School

Jul 21 2011

Gov. Jerry Brown signs SB 48

With Senate Bill 48 signed into law, the state’s schoolchildren are the ones getting their bells rung.

The Protect Kids Foundation, which opposed the new law, said it “would change the teaching of core academic subjects into a ‘celebration’ of gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual lifestyles. This profound change in the basic education of children would be mandatory, without involvement or opt-out rights of parents.”

Jul 14 2011

Court allows prayer to remain unchanged

LANCASTER, Calif.—The city of Lancaster came out victorious in a lawsuit recently filed by two residents who alleged religious persecution.

The partly suit grew out statement by Mayor R. Rex Parris to pastors in the A.V. that Lancaster is a “growing Christian community.” A public outcry against the official and the city ensued.

Jun 10 2011

Violation of a new truancy law

LONG BEACH, Calif.—The 43-year-old mother of a middle school student was arrested because of her son's irregular attendance in school, a violation of a new truancy law in Long Beach.

Ermila Zamora was arrested Monday after school officials noticed the boy had missed more than 20 days of school, said Rico Fernandez of the Long Beach Police Department.

May 20 2011

In-home tutoring services branch aims to strengthen academic achievement in the Santa Clarita Valley

SANTA CLARITA, Calif.—With a depressed economy, a shortage of educational funds, overcrowded classrooms, and overwhelmed teachers, U.S. educational prospects have never looked bleaker. Add to this a large proportion of students already having trouble staying focused and keeping up, along with the many countries increasingly introducing better-educated, more highly trained, and cheaper workers into the job market. The result is a slowly tipping slide towards disaster.

May 19 2011

June 3 deadline

Parents who want to transfer their offspring to another school in the Los Angeles Unified School District can submit an application to do so through June 3 during the “open enrollment” process for the 2011-12 school year.

In open enrollment, students’ names can be submitted to transfer to any school that has available space. The transferring pupils will not displace a youngster living in the attendance area of a school from the school.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.