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Tag: Education policy

Education Dept Tightens Loan Forgiveness, Excludes Groups Promoting Trans Surgeries and Illegal Aid
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The Daily Caller, Approved, National

Education Dept Tightens Loan Forgiveness, Excludes Groups Promoting Trans Surgeries and Illegal Aid

By: Jaryn Crouson | The Daily Caller The Department of Education (ED) on Thursday updated a rule on public service employee eligibility for student loan forgiveness, disqualifying any who work at organizations that advocate for sex change operations for minors, or which aid illegal aliens. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program generally applies to government workers and some nonprofits that are deemed to be serving the public, but the new rule disqualifies employers who “have a substantial illegal purpose.” The disqualifications include “aiding and abetting violations of Federal immigration laws,” “supporting terrorism or engaging in violence,” “engaging in the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children,” “engaging in the trafficking of children to States...
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The Real “Trick or Treat” in D38
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

The Real “Trick or Treat” in D38

By Amy Stephens | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In Lewis-Palmer District 38, voters are being asked to choose between transparency and trickery — between a school board candidate who respects parents and one who shuts them out if they dare disagree. That’s not hyperbole. It’s the documented history of union-backed activist Jackie Burhans. Burhans markets herself as a champion of “parental rights.” But look closer and a pattern emerges: she defends rights only when parents share her ideology. When they don’t, she dehumanizes them — mocking, marginalizing, and labeling them, often accusing them of the very tactics she uses to silence dissent. We saw this in the now-infamous images from La Burla Bee, a downtown nightclub in Colorado Springs. There stands Burhans — holding ra...
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While she fought cancer, a Durango teacher moved in on her child
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

While she fought cancer, a Durango teacher moved in on her child

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When Colorado mom Cindy Stein sat before state lawmakers last spring, she was still recovering from cancer—and from losing her child to a teacher’s influence in a system that no longer sees parents as essential. “While I was fighting for my life, this teacher inserted herself into my daughter’s world, convincing her to reject me and her family,” Stein told the Senate Judiciary Committee.  https://twitter.com/OffThePress1/status/1917709537177424184 The clip spread quickly online. A month earlier, the Daily Wire broke the story, exposing what she says Durango schools tried to keep quiet. When a teacher’s comfort crossed a line Stein says her 16-year-old met Durango High School math teacher Joanne Smotherman while she was enduring...
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More Colorado Teachers Opt Out of Union Dues and Politics
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The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

More Colorado Teachers Opt Out of Union Dues and Politics

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette When a school district’s union speaks, it’s often billed as the voice of the teachers. Not so fast. Out of Colorado’s 179 school districts, fewer than 40 are formally “unionized” through collective-bargaining, or “master” agreements, in which unions negotiate pay, benefits and other matters on behalf of all teachers. Some districts agree to memorandums of understanding similar to collective bargaining. The majority of districts aren’t unionized at all. Sure, many districts have union affiliates, but they function more like clubs. And many teachers join because they’re led to believe they need the liability policies unions provide. It’s worth noting that comparable policies offered by the Professional Association of Colora...
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Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” puts union power on trial ahead of school board elections
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” puts union power on trial ahead of school board elections

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice If the union were grading its own influence, the American Federation of Teachers would be giving itself an A+. Parents, on the other hand, are handing out detention slips—and Heidi Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” is the roll call. With ballots out and school board races underway, Heidi Ganahl has posted six “Douglas County Dirty Dozen” videos asking one question—who sets priorities inside local classrooms? Her focus is the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and four Douglas County candidates backed by $2,500 donations from AFT Colorado each—proof, she says, that national politics are steering local schools. “These aren’t local debates anymore,” Ganahl said. “The same union driving politics in Washington is writing the playbook for our school...
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The conservative candidates—Sheldon Kier and Adena Kreutz—are best for Delta Schools
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

The conservative candidates—Sheldon Kier and Adena Kreutz—are best for Delta Schools

By Angie Many | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As Colorado mandates more and more laws affecting students and school districts, school board elections have become increasingly important. Unfortunately, despite the importance of electing members to guide school policies, such ‘off-year’ elections traditionally have poor voter turnout. ‘We the people’ need to start paying more attention and devoting a little time to learning more about the people who will have such an impact on the education – and the indoctrination – that our children receive. And then we need to vote. Delta County has five candidates in this year’s school board election. Two of them will, in my opinion, help to restore common sense and sanity to school policies and keep government influence at a minimum. ...
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Tri-Lakes parents back Ginger Schaaf for D38 School Board—and stronger schools
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Tri-Lakes parents back Ginger Schaaf for D38 School Board—and stronger schools

By Amy Stephens | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Two years ago, Ginger Schaaf and her family moved to Monument after her husband retired from military service. Having lived in Olympia, Washington, they were ready to leave behind “woke” policies that made it untenable to stay. “It was so extreme that at local sports games there wasn’t even an American flag,” Ginger recalled. “You had to put your hand on your chest and look to the sky.” When the Schaafs chose Monument, it was because of the area’s strong sense of community and its reputation for excellent schools—something they wanted for their middle- and high-school-age sons. So when Ginger learned that progressive community organizer Jackie Burhans had entered the D38 school-board race, she knew she had to step forward. ...
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Parents vs. unions: The battle over Mesa County’s schools
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Parents vs. unions: The battle over Mesa County’s schools

By Kent Zook | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The same people and organizations trying to replace District 51 School board members, Andrea Haitz, Will Jones, and Angela Lema are the ones responsible for neglecting our schools in the first place. Previous board leadership allowed facilities to deteriorate to the point that repair costs became unfeasible. Union-backed leaders pushed for schools to remain closed longer during COVID-19 and for students to continue masking despite mounting evidence that masks did little to prevent transmission. On August 17, 2021, under the old union-backed board, a public meeting abruptly ended after just 30 minutes of comment, even though 45 minutes had been allotted. The board members, backed by the union, simply walked out with a police escort...
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Teachers Union Criticized for Letting Radical Groups Shape Curriculum
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Washington Examiner, Approved, National

Teachers Union Criticized for Letting Radical Groups Shape Curriculum

By: Robert Schmad | Washington Examiner Teaching resources authored by Hamas sympathizers, praise for violent left-wing activists, and activities where students roleplay as “queer liberation” activists fighting against the “Religious Right” represent just a small sample of the material produced by the Zinn Education Project and its parent organization, Rethinking Schools. The nearly three-million-strong National Education Association has gone to great lengths to endorse and embed such materials in the public education system through a series of partnerships with the duo of left-wing organizations.  The NEA, the nation’s largest teachers union, has granted the Zinn Education Project and Rethinking Schools prime space and opportunities to present at its confere...
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