Citizens for Truth and Justice in Education (CTJE)

Muslim parent sues over Texas voucher program’s block on Islamic schools The suit appears to be the first legal challenge to the voucher program that Republican lawmakers pitched last year as a way to help families afford private education, including at religious...

From @houstonchronicle.com: www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

A Backdoor School Voucher Scheme That Sidesteps Civil Rights and Undermines Public Oversight Modern school voucher programs are often framed as a response to declining academic achievement and a way to expand “parent choice” by enabling private

A Backdoor School Voucher Scheme That Sidesteps Civil Rights and Undermines Public Oversight tcf.org/content/comm... #SchoolVoucherScams

💥📣 HANDS UP FOR FUNDING

Christy & Sheila will hand out the stickers to art/culture funding advocates at the Volusia Council meeting tomorrow. We must be seen from dais!
Frank Bruno Jr County Council Chamber Room 204/207 - inside Thomas C Kelly Admin Center. 123 W. Indiana Av Deland, 32720 9:00am.

Photo of author Senaa Ahmad next to the cover of her book "The Age of Calamities." A quote about writing short fiction is displayed, ending with "I like to hold my breath as I'm writing a story." The text mentions an interview with Ahmad and includes the Pen America logo.

In our new PEN Ten, Senaa Ahmad discusses The Age of Calamities (@henryholtbooks.bsky.social, 2026), her debut collection of zany stories (one of which features a dinner party with John Adams, Marilyn Monroe, and Nefertiti in attendance). Read more: https://pen.org/senaa-ahmad-the-pen-ten-interview/

A Nationwide Book Ban Bill Has Been Introduced in the House of Representatives Hours after the State of the Union address, House republicans introduced legislation banning LGBTQ+ books from public schools nationwide.

Following the lies and hatred targeting trans folks during the State of the Union Address, numerous republican House representatives introduced a bill that would create A NATIONWIDE BOOK BAN.

Here's what it is and what to do: bookriot.com/hr7661-book-...

Censorship is running rampant at Texas A&M, but PEN America won’t let academic freedom go down without a fight. We recently led a delegation of authors, including Gloria Browne-Marshall, to campus to urge the university to restore its commitment to open inquiry.

KIPP Charter School Closures - Dissident Voice Two Atlanta, Georgia charter schools that are part of the notorious KIPP Charter Schools Network (KIPP Soul Primary School and KIPP Soul Academy) will be closing at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. At least 122 staff will lose their jobs and hundreds of stunned parents and students will be forced to fend for […]

KIPP Charter School Closures - More Than 120 Workers Lose Their Jobs dissidentvoice.org/2... #AnotherDayAnotherCharterScandal

Early Signs Censorship Is Taking Root in Your Community and What You Can Do About It Spot early censorship signs, resist pressure, support librarians, demand transparency, organize community, refuse intimidation, and defend access before books disappear.

Censorship doesn’t start with empty shelves. It starts quietly: a “review,” a complaint, a social media push.

Our latest from Freedom to Read Project explains the early warning signs and what to do before books disappear.

www.freedomtoreadproject.org/early_signs_...

#FreedomToRead #BooksNotBans

m.facebook.com/story.php?st...

Charter School Reckoning: Decline, Disillusionment and Cost - Network For Public Education Part I: Decline, the first installment of a three-part report, Charter School Reckoning, presents sobering findings on the stagnation, retrenchment, and accelerating closures plaguing the charter school sector as it enters its fourth decade.

There is no Charter School “million-student waitlist.”
There are empty classrooms, declining enrollment, and schools closing mid-year. #CharterMythBusted

Stop the waste. Start the reckoning.

Read our new report #CharterSchoolReckoning to learn more networkforpubliceduc...

Books open doors. Conversations build trust. Tough stories create space for the best talks.

Talking with your kids about books isn’t scary, it’s powerful.
Books open doors. Conversations build trust.

Ask what they think. Listen. Grow together.
That’s not dangerous, that’s parenting.

#FreedomToRead #RaiseReaders #BooksNotBans

HB 1119 and HB 31 will be on the House floor tomorrow (2/11).

Please take 5 minutes to call or email your State Representative today and ask them to oppose both bills.

Also, HB 1071 will be in its final Committee stop today at 9:30am.

More info here: www.fftrp.org/bills_to_watch

Sheila Zinkerman Dedicated to those with the courage to pull. ICE Out! “hell is boiling over. And heaven is full. We’re chained to the world. And we all gotta pull…” Tom Waits S. Zinkerman Oil on Canvass

“hell is boiling over. And heaven is full. We’re chained to the world. And we all gotta pull…” Tom Waits

Turn Passion Into Action: Advocacy Event Ideas to Protect the Freedom to Read Get involved with simple community events—postcards, calls, webinars, and read-ins—to mobilize neighbors and protect the freedom to read.

Ready to turn your love of books into action? YOU can make a difference for the freedom to read!

This guide is packed with simple, creative advocacy ideas to protect the freedom to read in your community.

www.freedomtoreadproject.org/turn_passion...

#FreedomToRead #BooksNotBans #LibraryAdvocacy

Congress Finally Passes Education Budget; Rejects Trump’s Proposed Funding Cuts for Public Schools This post updates this blog’s January 27th post—after a violent surge of ICE arrests and violence in Minneapolis upended the federal budget process. Congressional federal budget debate …

Congress Finally Passes Education Budget; Rejects Trump’s Proposed Funding Cuts for Public Schools janresseger.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/c...

All are welcome at the library. www.bklynlibrary.org/blog/2026/02...

There is a box with a red heading "Get the facts about Texas' new voucher program" and the icon of a paper. The text in the box reads: "Private schools can ask invasive application questions that public schools legally can't. Applications can include classroom observations, character references from a religious leader, and medical history." The bottom of the box has the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency logo. The background is a faded close-up of the Texas Capitol. At the bottom of the image is a purple box with the source: Josephine Lee in the Texas Observer.

🚨 Families should know that private schools are not required to accept all students.

#txed #txlege

Minneapolis nominated for Nobel Peace Prize after anti-ICE protests The Nobel Peace Prize has never been given to a city in the past, typically only going to individuals and organizations.

www.newsweek.com/minneapolis-...

There is a box with a red heading "Get the facts about Texas' new voucher program" and the icon of a hand held out for a coin. The text in the box reads: "1 in 3 private school providers charge tuition above the voucher amount, and may charge other upfront fees. The Comptroller’s Office has said that money will not arrive in parents’ TEFA accounts until this summer." The bottom of the box has the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency logo. The background is a faded close-up of the Texas Capitol. At the bottom of the image is a purple box with the sources: Josephine Lee in the Texas Observer and Nick Natario for ABC13 Houston.

Did you know?
💰️ Many private school providers charge tuition above the voucher amount.
💰️ Private school providers may charge upfront fees - even before Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA) money is made available to families this summer.

#txlege #txed

Florida Youth Action Fund on Instagram: "Are you angry about ICE brutality? Our rigged economy? Spineless politicians? Then it’s time to stop cooperating with the broken status quo. Walkouts are one... 122 likes, 4 comments - youthactionfund on February 3, 2026: "Are you angry about ICE brutality? Our rigged economy? Spineless politicians? Then it’s time to stop cooperating with the broken status q...

www.instagram.com/p/DUTkQj-Dv7...

Library Lovers Week 2026 on EveryLibrary Live! February 9–13, 2026 | 5 PM, 7 PM & 9 PM EDT on Facebook Live and YouTube Live

At a time when access to books matters more than ever, Library Lovers Week 2026 puts the focus back where it belongs: on readers, on stories, and on the libraries that make both possible. RSVP at www.libraryloversweek.org for a week of exciting author panels evenings Feb 9 to 13.

#signalboost

Feb. 3, 1964: New York City School Children Boycott School More than 450,000 New York City school children boycotted school as part of a protest for quality schools for Black and Latino students.

"No pupils — no money. It’s as simple as that. We honestly don’t want a boycott, but if the BOE’s plan falls short, THE DATE IS FEB. 3rd."

#tdih 1964, 464,000 NYC school children — almost half of city’s student body — boycotted school. #PeoplePower

See ⬇️ 🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ny...

#separationofchurchandstste #christiannationalism

According to PEN America, nearly 9,000 books have been banned in Florida since 2021

This isn't “parental choice.” It’s shelves emptied, stories erased & students cut off from ideas that help them learn, question & grow.

Every removed book is a reader who won't see themselves reflected & narrows the world a little more. FL students deserve libraries full of possibility, not fear.

Two images at top. Left: photo of Virginia Lacy Jones, circa 1965, a Black librarian who attended the Richmond Conference. Right: the Advance Attendance Register for the Richmond Conference displaying a rendering of the White House of the Confederacy. Text below reads: "Librarians, Segregated: The 1936 ALA Annual Conference. The conference was held in Richmond, Virginia, a city with Jim Crow-era racial segregation laws. While ALA itself had no segregation or discriminatory policies, up until 1936 it had not established any ruling against holding a conference in a segregated city where members would be subject to discrimination." ALA150, American Library Association

The 1936 ALA Annual Conference was held in Richmond, Virginia, a city with Jim Crow-era racial segregation laws. While ALA had no segregation or discriminatory policies, it had not established any ruling against holding a conference in a segregated city.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3NNV42S

#ALA150

EveryLibrary Institute Welcomes Allison Jennings-Roche as The Political Librarian’s Editor-in-Chief Jennings-Roche brings a rare combination of scholarly rigor, policy fluency, and frontline library leadership.

Jennings-Roche brings a rare combination of scholarly rigor, policy fluency, and frontline library leadership.

Brevard School District 02/06 ICE OUT