Class War: How culture war politics are shaping education

Class War

How culture war politics are changing the shape of education around the country.

Students and parents rallied earlier this year at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus in support of possible changes that would increase eligibility for taxpayer-funded school vouchers to K-12 students statewide.

The lasting legacy of the education culture wars may be a familiar one: school choice

At least seven states have adopted new school choice programs that allow parents to spend state money on nonpublic education.

The Biden administration finally named a coordinator to combat book bans. That was the easy part.

Even as they see a political opportunity to take on the conservative “parents’ rights” movement, the options for the federal government to engage are limited and themselves politically fraught.

Teacher of the Year was supposed to be an honor. Then politics intervened.

As the culture wars have come for public education in the United States, the Teacher of the Year contest has become yet another battlefield.

Brick Demique (right) handed off books to Didi Poitier as they restocked a little free library.

When their school district in Florida took books off the shelves, this community built their own little libraries

Groups are fighting back after the Republican Legislature passed a slate of laws that critics say paved the way for book bans.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke at the Moms for Liberty meeting in Philadelphia on June 30.

DeSantis finds friendly crowd at Moms for Liberty conference, but Trump’s influence runs deep

The Southern Poverty Law Center called them an “extremist group.” But, the way Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told it, they should be proud they were “under attack by the left.”

A. Craven (center), a recent graduate of Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wis., attended a School Board Policy Committee meeting about taking up a proposal to ban Pride flags, Black Lives Matter flags, and safe space stickers from the walls of the school on June 9.

How politics changed education in the Milwaukee suburbs: ‘Now school is about the politics and the fear’

With the help of the local GOP and national groups, a new crop of candidates has expanded to take over nearby school boards, posting victories that have turned Waukesha County into a laboratory for conservative efforts to change education.

Copies of banned books from various states and school systems from around the county are seen during a press conference by US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the Capitol on March 24.

They wrote books to fill voids they felt growing up. Being banned has deepened those wounds.

This school year, hundreds of books like “Queer, There, and Everywhere” and “I grew up feeling unsafe” have been restricted, challenged, and outright banned in libraries and classrooms across the country.

Pete Lazzari (left) checked voting returns on his phone to see how his wife, Barrington, Ill., School Board vice president Leah Collister-Lazzari (right) and board member Barry Altshuler (center) were faring at an election watch party at the Yankee Doodle Inn on April 4.

How a school board race in the blue state of Illinois became a nationally funded cage match

Around the country, conservative groups have harnessed parental angst to gain seats on school boards. Liberals see a threat to public education and have scrambled to keep up.

More politics news

From left, 2023 Kennedy Center Honorees Renée Fleming, Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal, Barry Gibb and Dionne Warwick pose for a photo at the State Department following the Kennedy Center Honors gala dinner, Dec. 2, in Washington.

It’s Kennedy Center Honors time for a crop including Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and Dionne Warwick

The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees are being feted Sunday night at a star-studded event commemorating their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment. 2 hours ago

Elon Musk departed following a meeting in the office of then House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Capitol in Washington in September.

The US government can’t quit Elon Musk - even amid erratic behavior

It may not be easy to disentangle the government from Musk's sprawling tech empire, which includes commercial spaceflight firm SpaceX, prolific satellite internet service Starlink, electric automaker Tesla, medical device company Neuralink and the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. 2:00 p.m.

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) departs his office en route to the House Chamber for a scheduled vote on his expulsion from Congress, in Washington on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023.

How Republicans split over whether to expel George Santos

Here’s a look at how Republicans came down on whether to expel Santos. 5:43 p.m.

Donald Trump spoke during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president on Jan. 6, 2021.

Lawsuits against Donald Trump over Jan. 6 insurrection can move forward, appeals court says

A federal appeals court knocked down Donald Trump's claims that presidential immunity shields him from liability in the lawsuits brought by Democratic lawmakers and police officers. 12:41 p.m.

Representative George Santos left the US Capitol after his fellow members of Congress voted to expel him from the House of Representatives on Friday.

In helping expel George Santos, House Republicans draw a line at his abuse of the political system

Santos, a 35-year-old first term lawmaker, became just the sixth House member in history to be expelled, and the first who wasn’t already convicted of crimes or who had demonstrated “disloyalty to the Union” during the Civil War. 11:04 a.m.

Representative George Santos departed his office en route to the House Chamber for a scheduled vote on his expulsion from Congress in Washington on Friday.

House voting on expelling Representative George Santos from Congress

The first-term Republican congressman is at grave risk of becoming just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues. 10:56 a.m.

Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor is shown speaking before a Senate hearing on her nomination to the Supreme Court on Sept. 9, 1981.

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has died

O’Connor’s nomination in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and subsequent confirmation by the Senate ended 191 years of male exclusivity on the high court. 10:51 a.m.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, left, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

DeSantis and Newsom lob insults and talk some policy in a faceoff between two White House aspirants

In an alternate reality, the prime-time showdown between California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis could have been a preview of a 2024 general election debate. 11:53 p.m.

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