Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) called for a ban on cellphones in every K-12 school in the U.S. during a speech in Washington on Thursday.  “As we increase technology in schools, we also have to acknowledge where technology is already harming our kids,” Slotkin told an audience at the Center for American Progress Action.  “Too many students are lagging in the people and the problem-solving skills that will be even more valuable in the future economy, and that’s largely because of social media and cellphones,” she continued. “To that end, we should ban cellphones in every K-12 classroom in America.” Slotkin went on to say that Congress and the courts should…

The Department of Justice announced Thursday it is investigating the University of California (UC) over alleged civil rights violations in its employment practices.   The department is investigating the university’s “UC 2030 Capacity Plan” that allegedly has “race- and sex-based employment quotas” as the plan aims for a diverse faculty.  “Public employers are bound by federal laws that prohibit racial and other employment discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Institutional directives that use race- and sex-based hiring practices expose employers to legal risk under federal law.”  The school’s 2030 Capacity Plan has two goals for increasing diversity among faculty.  “The University of…

(NewsNation) — Indiana’s public colleges and universities have committed to freezing in-state undergraduate tuition for the next two years, Republican Gov. Mike Braun announced Tuesday. The freeze applies to all flagship and regional campuses across the state and will maintain current tuition costs and mandatory fees for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years. Braun called the move a “historic” step toward making higher education more affordable. College grads face toughest job market in more than a decade “The commitment made by all of Indiana’s public colleges and universities puts students and parents first and demonstrates to the rest of the country that Indiana is a leader in providing a high…

Harvard University researcher Kseniia Petrova is facing a pair of additional charges two weeks after a judge released her from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.   In a court filing Wednesday, the federal government charged Petrova with one count of concealment of a material fact and one count of false statement, on top of the one count of smuggling goods she already faced after she was detained by ICE in February for allegedly smuggling frog embryos into the country. The Russian-born scientist saw her J-1 nonimmigrant visa revoked and faced deportation back to Russia, which she said she fears due to her opposition to the war in Ukraine. U.S. District…

The Senate parliamentarian ruled Wednesday to reject Republican language in the Senate megabill that would prohibit federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from going to qualified health plans that cover abortion services. The Republican language in the bill would restrict the ACA’s cost-sharing subsidies from lowering the costs of plans that cover abortion services in about a dozen states, according to the Commonwealth Fund, an independent health research and policy group. The provision would have had an “outsized impact” on states such as Connecticut, Michigan and New Mexico, where insurers now cover abortion services voluntarily but would have incentive to drop abortion coverage to become eligible for federal…

Colleges are waiting with bated breath after President Trump announced an upcoming deal with Harvard University, fearing concessions that could become a blueprint for what the administration demands of other schools.   After months of frozen funding, multiple federal probes and Trump’s attempt to take away Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students, the president said an arrangement would be unveiled within the next two weeks.   Some observers have their doubts about that, seeing no path forward that could both pacify Trump and avoid compromising principles that Harvard President Alan Garber promised to safeguard.  The fight began when the Trump administration sent a letter to Harvard demanding changes such as…

Boost eLearning in US classrooms by turning passive screen time into active engagement. Use interactive games, adaptive quizzes, and group projects. Involve parents for better results! This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

A judge ruled on Monday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Columbia University’s faculty, represented by two labor unions, over the Trump administration’s funding cuts to the university.  The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers lack legal standing to sue, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil determined.   “Conspicuously, Columbia, whose grants and contracts were terminated and whose funding is the subject of the relief Plaintiffs seek, is not a plaintiff,” Vyskocil wrote in her decision.   The judge said a case against these funding cuts should only be considered if it is brought on by Columbia, which has lost more than $400 million in…

These L&D eBook releases are must-reads if you want to increase engagement, drive business growth, and gaze into the future of eLearning. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

A federal judge in Boston ruled on Monday to extend the pause on the Trump administration’s order to take away Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students.  Judge Allison Burroughs’s ruling, which extends her pause until June 23, builds on a decision made at the end of May after Harvard requested an emergency hearing when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it would no longer allow the school to enroll any more foreign students and that the current international ones would have to transfer.  “This lawsuit seeks to kneecap the President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II. It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign…