The way to win in the global fight for democracy is to think locally, according to Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward. In a keynote address to a summit on religious freedom in public schools held in Dallas Sept. 15,…
Thou shall not? Schools in Texas and Arkansas caught between rulings
When a federal judge provisionally rules that a state’s mandate for public schools to display the Ten Commandments is unconstitutional, does that ruling apply only to the school districts involved in the litigation or to all districts in the state?…
Ruling coming soon on Texas Ten Commandments law
A federal judge will issue a decision within two weeks on the constitutionality of a new Texas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms. Senate Bill 10 mandates the presence of donated 16-by-20-inch posters or framed copies of…
How a teacher’s kindness can change a student’s life
I was a fifth-year senior, which was one of the most embarrassing times of my life. It meant I hadn’t finished high school in the usual four years, and I would be required to go back to the same high…
Prayer in schools
In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down government-mandated prayer in public schools. This ruling led many to believe it was forbidden to pray in school. Not so. As one bumper sticker stated, “As long as there are students and…
Supreme Court sides with parents who object to LGBTQ-themed books
Parents have the right to keep their children from any instruction on LGBTQ themes in public schools, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 27. The 6-3 decision found the constitutional right to free exercise of religion was violated by a…
I’m a Christian teacher who opposes posting the Ten Commandments
Eleven years ago, I began my career as a high school English teacher at a school smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt. It was the same sort of school that would be required to display the Ten…
New standards for Oklahoma high school students promote misinformation about the 2020 election
Oklahoma high school students studying U.S. history learn about the Industrial Revolution, women’s suffrage and America’s expanding role in international affairs.
Now Ryan Walters wants Oklahoma students to study alleged fraud in 2020 election
Already the most ridiculed man in public education, Ryan Walters isn’t yet done making a spectacle of his far-right agenda. The Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction now wants to rewrite U.S. history lessons to accommodate Donald Trump’s lie that he…
Trump warns of kids getting gender surgery at school and returns to anti-abortion stance
Donald Trump may be confused about what school nurses do, but he’s back on script opposing abortion. The Republican presidential nominee made waves within his own party last week when he appeared to support some level of abortion access and…
Ryan Walters descends from the Capitol with new commandments for Oklahoma teachers
The handwriting is on the wall for Oklahoma teachers. Anyone who knows the Jewish and Christian Scriptures would understand that statement is a riff on a well-known passage from Daniel 5:5 where mysterious handwriting appeared on the wall with a…
Christian groups helped elect school board that restored Confederate names
The Virginia school board that voted last week to restore the names of Confederate leaders to two schools was elected with the help of conservative Christian groups that promote parental rights and oppose Critical Race Theory. Ever since the Shenandoah…