Free Republic

Victor Espinosa, a lecturer in sociology at Ohio State University, has been telling students that they are forbidden from using the term ‘illegal immigrant’ to describe immigrants who did not enter the country through the legal method. Because – drum roll – it is offensive. Mr Espinosa has written to at least one student telling them they ‘will not be allowed to use the term illegal to refer to an unauthorized immigrant’ because it ‘dehumanizes, marginalizes and racializes the people it seeks to describe.’ In his wisdom and generosity, Espinosa grants that students may use the term illegal immigration –...

Medicaid health plans are starting to pay for non-traditional services such as meals, transportation, housing and other forms of assistance to improve members’ health and reduce medical costs. That change follows efforts by state Medicaid programs to give health plans financial incentives to control spending, said Jill Rosenthal, senior program director for the National Academy for State Health Policy. Rather than continue to pay a set fee each month to cover members’ health costs, many states are implementing policies that let health plans share in any savings they can demonstrate. That provides motivation for insurers to address factors such as...

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission stirred up controversy last week when they erred on the side of common sense and the Second Amendment. The Commission investigating the so-called “Valentine’s Day massacre” that left 14 students and 3 teachers dead, and another 17 people wounded recommended that teachers who were willing to volunteer, undergo background checks, psychological evaluations and training, be allowed to carry concealed firearms on campus. Opponents of the recommendation argue that armed-teachers wouldn’t stop mass shootings and it’s a bad idea that would make students less safe. They feel teachers should be teaching, not...

In recent years, certain advocacy groups have criticized private Jewish schools, generally known as yeshivoth, claiming that the schools provide a substandard education. At issue is the interpretation of a New York state law passed in the late 19th century that requires private schools to provide an education “substantially equivalent” to that offered in the public schools. Through the decades, the various private school networks, whether religious or non-sectarian, have managed to meet this vague requirement to the satisfaction of local authorities and the New York State Education Department (NYSED). Until now. Under substantial pressure from an organization called Young...

For years, millennials have scoffed at the notion of fixing someone else’s toilet, installing elevators, or cleaning a patient’s teeth. Instead, they wanted to get educated in lesbian dance theory, gender studies, and how white people and western civilization destroyed the world. As a result, student loan debt has surpassed the $1 trillion mark, the youth unemployment rate hovers around 9%, and the most tech-savvy and educated generation is delaying adulthood. But their generational successors are not making the same mistakes, choosing to put in a good day’s work rather than whining on Twitter about how “problematic” the TV series...

A fiercely divided Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected a nearly decade-long lawsuit that challenged whether the state has properly carried out a 1998 constitutional amendment that called for ensuring a “high quality” system of public schools. The decision upheld lower-court rulings and focused heavily on the role of the judiciary in addressing sweeping issues such as the quality of public schools. A main opinion shared by Chief Justice Charles Canady, Justice Alan Lawson and Associate Justice Edward LaRose said plaintiffs in the case failed “to present any manageable standard by which to avoid judicial intrusion into the powers of...

The NAACP and several Miami-Dade County school board members are supporting a South Florida student whose 330-point SAT score increase has test administrators questioning whether she may have cheated. Miami-Dade NAACP President Ruban Roberts spoke out Friday to demand answers surround the test taken by Dr. Michael Krop Senior High School student Kamilah Campbell. In the span of seven months Campbell took her score of 900 and turned it into a 1230... ....Crump also called the test culturally biased. "If she was from a different community and a different neighborhood, would they be more likely to accept it then?" Crump...

A nonprofit run by state lawmakers to raise scholarship money for needy minority students spends most of the cash on its lavish annual soiree — including $6,000 on limos — and gave out no grants the last two years, The Post has learned. The New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators organizes a “Caucus Weekend” — a series of workshops, concerts and parties — in Albany every February for minority members of the Assembly and the Senate. The group charges sponsors up to $50,000 for a chance to party with lawmakers at events that have ­included Grammy...

FOR THOSE IN ARIZONA: I invite you to come out on January 14-16 to the filming of 15 live "lessons" in U.S. history as I teach "A Patriot's History of the United States" from Columbus to Reconstruction for the March launch of my new website, "The Wild World of History." We need 8-10 "students" in each "class." Each session will last about 1 hour. You are welcome to attend one, or all with your children/students, or just for fun. The sessions will begin about 8:30 a.m, then about 9:30, 10:30, break for lunch, 1:00 and 2:00. We do not have...

I’m tired of the argument, “The money for the border wall is better spent on health care, education, and welfare.” First of all, the border has to do with national security. Our Constitution requires the federal government to provide for a national defense. The border is part of that. The Constitution does not provide for charity, schooling, medical care, and all the other things the federal government is now $22 trillion in debt for spending. If you think the border wall is a bad use of money for national defense, and you have better ideas for how to provide for...

According to this university educator, "white supremacy is the accumulation of these aggressive messages that say 'stay off the grass,' 'mow your lawn,' 'act respectable,' 'pull your pants up,'" Earlier this month, a university educator told the Madison Board of Education why things like civility, time limits and mowing your lawn indicates you are racist. Seriously, I truly wonder how someone completed higher education courses and is teaching students with this kind of mental defect in their thinking. The University of Wisconsin - Madison "educator" said that she teaches her students the alleged "connection" between white liberalism and white supremacy.

When it comes to Silicon Valley Santas bearing gifts for our children, I am a big Scrooge. Every responsible parent should be, too. In 2016, Apple CEO Tim Cook showered a rural Idaho school district with 500 iPads and Apple TVs for every classroom, along with free training as part of a 29-state $100 million personalized digital technology program. He visited the Idaho schools recently with Ivanka Trump, where she praised the "laboratories of innovation" for using Apple products "to transform the learning environment and personalize students' educational experiences based on their unique needs and strengths!" With all due respect,...

Would it make sense to let McDonald’s franchises decide whether Burger King can do business in their areas? This is essentially the situation created, say critics, by a November New York State Department of Education guidance empowering local government schools to assess the curricula of private schools in their districts and then determine whether they’re fit to operate. Among other things, the onerous guidelines would “give the school district control over teacher’s accreditation, and mandate inspections from public school officials. If not abided by, the guidelines threaten the loss of student-based funding, school transportation, and even eventual closure,” according to...

CHANDLER, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- A woman is facing charges after police say she posted nude photos of a man on the fence of his children's school. Police say 55-year-old Deborah Britton posted the photos on the inside of the Hull Elementary School's fence back in September. The victim immediately reported the photos to police and told officers that he suspected it was Britton because she was the only person he had sent the photo to. According to court documents, the photos were posted on the fence facing in so that students or any person on the inside of the...

A [Muslim] Pflugerville speech pathologist is suing Pflugerville ISD and the State of Texas over a law that prohibits state agencies from doing business with companies that boycott Israel, arguing it's a violation of free speech. After it passed, several school districts added a clause to employment contracts stating contractors do not and will not boycott Israel. Bahia Amawi found out about the clause in August. She worked with Pflugerville ISD for nine years as a speech pathologist for young children, with a specialty in children who speak Arabic. When the district sent over her contract, she said she saw...

Police say they thwarted a plot involving two 14-year-old Middlebury Union Middle School students to carry out a shooting this week on the school’s campus. Dennis Wygmans, the Addison County state’s attorney, said Tuesday evening that the investigation is ongoing and if any charges are filed, they “most likely” would be brought in juvenile court. “We believe there is no longer a threat, but folks should remain vigilant,” the prosecutor added. “If they do learn of anything, they should contact Middlebury Police.” Because the case involves juveniles, authorities say they are not releasing the names of the students involved. The...

A federal judge says Broward schools and the Sheriff’s Office had no legal duty to protect students during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom dismissed a suit filed by 15 students who claimed they were traumatized by the crisis in February. The suit named six defendants, including the Broward school district and the Broward Sheriff’s Office, as well as school deputy Scot Peterson and campus monitor Andrew Medina. Bloom ruled that the two agencies had no constitutional duty to protect students who were not in custody. “The claim arises from the actions of...

California ranks No. 1 among the 50 states for the percentage of its residents 25 and older who have never completed ninth grade and 50th for the percentage who have graduated from high school, according to new data from the Census Bureau. Texas ranks No. 2 for the percentage of its residents 25 and older who have never completed ninth grade and 49th for the percentage who have graduated from high school. 9.7 percent of California residents 25 and older, the Census Bureau says, never completed ninth grade. Only 82.5 percent graduated from high school. 8.7 percent of Texas residents...

Last month, the New York State Education Department made a crucial decision: Commissioner MaryEllen Elia handed authority to local school boards to veto the right for private schools to operate. Those school boards must now determine whether private schools provide an education "substantially equivalent to that received in district public schools." According to Jewish educators Elya Brudny and Yisroel Reisman, "The state government now requires private schools to offer a specific set of classes more comprehensive than what students in public schools must learn." This isn't a problem for Jewish schools alone -- Catholic schools in New York have bucked...

This story actually popped up last week but somehow got lost in my inbox for a while. Down in Florida, in the school district where the horrific shooting took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Stoneman Douglas Commission finally sat down to take a vote on one of many measures being considered to provide additional security for students and teachers in the event of future mass shooting attempts. The subject at hand was the concept of arming teachers who volunteer to undergo rigorous training and carry firearms at work.Given the outrage expressed over the idea by many student...