Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here): Educator Who Read ‘I Need a New Butt! ’ to Students Wins Job Back in Court ...
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  1. This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues
  2. A Look Back: TED-Ed Video About Lobotomies – And My Family Has A Personal Connection To This Horror
  3. Links To Nearly 300 Of My Ten-Minute BAM! Radio Shows On Different Teaching Topics
  4. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights Offers Great Lesson Materials For Free
  5. The Olympics Are Beginning – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources
  6. More Recent Articles

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues

 

Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here):

Educator Who Read ‘I Need a New Butt!’ to Students Wins Job Back in Court www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 29, 2026 at 1:26 PM

This is a very interesting and concerning piece that’s looking g and worth reading

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 29, 2026 at 6:04 AM

She Fought a Book Ban. She May Never Teach Again. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/u… gift link

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 29, 2026 at 5:15 AM

Trump has sued universities for billions. Here’s what the strategy tells us www.npr.org/2026/01/29/n…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 29, 2026 at 5:13 AM

Seven Sacramento high schools planning coordinated anti-ICE walkout to Capitol
www.sacbee.com/news/local/e…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 28, 2026 at 7:13 PM

 

Hundreds of Sacramento high school students walk out of class to protest ICE www.sacbee.com/news/local/a…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 30, 2026 at 2:37 PM

The Schoolchildren of Minneapolis www.newyorker.com/magazine/202…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 30, 2026 at 5:04 PM

Texas A&M Ends Women’s Studies and Overhauls Classes Over Race and Gender www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 30, 2026 at 12:49 PM

This is a @michaelpetrilli.bsky.social appreciation post. Everyone should read his newsletter today, which dissects what’s going on with private vs. charter choice w great clarity.

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— Jen Jennings (@jenjennings.bsky.social) January 30, 2026 at 8:47 AM

New–

We all know that virtual instruction is not ideal, but surely it’s better learning than a full snow day off, right?

Actually this is less obvious than it seems. Holding class when engagement is low can set everyone back.

www.chalkbeat.org/2026/01/29/s…

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— Matt Barnum (@mattbarnum.bsky.social) January 30, 2026 at 5:57 AM

Why Boys Are Behind in Reading at Every Age www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u… gift link

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 30, 2026 at 5:47 AM

 

 

How useful are meta-analyses really? is from From Experience To Meaning. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Understanding How To Interpret Education Research.

A Minnesota School District Guards Against ICE, From Dawn to Dusk www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/u… gift link

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 31, 2026 at 5:33 AM

A defining image from Minneapolis.

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— Mike Hixenbaugh (@mikehixenbaugh.com) January 31, 2026 at 9:57 AM

LAUSD teachers union members authorize strike, ratcheting up pressure on contract talks www.latimes.com/california/s…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 31, 2026 at 9:33 AM

Students across California participated in a nationwide protest against recent killings by immigration enforcement by walking out of school, protesting on campus or joining larger community protests.

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— EdSource (@edsource.org) January 31, 2026 at 9:11 AM

“On the day he was photographed, Liam had been used by faceless, nameless DHS agents to capture his father at his preschool pickup; he was also being used as bait to see if the agents could ambush other members of the family.” ICYMI @adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4c7BlVM

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— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) January 31, 2026 at 5:01 AM

Sac City Unified School District budget crisis escalates fox40.com/news/local-n…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) January 31, 2026 at 3:34 PM

The losing GOP candidate here was an architect of Christian conservative takeovers of Texas school boards. www.texastribune.org/2026/01/30/t…

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— Erica Meltzer (@ericameltzer.bsky.social) January 31, 2026 at 10:32 PM

 

“Classes have been called off in the Columbia Heights school district today due to what officials are calling a bomb threat. The closure comes as 5-year-old preschool student Liam Conejo Ramos & his father from Columbia Heights were released from an ICE detention center in Texas and returned to MN.”

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 2, 2026 at 7:00 AM

Policy on trans students’ pronouns didn’t violate teacher’s rights, court says www.washingtonpost.com/education/20…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 2, 2026 at 5:43 AM

 

Colleges See Major Racial Shifts in Student Enrollment is from The NY Times.

California faces teacher strikes across state for better pay and work conditions is from The Guardian.

This is a very thorough article worth reading

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 3, 2026 at 12:33 PM

Q: Does Trump want to see Harvard officials arrested?

LEAVITT: I know the president wants to see Harvard held responsible for the criminal behavior, the harassment and targeting of Jewish-American students

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 3, 2026 at 10:37 AM

President Donald Trump isn’t done with Harvard University quite yet.

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— EdSource (@edsource.org) February 3, 2026 at 10:52 AM

What do US history classes have in common across the vast landscape of 50 states, 13,000 school districts, and 90,000 schools? Read the AHA’s American Lesson Plan to get a sense of national patterns and regional differences. 🗃️

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— American Historical Association (@historians.org) February 3, 2026 at 10:54 AM

Congress Has Passed an Education Budget. See How Key Programs Are Affected is from Ed Week.

Minnesota teachers sue to keep ICE off school property www.washingtonpost.com/education/20…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 4, 2026 at 7:47 AM

Welcome to the Resistance, Public School Parents www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/o…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 4, 2026 at 6:28 AM

A Winter of Anguish for Minneapolis Children www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u… gift link

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 4, 2026 at 3:33 AM

Professors Are Being Watched: ‘We’ve Never Seen This Much Surveillance’ www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 4, 2026 at 3:16 AM

Schools are increasingly telling students they must put their phones away – Ohio’s example shows mixed results following new bans is from The Conversation. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Student Cellphone Use In Class — Please Contribute More.

Breaking, from me: An executive order from Oklahoma’s governor directs most of the state’s public colleges to “phase out tenure.” #AcademicSky #HigherEd @chronicle.com
www.chronicle.com/article/tenu…

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— Megan Zahneis (@mzahneis.bsky.social) February 5, 2026 at 1:59 PM

San Francisco teachers plan to strike on Monday unless they reach a new contract agreement.

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— EdSource (@edsource.org) February 5, 2026 at 11:04 AM

I flinch at the term “kindergarten readiness.” It implies the burden is on the kid to be ready for the school, not on the school to be ready for the kid.

You accept kids as is in a public school.

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— Jen Jennings (@jenjennings.bsky.social) February 5, 2026 at 3:06 AM

How the new dietary guidelines could impact school meals www.npr.org/2026/02/05/n…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 5, 2026 at 4:34 AM

Faculty diversity push at universities led to modest gains before Trump ban www.washingtonpost.com/education/in…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 5, 2026 at 4:25 AM

My old district is a mess——-Sac City Unified superintendent Lisa Allen resigns amid budget crisis www.sacbee.com/news/local/a…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 5, 2026 at 4:56 PM

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that K-12 districts & individual schools have been much more active in defending their students and families than colleges ——12 Columbia Professors and Students Are Arrested at Anti-ICE Protest www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/n…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) February 5, 2026 at 6:06 PM

How ICE Raids Are Affecting Children—And What Schools Can Do is from Greater Good. I’m adding it to The Best Resources To Support Schools, Teachers, Students & Families In The Face Of Trump’s Deportation Threats.

     

A Look Back: TED-Ed Video About Lobotomies – And My Family Has A Personal Connection To This Horror

For the next month or so, I’ll be republishing my best posts from the last half of 2025.

 

ElisaRiva / Pixabay

“One of the most controversial medical procedures in history” is the title of this TED-Ed video about lobotomies.

About ninety years ago, surgeons who were taking advantage of low-income immigrant women convinced my grandmother in New York City to have her older son, who was a smart, but rambunctious child, undergo the surgery to “calm” him down. He was then institutionalized for over seventy years, and my grandmother never forgave herself.

 

     

Links To Nearly 300 Of My Ten-Minute BAM! Radio Shows On Different Teaching Topics

 

For a number of years, I did ten-minute podcasts with multiple guests to accompany my Education Week columns.

You can see them all at All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions or go directly to the BAM! page.  You can also subscribe to the podcast through various services.

     

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights Offers Great Lesson Materials For Free

 

The recently reopened National Center for Civil and Human Rights has an “education portal” which offers tons of excellent lesson plans and learning materials.

You can read more about the museum at The NY Times article, As Trump Recasts History, a Civil Rights Museum Sticks to a Messy Past.

I’m adding this info to:

The Best Sites To Teach About African-American History

The Best Places To Find Free (And Good) Lesson Plans On The Internet

     

The Olympics Are Beginning – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

Elf-Moondance / Pixabay

 

The Winter Olympics are beginning!

You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning & Teaching About The 2026 Winter Olympics.

     

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