{ "edition": "2026-11-14", "edition_display": "Saturday, November 14, 2026", "stories": [ { "id": "anne-arundel", "headline": "Maryland Schools Hid a Girl’s “Transition” — Then Lied to Her Parents, Feds Say", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-stop-secret-gender-transitions-anne-arundel-county-public-schools", "take": "The Justice Department’s Oct. 27 complaint alleges Anne Arundel County Public Schools solicit preferred names and pronouns, treat “gender identity” as confidential, and withhold it from parents as a “safety concern.” One family, the department says, got teacher emails using a male name for their daughter; staff then lied about helping the student “pretend to be male at school,” and still refused the education records. These are allegations in a pending case under FERPA and PPRA.", "subversion": "Normal: parents know what happens to their kids. New rule: the school decides they don’t — and, the complaint says, will lie about it.", "fight": "File a FERPA or PPRA complaint at the official U.S. Department of Education portal named in the Justice Department’s own release: studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint. Do not contact individual teachers or staff to harass them.", "fight_url": "https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint", "institution": "Anne Arundel Schools", "section": "Family & Kids", "source": "Justice Department", "date": "2026-10-27", "date_display": "Oct. 27, 2026", "buried": "Federal complaint; little national pickup", "rot": 5, "intl": false, "featured": "lead" }, { "id": "elk-grove", "headline": "Elk Grove May Expel a Fourth-Grader for the Wrong Pronoun", "url": "https://www.californiafamily.org/2026/11/elk-grove-set-to-renew-pronoun-rule-permitting-suspension-or-expulsion-of-fourth-graders/", "take": "California Family Council reported Nov. 13 that Elk Grove Unified is set to renew Board Policy 5145.18 on the Nov. 17 consent agenda. Administrative Regulation 5145.18, as quoted in that report, lists refusing a student’s chosen name and pronouns as conduct that “may constitute gender-based harassment.” For grades 4–12, “disciplinary action may include suspension and/or expulsion.” The board has not yet taken the vote. The pronoun language is quoted from the regulation as reported by CFC.", "subversion": "Normal: kids aren’t expelled for grammar. New rule: using a classmate’s sex can be treated as harassment.", "fight": "Attend the Elk Grove Unified Board of Education open session on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. Official meeting schedule and public-comment rules are on the district site.", "fight_url": "https://www.egusd.net/District/About-EGUSD/Board-of-Education/Board-Meeting-Schedule/", "institution": "Elk Grove Unified", "section": "Speech", "source": "California Family Council", "date": "2026-11-13", "date_display": "Nov. 13, 2026", "buried": "Advocacy press; no national pickup", "rot": 5, "intl": false, "featured": "rot" }, { "id": "wheel-of-privilege", "headline": "California Schools Put Kids on a “Wheel of Privilege” — and Didn’t Ask Parents, Feds Say", "url": "https://www.k12dive.com/news/3-california-districts-under-federal-probe-for-ethnic-studies-materials/872807/", "take": "The Education Department announced Oct. 26 investigations of North Monterey County, Palo Alto Unified, and San Francisco Unified over alleged “Wheel of Power/Privilege” or “Mapping My Identities” activities without the parental consent PPRA requires. Palo Alto’s superintendent disputes that students were required to complete those named activities. This is a federal investigation, not a finding.", "subversion": "Normal: parents consent before a school interrogates a child about sex, money, and identity. New rule: fill out the wheel first.", "fight": "If a school surveyed your child this way without consent, file a PPRA or FERPA complaint at the official portal.", "fight_url": "https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint", "institution": "U.S. Dept. of Education", "section": "Family & Kids", "source": "K-12 Dive", "date": "2026-10-26", "date_display": "Oct. 26, 2026", "buried": "Trade and local press; little national pickup", "rot": 5, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "new-mexico-probes", "headline": "The Pronoun Sheet, Feds Say, Was Confidential — From Mom and Dad", "url": "https://sourcenm.com/2026/11/09/feds-launch-investigations-into-albuquerque-santa-fe-schools-gender-identity-policies/", "take": "Source NM reported Nov. 9 that the Education Department opened FERPA and PPRA investigations of Albuquerque and Santa Fe Public Schools over alleged concealment of students’ gender-identity information from parents. Both districts dispute the framing. These are allegations in an investigation, not findings.", "subversion": "Normal: a child’s name is not a secret from the parents. New rule: informal records for the school, official records for the family.", "fight": "Parents can file a FERPA or PPRA complaint at the official Department of Education portal.", "fight_url": "https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint", "institution": "Albuquerque & Santa Fe Schools", "section": "Family & Kids", "source": "Source New Mexico", "date": "2026-11-09", "date_display": "Nov. 9, 2026", "buried": "Regional press; federal investigation", "rot": 5, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "seattle-i638", "headline": "Voters Said Keep Boys Out of Girls’ Sports. Seattle’s School Board Hired Lawyers.", "url": "https://www.seattleschools.org/news/seattle-school-board-authorizes-legal-action-regarding-initiative-il26-638/", "take": "On Nov. 10, the Seattle School Board adopted Resolution 2026/27-11 authorizing legal action regarding Initiative IL26-638, a girls’-athletics measure.", "subversion": "Normal: elections settle the rules. New rule: the school board sues the voters.", "fight": "Attend the Seattle School Board regular meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Official event page is on the district site.", "fight_url": "https://www.seattleschools.org/events/school-board-regular-meeting-november-18-2026/", "institution": "Seattle Public Schools", "section": "Biology", "source": "Official news release", "date": "2026-11-10", "date_display": "Nov. 10, 2026", "buried": "Official record; regional press", "rot": 4, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "city-journal-clinics", "headline": "Need Puberty Blockers in a Ban State? An Undercover Probe Says Clinics Offered a Workaround", "url": "https://www.city-journal.org/article/pediatric-gender-transition-treatments-bans", "take": "City Journal’s Oct. 29 undercover investigation describes care navigators and clinics discussing travel grants, mail-order medication, virtual visits, and, in some cases, an alternative “endocrine disorder” diagnosis. Several providers later disputed or qualified those accounts. These are allegations from an undercover investigation, not courtroom findings.", "subversion": "Normal: when a state bans a medical practice, the ban is the law. New rule: a different diagnosis code, and the mail.", "fight": "Do not contact or harass clinics or clinicians. If you believe a law was broken, use your state attorney general’s official public complaint channel (NAAG directory). Do No Harm is documenting pediatric medicalization.", "fight_url": "https://www.naag.org/", "institution": "Clinics & care networks", "section": "Biology", "source": "City Journal", "date": "2026-10-29", "date_display": "Oct. 29, 2026", "buried": "Undercover investigation; limited pickup", "rot": 5, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "oregon-state", "headline": "Student Writes That There Are Two Sexes. The Instructor Calls It “Very Transphobic” and Files a Report.", "url": "https://www.thecollegefix.com/saying-there-are-2-sexes-is-very-transphobic-oregon-state-instructor-says/", "take": "Public records obtained by The College Fix after the Benton County District Attorney compelled a fuller release show an Oregon State instructor filed a bias report over a student’s final project arguing there are two sexes. The same report noted the student had consistently done well and not struggled with other social-justice content.", "subversion": "Normal: biology is not a conduct violation. New rule: “not in keeping with CoEd or OSU values.”", "fight": "These records came out only after a public-records fight. If your public university is sitting on similar reports, file a request with the school’s official public-records office.", "fight_url": null, "institution": "Oregon State University", "section": "Biology", "source": "The College Fix", "date": "2026-11-02", "date_display": "Nov. 2, 2026", "buried": "Records request; no national pickup", "rot": 5, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "unc-syllabi", "headline": "UNC–Chapel Hill Is Being Sued for Hiding What It Teaches", "url": "https://defendinged.org/lawsuits/defending-education-v-university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill-et-al/", "take": "Defending Education sued the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Nov. 10, alleging the school’s “Simple Syllabus” system keeps the real reading lists and course materials behind a login, out of public view.", "subversion": "Normal: a public university shows its work. New rule: the real syllabus lives on Canvas, away from the public.", "fight": "Defending Education is already in court. The complaint, exhibits, and case page are on defendinged.org.", "fight_url": "https://defendinged.org/lawsuits/defending-education-v-university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill-et-al/", "institution": "UNC–Chapel Hill", "section": "Speech", "source": "Defending Education", "date": "2026-11-10", "date_display": "Nov. 10, 2026", "buried": "Court filing; regional press", "rot": 4, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "teqsa", "headline": "Australia’s University Regulator: Adopt an “Islamophobia” Definition — and Wire It Into Discipline", "url": "https://www.teqsa.gov.au/about-us/news-and-events/latest-news/teqsa-publishes-sre-adopting-definition-islamophobia", "take": "TEQSA’s Nov. 11 Statement of Regulatory Expectations says providers must adopt a definition of Islamophobia to meet amended Threshold Standard 6.4.1 from Jan. 1, 2027, and make it “operationally usable” in grievance and conduct policies. The critique is of the regulator and the speech-code design, not of Muslims as a group.", "subversion": "Normal: argue ideas, even ugly ones. New rule: a government definition, filed in the conduct handbook.", "fight": "This is an Australian mandate, not a U.S. rule. If an American campus or city proposes an official “Islamophobia” or “anti-Palestinian racism” definition, demand the draft at a public meeting. FIRE tracks campus speech codes.", "fight_url": "https://www.thefire.org/", "institution": "TEQSA (Australia)", "section": "Speech", "source": "TEQSA", "date": "2026-11-11", "date_display": "Nov. 11, 2026", "buried": "Agency guidance; no U.S. national pickup", "rot": 5, "intl": true, "featured": "" }, { "id": "cherry-creek", "headline": "Cherry Creek’s Union Deal Pushes Racial Hiring. A Civil-Rights Complaint Followed.", "url": "https://defendinged.org/ocr-complaints/defending-ed-files-civil-rights-complaint-against-cherry-creek-school-district-for-race-discrimination-in-employment/", "take": "Defending Education filed an OCR complaint Oct. 26 over Cherry Creek School District Policy 4109, the “Educators of Color Declaration,” which the group says is in the 2026–2027 union agreement. This is a complaint, not a finding.", "subversion": "Normal: hire the best teacher. New rule: ground the contract in DEI, and make race a career path.", "fight": "Defending Education has already filed the federal complaint. Regular Cherry Creek board meetings are usually the second Monday of the month at 7 p.m.; see the official board page.", "fight_url": "https://www.cherrycreekschools.org/about-us/board-of-education", "institution": "Cherry Creek Schools", "section": "Merit", "source": "Defending Education", "date": "2026-10-26", "date_display": "Oct. 26, 2026", "buried": "Federal complaint; regional press", "rot": 4, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "illinois-tech", "headline": "Illinois Tech Tells Business Professors to Make a “Good-Faith Effort” to Teach DEI", "url": "https://www.campusreform.org/article/illinois-tech-directs-business-professors-incorporate-dei-courses/30988", "take": "Campus Reform reported Nov. 10 that the Stuart School of Business standardized syllabus says instructors “will educate themselves” about DEI and make a “good-faith effort” to incorporate DEI topics into coursework, and to keep materials free of “unfair and unsupported prejudice” against DEI.", "subversion": "Normal: teach the subject. New rule: work equity into the syllabus, and don’t show “prejudice” against DEI.", "fight": "Use the university’s official site, not personal faculty emails, to ask trustees whether a “good-faith effort” to teach DEI is now a condition of teaching business.", "fight_url": "https://www.iit.edu/", "institution": "Illinois Institute of Technology", "section": "Merit", "source": "Campus Reform", "date": "2026-11-10", "date_display": "Nov. 10, 2026", "buried": "Campus/watchdog; no national pickup", "rot": 4, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "fsu-bias", "headline": "Florida State Public-Safety Class: 40 Percent of the Grade Is Your “Unconscious Bias” Plan", "url": "https://www.thecollegefix.com/florida-state-public-safety-class-makes-students-address-unconscious-bias/", "take": "The College Fix reported Nov. 10 that a Florida State public-safety elective has students address “unconscious bias” and complete a personal “growth plan” that accounts for 40 percent of the grade.", "subversion": "Normal: public-safety students learn the law. New rule: grade the soul.", "fight": "This is a public university. File a public-records request with Florida State University’s official public-records office for the course syllabus and any required bias instruments.", "fight_url": null, "institution": "Florida State University", "section": "Merit", "source": "The College Fix", "date": "2026-11-10", "date_display": "Nov. 10, 2026", "buried": "Campus/watchdog; no national pickup", "rot": 4, "intl": false, "featured": "" }, { "id": "cswe", "headline": "Social-Work Professors Walked Out Because the Accreditor Might Soften DEI", "url": "https://www.thecollegefix.com/as-social-work-accreditor-moves-to-strip-dei-mandates-scholars-stage-walkout/", "take": "As the Council on Social Work Education drafted 2029 accreditation standards, The College Fix reported Nov. 6 that scholars staged a walkout over a move to soften explicit DEI competency language. Public comment is open through Nov. 20.", "subversion": "Normal: a profession trains people to help. New rule: the accreditor’s values are political — and they should stay that way.", "fight": "File a public comment on the 2029 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards draft by 11:59 p.m. ET, Friday, Nov. 20, 2026, at CSWE’s official page.", "fight_url": "https://www.cswe.org/2029-epas", "institution": "CSWE (accreditor)", "section": "Money & Work", "source": "The College Fix", "date": "2026-11-06", "date_display": "Nov. 6, 2026", "buried": "Trade/campus press; official comment window", "rot": 4, "intl": false, "featured": "" } ] }