Bethany Blankley

Texas lawmaker prioritizing school safety, teacher pay hikes, parental controls over explicit materials

(The Center Square) – Over the last few weeks, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, has announced in piecemeal fashion bills he says the state House…

6 school safety bills filed, address security failure in Uvalde

(The Center Square) – State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, filed six school safety bills on Thursday, referring to them as “Safety Six.” The bills, he…

FBI has until March 1 to turn over information of probe targeting parents

(The Center Square) – U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona have until March 1 to turn over…

Majority of Texas voters say school choice, border security, property taxes are top priorities

(The Center Square) – Securing the Texas border, reducing property taxes and expanding school choice are all issues Texans say the state Legislature should prioritize…

Republican senators introduce Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

(The Center Square) – Two Republican U.S. Senators introduced a bill to provide medical care to babies born alive after surviving an abortion. They did…

Rhode Island school under scrutiny for soliciting funds for cartel human smuggler

(The Center Square) – Employees of a Rhode Island high school are under scrutiny for allegedly engaging in a scheme involving a student who was…

Poll shows majority of Americans support some abortion restrictions

(The Center Square) – A majority of Americans surveyed support at least some abortion restrictions, according to a poll conducted ahead of the 50th anniversary…

Report: Children under 14 dying from fentanyl poisoning at faster rate than any other age group

(The Center Square) – Children under age 14 are dying from fentanyl poisoning at a faster rate than any other age group in the U.S.,…

Ahead of Texas legislative session, most viewed bills filed relate to parental rights, child abuse

(The Center Square) – Ahead of Texas’ 88th legislative session, at least 1,635 bills have been filed as of Jan. 9, according to state prefiling…

School choice options expand across U.S. in 2022

(The Center Square) – More parents overwhelmingly chose school choice in 2022 after expressing frustration with lockdown policies, school boards and mandates. As more state…

18 AGs, others file briefs in case supporting parental rights in schools

(The Center Square) – Eighteen attorneys general led by Montana’s Austin Knudsen filed an amicus brief with an appeals court in support of parental rights…

Florida launches optional child ID program for parents

(The Center Square) – Florida has launched a new Child ID program and is distributing Child ID kits to all Florida school districts for parents…

Abbott reminds TEA, school superintendents COVID-19 vaccines are only voluntary

(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott is reminding school leaders that the COVID-19 vaccine is prohibited from being made mandatory as a school entry…

Florida recognizes schools that provide support for military family children

(The Center Square) – Florida continues to honor military families through a range of state and local resources, in addition to schools that are providing extra…

In Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s third term, parental rights and school choice are high priorities

(The Center Square) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared victory in the Rio Grande Valley Tuesday night in McAllen, Texas, winning reelection to his third…

Gov. DeSantis: Nation’s report card scores show keeping schools open the right decision

(The Center Square) – The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) rankings indicate that Florida students are “well ahead of their peers, especially with…

Houston-area church responds to Newsom’s abortion billboards with its own in multiple states

(The Center Square) – A Houston-area church has responded to Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign purchasing billboards in Texas using a Bible verse to justify abortion.…

Texas pastors offer blistering rebuke of Newsom’s ad quoting Jesus to promote abortion

(The Center Square) – Texas pastors across the state are offering blistering rebukes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s billboard campaign in Texas quoting Jesus to…

Florida schools impacted by Hurricane Ian given flexibility for student reporting

(The Center Square) – Florida school districts and public charter schools impacted by Hurricane Ian are being given flexibility for student reporting, which normally occurs…

Report: Florida ranks first in education freedom

(The Center Square) – Florida’s approach to education and education outcomes ranked first out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in a…

Miami-Dade school board members vote against designating October as LGBTQ History Month

(The Center Square) – Miami-Dade County Public Schools board members this week voted 8-1 to uphold state law and not designate October as LGBTQ History…

DeSantis suspends four Broward County School Board members

(The Center Square) – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday suspended via executive order four Broward County School Board members “due to their incompetence, neglect of…

AG Paxton advisory: Texas public schools can’t impose mask mandates

(The Center Square) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an advisory Wednesday as the new school year begins to clarify that no public schools…

DeSantis: New legislation coming next year to grow Florida’s teaching workforce

(The Center Square) – New legislation is being proposed for the 2023 legislative session to expand Florida’s teaching workforce, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. Three…

Texans encouraged to use iWatchTexas to report suspicious behavior

(The Center Square) – Texans are being encouraged to use a free iWatch reporting system to alert local and state law enforcement about suspicious behaviors…

DeSantis: ‘State of Florida is where woke goes to die’

(The Center Square) – At a Tuesday news conference announcing new legislative proposals to expand teacher hiring, Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back against the narrative…

Louisiana Education superintendent lauds Florida-based Moms for Liberty group

(The Center Square) – The highest state official overseeing education in Louisiana is expressing overwhelming support for a parent-led movement in Florida. Dr. Cade Brumley,…

Report: Texas lags behind other states in public school open enrollment

(The Center Square) – Texas lags behind other states in public school open enrollment, a new report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Reason…

Alito: U.S. seeing growing hostility to religious freedom

(The Center Square) – Associate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said there’s a “growing hostility to religion” in a keynote address he gave highlighting…

Florida offering military veterans education certification

(The Center Square) – In another effort to provide job opportunities to military veterans and address a teacher shortage, Florida is making it easier for…

Fifth Circuit vacates lower court ruling, allowing Abbott’s ban of school district mask mandates to go in effect

(The Center Square) – A Fifth Circuit panel of judges has handed Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton another win, this time upholding…

Florida, Texas allocate record funding for programs supporting adoptive, foster families, expectant mothers

(The Center Square) – As Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed funds for adoption, describing the funding as anti-choice, the Republican governors of Florida and…

First ever civics program launched in Florida

(The Center Square) – Florida has launched its first ever civics program to prepare high school and college graduates for public service. As Florida’s K-12…

Report: Unfunded state public pension liabilities projected to increase to $1.3 trillion for FY22

(The Center Square) – Unfunded state public pension liabilities are expected to increase to $1.3 trillion in fiscal 2022 if investment returns in the stock…

DeSantis’ message on education freedom is resonating in battleground states, teacher union poll finds

(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ message of education freedom – including empowering parents, banning “woke” curriculum, and ensuring education transparency – are…

DeSantis admin fires back after Newsom ad inviting Floridians to move to California over education, other issues

(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom launched an advertisement on Independence Day telling Florida residents their freedoms were under attack in the Sunshine…

California ‘equitable math’ program postponed as new national civics curriculum launched

(The Center Square) – Many California parents are celebrating wins this week after a controversial school district superintendent was fired for making comments about Asian…

Abbott, Texas leaders announce additional $105.5 million in funding for school safety, mental health initiatives

(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott and state leaders announced $105.5 million in state funding is being allocated to expand school safety and mental…

Ten states ban abortion, with exceptions, after Supreme Court ruling

(The Center Square) – So far, 10 state attorneys general have announced that abortion is now effectively illegal in their states after the Supreme Court…

Abbott orders active shooter training for law enforcement, public school administrators

(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott has instructed the director of a state university center to provide active shooter training to law enforcement and…

Abbott directs TEA to create rules mandating enhanced safety standards for schools

(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Education Agency to create rules mandating enhanced safety standards for public schools in response to…

Abbott asks legislature to develop recommendations on school safety

(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott is asking the legislature to develop recommendations for school safety and other issues. He’s also directed the Texas…

Cruz: We must not react to evil by abandoning U.S. Constitution

(The Center Square) – The U.S. cannot respond to evil by abandoning the constitution, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz says. After a teenager shot and killed…

Abbott issues disaster declaration for Uvalde

(The Center Square) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for the city of Uvalde after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.…

Rubio: Congress should pass Luke and Alex School Safety Act to improve school safety

(The Center Square) – In the wake of Tuesday’s shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead at a Texas elementary school, some members…

Justice Thomas: ‘We are in danger of destroying the institutions … required for a free society’

(The Center Square) – It’s been two weeks and there’s still no word on who leaked the U.S. Supreme Court draft brief indicating that the…

DeSantis launches National Police Week to honor those in blue

(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued a proclamation declaring the week of May 11-17 as National Police Week. He’s expanded on…

Florida recommends against Biden administration guidance on gender modification

(The Center Square) – The Florida Department of Public Health has issued a guidance in response and opposition to guidance released by the Biden administration…

DeSantis signs four bills, prompting lawsuits against two of them

(The Center Square) – At the close of a controversial, three-day special legislative session, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed four bills into law. Two lawsuits were…

Special legislative session begins in Florida to strip Disney of its special governing status

(The Center Square) – Gov. Ron DeSantis called the Florida Legislature into a special session on Tuesday to amend a state statute to strip Walt…

Groups call on Department of Education to halt changes to Title IX

(The Center Square) – A coalition of 26 conservative organizations have called on the Biden administration to halt making changes to Title IX, which they…

DeSantis signs bill requiring curriculum transparency

(The Center Square) – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Friday that requires Florida school districts to be transparent in the selection of…

DeSantis signs financial literacy bill into law

(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law requiring high school students to take a financial literacy course as a…

Gov. DeSantis signs bill ending end-of-year Florida Standards Assessment test

(The Center Square) – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signed SB 1048 into law, which replaces the Florida Standards Assessment test, the major end-of-year exam students take…

New Florida civics curriculum available for fourth graders

(The Center Square) – A new civics curriculum is available for Florida fourth graders, and all Florida residents will have access to it online for…

Individual Freedoms bill headed to Gov. DeSantis’ desk

(The Center Square) – An “Individual Freedoms” bill has passed both chambers of the legislature and is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk. He’s expected…

AGs sue Biden administration over DOJ’s call to investigate protesting parents

(The Center Square) – Fourteen Republican attorneys general, led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, have sued the Biden administration for not responding to a…

Four school choice Republican incumbents won primary races

(The Center Square) – Four candidates backed by the Texas Federation for Children PAC won their primary elections; two it opposed and one it supported…

Charter school teacher gets refund from teachers union that seized dues

(The Center Square) – A California union has backed down after facing a potential legal action threatened by the National Right to Work Legal Defense…

McKinsey: School shutdowns cost students ‘significant’ losses

(The Center Square) – School shutdowns last year created devastating academic, economic and mental consequences among K-12 students that could last into their adulthoods, a…