Linda K. Wertheimer

Federal Judge Orders Some Texas Schools to Remove Ten Commandment Posters

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. Heeding years of court precedent, a federal court says no to Ten Commandments posters in Texas schools. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...

Catholic parishes appeal to Supreme Court in Colorado universal preschool case Two Catholic preschools that wanted to join Colorado’s state-funded preschool program but not admit children from LGBTQ families have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case.

Two Catholic parishes asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a lower court decision that said parish preschools participating in Colorado’s state-funded preschool program couldn’t deny admission to LGBTQ children or children from LGBTQ families. www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...

Philadelphia schools on the hook for millions in interest as state budget delay drags on The Philadelphia school district has borrowed more than $500 million to make up for missing state funding as Pennsylvania’s budget impasse has hit four months. Even once lawmakers reach a deal, the di...

‘We have set money on fire’: Pennsylvania budget impasse costs Philadelphia school district millions: www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Massachusetts virtual schools keep growing, despite COVID — and longstanding — academic struggles - The Boston Globe Statewide virtual schools have grown in enrollment by more than half since 2019.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/06/m... Great story by @huffakingit.bsky.social

NYC mayor election pits Mamdani against Cuomo in a battle over the future of mayoral control As the fate of mayoral control hangs in the balance, the next NYC mayor inherits a $40 billion school system grappling with low college readiness and high chronic absenteeism.

"Students’ scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, were essentially the same last year as in 2003. And schools are facing a crisis of chronic absenteeism, with 1 in 3 students missing at least 10% of school last year." www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Oklahoma tried out a test to ‘woke-proof’ the classroom. It was short-lived, but could still leave a mark Oklahoma announced in October 2025 it would no longer assess out-of-state teachers with a controversial test developed by a conservative media company.

theconversation.com/oklahoma-tri...

There's no better feeling for a writer than finishing a draft chapter your been working on for a while. Now the real fun begins! Revision, massaging words, cutting. I'm taking readers back to the 50s and 60s as America splits on a big issue. #amwriting #religionandschools #churchstate

“Today’s decision should make it abundantly clear to all Arkansas public schools that pushing bible edicts on a captive audience of students will not be tolerated,” said FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor.

Read more ➡️ ffrf.us/48Ybe2l

#ffrf #arkansas #tencommandments

Out now: Religion in the Classroom

An indispensable resource for understanding religion's place in American schools and in matters concerning the separation of church and state in the United States.

Read a preview: https://bit.ly/3VNld2z
Learn more: https://bit.ly/4307RDX

Free speech in schools and the response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination - The Boston Globe A growing number of educators, including in Massachusetts, have faced professional discipline for comments about the conservative activist’s death.

Has the government response to Charlie Kirk's assassination put free speech in public schools under threat? Today's Starting Point takes a look.

‘This is different.’ What the case of the arrested 13-year-old in Everett tells us about ICE. - The Boston Globe While officials say ICE has moved with similar speed in arresting adults, this case stands out for the very young age of the subject.

The remarkably swift passage of an Everett teen into the Trump administration’s deportation system underscores the reach and efficiency of the infrastructure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has managed to build even in deep-blue Massachusetts. trib.al/Q3zUiKU

New Oklahoma schools superintendent rescinds mandate for Bible instruction in schools Oklahoma's new public schools superintendent is rescinding a mandate from his predecessor that forced schools to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for students.

Oklahoma's new public schools superintendent is rescinding a mandate from his predecessor that forced schools to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for students.

This may close the loop on the Bible mandate controversy on Oklahoma. I wrote about it for @vanityfair.com and @hechingerreport.org .

Inside a New Bible-Infused Texas English Curriculum

Inside a New Bible-Infused Texas English Curriculum www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

‘We are not welcome or safe’: Trump administration moves to limit international students’ visa stays - The Boston Globe If approved, the rule would implement a new fixed time limit on foreign students, who currently can stay for the length of their studies as long as they meet visa requirements.

Already feeling under attack and facing increased government scrutiny, international college students balked at a new Trump administration proposal that could limit their stays in the US to four years.

Students returning for the fall, but Boston-area campuses are not the same - The Boston Globe It's back-to-school time at Boston-area colleges and universities, but as political and economic challenges mount, this fall feels a little different.

It's back-to-school time at Boston-area colleges and universities, but as political and economic challenges mount, life in the college bubble feels a little different this fall.

This beautiful harbor seal was just lounging on a rock during my recent trip to Maine. A few dozen were swimming nearby as I kayaked in Morgan Bay. Thankfully there were no sharks hunting.

Churches can endorse politicians, IRS says in court filing (RNS) — The IRS hopes to settle a lawsuit brought by a pair of Texas churches and a group of religious broadcasters over rules that bar houses of worship and other nonprofits from getting involved in…

Some groups argued that nonprofit newspapers and other publications have been allowed to endorse candidates without running afoul of the IRS, while IRS rules barred churches and other nonprofits from doing the same.
religionnews.com/2025/07/08/c...

Trump's IRS payola for churches will backfire on evangelicals Millions have already left right-wing Christianity because of politics

The IRS ending the Johnson amendment is a big change. It could turn churches into PACs, giving GOP donors a tax break for unlimited political spending.

The good news? It could drive even more people to leave conservative churches. Millions already have.

www.salon.com/2025/07/11/t...

1 in 4 Americans reject evolution, a century after the Scopes monkey trial spotlighted the clash between science and religion (The Conversation) — One hundred years after the Scopes trial, the culture war over evolution and creationism remains intense.

OPINION: One hundred years after the Scopes trial, the culture war over evolution and creationism remains intense.
religionnews.com/2025/07/01/1...

Excellent impact story by @casamuels.bsky.social of @hechingerreport.org on the SCOTUS ruling . How will giving parents the right to opt out of curriculum, books for religious reasons affect K-12 education? #MahmoudvTaylor #SCOTUS

The result will be chaos for this Nation’s public schools. Requiring schools to provide advance notice and the chance to opt out of every lesson plan or story time that might implicate a parent’s religious beliefs will impose impossible administrative burdens on schools. The harm will not be borne by educators alone: Children will suffer too. Classroom disruptions and absences may well inflict long-lasting harm on students’ learning and development. Worse yet, the majority closes its eyes to the inevitable chilling effects of its ruling. Many school districts, and particularly the most resource strapped, cannot afford to engage in costly litigation over opt-out rights or to divert resources to tracking and managing student absences. Schools may instead censor their curricula, stripping material that risks generating religious objections. The Court’s ruling, in effect, thus hands a subset of parents the right to veto curricular choices long left to locally elected school boards. Because I cannot countenance the Court’s contortion of our precedent and the untold harms that will follow, I dissent.

Sotomayor, in dissent, correctly says that today's decision in Mahmoud will lead public schools to simply censor books featuring LGBTQ characters and themes, creating "chaos" and stigmatizing children with LGBTQ families. This decision will lead to book bans.
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

Authors and Illustrators of Books in Mahmoud v. Taylor Case Respond to Supreme Court Ruling - PEN America As the authors and illustrators of the books named in Mahmoud v. Taylor, we believe the Supreme Court’s ruling today threatens students’ access to diverse books and undermines teachers’ efforts to cre...

The authors and illustrators involved in the Mahmoud v Taylor case released this statement in today's devastating ruling. Grateful to @penamerica.bsky.social for all their support and for sharing this on our behalf.

pen.org/press-releas...

I am deeply disappointed in today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which limits access to LGBTQ+ inclusive books in public schools.

Read my full statement at www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapp....

🚨 The Supreme Court’s ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor undermines public education by allowing parents to exempt their children from lessons based on religious beliefs.

This paves the way for religious interference in the classroom and threatens secular education.

Supreme Court sides with religious parents seeking to opt out of LGBTQ storybooks The case asked whether Montgomery County, Maryland could require children to participate in lessons with books that clash with parents’ religious beliefs.

Breaking news: The Supreme Court ruled that religious parents can opt their children out of public school lessons with LGBTQ+ books, a case that could have implications for schools nationwide.

Fyi @edwriters.bsky.social this is huge news. How will this affect book, curriculum decisions in schools?

Text reads: "Supreme Court Requires Schools to Allow Opting Out From LGBTQ Stories. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that Maryland parents have a religious right to withdraw their children from classes on days that storybooks with gay and transgender themes are discussed."

The Supreme Court said on Friday that public schools in Maryland must allow parents with religious objections to withdraw their children from classes in which storybooks with LGBTQ themes are discussed. Here's what to know. nyti.ms/4l30zXd

How Oklahoma’s Right-Wing Superintendent Set Off a Holy War in Classrooms Teachers, parents, and pastors are mounting a mass resistance against Ryan Walters’s mandate requiring that public school students learn from the Bible.

My article on the Oklahoma Bible in Schools mandate, which Legislature opted not to fund. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/o... Thanks @vanityfair.com and @hechingerreport.org for publishing articles on the ongoing church/state wars in US.

Patriotic Bible blesses Trump with $1.3 million in royalties (RNS) — The leather-bound edition includes the King James Version, along with the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution and lyrics to Lee Greenwood’s hit song.

And so it goes. Trump gets over $1 million in royalties for Bible he hawks, same Bible that I wrote about in @hechingerreport.org @vanityfair.com article on Oklahoma schools chief's Bible in classroom mandate. @religionnews.com.web.brid.gy article on Bible here: religionnews.com/2025/06/24/p...