Latest news with #DODEA
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This military mom in KY is suing Trump's Pentagon to defend her kids' ‘right to learn'
An aerial view of the Pentagon, home to the U.S. Department of Defense, on Oct. 28, 2018. (Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Quinn Hurt/Department of Defense) Jessica Henninger wants to protect her children from the political climate that briefly closed their school library at Fort Campbell and led to books being removed from the shelves. 'There's a very fine line between having your children be aware of what's going on in the world around them, and not burdening them with adult things,' Henninger said. 'But … when (Black History Month) projects are canceled after you've completed them … they notice that stuff.' Citing her husband's military service and their joint devotion to the U.S. Constitution, Henninger has joined a federal lawsuit on behalf of her children, citing First Amendment concerns and asking the courts to block President Donald Trump's anti-DEI executive orders in schools operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA). Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a defendant. Book purges at Fort Campbell, other schools run by Defense Department challenged as unconstitutional Henninger has five children: two have graduated from DODEA schools and three are still students, named in the lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union filed Tuesday. That suit challenges U.S. Department of Defense policies that led to schools at Fort Campbell and other military bases removing books about slavery and civil rights. Henninger, whose husband is in the military and is stationed at Fort Campbell, has lived in Kentucky since October. Before that, in all their travels, 'I can't recall a time in our years at DODEA where my children's curriculum was affected by anything that was going on in the presidency,' Henninger told a small group of reporters over Zoom on Wednesday. 'We owe our children to be honest,' she said. 'I'm very fearful that these actions (are) trying to take away my children's opportunities to learn about integral parts of our history, our American history … and different cultures. That's what makes education — and life — rich. It's all of those differences. My younger children … they deserve the right to learn about that stuff.' Via executive order Trump directed schools receiving federal funding to not teach 'ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals;' he also told the Armed Forces to dissolve DEI offices and directed all federal agencies to recognize only cisgender male and female identities. In February, Clarksville Now, a news outlet in Clarksville, Tennessee, reported Fort Campbell librarians were busy 'scrubbing for books that contain references to slavery, the civil rights movement and anything else related to diversity, equity and inclusion' in compliance with Trump's orders. Fort Campbell is an Army base that spans the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville and Clarksville. Fort Campbell schools also had to remove 'bulletin boards that reference Black History Month and Black leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks,' according to Clarksville Now. Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said Wednesday he hopes for a preliminary injunction to 'get some relief sooner rather than later from the court.' 'We're still evaluating exactly the timing on next steps and building that out,' he said. He also wants to see more transparency around which books are removed from shelves, and where those books go. But, he asserted: 'none of these books should be taken out.' 'To some extent, it doesn't really matter whether we have a list or sort of engage in a debate on which individual book is the appropriate thing,' Shapiro said. 'The issue here is that books shouldn't be banned from school libraries. Kids should have an opportunity to have access to all the books in the school library without fear that somebody in the Department of Defense is going to determine that it shouldn't be there based on an executive order regarding a ban on certain types of viewpoints.' Soon after the executive orders, Henninger 'started getting emails from the kids' teachers, basically that just made me think that there was something going on.' She got 'notifications that assignments were being canceled, then that the library just unexpectedly closed down.' She immediately started investigating, contacted the ACLU to help and ultimately joined the multi-state federal lawsuit in an attempt to block the Trump administration from carrying out the anti-DEI orders. 'I have a very strong belief that children should have access to books,' said Henninger, who is herself a 'voracious reader.' 'When I was a child, I read. That's how I learned about the world around me. It's how I learned about other people and life experiences outside of my own,' she said. 'And I feel like that is an important part of being able to understand other people. And to have those options taken away from my children was something that I have never experienced before.' All her children, too, love books, she said. 'We've never had an administration come in and interfere in this way with our children's education,' she said. 'My husband fights for our constitutional rights and our freedoms in this country, and to see those rights being taken away from my children was just absolutely something that I could not abide.' After the lawsuit was filed, Michael O'Day, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense Education Activity, said he couldn't comment on an active lawsuit but offered praise for the agency's 'dedication to providing an exceptional educational experience for every student.' More than 67,000 students worldwide are enrolled in schools run by the DODEA. 'Our curriculum, rigorously aligned with DoDEA's proven standards, has earned us the distinction of being the top-ranked school system in the United States for four consecutive years, based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Nation's Report Card,' O'Day said in a statement. 'These standards promote academic excellence, critical thinking, and a learning environment that empowers all military-connected students to excel.' Henninger attributes the success in part to the diversity of the student body. 'I think part of this strength is our diversity — the diversity of people that come together and we learn from each other, and that's part of our strength,' she said. 'And so to see that potentially being taken away from my younger children? That's harmful.' She believes the executive orders are politically motivated and cited the Trump administration's deportations of immigrants, saying his presidential campaign was 'propped on' immigration issues. 'And then when you see them coming into the libraries and removing those items … common sense would dictate that two plus two equals four. That's definitely politically motivated,' she said. For military families like Henninger's, DODEA schools are often the only option, though that can vary based on where a soldier is stationed. Private education is expensive. Henninger's best path was to fight back within the DODEA system, she said. Other plaintiffs represented by the ACLU are enrolled in Defense Department schools in Virginia, Italy and Japan. 'We don't have a lot of the same recourses that that families have in the public education system. We can't just go to our school board and and say, 'This is unacceptable.' We very much have to worry about retaliation and retribution. And so there's a lot of stress and anxiety around that for a lot of people, which is understandable,' Henninger said. She and her husband talked about the risks of joining such a lawsuit and ultimately decided she had to. 'Basically what it boiled down to (for my husband) was: 'I joined the military to defend the Constitution, and if I can't defend our children's constitutional rights, then what am I doing as a soldier?'' Her children 'have their First Amendment rights just like everybody else. It's not fair to them just because their father is a soldier that they shouldn't be able to have the same rights as everybody else.' She wants her children to learn about the full history of their country, including the 'not so pretty parts: the Trail of Tears and slavery and the fight for civil rights.' 'It is our true history,' she said. 'And we can't whitewash that away.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Department of Defense sued over book removals, curriculum changes in its schools
A group of 12 students sued the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) over changes that have been made to curriculum and book removals in its schools. The lawsuit accuses the DODEA of eliminating curriculum that deals with subjects such as slavery, Native American history, and LGBTQ issues, taking books off shelves and canceling events the government says are promoting 'gender ideology' or 'divisive equity ideology.' The changes come after President Trump signed several executive orders aimed at the military, transgender people, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Military schools are under the direct control of the administration, which allows for implementation of these changes at a much quicker rate. 'Learning is a sacred and foundational right that is now being limited for students in DoDEA schools. The implementation of these [executive orders], without any due process or parental or professional input, is a violation of our children's right to access information that prevents them from learning about their own histories, bodies, and identities,' said Natalie Tolley, a plaintiff on behalf of her three children in the department's schools. 'I have three daughters, and they, like all children, deserve access to books that both mirror their own life experiences and that act as windows that expose them to greater diversity. The administration has now made that verboten in DoDEA schools,' she added. The 12 students, ranging from pre-K to 11th grade, represent six families stationed in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy and Japan. The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Virginia and the ACLU of Kentucky in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. A DODEA spokesperson told The Hill that the department does not comment on ongoing litigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Julianne Moore Expresses 'Great Shock' Over ‘Freckleface Strawberry' Book Being 'Banned by the Trump Administration'
Julianne Moore has weighed in on the reported ban of her semi-autobiographical children's book, Freckleface Strawberry. The book — about a young girl who dislikes but comes to accept her freckles, acknowledging that they reflect the differences among people — is reportedly one of the titles that the Department of Defense Education Activity has identified for 'further review,' causing it to be 'relocated to the professional collection for evaluation with access limited to professional staff.' More from The Hollywood Reporter BAFTA Awards: David Tennant Draws Applause With Donald Trump Joke in Opening Monologue Lights, Camera, Anxiety: International Film World Frets Over Trump's Next Move Sheryl Crow Says "So Long Tesla," Donates Money to NPR: "Under Threat By President Musk" A DODEA memo sent out last Monday explained that 'DODEA-adopted instructional resources' and library books 'potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology topics were examined.' The titles that are receiving further review have been relocated. The investigation is designed to ensure that Department of Defense schools serving military families are in compliance with President Trump's executive orders on gender ideology and 'ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.' The Guardian reported that books being reviewed and under restricted access include Freckleface Strawberry and No Truth Without Ruth, a picture book about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Pen America, the organization designed to protect free expression and the freedom to write in the U.S. and worldwide, highlighted The Guardian's report in an Instagram post, which seemed to alert Moore to the development. Taking to her own Instagram account, Moore expressed 'great shock' that the book was 'banned by the Trump Administration from schools run by the Department of Defense.' Moore said she was 'particularly stunned' given her and her family's ties to the U.S. military. 'I am a proud graduate of Frankfurt American High School a [Department of Defense] school that once operated in Frankfurt, Germany,' she wrote. 'I grew up with a father who is a Vietnam veteran and spent his career in the [U.S. Army]. I could not be prouder of him and his service to our country. It is galling for me to realize that kids like me, growing up with a parent in the service and attending a [DODEA] school will not have access to a book written by someone whose life experience is so similar to their own.' Moore said she wrote the book for kids 'to remind them that we all struggle, but are united by our humanity and our community.' She added, 'I can't help but wonder what is so controversial about this picture book that cause it to be banned by the US Government. I am truly saddened and never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right.' The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to the DODEA to confirm that Freckleface Strawberry is indeed one of the books being set aside. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2024: Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Olivia Rodrigo and More
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Military school students' test scores lead the nation
Students at Department of Defense schools continued their ride at the top of the nation in 4th and 8th grade math and reading scores, according to results released Jan. 29. The average scores of students in Department of Defense Education Activity schools ranged from 14 to 25 points higher than the national averages in math and reading in the two grades of students who took the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests. DODEA students were ranked at the top of the states in each of the tests. The NAEP tests were administered across the country between January and March 2024. The NAEP is the only nationally representative assessment of what American students know and can do in various subject areas, and they're conducted periodically. Not all students take the NAEP. In most cases, it's a representative sample of students, but in DODEA schools, all the students in the designated grades take the test that particular year. With scores increasing or decreasing by one point – or remaining the same – in each of the tests, students in DOD schools held their own in comparison to their scores in 2022, the last time the tests were administered. That year, DOD schools also led the nation in reading and math scores for 4th and 8th graders. 'I am delighted that DODEA has once again performed exceptionally well on the National Assessment of Educational Progress,' said DODEA Director Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, in an announcement of the results. 'Credit for this success belongs to our incredible teachers, administrators, and staff of DODEA, and most importantly to our students and their families, for all their hard work and dedication.' While the gap is widening between DODEA and the nation's public schools, it's largely due to the lack of progress in the public schools. The results for the nation as a whole show that 'the nation's 4th and 8th graders are not making the level of progress needed to regain ground lost during the pandemic,' officials with the National Center for Education Statistics said in a press release. More military children will soon have access to DOD-operated schools The military's school system continued to focus on in-person learning while navigating the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. DODEA operates 161 accredited schools in 11 foreign countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico, including the DODEA Virtual School. There are nearly 900,000 military school-age children, and of those, about 65,000 attend DODEA schools. Because there are relatively few DODEA schools and military families move frequently, children transition in and out of DODEA schools. It remains to be seen whether there will be lasting effects on military children because of remote learning in public schools they attended during COVID-19, before enrolling into a DODEA school. 'That's a good question to ask. Any analysis of DODEA school scores needs to take into account that the majority of students are not in DODEA for a long time,' said Eileen Huck, acting director of government relations for the National Military Family Association. 'Kids are generally only in DODEA schools for a short period of time. They have one or two school years before they transition into the next school district after a military move.' The NAEP math and reading scale scores range from 0 to 500. The DODEA scores in reading and math have generally remained steady since 2017. The NAEP also separates the scores into categories of those students performing at or above the basic level, at or above proficient or at an advanced level. Among the findings in reading: The average score in reading for DODEA 4th graders was 234, which is 20 points higher than their counterparts in the nation's public schools. In 2024, 48% of DODEA 4th graders performed at or above the NAEP proficient level in reading, compared to 30% in the nation's public schools. The average score in reading for DODEA 8th graders was 282, which is 25 points higher than their counterparts in the nation's public schools. In 2024, 53% of DODEA 8th graders scored at or above NAEP proficient levels in reading, compared to 29% in the nation's public schools. In math: The average score for DODEA 4th graders in math was 251, which is 14 points higher than their counterparts in the nation's public schools. In 2024, 54% of DODEA 4th graders scored at or above NAEP proficient levels in math, compared to 39% in the nation's public schools. The average score for DODEA 8th graders in math was 291, which was 19 points higher than their counterparts in the nation's public schools. In 2024, 41% of DODEA 8th graders scored at or above the NAEP proficient levels in math, compared to 27% of their counterparts in the nation's public schools.
