On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court order requiring the Department of Education to reinstate nearly 1,400 employees laid off earlier this year. The unsigned ruling blocked a May decision by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, who concluded the administration lacked the authority to “effectively dismantle […]
Supreme Court
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Can public dollars fund religous charter schools? SCOTUS says no.
In May, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision, effectively upholding the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling that it would be unconstitutional for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma City to receive public funding. The tie vote means the lower court’s decision remains in effect. Due to the evenly split vote, the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Supreme Court to Hear Case on Nation’s First Taxpayer-Funded Religious Charter School
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a proposal from two Catholic dioceses to establish the country’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. The case, originating in Oklahoma, has raised fundamental questions about the separation of church and state. The legal dispute centers on St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a collaborative initiative […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
We Still Need Affirmative Action
Race, Merit, College Admissions, and the Long Ghost of San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez. Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! On October 31, 2022, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
50 Years and We Still Aren’t Fully Safe in Our Bodies!
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas statute that criminalized abortion except to save the mother’s life. The decision in Roe v. Wade established a woman’s constitutional right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. Yet, here we are in bodies that aren’t fully safe. Before we could reach the 50th […]
Posted inOpinion
Mr. Courtney’s Publicly Funded Snake Handling Divinity School
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! For 23 years, I have been a public school teacher. Yet, never once have I shared my religious affiliation nor religious beliefs with my class, nor with a single student for that matter. With very rare exceptions, I never […]
Posted inPedagogy
Justice Jackson and Romeo & Juliet (and Taylor Swift too!)
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! We can celebrate the historic confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and educate our students about many subjects at the same time! My favorite arguments from the newest U.S. Supreme Court Justice are not from any of the important cases she […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
“Patriotic Education” is a Problem
Last week, TheEducatorsRoom hosted a Twitter Chat titled “Is Teaching Political?” It was a conversation prompted in part by President Trump’s announcement of a commission–The 1776 Commission–to design a “patriotic education” program one month earlier. At the heart of his plan is an opinion that “left-wing indoctrination in our schools” is destroying the country. Instead […]