Published March 23rd, 2023
Bill regarding gender pronouns headed to Gov. Burgum’s desk in North Dakota
(The Center Square) – The North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that makes using transgender student pronouns optional for teachers. Senate Bill…
Published March 2nd, 2023
Arkansas committee approves LEARNS bill
(The Center Square) – The Arkansas House Education Committee gave a “do pass” recommendation to a sweeping omnibus bill that would raise starting teacher salaries…
Published February 23rd, 2023
Arkansas committee greenlights public teacher pay hike, universal school choice
(The Center Square) – The Arkansas Senate Education Committee gave a do-pass recommendation Wednesday to the Arkansas LEARNS bill, but not without some reservations from…
Published February 21st, 2023
Arkansas committee greenlights bill creating obscenity standards for libraries
(The Center Square) – The Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee gave a “do pass” recommendation Monday to a bill that would penalize librarians who knowingly distribute…
Published February 16th, 2023
Oklahoma Senate passes bill banning gender transitions for minors
(The Center Square) – The Oklahoma Senate passed a bill Wednesday that bans physicians from performing gender transition surgery on minors. Physicians would face a…
Published February 15th, 2023
Oklahoma House will consider bill changing state education board
(The Center Square) – A bill that would change the makeup of the Oklahoma State Board of Education passed the House Common Education Committee on…
Published February 14th, 2023
Noem signs bill banning gender transition surgery for minors
(The Center Square) – Gov. Kristi Noem signed a bill Monday banning gender transition surgeries and treatments for minors. Physicians could lose their licenses for…
Published February 8th, 2023
Huckabee Sanders says Biden administration ‘doubling down on crazy,’ teases education plan for Arkansas
(The Center Square) – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Joe Biden’s administration is hijacked by the “radical left” and called for a new…
Published February 3rd, 2023
Drummond says ‘state actors’ responsible for misuse of COVID funds
(The Center Square) – Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said Tuesday, “a number of state actors and other individuals are ultimately responsible for millions in…
Published January 26th, 2023
South Dakota teachers leaving profession in ‘exasperation,’ says DOE Secretary
(The Center Square) – South Dakota is experiencing a teacher shortage as some leave the profession, Department of Education Secretary Joe Graves told the Joint…
Published January 25th, 2023
Arkansas Senate passes bill classifying drag shows as adult entertainment
(The Center Square) – The Arkansas Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would classify drag shows as an adult business and bans the performances from…
Published November 11th, 2022
Oklahoma election called ‘mandate on school choice’
(The Center Square) – School choice was not the only issue in the Oklahoma gubernatorial race, but it was one of the most prolific. Gov.…
Published October 21st, 2022
Oklahoma will not add COVID-19 vaccine requirement for schools
(The Center Square) – Oklahoma will not add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of shots required for children before they attend school, state officials…
Published October 18th, 2022
Utah governor wants to ban cell phones from classrooms
(The Center Square) – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox proposed what he called “common sense” solutions for reducing the harmful effects of social media on children.…
Published October 14th, 2022
South Dakota’s school report card shows drop in attendance
(The Center Square) – The South Dakota Department of Education’s 2021-2022 school report card shows a drop in attendance from prior years while graduation rates remain…
Published October 10th, 2022
Oklahoma bans gender reassignment treatment for minors at Oklahoma University Health
(The Center Square) – Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill to ban gender reassignment treatments for children, including hormone replacement therapy, at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital.…
Published September 30th, 2022
OK lawmakers approve prohibition on ARPA funds for children’s gender reassignment
(The Center Square) – Democrats and Republicans voted against a bill that would allocate nearly $109 million for health care after lawmakers inserted a provision…
Published September 20th, 2022
Hofmeister asks for $310 million for Oklahoma teacher pay raises
(The Center Square) – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said she would ask the state’s education board for $310 million for teacher pay…
Published September 16th, 2022
Hutchinson: Proposed Title IX changes violate Arkansas law, bad for girls sports
(The Center Square) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday a proposed change to the Title IX rule would “undermine” girls sports and “violate the…
Published September 9th, 2022
Oklahoma sued over transgender bathroom law that restricts access according to birth sex
(The Center Square) – Three transgender students are suing Oklahoma over a law that requires them to use bathrooms based on the sex listed on…
Published August 23rd, 2022
How will Oklahoma spend its $17M in unused pandemic education funds?
(The Center Square) – More than $17 million of unused pandemic relief funds for education administered through the Oklahoma governor’s office sits unused, while the…
Published August 22nd, 2022
Judge blocks Utah law preventing biological males who ‘transition’ from competing against females
(The Center Square) – Transgender girls in Utah will have an opportunity to play sports after a district court judge issued a preliminary injunction that…
Published August 22nd, 2022
Oklahoma governor questions the legality of payroll deductions for teachers’ union dues
(The Center Square) – Gov. Kevin Stitt ordered the State Department of Education to check payroll deductions for union dues to ensure they complied with…
Published August 19th, 2022
Arkansas lawmakers question claims of teacher shortages
(The Center Square) – Members of the Arkansas Legislative Council grilled officials from the Department of Education on Thursday after they asked for a rule…
Published August 12th, 2022
Hutchinson said Legislature didn’t support spending surplus on teacher raises
(The Center Square) – Arkansas legislators designated a $1.6 billion surplus for tax breaks and school safety grants but did not take up teacher pay…
Published August 8th, 2022
Hutchinson tags surplus for tax relief, school safety grants
(The Center Square) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is asking lawmakers to pass reductions in the corporate and income taxes and establish a $50 million…
Published August 5th, 2022
Cox to Biden: Don’t tie food security programs to Title IX
(The Center Square) – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said school nutrition programs should not be linked with adherence to the Biden administration’s Title IX policies.…
Published August 1st, 2022
Arkansas Senate Democrats want $600 million of surplus for teacher pay
(The Center Square) – Arkansas Senate Democrats want to use $600 million of the state’s $1.6 billion surplus to increase teacher salaries. The Raise Act…
Published July 28th, 2022
Alaska AG’s office: Public school funds cannot pay private school tuition
(The Center Square) – Public school funds can be used for a limited amount of private educational services but cannot be used to pay for…
Published July 27th, 2022
Report questions accounting practices of Oklahoma State Department of Education
(The Center Square) – Oklahoma’s Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency found $5.8 million of questionable expenditures coded as instruction during an audit of the school’s…
Published July 21st, 2022
Legislative committee wants full accounting of COVID spending by schools
(The Center Square) – A subcommittee that monitors state spending is asking Arkansas education officials for a full accounting of federal COVID relief funds given…
Published July 11th, 2022
Stitt requests audit of Tulsa Public Schools
(The Center Square) – Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt called for an audit of Tulsa Public Schools on Thursday amid allegations an employee misused public funds. …
Published June 16th, 2022
Arkansas panel looks to harden schools
(The Center Square) – An Arkansas state panel resurrected to recommend school safety measures in light of a mass shooting in Texas is underway. The…
Published June 13th, 2022
Hutchinson reinstates Arkansas School Safety Commission
(The Center Square) – Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an executive order Friday reinstating the state’s School Safety Commission. “The recent violence in Texas was a…
Published May 20th, 2022
Oklahoma lawmakers pass bill opening up abortion providers to civil liability
(The Center Square) – The Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill Thursday that would allow civil actions against any physician that performs an abortion. House Bill…
Published April 6th, 2022
One-time teacher pay increase could cost Hawaii millions
(The Center Square) – The Hawaii House of Representatives will consider a bill that would give teachers a one-time pay increase based on their years…
Published March 31st, 2022
Stitt signs bill prohibiting transgender women in women’s sports
(The Center Square) – Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Wednesday that bans transgender girls and women from competing in women’s sports. Senate Bill…
Published March 23rd, 2022
Utah lawmakers plan to override governor’s veto of transgender athlete bill
Utah lawmakers are returning to Salt Lake City on Friday to override Gov. Spencer Cox's veto of a bill that would completely ban transgender athletes from participating in school sports.
