LANSING, Mich - Michigan parents can’t request some school curricula under public record acts after the Michigan Supreme Court chose not to hear an appeal from a lower court.
On Sept. 25, the state’s top court denied an appeal filed by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy on behalf of a Rochester parent who requested the curriculum for a class held in the Rochester Public Schools district.
Through the state’s Freedom of Information Act, Carol Beth Litkouhi in 2022 sought course materials for a high school class titled “A History of Ethnic and Gender Studies.”
Rochester Public Schools refused. The district argued that the law did not require it to provide records held by teachers.
“At the heart of my lawsuit was a simple but critical principle: Nothing taught in our schools should be under the cover of secrecy,” Litkouhi, who ran for and won a seat on the Rochester Community School District's Board of Education in November 2022, said in a statement. “If there is any reason why secrecy is desired or needed, that alone is a red flag. The Rochester School Board felt it best to keep classroom materials secret from parents. They took money away from classrooms to fight this fight. Sadly, they have now succeeded in setting a new, disturbing legal precedent.”
In February, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the school district, stating that only records possessed by a public body itself — not its employees — are subject to FOIA. This decision will restrict the information available to taxpayers. Click here to read more.
CHICAGO, IL - Chicago Public Schools added 7,786 workers to the payroll at the same time it lost 38,063 students between 2019 and 2024.
It would be one thing if those extra staffers would help the district’s poor academic performance, but the number of regular classroom teachers barely changed in that time.
In 2019, there were 39,181 paid positions listed for Chicago Public Schools. By 2024, there were 46,967. That is an increase of almost 20% in five years with the growth in administrators, assistant principals, social workers and other support staff far outpacing the stagnant number of teachers.
All those extra workers on the payroll to educate 10.5% fewer students. Enrollment declined from 361,314 to 323,251.
Teaching positions, including bilingual, program option, and special education teachers, increased from 21,781 to 22,890, or by 5%. The number of regular teachers increased slightly from 13,035 to 13,196. The number of special education teachers increased significantly from 3,905 to 5,058, or by 29.5%. Click here to read more.
WASHINGTON D.C. - Israeli media reported on Sunday that the Biden administration has offered Israel a “compensation package” in exchange for refraining from attacks on a list of specific targets in Iran.
“The package would include a total guarantee of comprehensive diplomatic protection as well as a weapons package and was offered directly in return for holding off on striking certain targets in Iran,” said a report from Israel’s Kan11 news cited by the Jerusalem Post.
“An American official said, ‘If you don’t hit targets A, B, C, we will provide you with diplomatic protection and an arms package,’” said Kan11’s Amichai Stein.
According to Stein, the Israeli government was somewhat cool to the proposal, although it remains in active consultation with the U.S. government and military about its response to Iran’s missile attack last week. Click here to read more.
WASHINGTON D.C. - A year after the October 7 attack against Israel, nearly 100 hostages captured by Hamas have not been returned, and many of those are presumed dead.
Of the roughly 251 hostages taken by the terrorist group on that day, officials say that 64 are still being held alive alongside the bodies of another 33 of whom are deceased. The other 154 hostages have been either rescued or released, or their bodies have been recovered.
Seven American citizens, including four still believed to be alive, are still in Hamas custody, including Keith Siegel, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Judith Weinstein, and Gadi Haggai. Siegel (65), Dekel-Chen (36), Alexander (20), and Neutra (22) are all believed to be living, while Chen (19), Weinstein (70), and Haggai (73) are believed to be dead.
The body of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American-Israeli taken by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival, was recovered last month in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.
During a rally in New York City’s Central Park on Sunday calling for the release of the remaining hostages, Edan Alexander’s parents spoke about the pain of their son’s situation. Click here to read more.
LANSING, Mich - After Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido cleared four people of wrong doing for allegedly voting twice in the August Primary Election, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced she’s going to charge them and three assistant clerks with criminal election fraud.
Who is charged?
The four voters charged include St. Clair Shores residents 68-year-old Frank Prezzato, 56-year-old Stacy Kramer,44-year-old Douglas Kempkins, Jr. and 62-year-old Geneva O’Day. They all face one count of Voting Absentee and In-Person, which is a maximum penalty 5-year felony. In addition, they are each charged with one count of Offering to Vote More than Once, a maximum penalty 4-year felony.
Assistant Clerks Patricia Guciardo 73, and Emily McClintock, 42, are each charged with one count of Falsifying Election Returns or Records, one count of Voting Absentee and in Person, and one count of Offering to Vote more than Once. Assistant Clerk Molly Brasure, 31, faces two counts of Falsifying Election Returns or Records and two counts each of Voting Absentee and in Person, and Offering to Vote more than Once. Click here to read more.
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