PODCAST · news
Education in Focus
by The Center Square
A podcast that brings you an in-depth analysis of the most compelling education stories of the week from chalkboardnews.com. We explore the latest in education news and policy. Join us as we delve into the latest developments, trends, and issues shaping the world of education.
Episodes
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More states now offer school choice programs for families
(The Center Square) – School choice debates continue as more states opt into programs aimed at expanding educational options for families. National School Choice Week, scheduled for Jan. 25-31, is designed to raise awareness about school choice around the country through events with schools and...
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GOP opposes California tuition aid for illegal immigrants
(The Center Square) – Republicans are pushing back against California programs that provide taxpayer-funded tuition assistance to illegal immigrants, arguing the policies divert resources from the state's taxpayers. The California Dream Act Application allows illegal immigrants and students from...
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Arizona education officials approve revision to DEI policies
(The Center Square) – The Arizona State Board of Education on Monday approved removing diversity, equity and inclusion teaching standards to comply with a federal executive order and avoid the potential loss of $866 million in federal education funding. During the meeting, board members heard...
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Feds take steps to dismantle ED, states respond
(The Center Square) - Since the Trump administration’s moves to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, it has prompted a wide range of reactions from state education leaders nationwide. The department announced this past week that six offices within the Department of Education will be...
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UCSD renames scholarship after affirmative action settlement
(The Center Square) - University of California, San Diego has renamed one of its scholarship programs following a legal settlement with the Pacific Legal Foundation, which sought to ensure equal treatment and educational opportunity for all students regardless of race. Support this podcast:...
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Wisconsin school consolidation could be near 'pendulum swing'
Chris Lindner knows the possibility of his Loyal School District consolidating with Greenwood in Clark County has plenty of people paying attention. School consolidations in Wisconsin, now a rarity, could increase if his is successful. The measures are aimed at helping school districts use...
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Survey: Colorado faces shortage of after-school programs
(The Center Square) – Colorado is experiencing a significant shortage of out-of-school programs, according to a new report. The survey found that, while parents of 463,000 children in Colorado want them in an after-school program, 75% of those children are not. While still significant, that is 2%...
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UC system mandates training affirming gender ideology
(The Center Square) - The University of California system has rolled out a new harassment prevention mandate requiring all students to complete training that affirms transgender policies — or face class registration blocks. UC’s SHAPE program - Sexual Harassment, Anti-Discrimination, Prevention…
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Poll: Most voters against federal govt controlling education
(The Center Square) - A vast majority of Americans do not believe the federal government should have control over education policy, according to a new poll. The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll found that only 11% of American voters think the federal government should set standards for…
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'Moral disaster': Wisconsin leaders want answers on teacher assault probe
(The Center Square) – The leaders of Wisconsin’s Senate Committee on Education are demanding answers from the state’s Department of Public Instruction following a report showing that 200 investigations into teachers for sexual assault and grooming were shielded from the public. Rep. Amanda...
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UW professor says campus problems go much deeper than anti-Semitism
(The Center Square) – On the day remaining Israeli hostages were released by Hamas and reunited with their families and friends after more than two years, much of the free world celebrated the peace deal between the Jewish state and the terrorist organization. But on the campus of the University…
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Wisconsin legislator: Schools must fulfill financial reporting before referendum
(The Center Square) – A bill that would require Wisconsin school districts to confirm they have filed their required financial paperwork to the state before going to referendum was the subject of a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on Education on Thursday. The bill was aimed at districts...
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Texas A&M President resigns over controversy in LGBTQ teachings
(The Center Square) - The President of Texas A&M University, Mark Welsh, resigned last week amid controversy over a viral video between a professor and a student debating gender ideology. Welsh stepped down officially on Friday, September 19, according to a press release where the Chancellor…
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McMahon discusses education at Reagan Institute
(The Center Square) - U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon emphasized literacy, artificial intelligence, civil discourse and education funding at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education. Indiana Education Secretary Katie Jenner asked McMahon questions at RISE in Washington, D.C., on education...
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Education department launches America 250 effort
(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Education, along with private organizations, launched this week the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, in an effort to revive civic education in American schools. First Liberty Institute joined the department, along with 40 other organizations…
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Report says national student debt more than $1.6T
(The Center Square) – The college student loan balance in the United States is $1.66 trillion, according to a WalletHub report. To determine the best and worst states with student debt, the WalletHub's report compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia. WalletHub also graded on a…
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Damning report card: California schools get an ‘F’
(The Center Square) - The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Free Speech Rankings crowned California's Claremont McKenna College with a grade of B- as the best college in the U.S. for free speech, while a string of other California schools received F grades amid anti-free speech...
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Best, worst states for teachers ranked as student scores drop
(The Center Square) – Virginia is the No. 1 state for teachers' pay and public spending per student. At the same time, it's No. 51 for students' math scores, behind 49 states and Washington, D.C. More pay for teachers and more spending for schools don't necessarily equal better performances by...
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White House announces new AI Education initiative
(The Center Square) - The White House announced the Presidential AI Challenge, a new initiative to unite innovation and education. Launched on Aug. 26, the initiative is a project that encourages K-12 youth, educators and mentors to solve real-world problems in their communities using artificial...
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Chicago student petitions to restore bathroom doors
(The Center Square) - A Chicago student launched a petition to restore bathroom doors after Oak Park and River Forest High School removed them. At the start of the school year, students noticed that the exterior doors to the bathrooms had been removed. In response, students were outraged, calling...
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Beverly Hills Schools Chief Reverses Israeli Flag Decision
(The Center Square) - Following the Beverly Hills Unified School District board's vote to display Israeli flags on all its campuses, Superintendent Alex Cherniss overruled the decision, citing safety concerns. “In light of heightened safety concerns around the displaying of flags on our campuses…
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AB 495 Moves Forward Despite GOP Pushback in California
(The Center Square) - The California Senate Appropriations Committee sent Assembly Bill 495 on its way to the Senate floor, despite strong opposition from Republicans. The committee Friday voted 5-2 to send AB 495, known as the “Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025," to the full Senate for...
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AZ Judge Rules Lawmakers Violated State Constitution
(The Center Square) — Arizona lawmakers violated the constitutional requirement to fund public schools, ruled Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox. In a 114-page decision, Fox stated on Aug. 11 that Arizona schools did not meet the minimum standards in providing adequate equipment for...
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Backlash Continues to July’s ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ Event at WA Elementary School
(The Center Square) – According to event officials, a July 26 event held at Donald Eismann Elementary School, part of the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District in Washington state, that included a “Drag Queen Story Hour” and other controversial drag performances, has inspired death threats against...
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Virginia Schools Keep Gender Policy, Despite Title IX Violation
(The Center Square) — Virginia Public Schools in Loudoun County voted this week to keep their gender policy, allowing transgender students to use facilities, despite the U.S. Department of Education finding the policy violates Title IX. According to the federal law, sex-separated spaces are...
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California Schools Protect Students From ICE Agents
(The Center Square) — California schools are providing resources for students if immigration officials visit their campus. As students get ready to go back to school, Southern California schools are taking proactive measures to protect students from federal immigration agents on campus. After...
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California Bill Raises Major Concerns for Parent Advocacy Groups
(The Center Square) - A California bill that aims to provide a solution to immigrant families poses a legal loophole for kidnapping children, says the California Family Council. Assembly Bill 495, known as the “Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025,” authored by Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez,...
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Parental Rights Groups Concerned Over DEI in Denver Teacher Contract
(The Center Square) – As Denver Public Schools move forward with finalizing a new teacher contract, parental rights groups are raising concerns about inclusion of diversity, equity, and inclusion provisions in the contract. Defending Education, Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, and Protect Kids...
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Newsom Responds to Federal Freeze of UCLA Research Funds
After the Trump administration suspended research funding from the University of California, Los Angeles over claims of antisemitism, Gov. Gavin Newsom called the freeze “cruel manipulation.” Last week the Trump administration sent a notice to UCLA that it was suspending all science and medical...
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Trump Signs Order to Bring Back Presidential Fitness Test
(The Center Square) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order to bring back the Presidential Fitness Test to American schools. The fitness test was introduced in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, but was phased out in 2012 during the Obama administration. The fitness test requires...
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Pod Schooling App Gives Parents Alternative School Choice
(The Center Square) — A new school-based app, Edefy, recently launched as part of another school choice alternative for parents. Edefy is an app that connects families to teachers of their choice at nearby host sites, a method known as Pod schooling. For the past two years, James Bisenius, the...
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U.S. Government Gives Some Education Money Back to States
(The Center Square) — The Trump administration released $1.3 billion in education funding back to the states after bipartisan pushback. After the U.S. Department of Education announced it would withhold $6.8 billion in federal education funding, lawmakers and education officials across the…
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States Sue Trump Administration Over Education Funding
(The Center Square) — California, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada are part of a coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia, suing the Trump administration for withholding $6.8 billion in federal education funding. These states are calling this freeze unconstitutional, unlawful and an...
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Anonymous K-12 Tip Line Logs Over 30K Reports
(The Center Square) — Colorado's K-12 safety anonymous reporting system surpassed over 30,000 reports in the 2024-2025 school year. The Safe2Tell system received 30,461 reports in total, with seven out of the last 10 months in the 2024-2025 school year receiving more reports than in the previous...
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Police Link Suicide Hotline Bill to Risk of Online Predators
(The Center Square) — The California Family Council joins law enforcement in revealing a new LGBTQ+ suicide hotline bill that could expose children to online predators. Assembly Bill 727 would require the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide hotline, be printed on all public school student ID cards...
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U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Parents on LGBTQ Storybooks
(The Center Square) — The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision Friday, sided with parents in opting-out their children from school curriculum with LGBTQ storybooks. In the case Mahmoud v. Taylor, the court recognized parents have a constitutional right to opt their children out of, for religious...
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Newsom’s Office Dismisses Title IX Violation as Not Serious
(The Center Square) — Following the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation being found in violation of Title IX by the U.S Department of Education, the governor's office is unfazed. Meanwhile, the debate over transgender athletes in girls' sports has...
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Ohio’s EdChoice Scholarship Program Struck Down
(The Center Square) – Parents receiving taxpayer money for school choice won’t lose it immediately, as the state plans to appeal a ruling that declared Ohio’s EdChoice program unconstitutional. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page ruled late Tuesday in favor of 200 of the state’s public...
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Tennessee Lawmakers Question Virtual School Funding
(The Center Square) – Tennessee lawmakers are questioning why two counties with virtual schools are reaping thousands in state funding at the expense of the state's other 93. Union and Johnson counties have the most significant percentage of the state's 59 virtual schools, according to…
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Michigan Graduate Student From China Charged With Conspiracy, Smuggling
The FBI has arrested Yunqing Jian, a graduate student from China at the University of Michigan, on charges of conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud. Jian and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, are accused of smuggling a “dangerous biological pathogen”…
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House Democrats, Republicans Spar Over High College Tuition Costs
(The Center Square) – U.S. House Democrats and Republicans shared opposing viewpoints Wednesday on ways to address the rising costs of college tuition in the U.S. In a House subcommittee hearing, Republican and Democrat members questioned a panel of witnesses on antitrust policies of Ivy League...
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Texas House Passes Parental Bill of Rights
(The Center Square) – The Texas House on Sunday passed a Parental Bill of Rights that includes a ban on social transitioning of children. In the House, the bill was carried by state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, The Center Square reported. It passed the House by a vote of 88-47 with three voting...
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Report: Early Data Links State Policy and School Choice Options
(The Center Square) – States with universal school choice policies see more growth in educational options for families, according to a new report. EdChoice, a nonprofit organization that researches school choice policies, said roughly 30,000 private schools serve 4.4 million students across the...
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CA Judge Requires Parental Notification for Elementary School Gender Lesson
(The Center Square) - A California federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring parental notification and opt-outs for gender identity topics in an elementary school’s buddy program pairing older elementary students with younger mentees, citing concerns from the program’s controversial...
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Pro-Palestinian Protesters Occupy University of Washington Building, 30 Arrested
(The Center Square) – About 30 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested late Monday night after occupying a University of Washington building and lighting dumpster fires. In a social media post, the “Super UW” group – Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return – stated that it occupied…
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Senate Committee to Vote on Bills Combating Antisemitism on Campuses
(The Center Square) – Legislation targeting harassment of Jewish students at higher education institutions will likely reach the U.S. House floor by May, intensifying the broader crackdown on antisemitism by the Trump administration. The Republican-led Senate Health, Education, Labor, and…
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Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over ‘Illegal Demands'
(The Center Square) – After seeing billions of dollars in research funding frozen and facing multiple federal demands for internal reform, Harvard University is suing the Trump administration under the claim that it has violated the school’s First Amendment rights. On April 14, the U.S.…
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Trump Administration Freezes More Than $2.2 Billion in Funding to Harvard
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Education late Monday said it is freezing more than $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University after its president said earlier in the day it would not comply with President Donald Trump's demands over antisemitism on campus and diversity,...
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Nationwide Proposal to Remove Cellphones From Classrooms Introduced
(The Center Square) – As cellphone bans in schools are gaining steam in dozens of states, one lawmaker is taking it to the federal level by proposing legislation leading to cellphone-free schools. Freshman Virginia Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman has introduced the UNPLUGGED Act, which the…
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Georgia General Assembly Sends the Riley Gaines Act to Kemp’s Desk
(The Center Square) – Bills that would ban men from women's sports and establish new programs for school safety are now on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's desk as lawmakers wind down the 2025 session. House and Senate leaders merged Senate Bill 1 into the Riley Gaines Act proposed by the House. The...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast that brings you an in-depth analysis of the most compelling education stories of the week from chalkboardnews.com. We explore the latest in education news and policy. Join us as we delve into the latest developments, trends, and issues shaping the world of education.
HOSTED BY
The Center Square
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Education in Focus have?
Education in Focus currently has 272 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Education in Focus about?
A podcast that brings you an in-depth analysis of the most compelling education stories of the week from chalkboardnews.com. We explore the latest in education news and policy. Join us as we delve into the latest developments, trends, and issues shaping the world of education.
How often does Education in Focus release new episodes?
Education in Focus publishes regularly with 272 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Education in Focus?
You can listen to Education in Focus on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Education in Focus?
Education in Focus is created and hosted by The Center Square.
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