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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Virginia Group Creates Online Resource for 'Divisive' Educational Materials

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Thursday, March 31, 2022   

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has made removing so-called "divisive" lessons on race, history and identity from classrooms a cornerstone of his administration. Now, one group is working to ensure teachers still can access the materials.

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) has launched an online portal for equity and diversity training materials purged from the Department of Education's website.

James Fedderman, president of the VEA, said in a news conference this week, the lessons are vital resources for teachers and students.

"We are doing this because we believe educators who can teach all of our students about all of our history is in the best interest of us all," Fedderman asserted.

A Pew Research poll last August found Americans were significantly divided on whether increased attention to America's history of racism was good or bad. A little more than half of all survey respondents indicated they thought the lessons were important, but just 46% of white adults supported placing more emphasis on America's history of racism.

Earlier this year, Youngkin set up a divisive-concepts tip line for folks if they believe a teacher is providing the lessons to students. Fedderman noted the initiative, known by opponents as the "snitch line," has created a culture of fear among Virginia's teachers.

"Many educators are on edge that, no matter what they teach, it's going to be reported to the snitch line," Fedderman observed.

The General Assembly is set to reconvene for a special session next week to finalize the state's biennial budget, and Fedderman and other education and social-justice advocates are pushing lawmakers to increase public-education funding and raise teachers' pay during the session.


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