Clarifies Anti-DEI Guidance
The department insists its directive will not suppress First Amendment rights.
Education
Supreme Court Refuses to Consider Whether University "Bias-Response Teams" Chill Speech
Justice Thomas dissents from the Court's refusal to resolve a clear circuit split.
How To Get Rid of a Tenured Professor
"Officially, it was a voluntary departure. But I sure felt like I'd been pushed out."
The Case Against Taxing University Endowments
Tax professor Erik Jensen suggests taxes on large university endowments are not as good idea as some people think.
Gay Penguins Face Florida's Classroom Speech Regulations
The authors of a picture book about two male penguins raising a chick together argue excluding their book from school libraries violates their free speech rights.
John McWhorter: Is 'Wokeness' Finally Dead?
New York Times columnist and linguist John McWhorter discusses the rise and fall of "woke," DEI and affirmative action, and his new book on the history of pronouns.
Why the Internet Celebrated a Killer
Combine moral zealotry with increasingly blurred lines between political speech and violence long enough, and the outcome is predictable.
This UVA Law Student Was Threatened With Expulsion for Sitting Outside With Protest Signs
Kirk Wolff set out to peacefully protest Trump's plan to take over Gaza. Then an administrator and a police officer drove by.
Education Department Orders Schools To Stop All Racial Discrimination
The letter mostly builds on existing civil rights law.
New Episodes of the Academic Freedom Podcast
Conversations on campus free speech with Timothy Zick, Jennifer Ruth, and Michael Berube
Could School Choice Work at the Federal Level?
A nationwide tax credit could expand education freedom overnight—but could also open the door to new forms of federal overreach.
Will Trump Try To Shut Down the Department of Education?
While Trump can't dissolve the department by executive action, getting rid of it through legislation is still a good idea.
California Teachers Make 6 Figures on Average. Now They Demand More.
Plus: Steel and aluminum tariffs, Venezuelan sanctions and deportations, and more...
Kill the Federal Department of Education
We could decentralize education, improve outcomes, and help reduce the size of the federal Leviathan.
Can the Trump Administration Unilaterally Cut Indirect Costs for NIH Grants?
As with some other recent executive branch actions, the Trump Administration appears to have overreached.
A Massachusetts School District Rolled Back Advanced Classes. Teachers Are Starting To Revolt.
A group of parents tried to resist the changes years ago but say they were smeared as racists.
America Is Going Broke. Will the Department of Government Efficiency Help?
Eliminating the deficit requires cutting the biggest spending—defense, Medicare, Social Security. So far, Trump says he won't touch those.
"Title VI Must Be Applied Consistent with First Amendment Principles"
A federal district court discusses how the First Amendment limits liability for "hostile environment harassment" based on "speech on matters of public concern" in universities (public or private). And the reasoning may extend to Title VII liability on workplaces as well.
Years After the Pandemic, the Lowest-Performing Students Are Still Significantly Behind
New scores from the Nation's Report Card test reveal continued declines for already struggling students.
Trump Expands School Choice, Narrows What Schools Can Teach
Trump signed two executive orders expanding federal funding of school choice while banning "radical indoctrination" in federally funded schools.
Schools Are Spending Billions To Fight Campus Culture Wars
As tensions rise on campus and in board chambers, districts dish out more for security, lawyers, and staff turnover.
This National School Choice Week, It's a Boom Time for Education Freedom
People want choice in how they teach their kids and are happy when they get it.
Oklahoma May Soon Ask K-12 Families for Proof of Citizenship
The state superintendent says the measure isn't intended to discourage undocumented parents from sending their kids to school. That's hard to believe.
Test-Optional Admissions Hurt Poor Kids
A new working paper from Dartmouth College researchers provides more evidence that ditching the SAT hurts disadvantaged college applicants.
Biden Makes Last-Ditch Pass at Interfering in College Sports
Even if the Trump administration quickly undoes it, it’s a precedent for future administrations.
Can a School Require Students to Learn about Sexuality and "Cisnormativity" Over Parents' Religious Objection?
In granting Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court has agreed to consider this question.
Regulation, Prohibition, and Litigation: Joe Biden's Busy Lame-Duck Period
Why should an unpopular president shape so much policy on his way out?
Lawless IV: Leadership Failures Old and New
The pandemic showed the weakness of the leadership class. [UPDATE: Inadvertently posted it under my byline, but it's of course Ilya Shapiro's post, as the byline now reflects. -EV]
41 Percent of Chicago Teachers Were Chronically Absent Last Year, Report Finds
The problem is likely widespread across the country.
Lawless I: The Illiberal Takeover of Legal Education
My "lived experience" at Georgetown gave me a unique perspective on the higher-ed crisis.
Girls May Have Been Hit Hardest by Pandemic Learning Loss
New research indicates that, particularly in math, girls' test scores plummeted when compared to boys.
Are Young People Depressed Because of What They Were Taught in College?
The Coddling of the American Mind, a new documentary based on the book of the same name, makes the case that destructive ideas in higher education are making people anxious.
California Schools Stay Open Despite Plummeting Enrollment
Ballooning costs and shrinking student populations have left districts facing financial crises, but political pressures have kept closures off the table.
Court Rejects Title VI Lawsuit Over Alleged Anti-Semitism at Haverford College
"As a result of Plaintiffs' scattered pleading, any serious allegations of actionable discrimination are buried as needles within a haystack of distraction."
A University President Accused of Squandering Public Money Resigns in Exchange for a $2 Million Payout
Western New Mexico University's Board of Regents approved the severance package for Joseph Shepard after a state audit highlighted $364,000 in "wasteful" and "improper" spending.
Bible Back in Texas Schools After Being Pulled for Sexual Content
Canyon Independent School District pulled sections of the Bible from its library shelves over concerns that its "sexually explicit" material violated Texas law.
2024's Most Undercovered Stories
Surely 2025 will be a freewheeling romp, right?…Right? Happy New Year!
The Socio-Economic Backgrounds of American Academics
An interesting empirical study. (Updated)
