Friday News Roundup

It’s Friday. Time for the News Roundup.

Blocked From Texas Vouchers, This Private Islamic School Wants a Chance to Prove Its Pro-America Values (The Texas Tribune)

According to The Texas Tribune this week,

“Several Islamic schools sued Texas for excluding them from the voucher program. Iman Academy is instead calling for fairness while hoping to be judged by its work – not stereotypes.”

Iman Academy is a private Muslim school located in Houston, Texas.

“It exceeds basic requirement for schools that want to participate in Texas’ voucher program, which allows families to use public funds to pay for private school or home-schooling costs. The school is accredited by a state-recognized entity and has operated well beyond the two-year minimum.”

“But despite requesting state approval to accept vouchers, Iman Academy remains one of roughly two dozen Islamic schools that Texas leaders have blocked from entering the program over unsubstantiated claims that they may be associated with foreign terrorist organizations and adversaries.”

“Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock – Texas’ chief financial officer who manages school vouchers – declined to accept any Islamic private schools into the program, prompting two lawsuits from schools and Muslim families protesting the exclusion as religious discrimination. A federal judge recently ordered the comptroller to give the suing schools a chance to register, and last week Hancock accepted four Islamic campuses into the program.”

“But Iman Academy made a conscious decision not to sue, focusing instead on its stated mission to develop responsible young patriots while waiting for an opportunity to prove the school is worthy of accepting voucher students.”

“They hope state leaders judge them by their work, not by hostile stereotypes about their religion.”

Now who comes off as the bad player here? Iman Academy or Texas? That’s easy to answer –

The Lone Star State, which is quickly headed in the direction of Florida as a state renowned for its backward, racist politics and decision-making.

A New Bill Calls for a Model Civics Curriculum at a Polarized Moment (EducationWeek)

According to EdWeek this week,

“Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey, introduced a series of bills this month that would create a bipartisan commission focused on civics and incentivize nonpartisan, hands-on civic learning.”

“His American Civics Renewal Act would establish a congressional commission to identify ways the federal government can support states and districts in civics education, including collecting best practices. The bill also calls for the commission to develop ‘an age-appropriate model civics curriculum.’”

In a country where our nation’s history and civics lessons are dependent on whether you live in a Red or Blue state, Senator Kim’s idea to get America to agree upon a set of civics lessons for all to learn is probably “pie in the sky” at this moment in time.

Students Are Worried That AI Will Hurt Their Critical Thinking Skills (EducationWeek)

“It’s not just teachers who are worried about AI’s effect on students’ abilities to think critically. Students are concerned, too, according to a new survey of middle, high school, and college students by the RAND Corporation.”

“Nearly 7 in 10 middle and high school students say they are concerned that using AI for schoolwork is eroding their critical thinking skills. And students are growing more worried.”

Forty-eight percent of middle school students said they were concerned about AI harming their critical thinking skills in February of 2025. That number climbed to 68% by December. Among high schoolers, that percentage increased from 55% to 65% over the same time period. College students, too, expressed concern, with 70 percent indicating that AI use may be harming their critical thinking skills.”

For the longest time, America’s schools have been accused at sacrificing critical thinking skills in favor of rote memorization so that U.S. students could perform well on high-stakes tests. Most of America’s schools have been accused of not teaching critical thinking skills for at least that last 50 years.

So how can our students be concerned about losing something they never had in the first place?

It seems AI is being blamed for almost everything these days.

Til Monday. Have a great weekend. SVB