社区黑料

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First grade was the year 鈥渁ll hell broke loose鈥� for Carter, a South Carolina teenager with multiple disabilities whose school career was marked by suspensions of every kind. In-school. Out-of-school. Forced to sit alone at lunch. Kicked off the school bus. 

In a powerful story and state-by-state data analysis this week, my colleague Amanda Geduld offers disturbing new insight into the degree to which children with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to school suspensions, sometimes for minor infractions. Disciplinary actions against children with disabilities aren鈥檛 just a matter of their behaviors, Amanda found. They鈥檙e also greatly affected by where the student lives. 

Amanda digs into the repeated school suspensions of Carter, which his mom said could have been avoided had the local schools provided adequate special education services that federal law demands. His case highlights a trend: No state suspends children with disabilities more often than South Carolina. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 just reflective of the state of public education of South Carolina as a whole,鈥� said Macaulay Morrison, the assistant director of a health and legal advocacy clinic at the University of South Carolina Law School. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 easier for schools to exclude these students than it is for them to figure out how to support them.鈥�

Read Amanda鈥檚 story here, and see how the numbers stack up in your state.聽

In the News

New on the First Amendment battlefield: A slim majority of American adults support teacher-led Christian prayers in public schools, according to a new Pew Research Center report released just days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott authorized Bible readings in schools and required Ten Commandments displays in classrooms. The Texas laws are part of a broader conservative push to bolster religion in schools 鈥� with hopes of ultimately finding favor on the Supreme Court. On the same day Texas required the display of the Ten Commandments in schools, a federal appeals court struck down a similar law in Louisiana. | 社区黑料

Developments on Trump鈥檚 immigration crackdown: Federal immigration agents arrested more than 30 people after conducting a raid at a south Alabama high school construction site. Officials said the operation 鈥渟ends a strong message to those who exploit illegal labor for profit.鈥� |

• In Florida, agents visited the offices of a state-funded children鈥檚 center in a search for their undocumented parents. |
• Detroit teenager Maykol Bogoya-Duarte has been deported to his home country of Colombia after he was detained by immigration officials during a routine traffic stop while driving to a school field trip. |
• In New York, residents confronted masked immigration agents lingering hundreds of feet from an elementary school. Agents got into a car crash as they attempted to flee. |
• The State Department will screen the social media profiles of student visa applicants for 鈥渁ny indications of hostility鈥� toward the U.S. |
• A former federal immigration officer in North Carolina was arrested on allegations he possessed images of child sexual abuse. |
• Student absences have surged by 22% this year in California鈥檚 Central Valley amid heightened immigration enforcement activity in the agricultural region, a new study found. |

The Loudoun County, Virginia, school district announced plans to install on its campuses artificial intelligence-powered surveillance cameras designed to identify weapons, fights and medical emergencies. |

A critic鈥檚 take on Pride Month: Libraries have become 鈥渃enters for queer resistance鈥� in the fight against censorship. A new investigation takes aim at LGBTQ+-affirming books which, according to the author, glamorize 鈥渕edicalized sex changes as brave and heroic.鈥� |

• The Trump administration has gutted a specialized suicide prevention line for LGBTQ+ youth, who are far more likely than their straight peers to die by suicide. |
• In a major civil rights setback, the Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. |
• The Education Department announced the California Interscholastic Federation violated the civil rights of female students by allowing transgender athletes to compete on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. |

The Senate education committee voted Thursday to approve Trump nominees Penny Schwinn as the Education Department鈥檚 second in command and Kimberly Richey to lead the agency鈥檚 civil rights office. Both were advanced to the full Senate on 12-11 votes along party lines. | 社区黑料

A federal judge has awarded more than $900,000 to a former Pennsylvania middle school teacher who was fired for attending the 鈥淪top the Steal鈥� insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. |

The Senate parliamentarian will allow a provision to ban state regulation of artificial intelligence for a decade, including rules around its use in schools, to remain in President Donald Trump鈥檚 sweeping spending bill. |

A bulletin from the National Terrorism Advisory System has warned of a 鈥渉eightened threat environment鈥� for cyberattacks after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites. In an unrelated cybersecurity advisory last year, the federal government cited the potential threat of Iran-based hackers carrying out cyberattacks on U.S. 鈥渆ducation, finance, healthcare and defense sectors.鈥� | ,

A massive settlement, behind closed doors: The school board in Los Angeles has quietly agreed to issue $500 million in bonds to settle hundreds of decades-old sexual abuse cases involving former students. |

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Emotional Support

Look. At. This. Chunk. 

No really, this dog鈥檚 name is Chunk! This pup is 74 editor Kathy Moore鈥檚 11-week-old Corgi pup nephew, and we get it. He鈥檚 unbearably cute. Try not to make a scene.

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