Barack Obama

College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Signs of Hope in Discouraged Times—a New Citizenship Movement?
In a discouraging time, stirrings of a new movement for citizenship and civic education are signs of hope. The youth civic empowerment and civic education initiative Public Achievement illustrates, as does the new field of Civic Studies, centered on citizens as co-creators, and new congressional legislation.
Harry C. Boyte, September 6, 2016
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4 min read
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hailed a federal judge’s order blocking, for now, Obama administration guidelines aimed at broadening transgender students’ access to restrooms and locker rooms in schools.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hailed a federal judge’s order blocking, for now, Obama administration guidelines aimed at broadening transgender students’ access to restrooms and locker rooms in schools.
Jay Janner/AP
Law & Courts Judge Blocks Guidance On Transgender Rights
The national debate over transgender rights took yet another turn after a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the Obama administration from enforcing new guidelines meant to expand students' access to restrooms and locker rooms in schools.
Evie Blad & Christina A. Samuels, August 30, 2016
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3 min read
Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old transgender student, poses on his front porch last summer. Gavin, who was born female but now identifies as male, had won a court injunction earlier this summer allowing him to use the boys’ restroom at his high school in Gloucester County, Va. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-3 to halt his restroom access while the justices consider whether they will take up the merits of the groundbreaking case on transgender rights.
Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old transgender student, poses on his front porch last summer. Gavin, who was born female but now identifies as male, had won a court injunction earlier this summer allowing him to use the boys’ restroom at his high school in Gloucester County, Va. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-3 to halt his restroom access while the justices consider whether they will take up the merits of the groundbreaking case on transgender rights.
Steve Helber/AP-File
Law & Courts Court Actions Leave Uncertainty on Transgender Student Rights
The debate on restroom access remains unsettled, as multiple legal cases play out and enforcement of new federal guidelines is blocked for now.
Mark Walsh, August 23, 2016
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6 min read
Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma’s attorney general, asserts that the Obama administration failed to follow proper legal procedures in issuing guidance on transgender students.
Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma’s attorney general, asserts that the Obama administration failed to follow proper legal procedures in issuing guidance on transgender students.
Sue Ogrocki/AP-File
Law & Courts Restroom Guidance a Thorny Study in Administrative Law
The clash involving the Obama administration's "Dear Colleague" letter on transgender students' choice of restrooms spotlights the often-arcane wrangling over federal regulatory guidance.
Mark Walsh, June 7, 2016
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9 min read
A federal civil rights investigation was prompted last year by video of a Spring Valley High School security officer forcibly removing a student from her chair after she refused to leave her class in Columbia, S.C.
A federal civil rights investigation was prompted last year by video of a Spring Valley High School security officer forcibly removing a student from her chair after she refused to leave her class in Columbia, S.C.
AP
Law & Courts School Civil Rights Took Spotlight Under Obama
The number of civil rights complaints and investigations spiked dramatically during the Obama administration.
Evie Blad, May 31, 2016
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9 min read
Ashley Joubert-Gaddis, director of operations at the nonprofit Center for Equality, holds a toilet seat at her workplace in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Center for Equality was one of many organizations that worked against a bill that would have required transgender students in South Dakota to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their sex at birth.
Ashley Joubert-Gaddis, director of operations at the nonprofit Center for Equality, holds a toilet seat at her workplace in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Center for Equality was one of many organizations that worked against a bill that would have required transgender students in South Dakota to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their sex at birth.
James Nord/AP-File
Law & Courts Transgender Students and Bathrooms: What Should Schools Do?
The Obama administration's guidance to schools on the rights of transgender students has provoked protests, lawsuits, and uncertainty among educators.
Evie Blad, May 27, 2016
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5 min read
In this image taken with a fisheye lens, the doors to public restrooms are propped open at a office complex on Monday, May 9, 2016 in Anaheim, Calif. A California lawmaker says he'll bring up for a vote Monday his proposal requiring single-stall public restrooms to be gender-neutral, hours after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory sued the federal government to defend that state's law restricting access to restrooms based on the gender listed on a person's birth certificate.
In this image taken with a fisheye lens, the doors to public restrooms are propped open at a office complex on Monday, May 9, 2016 in Anaheim, Calif. A California lawmaker says he'll bring up for a vote Monday his proposal requiring single-stall public restrooms to be gender-neutral, hours after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory sued the federal government to defend that state's law restricting access to restrooms based on the gender listed on a person's birth certificate.
Chris Carlson/AP
Law & Courts Schools at Center of Feud Over N.C. Transgender Law
An escalating legal fight between the Obama administration and state officials could still leave federal funds at risk for the state's K-12 schools.
Evie Blad, May 17, 2016
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5 min read
Federal Obama White House Reflects on K-12 Legacy
The White House has issued a report on what it sees as its greatest hits in K-12, including early childhood education and STEM teachers.
Alyson Klein, May 3, 2016
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3 min read
Federal New Federal Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Approved by Obama
The commission could help to give broader and more permanent approval to the White House's push to use more tiered-evidence systems—like those used in the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Investing in Innovation program—to evaluate federal programs.
Andrew Ujifusa, March 31, 2016
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3 min read
Law & Courts Some Religious Schools Press 'Obamacare' Case
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether certain faith-based organizations are protected from having to take steps to opt their employees out of contraceptive coverage.
Mark Walsh, March 17, 2016
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5 min read
Federal Obama Administration Launches Two Initiatives Targeting Absenteeism
The two new initiatives are part of the "Every Student, Every Day" campaign begun under President Barack Obama last year to bolster attendance.
Andrew Ujifusa, February 19, 2016
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3 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Education Department to Congress: We Need More Staff in Fiscal 2017
The authors of the Every Student Succeeds Act tried to pare down the number of Education Department staff, but President Barack Obama apparently has other ideas.
Andrew Ujifusa, February 18, 2016
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2 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Obama Budget Doubles as Policy Document
Early education, scaling up promising district work, and socioeconomic integration are among the fiscal 2017 proposal's highlights. But it faces a skeptical, GOP-controlled Congress.
Alyson Klein, February 16, 2016
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7 min read
Federal White House to Seek Nearly $6 Billion for Youth Employment, Job Training
In its budget request coming out next week, the Obama administration wants new money to bolster job opportunities for young people, including high school students.
Alyson Klein, February 4, 2016
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2 min read
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