In one of her first addresses after becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to address the nation’s second-largest teachers union as the group plows through a laundry list of left-wing priorities at its annual gathering, including promoting transgender policies for children.

Harris is set to address the American Federation of Teachers, led by its controversial president, Randi Weingarten, on Thursday as the organization has been busy voting to pass a litany of far-left resolutions at its 88th annual convention in Houston.

The union voted unanimously to endorse Harris for president on Monday, becoming the first union to do so after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race Sunday. “She has a record of fighting for us—fighting to lower the costs we pay, for reproductive rights, for worker empowerment and to keep communities safe from gun violence. As President Biden said in his endorsement of Kamala Harris, she has his full support to be the Democratic nominee for president,” Weingarten said in a statement.

The White House said Harris’s keynote address would be a “continuation of her consistent efforts to fight for workers across America, including as Chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment.”

Meanwhile, AFT members have been passing other resolutions condemning school choice, which allows children primarily from low-income areas to get out of failing schools, calling such policies “insidious,” claiming they “increase school segregation,” and saying the schools “discriminate” against “LGBTQIA+” students for not all conforming to gender theory.

The union also passed a resolution with a litany of grievances against “ultra-right MAGA” Republicans because Republican-led states have prioritized policies such as parental rights and notification requirements regarding curriculum and claims of transgender identity among students, as well as school choice.

The resolution also claims the Republican-led states have adopted policies that “outlaw the teaching of history and concepts opposed by those in power” despite the fact that the AFT endorsed teaching school children the pseudo-historical 1619 Project from Nikole Hannah-Jones.

Another claim from the resolution states that Republicans “enable the widespread banning of books in schools and libraries in their disfavor,” although the books Republicans have attempted to remove from schools are generally those with pornographic and even pedophilic material, including illustrations.

The teachers union also condemned moves to restrict abortion and sex transitions for children in the resolution, claiming that restricting the irreversible medical interventions for children is “discriminatory” despite the large and growing body of evidence that the drugs and procedures are either not backed by scientific research or are dangerous.

The resolution from the teachers union also calls former President Donald Trump a “Nazi” and claims the Supreme Court granted him the right to conduct a coup d’etat or assassinate his political rivals. Similar rhetoric has been widely condemned by conservatives, who have argued that the fearmongering about the Republican presidential nominee may have contributed to the attempt on Trump’s life earlier this month.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

While the convention is not over, and not all the resolutions set to be brought to a vote have had a chance yet, the AFT’s book of proposals is also full of far-left priorities, such as “stop enabling genocide: halt U.S. military aid to Israel” and “committing to end a ‘lifetime on alert’ for physical and psychological violence against LGBTQIA+ youth and adults,” which endorses a plethora of gender ideology priorities. The book of proposals includes one supporting the right for biological boys to play on girls’ sports teams.

Another proposal would see the AFT endorse “Black Lives Matter at School,” which is a K-12 movement from supporters of the violent organization to push children to be social justice activists, as well as get rid of police officers in schools.

2024-07-25 07:00:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2F3097799%2Fkamala-harris-address-teachers-union-pushes-transgender-theory-in-schools%2F?w=600&h=450, In one of her first addresses after becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to address the nation’s second-largest teachers union as the group plows through a laundry list of left-wing priorities at its annual gathering, including promoting transgender policies for children. Harris is set to address the American,

In one of her first addresses after becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to address the nation’s second-largest teachers union as the group plows through a laundry list of left-wing priorities at its annual gathering, including promoting transgender policies for children.

Harris is set to address the American Federation of Teachers, led by its controversial president, Randi Weingarten, on Thursday as the organization has been busy voting to pass a litany of far-left resolutions at its 88th annual convention in Houston.

The union voted unanimously to endorse Harris for president on Monday, becoming the first union to do so after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race Sunday. “She has a record of fighting for us—fighting to lower the costs we pay, for reproductive rights, for worker empowerment and to keep communities safe from gun violence. As President Biden said in his endorsement of Kamala Harris, she has his full support to be the Democratic nominee for president,” Weingarten said in a statement.

The White House said Harris’s keynote address would be a “continuation of her consistent efforts to fight for workers across America, including as Chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment.”

Meanwhile, AFT members have been passing other resolutions condemning school choice, which allows children primarily from low-income areas to get out of failing schools, calling such policies “insidious,” claiming they “increase school segregation,” and saying the schools “discriminate” against “LGBTQIA+” students for not all conforming to gender theory.

The union also passed a resolution with a litany of grievances against “ultra-right MAGA” Republicans because Republican-led states have prioritized policies such as parental rights and notification requirements regarding curriculum and claims of transgender identity among students, as well as school choice.

The resolution also claims the Republican-led states have adopted policies that “outlaw the teaching of history and concepts opposed by those in power” despite the fact that the AFT endorsed teaching school children the pseudo-historical 1619 Project from Nikole Hannah-Jones.

Another claim from the resolution states that Republicans “enable the widespread banning of books in schools and libraries in their disfavor,” although the books Republicans have attempted to remove from schools are generally those with pornographic and even pedophilic material, including illustrations.

The teachers union also condemned moves to restrict abortion and sex transitions for children in the resolution, claiming that restricting the irreversible medical interventions for children is “discriminatory” despite the large and growing body of evidence that the drugs and procedures are either not backed by scientific research or are dangerous.

The resolution from the teachers union also calls former President Donald Trump a “Nazi” and claims the Supreme Court granted him the right to conduct a coup d’etat or assassinate his political rivals. Similar rhetoric has been widely condemned by conservatives, who have argued that the fearmongering about the Republican presidential nominee may have contributed to the attempt on Trump’s life earlier this month.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

While the convention is not over, and not all the resolutions set to be brought to a vote have had a chance yet, the AFT’s book of proposals is also full of far-left priorities, such as “stop enabling genocide: halt U.S. military aid to Israel” and “committing to end a ‘lifetime on alert’ for physical and psychological violence against LGBTQIA+ youth and adults,” which endorses a plethora of gender ideology priorities. The book of proposals includes one supporting the right for biological boys to play on girls’ sports teams.

Another proposal would see the AFT endorse “Black Lives Matter at School,” which is a K-12 movement from supporters of the violent organization to push children to be social justice activists, as well as get rid of police officers in schools.

, In one of her first addresses after becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to address the nation’s second-largest teachers union as the group plows through a laundry list of left-wing priorities at its annual gathering, including promoting transgender policies for children. Harris is set to address the American Federation of Teachers, led by its controversial president, Randi Weingarten, on Thursday as the organization has been busy voting to pass a litany of far-left resolutions at its 88th annual convention in Houston. The union voted unanimously to endorse Harris for president on Monday, becoming the first union to do so after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race Sunday. “She has a record of fighting for us—fighting to lower the costs we pay, for reproductive rights, for worker empowerment and to keep communities safe from gun violence. As President Biden said in his endorsement of Kamala Harris, she has his full support to be the Democratic nominee for president,” Weingarten said in a statement. The White House said Harris’s keynote address would be a “continuation of her consistent efforts to fight for workers across America, including as Chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment.” Meanwhile, AFT members have been passing other resolutions condemning school choice, which allows children primarily from low-income areas to get out of failing schools, calling such policies “insidious,” claiming they “increase school segregation,” and saying the schools “discriminate” against “LGBTQIA+” students for not all conforming to gender theory. The union also passed a resolution with a litany of grievances against “ultra-right MAGA” Republicans because Republican-led states have prioritized policies such as parental rights and notification requirements regarding curriculum and claims of transgender identity among students, as well as school choice. Randi Weingarten says Trump is an “existential threat to democracy”: “The November elections will determine which path we take.. it is seldom a dramatic event or attack that lets fascism in the door. The violence comes later, after they are voted in.” Unhinged lunatic. pic.twitter.com/87K6mYDhKP — Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) July 22, 2024 The resolution also claims the Republican-led states have adopted policies that “outlaw the teaching of history and concepts opposed by those in power” despite the fact that the AFT endorsed teaching school children the pseudo-historical 1619 Project from Nikole Hannah-Jones. Another claim from the resolution states that Republicans “enable the widespread banning of books in schools and libraries in their disfavor,” although the books Republicans have attempted to remove from schools are generally those with pornographic and even pedophilic material, including illustrations. The teachers union also condemned moves to restrict abortion and sex transitions for children in the resolution, claiming that restricting the irreversible medical interventions for children is “discriminatory” despite the large and growing body of evidence that the drugs and procedures are either not backed by scientific research or are dangerous. The resolution from the teachers union also calls former President Donald Trump a “Nazi” and claims the Supreme Court granted him the right to conduct a coup d’etat or assassinate his political rivals. Similar rhetoric has been widely condemned by conservatives, who have argued that the fearmongering about the Republican presidential nominee may have contributed to the attempt on Trump’s life earlier this month. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER While the convention is not over, and not all the resolutions set to be brought to a vote have had a chance yet, the AFT’s book of proposals is also full of far-left priorities, such as “stop enabling genocide: halt U.S. military aid to Israel” and “committing to end a ‘lifetime on alert’ for physical and psychological violence against LGBTQIA+ youth and adults,” which endorses a plethora of gender ideology priorities. The book of proposals includes one supporting the right for biological boys to play on girls’ sports teams. Another proposal would see the AFT endorse “Black Lives Matter at School,” which is a K-12 movement from supporters of the violent organization to push children to be social justice activists, as well as get rid of police officers in schools., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/randi-weingarten-aft-2024-scaled-1024×683.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Breccan F. Thies,

EXCLUSIVE — As Oklahoma’s education system shifts its focus to the importance of Western civilization and American history, school districts across the state received guidance instructing teachers on how to incorporate the Bible into classroom discussion Wednesday morning.

The guidance, obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner, was sent to the districts by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, and it noted that including the Bible in the classroom will emphasize the Bible’s historical, literary, and secular benefits so as to keep in line with the law. While some “misguided individuals” have vowed not to teach the Bible in Oklahoma, Walters said the directive is mandatory.

“The radical leftist mob has tried to rewrite history in Oklahoma,” Walters told the Washington Examiner. “It stops today, and Oklahoma schools will refocus our kids’ education so they know the value of the bible in its historical context. The woke radicals will not like it. They will not believe it. However, they will teach it in Oklahoma.”

The guidance comes after Walters last month told all school districts this requirement was forthcoming.

“We are ending the era of woke indoctrination, a hatred for our country, and a deliberate attempt to warp kids’ minds,” the guidance states. “We are ending the days where there is bigger concern to keep Gender Queer and Flamer in schools rather than understand the US Constitution, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments.”

The guidance emphasizes the Bible’s impact on how Western civilization was built, including philosophy, legal frameworks, ethics, and cultural norms: “Teachers should focus on how biblical principles have shaped the foundational aspects of Western societies, such as the concepts of justice, human rights, and the rule of law.”

The Bible has also been invoked throughout American history, the guidance states, using documents such as the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence and speeches such as those from Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr.

Aside from Western civilization and American political history, the guidance highlights the Bible’s influence on literature, including its heavy reference in some of the most prominent literary works through allusions, archetypes, and themes. Teachers will also be required to highlight the Bible’s own use of literary techniques, such as allegory, metaphor, and parable, “allowing students to appreciate the Bible’s literary craftsmanship without delving into religious doctrine,” the guidance states.

Teachers will also be expected to explore the Bible’s influence on art and music and its interpretation through famous works and the historical context that surrounds them.

The document comes with an entire section on legal considerations, which stresses neutrality and objectivity when dealing with all religions, including Christianity, and being inclusive of the religions other students in the classroom may practice. The guidance requiring teachers to incorporate the Bible into curriculum is likely to attract legal challenges.

Oklahoma’s guidance also highlights the need for robust communication with parents, who should be provided with classroom materials and explanations of how they are being used, including an emphasis on how the curriculum is not endorsing any religion.

“The Bible should be used in student instruction for its historical, literary and secular value and is not to be used for religious purposes such as preaching, proselytizing or indoctrination,” the guidance states.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Students will be expected to analyze the Bible’s text like they would any other historical or literary document, the guidance states, focusing on structure, language, and rhetorical strategies. They will also use it to draw comparisons with subjects such as Greek mythology or focus on the ethical traditions that stem from the Bible in comparison to the ethics from other philosophical sources.

Implementation of the Bible will be tied to grade level, with the analysis set from kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade, and ninth through twelfth grade.

2024-07-24 14:00:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fpolicy%2Feducation%2F3096907%2Foklahoma-guidelines-implementing-bible-school%2F?w=600&h=450, EXCLUSIVE — As Oklahoma’s education system shifts its focus to the importance of Western civilization and American history, school districts across the state received guidance instructing teachers on how to incorporate the Bible into classroom discussion Wednesday morning. The guidance, obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner, was sent to the districts by Oklahoma Superintendent of,

EXCLUSIVE — As Oklahoma’s education system shifts its focus to the importance of Western civilization and American history, school districts across the state received guidance instructing teachers on how to incorporate the Bible into classroom discussion Wednesday morning.

The guidance, obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner, was sent to the districts by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, and it noted that including the Bible in the classroom will emphasize the Bible’s historical, literary, and secular benefits so as to keep in line with the law. While some “misguided individuals” have vowed not to teach the Bible in Oklahoma, Walters said the directive is mandatory.

“The radical leftist mob has tried to rewrite history in Oklahoma,” Walters told the Washington Examiner. “It stops today, and Oklahoma schools will refocus our kids’ education so they know the value of the bible in its historical context. The woke radicals will not like it. They will not believe it. However, they will teach it in Oklahoma.”

The guidance comes after Walters last month told all school districts this requirement was forthcoming.

“We are ending the era of woke indoctrination, a hatred for our country, and a deliberate attempt to warp kids’ minds,” the guidance states. “We are ending the days where there is bigger concern to keep Gender Queer and Flamer in schools rather than understand the US Constitution, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments.”

The guidance emphasizes the Bible’s impact on how Western civilization was built, including philosophy, legal frameworks, ethics, and cultural norms: “Teachers should focus on how biblical principles have shaped the foundational aspects of Western societies, such as the concepts of justice, human rights, and the rule of law.”

The Bible has also been invoked throughout American history, the guidance states, using documents such as the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence and speeches such as those from Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr.

Aside from Western civilization and American political history, the guidance highlights the Bible’s influence on literature, including its heavy reference in some of the most prominent literary works through allusions, archetypes, and themes. Teachers will also be required to highlight the Bible’s own use of literary techniques, such as allegory, metaphor, and parable, “allowing students to appreciate the Bible’s literary craftsmanship without delving into religious doctrine,” the guidance states.

Teachers will also be expected to explore the Bible’s influence on art and music and its interpretation through famous works and the historical context that surrounds them.

The document comes with an entire section on legal considerations, which stresses neutrality and objectivity when dealing with all religions, including Christianity, and being inclusive of the religions other students in the classroom may practice. The guidance requiring teachers to incorporate the Bible into curriculum is likely to attract legal challenges.

Oklahoma’s guidance also highlights the need for robust communication with parents, who should be provided with classroom materials and explanations of how they are being used, including an emphasis on how the curriculum is not endorsing any religion.

“The Bible should be used in student instruction for its historical, literary and secular value and is not to be used for religious purposes such as preaching, proselytizing or indoctrination,” the guidance states.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Students will be expected to analyze the Bible’s text like they would any other historical or literary document, the guidance states, focusing on structure, language, and rhetorical strategies. They will also use it to draw comparisons with subjects such as Greek mythology or focus on the ethical traditions that stem from the Bible in comparison to the ethics from other philosophical sources.

Implementation of the Bible will be tied to grade level, with the analysis set from kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade, and ninth through twelfth grade.

, EXCLUSIVE — As Oklahoma’s education system shifts its focus to the importance of Western civilization and American history, school districts across the state received guidance instructing teachers on how to incorporate the Bible into classroom discussion Wednesday morning. The guidance, obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner, was sent to the districts by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, and it noted that including the Bible in the classroom will emphasize the Bible’s historical, literary, and secular benefits so as to keep in line with the law. While some “misguided individuals” have vowed not to teach the Bible in Oklahoma, Walters said the directive is mandatory. “The radical leftist mob has tried to rewrite history in Oklahoma,” Walters told the Washington Examiner. “It stops today, and Oklahoma schools will refocus our kids’ education so they know the value of the bible in its historical context. The woke radicals will not like it. They will not believe it. However, they will teach it in Oklahoma.” The guidance comes after Walters last month told all school districts this requirement was forthcoming. “We are ending the era of woke indoctrination, a hatred for our country, and a deliberate attempt to warp kids’ minds,” the guidance states. “We are ending the days where there is bigger concern to keep Gender Queer and Flamer in schools rather than understand the US Constitution, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments.” The guidance emphasizes the Bible’s impact on how Western civilization was built, including philosophy, legal frameworks, ethics, and cultural norms: “Teachers should focus on how biblical principles have shaped the foundational aspects of Western societies, such as the concepts of justice, human rights, and the rule of law.” The Bible has also been invoked throughout American history, the guidance states, using documents such as the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence and speeches such as those from Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr. Aside from Western civilization and American political history, the guidance highlights the Bible’s influence on literature, including its heavy reference in some of the most prominent literary works through allusions, archetypes, and themes. Teachers will also be required to highlight the Bible’s own use of literary techniques, such as allegory, metaphor, and parable, “allowing students to appreciate the Bible’s literary craftsmanship without delving into religious doctrine,” the guidance states. Teachers will also be expected to explore the Bible’s influence on art and music and its interpretation through famous works and the historical context that surrounds them. The document comes with an entire section on legal considerations, which stresses neutrality and objectivity when dealing with all religions, including Christianity, and being inclusive of the religions other students in the classroom may practice. The guidance requiring teachers to incorporate the Bible into curriculum is likely to attract legal challenges. Oklahoma’s guidance also highlights the need for robust communication with parents, who should be provided with classroom materials and explanations of how they are being used, including an emphasis on how the curriculum is not endorsing any religion. “The Bible should be used in student instruction for its historical, literary and secular value and is not to be used for religious purposes such as preaching, proselytizing or indoctrination,” the guidance states. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Students will be expected to analyze the Bible’s text like they would any other historical or literary document, the guidance states, focusing on structure, language, and rhetorical strategies. They will also use it to draw comparisons with subjects such as Greek mythology or focus on the ethical traditions that stem from the Bible in comparison to the ethics from other philosophical sources. Implementation of the Bible will be tied to grade level, with the analysis set from kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade, and ninth through twelfth grade., , , https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ryan-walters-oklahoma-education-2024-scaled-1024×683.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Breccan F. Thies,

While the National Education Association is used to being behind teacher strikes across the country, it has been gripped by the effects of a strike from its own staff for nearly two weeks as labor negotiations unfold.

The NEA locked out its professional staff, represented by their own union called the National Education Association Staff Organization, beginning on Monday, and employees at the union’s Washington, D.C., headquarters demonstrated outside.

The beginning of the strike that preceded the staff lockout at the nation’s largest teachers union disrupted the organization’s national conference and forced President Joe Biden to cancel a planned speech there earlier this month.

The intraunion strike comes just a few months before the election, and teachers’ unions, often more noteworthy for their outsize power in Democratic politics than actual education advocacy, are facing down a Republican Party that has in recent years capitalized on the education issue. This year, Republicans made K-12 education a significant portion of their party platform in a change from previous platforms.

The NEA has already contributed over $2 million to Democrats and another nearly $8 million to left-wing organizations this cycle, putting just over $37,000 behind Republicans and zero dollars into conservative groups, according to OpenSecrets.

Roughly 300 staff members are currently not receiving pay or benefits as contract negotiations continue. NEA staff union members have not had a contract since the end of May.

A spokesperson for the NEA staff union told the Washington Examiner that was not on strike and described the NEA’s lockout as “illegal … punitive and retaliatory.” Noting the NEA staff union filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint against the NEA, bringing the total number of such complaints against the NEA to five since the previous contract ended in May, the spokesperson said, “We are locked out by the National Education Association, our employer, which is now the subject of an Unfair Labor Practice charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board.”

Striking NEA staff union members in the nation’s capital yesterday lined the sidewalks outside the NEA building with chalk messages saying “Shame on NEA,” “Practice what you preach,” “Why lock out your staff?” and other messages.

NEA staff union members have received letters of support from other unions, including media, education, and professional staff organizations.

However, the NEA said that its staff union members have walked off their jobs twice in “unprotected strikes” under the NLRB rules and cost NEA members, such as teachers, bus drivers, and custodians, money they saved to travel to attend the four-day Representative Assembly, which was disrupted by the strike by the union’s staff.

“Even worse, to create maximum disruption, NEASO waited to walk off the job until many members had dropped off their children at an NEA-provided childcare program in the convention center,” an NEA spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “NEA responded immediately to ensure that every single child in our care was reunited with their parent or guardian. This was completely unacceptable on NEASO’s part.”

“As NEA members and students across the country prepare to go back to school, we cannot allow NEASO to continue disrupting the work of our members through intermittent unprotected strikes under the NLRA,” the spokesperson added. “To best protect the interests of our members, the Association, and our staff, we have made the difficult decision to institute a protective lockout of the NEASO-represented employees to safeguard NEA’s operations.”

Tensions rose after the NEA staff union launched its second walkout this summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 5, triggering the cancelation of the conference at which Biden was supposed to speak. The president refused to cross the picket line.

By July 8, the NEA closed its office to the striking employees, which prompted rallies for two days.

“They have tried to paint the picture of NEASO as being disrespectful. They have tried to paint the picture of NEASO being individuals who are greedy,” NEA Staff Organization President Robin McLean said at a July 10 rally. “They look at us like we are not humans. They have bars on the doors so you can’t get in. Who does that?”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The contract negotiations deal with wages, a 4% annual raise, and annual salary step increases after a 12-year freeze of the benefit.

“NEA cares deeply about our members, the students they serve every day, and all the dedicated staff who work to advance the NEA mission,” the NEA spokesperson said. “We have always bargained in good faith and remain fully committed to and respect the collective bargaining process. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that NEASO does not share that same commitment.”  

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is under fire in the wake of the nearly successful assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump as apparent security failures and responses from some of Trump’s close detail have highlighted Cheatle’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

The shooting and aftermath brought significant questions, including how it was possible a building that seemed like an obvious vantage point for a shooter to have a clear line to Trump was not adequately covered and why Trump’s detail had agents who were significantly smaller in stature than the former president.

Critics noted in the aftermath of the gunshots that some of the agents responsible for shielding Trump were not only smaller than the president and therefore incapable of covering his body but also appeared confused in response to a scenario they were supposed to be trained for.

“But amid all the chaos weaves the thread of another story, one that reveals a mounting problem in our political life,” Christopher Rufo, an outspoken critic of DEI policies, wrote. “A surprising number of the Secret Service agents protecting the former president were women. And, according to video recordings of the scene, many did not acquit themselves favorably.”

“I am not arguing that DEI caused the lapse in security at the rally in Butler. It is too early to know this one way or another,” Rufo added. “But the near-miss assassination reminds us of the stakes: split-second reactions, physical courage, and calm under pressure are all essential to the work of protecting the president. If any of those slip, even by an inch, the result is death. What we saw on Saturday was luck, not competence.”

Video from the attack shows several female Secret Service agents who were not large enough to cover Trump’s body huddle around the former president to protect him from fire, leaving Trump exposed. The footage showed another agent fumbling with her gun, incapable of finding her holster, and another still who, critics say, appeared uncertain about what to do.

Cheatle and her priorities for the agency have come under fire since the assassination attempt.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) called Cheatle a “DEI hire.”

Since President Joe Biden tapped her to lead the agency in 2022, Cheatle has been hyperfocused on injecting DEI into the Secret Service, her critics say. She had previously pledged to make 30% of the agency’s workforce female by 2030.

“I’m very conscious, as I sit in this chair now, of making sure that we need to attract diverse candidates and ensure that we are developing and giving opportunities to everybody in our workforce, and particularly women,” Cheatle told CBS News last year.

The criticism of the agents on Trump’s detail the day of the assassination attempt was not necessarily about the agents being women, according to X owner Elon Musk, who noted that an agent “could be a man or a woman, to be clear, just needs to be large enough to do the job.”

But the performance of the female agents on duty has underscored the questions critics have for the Secret Service after the shooting.

Recruitment and retention of agents has been difficult for the Secret Service in recent years. In 2022, the agency reportedly saw a 48% departure rate. Under Cheatle, inviting a YouTube influencer to train with agents was part of the agency’s recruitment effort.

In 2021, the Secret Service graduated more female special agents than men from its training class for the first time. Men and women are held to different physical standards by the agency; women are not required to perform the same number of pushups, chin-ups, or situps or achieve the same mile times as men to graduate from training.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Aside from the physical standards, the 2023-2027 strategic plan from the Secret Service pushed “diversity” to the top of the agency’s priority list.

In the aftermath of the shooting, which left Trump and others injured and one attendee dead, Chairman James Comer (R-KY) invited Cheatle to testify before the House Oversight Committee.

Several pro-Palestinian protests are planned during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month, threatening to create a scene comparable to the 1968 Democratic convention that was embroiled in anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in the same city.

Leading into the convention, set for Aug. 19-22, Democrats have experienced infighting over whether to keep President Joe Biden on the ticket. Following a disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump, some lawmakers, donors, and other prominent Democrats have been questioning Biden’s ability to win.

But the DNC is set for other spectacles as well, including the planned protests from several pro-Palestinian activist organizations, some of which are drawing a direct comparison to the chaotic 1968 convention.

“Make 2024 as Great as 1968,” Behind Enemy Lines, a self-described “anti-imperialist resistance” organization promising to protest at the convention, said.

“If you’ve spoken out and protested against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, you may have been doxxed, fired from your job, slandered in the bourgeois media, or arrested. Your student organization may have been disbanded by your college administration,” the group posted on social media. “You should wear all those acts of repression as a badge of honor, as to be attacked by the enemy is a good thing. But have you thrown down against the Chicago police yet? Come to Chicago this summer to oppose the Death and Nakba Coronation, a.k.a. the Democratic National Convention!”

The group is calling for Chicago to cancel the DNC “due to Biden and the Democratic Party’s material, moral, and political support for Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and genocidal war,” the post added, dubbing Biden “Genocide Joe.”

Other aligned groups, such as Palestine Action US, have shown support for the plans as well, and Behind Enemy Lines is planning agitations every Friday leading up to the convention and to ramp up outreach efforts starting Aug. 9.

Two weeks before the convention, the group will be focused primarily on the DNC, telling “students and youth to be bold and audacious, take the frontlines, and yes, take police beatings and arrests. … Make bruises from Chicago police batons the 2024 back to school Fall fashion!”

Chicago police say they are ready for the demonstrations.

City police Superintendent Larry Snelling vowed last month that “this will not be 1968,” according to the Chicago Tribune, adding, “Our response as a Chicago Police Department will be a lot more deliberate … a lot more controlled because our officers are being trained in the best way possible to respond to any level of civil unrest.”

More recently, Snelling doubled down on police preparedness, saying, “There’s pressure on this department all the time. … Our job is to call audibles when we see a change in the formations.”

Behind Enemy Lines is not the only organization planning protests in Chicago; the city’s Black Lives Matter chapter, Students for Justice in Palestine (notably behind many of the encampments on college campuses this past spring), and Students for a Democratic Society are planning to add to the anticipated chaos.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that many groups vow to protest “with or without permits.” Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said, “We’ll be marching with or without permits. This DNC is the most important one since 1968, also in Chicago when Vietnam War protesters and the Black liberation movement organized mass demonstrations that were violently repressed.”

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“The march on the DNC will be the largest mobilization for Palestine in the history of the city,” Abudayyeh added, saying organizers expect thousands of people to come. The outlet noted that at least 78 agitator organizations are part of a coalition to protest in Chicago, and while the primary factor bringing them there is the Israel-Gaza war, other issue areas include abortion, illegal immigration, and labor.

At least three groups were denied protest permits in March, including Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Anti-War Committee, and Students for a Democratic Society at University of Illinois Chicago. After suing, the city provided them with alternative routes. The groups’ lawyers are still in negotiations with city officials.

The Department of Defense’s K-12 school system pushed diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology and encouraged children to become activists, according to a new report.

The OpenTheBooks report published Thursday said the Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, which operates schools globally for the children of American military members, pursued DEI-infused social and emotional learning, or SEL, as well as encouraged students to become political activists.

The report comes as the National Defense Authorization Act is expected to be weighed by the Senate this month.

According to the 54-page report, the DoDEA used “transformative SEL” techniques, which “refers to applying the SEL framework toward the goals of creating equitable settings and systems and promoting justice-oriented schools and civic engagement,” according to leading SEL group CASEL. “Transformative SEL” works by telling children to pay outsize attention to “privilege” and “identity,” and according to a 2021 Equity and Access Summit from the DoDEA, students being confronted by those issues face “difficult conversations” that can provoke children to cry.

The DoDEA highlighted the “difficult conversations” and the SEL connection to DEI on its now-defunct DEI Division website. While the DoDEA dissolved its DEI Division in 2023 in the wake of controversy surrounding its former chief, Kelisa Wing, who had written anti-white messages on social media, the DoDEA still maintains a DEI “steering committee,” representing an ideology that former DoDEA Executive Director Thomas Brady said would be “embedded into everything we do,” according to the report.

But the SEL focus brings more than the ideology, according to the report, as “students emotional states are being recorded all day long,” and tech platforms such as Google Workspace for Education, Google Classroom, and Pear Deck, which operate in many of the classrooms, are able to collect data on the children’s emotional states.

Google Classroom also allows children to change their name at school to an “affirming name,” or one different than their birth name, which follows a March 2024 DoDEA policy allowing a student simply to ask an administrator for the change and achieve it within 24 hours.

“In Denmark, regulators have already identified this for what it is: A major threat to privacy of minors. Empowering teachers to constantly monitor children’s emotional states and interact with them privately outside the purview of parents is problematic,” OpenTheBooks CEO Adam Andrzejewski told the Washington Examiner. “Recording and keeping the student data in perpetuity takes it a step further: It’s the data-mining of incredibly private student information. Lawmakers should ensure teachers get back to educating, rather than colluding with big tech to spy on children.”

“It’s not a teacher’s place to interact privately with children about incredibly intimate and controversial topics outside their parent or guardian’s purview,” Andrzejewski added.

Students get frequent “check-ins” from Pear Deck, which prompt them to explain their emotional state and allows for teachers to message them directly about it. That data get stored, and while administrators and teachers can have access to the data to “see trends” of students, it is unclear whether students or parents would have access to the data.

At the 2021 Equity and Access Summit, one DoDEA staffer suggested conducting brain scans on children to pair with the SEL data in order to track performance, according to the report.

The report also showed several DoDEA staff talking about how closely the government education standards align with the far-Left Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Social Justice Standards,” with a DoDEA physical education expert explaining, “In [the National Health Education Standards] we teach students to advocate for personal, family and community health. One of the Social Justice Standards teaches students that ‘it is important to stand up for myself and others’ … so the idea is that even though the wording of advocacy is different, and the word ‘stand up’ is different, the outcome is still the same … and those are the kinds of connections we need to make, or help students make.”

Andrzejewski said the internal conversations his group discovered suggested Defense Department education officials were “priming kids to be activists” in Pentagon schools.

“The leadership bluntly stated it was about creating a ‘school-to-activism pipeline’ so kids would be trained to ‘challenge systems of oppression,’” Andrzejewski said. “Now, though the words may be different, the message is the same: American principles and institutions should be challenged, and students should advocate for themselves and others on the basis of complex identities — not their shared American ideals.”

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The report also highlighted other concerning material, such as sexual education materials from Goodheart-Willcox, which the DoDEA bought for over $1 million, claiming students can choose a gender identity and that there are four aspects of sexuality: biological sex, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual experiences and thoughts.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the DoDEA with a request for comment.

Children who started school during the coronavirus pandemic are well behind the historical trend of academic achievement for their age group, and recovery lags behind their older peers, according to a study.

According to new data from Curriculum Associates, students who began school during the pandemic are consistently behind in math and reading, while older students show signs of recovery in reading but not math. The study compared three years of reading and math results from students who were between the ages of 3 and 9 in 2021 and compared them to historical trends.

“This only further validates the concern and frustration parents felt throughout the COVID era,” Michele Exner, senior adviser at education advocacy group Parents Defending Education, told the Washington Examiner. “This was a predictable outcome and yet the adults in charge of these school districts did nothing. Weak policymakers more beholden to teachers unions than children’s education created catastrophic learning loss and the youngest students continue to suffer the dire consequences.”

Researchers compared the academic growth patterns of students starting kindergarten through fourth grade in 2021, tracking through 2024, to those starting the same grade levels in 2016 and tracking through 2019.

The study comes as many in the education industry are making a play for more money as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds are set to expire this year, but the nearly $200 billion pumped into schools during the pandemic only showed modest academic recovery.

Data show that the youngest group tested, who were in kindergarten or first grade in 2021, is the furthest behind the academic growth pattern of the same groups prior to the pandemic, or compared to students who were in kindergarten and first grade in 2016. They not only have not recovered to the same extent as their older peers, but are actually in some cases widening the gap from historical trends.

While the oldest group tested, who were in fourth grade in 2021, shows signs of accelerated growth in recovery, having started far behind historical trends their first year back from the pandemic, kindergarteners are falling further behind the trend, while first graders are maintaining an upward trajectory but not making up for lost time.

“The only cohort to demonstrate small signs of recovery are those students beginning Grade 4 in 2021,” the study stated. “By stark contrast, younger cohorts are either falling behind or consistently hovering below historical trends in both subjects. The differences by cohort could occur for a variety of reasons, including the disruption to early childhood experiences, challenges building foundational skills, young students being less responsive to virtual instruction, or simply the interventions utilized targeted students in older grades.”

“Given young cohorts missed their pre-K to Grade 1 school years, or received instruction virtually at this time, they may have missed a critical window during which foundational skills develop,” researchers added.

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Some of the reason for divergent academic recovery among age groups, the study noted, is grade placement level. The students who were placed on grade level for reading “rarely fell behind” the historical trend and were close to the trend for math. However, students who were behind their grade level for both subjects were consistently behind the historical growth over time.

As the Washington Examiner reported, many of the protocols put into place by elected leaders, pressured by the federal government, have had detrimental impacts on children academically, socially, and developmentally. Many of the protocols, such as masking and social distancing, both had little or zero scientific backing but had some of the worst long-term effects on children.

A federal judge in Kansas has blocked the Department of Education’s Title IX rewrite in four more states, continuing a pattern of successive losses for the Biden administration on the controversial regulatory overhaul.

U.S. District Court Judge John W. Broomes issued an injunction on Tuesday to the Biden administration’s new Title IX rules, which change the definition of sex to include claimed gender identities, bringing the total number of states with a similar block to 14. The ruling blocked the new rules in Kansas, Alaska, Utah, and Wyoming, representing the fifth federal court to rule against the Biden administration.

Critics of the rewritten Title IX rules say the Education Department is attempting to strip women and girls of private spaces, such as restrooms and locker rooms, by allowing biological males to use the same facilities.

“Given … the evidence before the court, it is not hard to imagine that, under the Final Rule, an industrious older teenage boy may simply claim to identify as a female to gain access to the girls’ showers, dressing rooms, or locker rooms so that he can observe his female peers disrobe and shower,” Broomes wrote.

The judge also made note of the legislative history of Title IX, which he said clearly referred to “biological sex,” not claimed gender identities or sexual orientations.

“One of the principal purposes of the statute was to root out discrimination against women in education,” he stated. “The legislative history shows that Congress was concerned about the unequal treatment between men and women for admissions opportunities, scholarships, and sports.”

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, argued the case before the court.

“If President Biden had his way, a 16-year-old female high school student on an overnight field trip could be forced to share a hotel room with a male who identifies as a girl, or the district would risk losing federal funding,” Kobach said, reacting to the court’s ruling. “We’re pleased the court ruled to rein in the administration’s vast overreach. It’s unconscionable, it’s dangerous for girls and women, and it’s against federal law.”

In addition to the four states involved in the lawsuit against the Education Department, other organizations involved in the case include Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation, and the Alliance Defending Freedom.

“The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex won’t just rewire our educational system,” ADF legal counsel Rachel Rouleau said in a statement. “It means girls will be forced to undress in locker rooms and share hotel rooms with boys on overnight school trips, teachers and students will have to refrain from speaking truthfully about biological sex, and girls will lose their right to fair competition in sports.”

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In addition to sex-specific facilities being at issue, Broomes ruled the new Title IX rules violate the First Amendment, as they would force students and teachers to use “preferred pronouns” and alternative names to refer to some students with gender dysphoria. Broomes ruled it would undermine the speech of those who “want to articulate that sex is immutable and binary” and “refer to individuals with biologically accurate pronouns.”

Other states with a ruling that blocks the new Title IX rules include Louisiana, Mississippi, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia.

When the Supreme Court overruled Chevron deference on Friday, it may have also stripped the Biden administration’s only line of defense for overhauling Title IX, experts say.

The Title IX rewrite, which is set to take effect Aug. 1, redefined sex to include expansive claims of gender identity and, many critics say, foreclosed sex-specific facilities in schools such as restrooms and locker rooms. However, with the overturn of Chevron, the Biden administration may have lost the only way it could have defended the highly controversial rules governing the civil rights law.

“For a multitude of reasons, all of the Title IX litigants are virtually guaranteed success by the Supreme Court, but with Chevron‘s death knell, I would say that that is now doubly virtually guaranteed: Any deference that would have been automatically given to the Biden administration has just been completely eliminated,” Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the Washington Examiner.

The Title IX overhaul by the Department of Education is being challenged in court by 26 states through multiple lawsuits and has been blocked in 10 so far. Under Chevron, executive agencies were given deference by courts to their interpretations of “silent or ambiguous” statutes, but now courts will once again have the authority to interpret whether an agency has overstepped the meaning of the law rather than allowing agencies to define statutes for themselves.

Prior to Title IX being finalized and Chevron being overturned, the Alliance Defending Freedom filed an amicus brief in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court case that overturned Chevron, arguing Chevron would have been used to defend the redefined statute, saying, “The agency will likely inevitably [invoke] Chevron deference” in its legal defense of the new Title IX.

“No court should be forced by Chevron to defer to the Department’s claim that Title IX means the opposite of what it says,” the brief stated. “The statute deals with discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity, and Title IX’s direct reference to a male-female binary excludes any gender identity interpretation.”

Such deference, ADF argued, would have allowed the government to invoke harm on women and girls who would be forced to compete against males, compel speech through requiring teachers and students to use programs and names that are not consistent with biological sex, or have schools facilitate child gender transitions without the knowledge or consent of parents.

“As things stand, Chevron remains a shield for executive-branch officials seeking to impose these harms,” the ADF brief said.

Perry said the Biden administration was relying on an argument that Title IX, a 37-word statute meant to protect women’s educational opportunities, was ambiguous, as Biden administration officials believe sex could mean any multitude of things.

Chevron deference has only been invoked one time by the Department of Education, in a 2007 case regarding the distribution of federal impact aid, but it has reentered the conversation amid all the changes the Biden administration made to Title IX.

“Conceivably, the only reason that it’s never been invoked is because the Department of Education has never taken such extensive liberties within an illegal interpretation of the law,” Perry said, calling the overturn of Chevron as it relates to Title IX a “form of insurance” in the success of the legal challenges.

Moreover, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, in granting a block to the Title IX rules for Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia, took Chevron head-on, arguing that the new rules were so far outside the boundaries of the statute that Chevron could not likely save them either.

“An agency has no authority to promulgate a regulation that undoes the unambiguous language of the statute,” Reeves wrote before the overturn of Chevron.

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In overturning the precedent, Perry said the nation’s high court “may have actually taken it with an eye toward the fact that this administration has been out over its skis and acted illegally time and time again.”

Citing occasions the Supreme Court has overruled instances of the Biden administration’s use of authority prior to dismantling Chevron, such as in the case of the vaccine mandate from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the eviction moratorium from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or emissions caps from the Environmental Protection Agency, Perry said when a Title IX challenge eventually reaches the high court, the justices are “now going to take this interpretation of Title IX, and I don’t see how any justice, including the liberals, can straight-faced argue that the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX is accurate.”

Cultural centers at some Utah universities are deciding to close down in response to the state’s partial diversity, equity, and inclusion restriction despite the law not requiring them to do so.

The DEI restriction, which does not ban the ideology but pares back some of the programs in the state’s universities and government offices, went into effect Monday. While guidance about how to implement the new law does not advise schools to close their cultural centers, which are often race-, sex-, or sexual orientation-based student support offices, some have decided to do so anyway.

Guidance from the Utah System of Higher Education does require that schools shut down offices that are “discriminatory,” meaning in part that programs, offices, procedures, or other initiatives based on “personal identity characteristics” would not be permitted. For all intents and purposes, a cultural center would be required to service students who do not meet the race, sex, or other characteristic upon which it is based.

Particularly in light of stronger bans such as those implemented in Texas and Florida that were aimed more at routing out the ideology at the core, Utah’s law was applauded by some DEI proponents as a “compromise,” a middle ground of getting rid of the coercive aspects, such as trainings or support statements, while maintaining some programs.

Despite that, five of six public universities in Utah have announced they will close down at least one cultural center on their campuses.

“The intention of the law is to promote student success for all students in our schools and universities and ensure any student who needs support and services has them available,” Republican state Rep. Katy Hall, who sponsored the DEI restriction bill, told Inside Higher Ed. “As I understand it, some of the universities have chosen to [close certain student centers] to better meet the goals I just described. I hope that students who benefitted from these centers in the past know that the expectation is that they will still be able to receive the services and support that they need to succeed with their educational goals.”

University of Utah’s Black Cultural Center, for example, shut down its website and moved its student resources and support programs to the Center for Student Access and Resources while moving “cultural education, celebration activities, and awareness programs” to the Center for Cultural and Community Engagement. The school also announced it would close its Center for Equity and Student Belonging, LGBT Resource Center, and Women’s Resource Center. The American Indian Resource Center will be renamed the Center for Native Excellence and Tribal Engagement.

Southern Utah University is getting rid of its Center for Diversity and Inclusion as well as its LGBT center, called the Q Center, and Utah State University is closing its Inclusion Center but moving programs to other offices. However, USU will keep its “Latinx Cultural Center” open and create a Native American Cultural Center, so long as they are approved by the state board of higher education.

Weber State University shut down its Division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, which housed five cultural centers and a LGBT center. But that school is opening a Student Success Center and moving most of the faculty and staff from the DEI office to continue much of their work there.

Utah Commissioner of Higher Education Geoffrey Landward told the Salt Lake Tribune there could be a university system-side multicultural center to replace the more characteristic-specific cultural centers, something which the University of Utah and Utah State University have already said they would do.

“You create an umbrella cultural center,” Landward told the outlet. “This preserves our ability to educate and celebrate different cultures, but in a way that doesn’t expose us to more criticism … without having to answer the question: ‘Why does this one group get a center and another group doesn’t?’”

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While Landward said the cultural centers are not outlawed, he anticipates they could be in the future, as the centers are widely criticized among opponents of DEI for only offering their services to certain students who meet their racial or sexual criteria while excluding others. He added that schools moving to close their cultural centers now is likely well advised.

Gov. Spencer Cox’s (R-UT) office did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.