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Hall Pass Your Ticket To Understanding School Board Politics Edition

Leo Migdal
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hall pass your ticket to understanding school board politics edition

Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas! In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered. The first teachers unions formed in Chicago in the late 19th century.

Since then, they have become a prominent part of the conversation around K-12 public education. Proponents say unions provide teachers with higher pay and better working conditions, allowing them to focus on educating students. Critics say unions too often advance the interests of their members over the interests of students. Teachers unions engage in collective bargaining with districts over compensation, working conditions, and other factors. When districts and union representatives cannot agree on a contract, teachers will sometimes strike to strengthen their bargaining position. Welcome to Hall Pass.

This newsletter keeps you plugged into the conversations driving school board politics and governance. Each week, we bring you sharp commentary and research from across the political spectrum on the issues confronting school boards in the country’s 14,000 school districts. We’ll also bring you the latest on school board elections and recall efforts, including candidate filing deadlines and election results. In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues facing school board members. Below, Margaret Renkl, a New York Times opinion columnist, writes that the McGinn County, Tennessee, school board’s decision to remove the book Maus from its eighth-grade curriculum is a form of book banning. She says this indicates a nationwide effort to undercut local school board power and threatens public education.

Mark Hemmingway, a Senior Writer at RealClearInvestigations, writes communities should have the ability to decide what meets their standards of acceptability. Hemingway says the national media’s coverage of McMinn County’s removal of Maus has politicized the issue and is taking power away from local school boards. In Tennessee, the ‘Maus’ Controversy Is the Least of Our Worries | Margaret Renkl, New York Times Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas! In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district.

Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered. In the three years since ChatGPT was released, the generative AI platform—along with similar tools like Claude and Gemini—has become a major source of both excitement and consternation in K-12 education. The technology has spread rapidly and divided parents, educators, and policymakers. According to a recent RAND report, during the 2024-25 school year, “54 percent of middle school and high school students said that they use AI to some extent for their schoolwork, and 21 percent... Generative AI tools answer questions and respond to prompts in a strikingly human way, enabling students to explore innumerable topics as though guided by an obliging expert.

But AI can also generate entire essays and solve complex math problems within seconds, eliminating much of the effort required for students to develop skills and build knowledge. Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas! In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered.

On Sept. 3, Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo announced he would seek to end all vaccine mandates in the state, including for children attending school. Lapado said, “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in your body? I don’t have that right. Your body is a gift for God.”

Florida requires vaccination against polio, chicken pox, measles-mumps-rubella, and other diseases. Ladapo said that the Florida Department of Health can remove the requirements for some vaccines without legislative approval. The Florida Department of Health later said it was initiating a rule change to end mandates for vaccines it said aren’t required for school entry, such as chickenpox, but that other requirements remain in... On Jan. 1, Clifton will have its first new mayor since 1990. Incumbent Councilman Ray Grabowski will be the next mayor if the newly elected council members honor the city's long tradition of giving that post to the highest vote-getter in the council race.

Late on Tuesday night, Grabowski had 8,983 unofficial votes, the highest of the 17 candidates who ran for seven open council seats. Incumbent Bill Gibson had 7,815 votes and incumbent Lauren Murphy 7,289 votes. Also breaking the 7,000-vote mark was retired city Firefighter Tony Latona, with 7,093 votes. Because all seven council seats were up this year, it means the top seven in the field will be sworn in come the first of the year. Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas!

In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered. In response to a New York Times questionnaire, candidates running in the Nov. 4 general election for mayor of New York City took different stances on the New York City Public Schools’ Gifted and Talented (G&T) program for kindergarten students. Zohran Mamdani (D) said he would end the program, while former New York Gov.

Andrew Cuomo (I) and Curtis Sliwa (R) said they would expand it. New York City Public Schools officials started a standardized G&T program for kindergarteners in 2005. Students in the program generally study the same curriculum used throughout the New York City Public Schools but at an accelerated pace. President Trump’s White House event announcing an executive order on foster care got a lot of attention. But it is not the only indicator of what the administration might have in mind for policy making in child welfare during his second term. We dive into the specifics of the executive order and several other interesting announcements from Trump’s team, then step back and try to describe the big picture.

It’s Newsmatch season! Please consider donating to support this podcast and the incredible work that our Imprint reporters do every day. If you donate this month, your contribution will be DOUBLED! www.Imprintnews.org/donate 2025 Imprint Reporting Highlights Discussion, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 10am PST/1pm EST https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2K60T6-hS2iQCWK-Vc9EYA

With New Executive Order, Trump Thrusts Foster Care Into National Spotlight https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/with-new-executive-order-trump-thrusts-foster-care-into-national-spotlight/268739 The Other Trump Child Welfare Doctrine Issued This Month https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/the-other-trump-child-welfare-doctrine-issued-this-month/268999

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Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas! In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their di...

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Since then, they have become a prominent part of the conversation around K-12 public education. Proponents say unions provide teachers with higher pay and better working conditions, allowing them to focus on educating students. Critics say unions too often advance the interests of their members over the interests of students. Teachers unions engage in collective bargaining with districts over comp...

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This newsletter keeps you plugged into the conversations driving school board politics and governance. Each week, we bring you sharp commentary and research from across the political spectrum on the issues confronting school boards in the country’s 14,000 school districts. We’ll also bring you the latest on school board elections and recall efforts, including candidate filing deadlines and electio...

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