US Education Tracker

Close up of a 2x2” square watercolor painting of hands holding a stack of books

1/1/26 No. 1
“Our New Mayor”

Zohran Mamdani being sworn in as New York City’s mayor. I zoomed in on his hand placed on a Quran held by his wife ramaduwaji - he is the first Muslim mayor of NYC and the first to use a Quran for the swearing in.

#watercolor #dailyart #miniatureart #zohranmamdani

I am going back to focusing on art this year:

This is straight-up, unvarnished Klan language from the Vice President of the United States.

We've had a lot of racist vice presidents and this one might be in the running for top of the list.

All of the parents should be suing the school and the district AND filing a federal discrimination complaint (even if this administration won’t enforce it).

Nobody should be filing criminal charges against a kindergartner.

I am a mom to an autistic child. He has meltdowns and struggles with emotional regulation because that is part of the disability. Trying to get appropriate education services is very, very difficult even in a wealthy progressive city like NYC.

Five-year-old autistic boy at White House elementary school facing assault charges - Main Street Media of Tennessee Parents of two kindergarten students at an elementary school in White House are pressing assault charges through a private prosecution against a fellow classmate diagnosed with autism, following repor...

Non pay-walled coverage - it truly encapsulates the way our schools and our criminal justice systems fail all of us, especially the most vulnerable.

Opinion | How state law, the justice system, and a school penalized a boy with autism | Opinion — The Tennessean A 5-year-old with autism who was recently brought up on assault charges, was failed by the very systems that should've ensured his welfare.

Great piece by @troe-writes.bsky.social on a story of an autistic 5yo facing assault charges (which imo has not gotten enough attention):

This guy was just confirmed to be US ambassador to South Africa

The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO logo surrounded by red circle with white text saying “WE SUPPORT ANOKA-HENNEPIN EDUCATORS.”

After months of negotiations and 170+ days working without a contract, Anoka Hennepin Education Minnesota (AHEM) union members are voting on whether to authorize a strike. ✊ AHEM educators are voting from December 17 to 20 throughout the district and results will be announced by AHEM on December 20.

Nativity smashed, Mary figure ‘beaten’ at Evanston church: ‘God’s on the side of the vulnerable’ Vandals destroyed Lake Street Church of Evanston’s Nativity. It replaced Mary with a sign saying she’s in immigration detention.

Vandals decapitated and smashed the statue of Mary in an Evanston church’s outdoor Nativity scene Friday, and the church responded by replacing it with a sign saying Mary was beaten & dragged away in front of her son and is being held in immigration detention.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/15/n...

DePaul University lays off 114 staff members

DePaul University announced Monday that it’s laid off 114 staff members to address a budget shortfall caused by rising costs and a significant drop in enrollment among international graduate students.

I teach Sociology of Childhood, and when we talk about school shootings, my students tell me about how they also do these checks in their classes--noting locks on doors, thinking about how to escape and where to hide. I hate that they have to mind those risks while trying to learn.

“Pray” is not “all we can do,” Mr. Trump.

I am a student at Brown in communication with a friend at RIBC.

There is an urgent need for blood donations to support RI. Donations in NY, NJ, MN, NB, DE or NJ can help supply RI.

Spread the word.

www.ribc.org/donate-blood/

Just saw a Parkland survivor post about being on lock down at Brown University.

We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish

NO PARENT SHOULD RECEIVE THIS TEXT

OUR HEARTS BREAK AND HOPE HOPE FOR THE VICTIMS WHO ARE IN CRITICAL CONDITIONS

This should not happen
Make it stop...Guns 🙏😪

We shouldn’t have to live like this. I’m not THAT old, and I remember we *didn’t* live like this. Powerful segments of society have made a choice that the regular scene of dead bodies in classrooms is an acceptable cost of doing business, and we shouldn’t have to accept that. I’m sad and I’m angry.

The thing you need to understand about the Right is that they are absolutely fine just plain burning down higher education if taking it over ideologically doesn’t work. They’re perfectly happy reducing it to ashes.

The horrific tragedy at Brown University is the 389th mass shooting this year and the 230th gun incident on school grounds so far this year.

This is not normal and we don't have to live this way.

bradyunited.org
@bradyunited.org

Democrat flips northeast Georgia state House seat, pulling off special election upset • Georgia Recorder A Watkinsville Democrat defeated a Republican in a two-way race Tuesday, flipping a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Another flip by a Dem who ran as a strong supporter of public education. One common theme emerging in these upsets: winning candidates sound nothing like centrists & pundits when it comes to talking about schools. georgiarecorder.com/2025/12/09/d...

AFT Utah and the AFT on the Repeal of Utah’s Public Sector Collective Bargaining Ban SALT LAKE CITY—AFT Utah President Brad Asay and AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after the state legislature repealed a law, HB 267, that banned public employee unions fro...

Tonight’s repeal of Utah’s ban of teacher collective bargaining is a historic step in the right direction to return respect and dignity to the workers of Utah. Here's my full statement.
www.aft.org/press-releas...

Noted anti-consumerism advocate Donald Trump:

BREAKING: We filed a class action lawsuit to stop all Texas public schools from displaying the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.

Judges have blocked our prior plaintiffs' schools from enforcing a Texas law mandating these unconstitutional displays. We're asking the courts to block it statewide.

On Thursday December 4, 2025, Texas’ new “bathroom bill”, Senate Bill 8, officially went into effect, banning transgender people from using multi-stall restrooms and other public facilities in schools and government buildings that match their gender identity.

Abbott says Turning Point USA will expand in Texas schools Republican officials in Oklahoma and Florida have also launched plans to expand the presence of the conservative youth organization founded by Charlie Kirk.

Fighting "indoctrination" in Texas schools by funding indoctrination in Texas schools. www.texastribune.org/2025/12/08/t...

Watch what’s going on in education in Texas. Requiring Christian nationalist policies and encouraging people to report each other for noncompliance is a key part of several recent state bills.

Forcing all colleges and *high schools* to have chapters of the Right-Wing Teacher Harassment Grift Machine is insane, even by Texas standards

It is time to bring ribena to the US!