Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Lily Eskelsen García, the president of the National Education Association, shared their thoughts with Education Secretary Betsy Devos in the most appropriate way: a report card. Specifically, 80,000 reports cards, all F’s, from educators across the country.

Images from the New York Times show them carrying the boxes outside the Department of Education building. One gives her F’s in the criteria “Providing opportunity for all students,” “Protecting the safety of students”, “Investing in the success of every public school student”, and “Making higher education accessible and affordable.”

When they arrived, they found the doors were locked as guards said they did not have an appointment (like you never hid your bad report card from your parents). However, Weingarten stated they had been asked for an appointment and did not arrive unannounced. She said, “This is a remarkable moment…They knew that teachers and parents and students from all over the country have actually taken their time to say what is going on in their schools. And here on Betsy DeVos’s anniversary, this is the first time that I have ever been to this building where we were not let in — where the educators, where the students, where the parents of America were locked out of the federal Department of Education.”

LOCKED OUT!!!!We just tried to deliver 80k #Comments4Betsy to @usedgov. We told them we were coming. We asked for an appointment. Instead they locked out educators, parents and students – @BetsyDeVosED refusing to even accept the comments much less read or respond to them. pic.twitter.com/9eIC9ul62p

— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) February 8, 2018

Department spokeswoman Liz Hill called the protest “unfortunate” and “a two-hour political publicity stunt.” Hill added, “If they would like to send a representative to the department to deliver their feedback, we’d be happy to accept it.”

The reports cards were based on Devos’ progress for her first year, as she took the oath of office on February 7th, 2017 despite having no professional experience in government or public education—a fact that was blindingly clear from her confirmation hearing that brought us the infamous comment about how teacher might need guns for bears, among other misinformed responses.

In a statement to media outlets that you can read on Politico, Devos spoke about several of her policies and responded to her critics. On her work in dismantling guidelines implemented by the Obama administration, including a directive on campus sexual assault, she said she would “hate to think” that it discouraged survivors from coming forward. “There’s nothing about the guidance that would suggest or encourage that”, said Devos. The secretary also said, it’s “hurtful to me when I’m criticized for not upholding the rights of students, the civil rights of students,” arguing, “nothing could be further from the truth.”

Anyway, in honor of her one year anniversary (we’d send an F cake if we weren’t sure it would be turned away), here’s a reminder of just a few of the ways that Devos has been “hurtful” to us in her first year:

• Calling HBCUs “the real pioneers when it comes to school choice” as if segregation didn’t happen.
• Withdrawn memos that protected borrowers when it came to loan debt.
• Literally saying that she wouldn’t stand up against discrimination.
• “Scaling back” on civil rights investigations in the Department.
• Meeting with men’s rights activists groups whose entire aim is to limit the rights of survivors, and rolling back Title IX protections for assault survivors.
• Rescinding 72 guidance documents from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services that protect the rights of students with disabilities.

Report card time isn’t always fun, but it’s important for improvement. And if you’re getting 80,000 F’s? You definitely need to read your report card.

(via NY Times, image: a katz/Shuttershock)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

The Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago has come under fire recently for their excessively strict and dehumanizing disciplinary tactics.

NPR reports that the charter schools feature bathroom rules so strict that many students are left bleeding through their pants because they aren’t allowed a hall pass. “We have [bathroom] escorts, and they rarely come so we end up walking out [of class] and that gets us in trouble,” an anonymous student texted to an NPR reporter. “But who wants to walk around knowing there’s blood on them? It can still stain the seats. They just need to be more understanding.”

In response, the schools have made an adjustment to their already strict dress code by allowing student who have bled into their pants to wear a sweater wrapped around their waist, and alerting teachers of the incident so they don’t mark up the student for breaking dress code. Great solve, but I have some notes: maybe allow students to use the bathroom so they can change their tampons or pads!? I don’t know, I’m not an educator or a school administrator, but I feel like bleeding through your pants is not conducive to an effective learning environment.

Many students at the charter school are unable to afford menstrual products, which is why free products should be made available to all students. Schools already provide paper towels and toilet paper, and menstrual products are integral to good health and hygiene. A few states, like New York and California, have already adopted this no-brainer policy with great success.

Why is it so hard to provide low-income students with free menstrual products? The answer is, of course, the patriarchy: men hold the majority of the political power and most have no understanding or experience around this important issue and still consider menstrual products to be “luxuries.” Case in point: there are only twelve states that don’t tax menstrual products, with California vetoing a similar bill last year. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, said, “Our tax code needs to reflect the fact that it’s not ok to tax women for being born women.”

Did this article make you furious? Check out advocacy groups like Free the Tampons, which are working towards making menstrual products accessible for everyone.

(via NPR, image: Wikimedia Commons)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Second Lady Karen Pence came under fire last week, after she announced that she would be resuming her post teaching art classes at Immanuel Christian School in Northern Virginia. Immanuel Christian School features a strict homophobic guideline for teachers and students alike, threatening firing and expulsion for “homosexual activity or bi-sexual activity”.

That Karen Pence would support this offensive and discriminatory policy comes as no surprise: the Pence family is notorious for their anti-LGBTQ views. But given their public position in society and the government, it is downright shameful for them to promote this kind of bigotry and hatred. Many have taken to Twitter to express their concerns, and to share their own experiences of discrimination and hatred at these supposedly “Christian” schools. The hashtag #ExposeChristianSchools quickly started trending, detailing appalling and offensive behavior straight of out The Handmaid’s Tale. Here are some of the most shocking tweets:

At the evangelical Christian High School I was forced to attend, girls could substitute Home Economics in place of a Science class. #ExposeChristianSchools

— Sunny (@Sunnygirl9) January 19, 2019

I went to a Christian school. A literal white supremacist wrote a new chapter of Revelation (complete with illustrations) about white people finally ending the native problem. Wrote it just for me. Showed me. The school didn’t care. #ExposeChristianSchools

— Wake’nikonhrè:ton (@benfromcanada) January 19, 2019

#ExposeChristianSchools My religion/p.e. teacher/assistant principal (who is Jeff Landry’s mother) would stand on a 2nd floor balcony and look down into girls’ shirts then yell @ us about wearing shirts that allowed the boys and priests to see our breasts.

— La Négresse (@cinnamean) January 19, 2019

7th grade science review question: fill in the blank. “Christians should avoid saying that different species are ___.” Answer was “related”, because that word implies evolution. Never saw inside of a lab. “Science class was for indoctrination. #ExposeChristianSchools

— B.N. “Glory to Bast” Harrison (@bnharrison) January 19, 2019

“once you find the right pizza for you, you’ll never want to add any new toppings or try a new place. Pizza is very personal”. The entire talk was P R O B L E M A T I C. Especially since some asshole invariably makes the “I love sausage pizza” ‘joke’ 🙄 #ExposeChristianSchools

— Ace (@BlueEarOtter) January 19, 2019

#ExposeChristianSchools i was taken out of class once because a “concerned friend” went to the principal about my sexuality. i was then compared to rapists and murders and told to consider conversion therapy. i was then kicked out of school. it was the middle of my junior year.

— jesse (@raplinewins) January 19, 2019

So I tracked down a copy of my old 5th grade “Heath” textbook. I’m going to upload a much larger thread with tons of pictures from this later, but I wanted to give you a sample of what using #ABeka christian school curriculum is like.#EmptyThePews #Exvangelical pic.twitter.com/oWU2qCO8Ry

— Braxton Bragg (@monolithimmort) November 15, 2018

My “sex education” teacher (the same under-qualified teacher who taught geography and biology) told us that sex creates an unbreakable blood bond, which is A) false and B) convinced me that I was forever bound to my abuser. #ExposeChristianSchools

— Melissa Stewart (@LissaStewartVB) January 19, 2019

There are countless more tweets that detail the legacy of discrimination, shaming, and straight up misinformation that students at these schools have experienced. And just today, another story of Christian schools went viral, after a group of boys from Covington Catholic High School in Covington, Kentucky attending the March for Life in Washington, D.C., where they surrounded and harassed a Native American protester and Vietnam veteran at the Indigenous Peoples March.

A group of students from @CovCathColonels harassed & bothered this Native American protestor at the Indigenous Peoples March. Appalling.pic.twitter.com/bYCdxApcLG

— Simar (@sahluwal) January 19, 2019

What Would Jesus Do? Likely none of this hateful and disgusting behavior. Did you go to a Christian school? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

(via Cincinnati.com, image: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Idaho’s Boise State has canceled 52 diversity classes in a blatant endeavor to curb the teaching of important topics and interests for its students. It’s an attempt to rein in “social justice” courses by a state government that feels threatened by the education of its students about vital topics that affect our world and community today. And if anything, it’s going to set back students more than it’s going to help them.

Teachers in Manatee County, Florida have reportedly been ordered to pack up their classroom libraries immediately or potentially face a third-degree felony charge.

Who put a white man in Florida, with no background in education, in charge of deciding what parts of Black history should be taught in schools around the country? By all appearances, the organization in charge of AP courses just did.

Two weeks ago, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned the new AP African American Studies class from public schools in his state, with his administration claiming it violated state law and “lacked educational value.” Instead of giving that excuse the middle finger it deserved, the College Board has released a watered-down version of the course that appears to have been revised in direct response to conservative criticism.

The post The College Board Kicks Off Black History Month by Scaling Back African American Studies Curriculum appeared first on The Mary Sue.

Content warning for child abuse, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, eating disorders.

When is the last time anyone asked Wyoming Republicans if they are okay? Because their behavior in the state legislature recently has reached some serious levels of depravity. There are two particular bills you’ll want to know about in Wyoming right now and the GOP’s position on each is just so backward it’s nauseating. 

The post Wyoming Republicans Outraged at Idea of Banning Child Marriage While Moving Full Steam Ahead With ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill appeared first on The Mary Sue.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that there will be a review of what and how sex education will be taught in schools.

During Prime Ministers’ Questions, Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge Miriam Cates expressed fears over “age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualizing and inaccurate” content being taught in lessons across the country.

The post Tory Proposals for Sex Ed Reform Labelled ‘Politically Motivated’ appeared first on The Mary Sue.

Everyone in America is sick of the gun violence that plagues us everywhere we go. Everyone that is, except the one group of people that could possibly do something about it: Republicans. They seem to think there’s nothing you can do and we all should just accept children getting slaughtered at school is an inevitability of American life.

In perhaps the most egregious lack of self-awareness I’ve ever seen, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee (seen above with Marjorie Taylor Greene congratulating each other on being ineffectual monsters) admitted that Congress will do nothing about school shootings or gun violence in general. According to him, we just need to accept that and move on, I guess there are more important things to fight, like regulating bodies and telling Drag Queens they’re abominations. Per Jezebel:

The post No, Republicans, Homeschooling Is Not a Solution to Gun Violence in Schools appeared first on The Mary Sue.

While the rhetoric of “taking God out of [public] schools” has not been the loudest manufactured culture war as of late, it certainly never left. A Christian persecution complex is always bubbling under the surface of different moral panics. However, I guess it’s been a few months because a new batch of evangelizing in public education laws has cropped up. In Texas, that’s Senate Bills 1515 and 763.

SB 1515 is framed in a way to address the shortage of mental healthcare resources, while the other bill is a blatant push for Christianity in schools. Unfortunately, both have a good chance of becoming law before the summer ends. Especially the latter, SB 763.

The post Texas Republicans Have New Ideas To Force More Religion Into Public Schools appeared first on The Mary Sue.

Alabama’s Director of Early Education Barbara Cooper has become the newest casualty of right-wing America’s War On Education. Her crime? Introducing “woke concepts” to schools. This is far from the first time that Republicans have taken umbrage with what they deem to be “woke.” The Florida legislature recently introduced the “Stop Woke Act” and the “Reverse Woke Act,” which target discussions of critical race theory and related topics in schools, and the availability of transgender healthcare respectively. The “Stop Woke Act” is an especially draconian attempt to eliminate all conversations around systemic racism in classrooms, which Republicans say have no educational value to American students. The bill also threatens the removal of educators who teach these concepts in classrooms and challenge the conservative status quo.

Barbara Cooper was fired for much less.

The post Top Alabama Education Official Fired Over an 881-Page Guidebook That Mentions Race & Equality Twice appeared first on The Mary Sue.

We talk all the time about how hard teachers have it. It’s why Teacher Appreciation Day is immediately followed by Teacher Appreciation Week.

The reality is that teachers are still under-supported to the point that many are leaving the profession in droves. This is due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to low pay (which is especially egregious when compared to other professions and what teachers are paid in other countries), lack of pay increases to compensate for rising inflation, increased criticism of them and their work, and classrooms feeling unsafe—among many other unfortunate reasons.

The post Reminder: Teacher Appreciation Week Should Be a Week of Action appeared first on The Mary Sue.

Summer holidays in the U.S. largely focus on the country’s past, and with Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and the 4th of July behind us for this year, many might have found ourselves recently grappling with our nation’s history. While plenty of people find the practice peculiar, historical reenactment and costuming remain popular ways to explore, teach, and also rewrite American history.

When historical reenactment is used for good

From Tombstone, Arizona to Colonial Williamsburg, it seems that almost every state in the union has some historical town built around the history of the area—and they don’t just exist for entertainment.

The post Breaking Down the Ethics of Historical Costuming and Reenactments appeared first on The Mary Sue.

NPR’s Morning Edition had an interview the other day … and not a sweet kind of interview about some local farmer’s market or the pig that won the county fair. No, instead, they had a man named William Allen on the show, the guy who’s turning the Florida education system into a festering swamp with the help of Governor Ron DeSantis. I really don’t think Florida needs any more festering swamps; they’ve really got enough already in the Everglades. But from what I understand, William Allen filled this particular educational swamp with worse things than alligators. He filled it with justifications for chattel slavery.

And NPR just put him on the air.

The post Why Is NPR Helping Florida Schools Push Slavery-Friendly Propaganda? appeared first on The Mary Sue.

We have had to hear so much hysteria from right-wing media and politicians in recent years about how the “woke mob” is indoctrinating kids. Yes, how dare kids learn that slavery was abhorrent or that gay people exist!?

It is clear that these people are not actually interested in the truth, or indoctrination in the classroom. They just don’t want certain stories to be elevated unless it fits with their narrative of what America was, is, and should aspire to be. That has been made evident by a recent move to offer materials from the right-wing nutjob organization, PragerU. 

The post Florida’s Extreme Right-Wing Seeks Seeks to Infiltrate Public Schools With Outrageous PragerU Videos appeared first on The Mary Sue.

The Orange County Public Schools System in Florida is now seeking new guidelines relating to the oh-so-critical issue of, names. The new guidance means that teachers must use pronouns that correspond to a student’s biological sex at birth. If that wasn’t enough, parents must fill out a form if there’s a deviation from a child’s legal name, including nicknames. 

If this seems like a bit of an overreach, that’s because it is. How many people go by nicknames? Almost everyone in my family has a nickname that is more commonly used than their legal or government name. But as an example, if a student is named Richard, he would need a parental form for people to call him Ricky. In another weird targeting of trans kids, the guidance means that parents can let teachers use a student’s given name but they aren’t required to use their chosen pronouns. And it wouldn’t be an oddly specific Florida schools list if bathrooms weren’t involved. Trans students will now be given “single stall” restrooms that they must use; they shouldn’t enter any group facilities that don’t align with their biological sex. Penalties can be provided for failing to comply.

The post Florida’s Ridiculous New Anti-Trans School Guidelines Ban Nicknames Without Parental Consent appeared first on The Mary Sue.

I never thought Republicans cared about public education. Certainly not in my lifetime. And coming from North Carolina, I have seen the disdain that the GOP has for public education up close. I’ve always taken this as a fact but at Wednesday’s Republican debate, numerous candidates pushed the idea harder than I’d ever seen by publicly calling for getting rid of the Department of Education. I watched this live with anger and disgust, especially since my sister is a public school teacher. As with most issues, it is so important to understand the ‘why.’ Why do these ghouls want to do this?

Following the debate, Minnesota State Senator Erin Maye Quade posted a video to TikTok, breaking down exactly why this is so troubling. Quade explained that Republicans have essentially been against public education since integration. This makes sense. Why should their precious white kids have to mingle with others? But nowadays, they seem afraid of an educated population.

The post There’s No More Coded Language, 2024 Republican Candidates Want To Kill Public Education appeared first on The Mary Sue.

WTF?! That is what students, faculty, and staff of the Art Institutes system of schools across the United States are likely asking themselves and each other as they abruptly receive news via email that their institutions are imminently closing down. Permanently. With little to no warning.

Last Friday, students of the now soon-to-be defunct Art Institute of Houston, for example, received word via email that their school would be closing permanently by Saturday, September 30. According to reporting from ABC 13 News in Houston, neither faculty nor students received any more advanced notice that they would be losing their jobs or their schools. As a result, many students are left with significant educational debt but only partial credits toward a degree. 

The post Art Institutes Begin to Shutter Nationwide, Overnight appeared first on The Mary Sue.

The numbers are staggering. Seventy-five percent of youth participants in an international survey responded that they find the future frightening because of the state of the planet. 83 percent surveyed said they believe not enough is being done to address the planet’s problems. These numbers speak to the reality that today’s youth are facing: The climate crisis is here and they will inherit the very real fight for a livable future. 

For obvious reasons, a generation of climate-conscious youth is a terrifying prospect to the fuel fossil industry. They’re doing all they can to push back against the growing awareness of the need for climate action. Even as some states are mandating that climate change must be taught in schools, others are allowing the fossil fuel industry to hijack the curriculum. 

The post Fossil Fuel Companies Continue to Shape How Schools Nationwide Talk About Climate Change appeared first on The Mary Sue.

During Wednesday’s Republican debate in Iowa, Ron DeSantis repeatedly made a perplexing claim, saying his home state of Florida is #1 in education. If that seems suspect, that’s because it is.

This isn’t the first time DeSantis has made this claim. During a press conference in May of 2023, he and other Florida Republicans bragged about Florida being #1 in the nation in education. In a press release earlier that month, Florida’s Department of Education listed the elements that earned it that top spot:

The post Is Florida #1 in Education Like Ron DeSantis Claims? appeared first on The Mary Sue.