Education
State Supreme Court weighs Madison schools’ gender policies
The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in a lawsuit over the Madison Metropolitan School District’s policy for students who wish to go by different pronouns than the ones they were assigned at birth. At issue is an MMSD policy instituted in 2018 that requires teachers and staff to call students by their […]
Special needs students disproportionately subjected to seclusion, restraint
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released a report Wednesday documenting incidents of seclusion and physical restraint of students in Wisconsin schools during the 2020-21 school year. The annual report, required under a 2019 state law, shows that public and private Special Needs Scholarship Program schools statewide reported 4,314 instances of seclusion and 4,949 […]
New UW-Madison chancellor says she can ‘find common ground’ with hostile Republican legislators
It didn’t take long after the University of Wisconsin System announced Dr. Jennifer Mnookin as the new chancellor of UW-Madison on Monday for Republicans in the Legislature to attack her hiring as a “blatantly partisan” choice. Powerful Republicans, including the Assembly Speaker, the chair of the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges and several […]
Interior Department report details the brutality of federal Indian boarding schools
The atrocities committed at boarding schools designed and run by the federal government to eradicate Indigenous people were outlined by the U.S. Interior Department for the first time in a report published last week. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland held back tears as she described the scope of the investigation that identifies 408 federal Indian boarding schools […]
UCLA Law dean named next chancellor of UW-Madison
The dean of the University of California, Los Angeles law school, Dr. Jennifer Mnookin, was chosen by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to be the next chancellor of UW-Madison. Mnookin has led the UCLA law school since 2015. She was unanimously approved to be the 30th leader of UW-Madison, replacing the outgoing […]
‘Day Without Child Care’ spotlights importance for parents, employers and kids
Nearly 300 child care providers in 25 states signed up for “A Day Without Child Care,” an event organized to call for living wages for child care providers, and equitable, affordable access to child care across the country. For the parents who spoke at an event Monday morning at New Glarus Village Park, “a day […]
Evers appoints three new members of UW System Board of Regents
Gov. Tony Evers appointed three new members to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents on Wednesday, replacing two former members of the board leadership who were appointed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and were in charge of the system’s failed search for a new president in 2020. Evers, a former member of […]
Kellyanne Conway speech about liberals suppressing free speech meets no protest at UW-Whitewater
Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, gave a speech Wednesday evening at UW-Whitewater, focusing on threats to conservative speech from progressives as she spoke in front of nearly 200 people. Speaking for about an hour in the half-full Timmerman Auditorium — which seats about 400 — Conway railed against threats to free […]
Baldwin joins Senators calling for student loan forgiveness, details on ‘Fresh Start’ plan
A coalition of progressive lawmakers including Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Education requesting details about a plan to give student loan borrowers a “fresh start” before collections resume in August. The letter, signed by Baldwin, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Sen. […]
LGBTQ community, people of color in the crosshairs of banned book movement
Students in one Pennsylvania school district were not allowed to read a biography of the first Black President, Barack Obama. In some Tennessee classrooms, a nonfiction comic book about the atrocities of the Holocaust is banned. And one school district in Wisconsin banned from libraries a picture book about a gay rights activist who was […]
Unanimous state Supreme Court affirms Racine’s spring 2020 referendum results
In a unanimous decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the results of the Racine Unified School District’s April 2020 referendum — which was passed by just five votes in an election in which more than 30,000 votes were cast. The referendum is expected to cost Racine-area taxpayers $1 billion over the next 30 years to […]
More than 1,500 books have been banned in public schools, and a U.S. House panel asks why
WASHINGTON — A U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee panel on Thursday examined why thousands of books, predominantly written by marginalized authors, have been banned from public schools, and the impact of those actions on students and teachers. “Most books being targeted for censorship are books that introduce ideas about diversity or our common humanity, […]