Education

After 10 Years of Fighting for Funded Schools, Gannon Takes a Look Back

It was a quiet Sunday morning in 2011 when Jeff Gannon got a warning he’d never forget. A year earlier, he and his family agreed to put their name to one of the most divisive lawsuits in Kansas history. They had gotten a fair share of negative feedback, but nothing like the man who approached him after church. “He said, ‘Do you have any idea what they can do to you? You are coming up against a system that is incredibly large and powerful,’ ” Gannon said. “He said, ‘Are you prepared for the trouble that could come your way?’” It was odd, and a bit disquieting, but even after the nameless man left, Gannon wasn’t shaken.


Lawsuit Alleges Discrimination Against Latino Families in Holyoke Public Schools

A lawsuit has been filed in federal court alleging human rights violations in Holyoke Public Schools. The suit alleges the district fails to provide parents who speak limited English adequate translation services, including for educational documents regarding the children in their families. “For at least two decades, HPS has routinely and repeatedly failed to translate important educational …


Jury Finds UMD Negligent in Teacher Licensure Lawsuit

“We gave it the old college try, and sometimes you take it on the chin,” said Meg Kane, a lawyer for the graduates of the UMD College of Education and Human Service Professions. “They were found negligent, they were found liable — responsible — it just wasn’t a lot of finances awarded.” The former students, who graduated from UMD in December 2014, also alleged fraud and misrepresentation by UMD …


Minnesota Supreme Court to Hear School Integration Lawsuit

The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear the lawsuit brought by Minneapolis and St. Paul school parents who say that segregation has denied poor and minority children an adequate education. On Wednesday the Supreme Court order agreed to review the case. The Minnesota Court of Appeals had thrown out the suit in March.


Union Files 2nd Lawsuit Over Collective Bargaining Law

Iowa’s largest teachers union has filed a lawsuit challenging a new law that eliminated most collective bargaining rights for public workers. The announcement Tuesday by the Iowa State Education Association marks the second lawsuit by a union against the law, which took effect in February. The association, which represents 34,000 school employees in the state, claims the …





Detroit Backs DPS Students in Literacy Fight

The city of Detroit is siding with seven Detroit public schoolchildren suing Gov. Rick Snyder and state education officials over their right to access literacy. On Thursday, attorneys for the city filed an amicus brief in a proposed class action lawsuit against Snyder and state education officials that is being touted as an unprecedented attempt to establish that literacy is a U.S. constitutional right. …


Supreme Court Tosses Lawsuit, Preserves Florida Vouchers

A bitter feud over Florida’s largest private school voucher program ended Wednesday when the state Supreme Court tossed out a lawsuit challenging a program used by nearly 98,000 school children. The court in a 4-1 decision declined to hear the case, resulting in a significant victory for backers of school choice programs while handing a sizable defeat to Florida’s main …