With such things as critical race theory and sensitivity training targeted, much of the debate and public testimony centered around the bill’s effect on schools and whether it would curtail frank discussions about United States history and race.
Rights & Liberties
Retiring Nice-Guy Approach, Flagler County Will Sue 2 Flagler Beach Property Owners Over Dunes Project
Facing an ultimatum from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the county will sue two Flagler Beach property owners to secure beachside easements necessary to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with a long-delayed dune-rebuilding project along 2.6 miles of beach in the city. The county had been threatening just such action for 15 months, but was hoping to avoid it.
Dismissing ‘Slippery Slope of Censorship,’ GOP Senators Back Stricter Scrutiny of School and Library Books
The proposal (SB 1300) would change the review process for books and other learning materials, adding requirements and making it more open to the public but also enabling regular purges of book lists to align them with standards or if the books are considered out of date.
Convict Slavery: The 13th Amendment’s Fatal Flaw
The 13th Amendment, considered one of the crowning achievements of American democracy, set “free” an estimated 4 million enslaved people and seemed to demonstrate American claims to equality and freedom. But the amendment did not apply to those convicted of a crime.
Republicans’ Historical Amnesia on Voting Rights
A Trumpified Republican Party that’s left the legacy of Abraham Lincoln far behind, is still flipping Democrats the Byrd as it stands steadfastly in the way of the voting rights legislation that’s now slowly and torturously making its way through Congress.
Federal Judge Slams UF Over Muzzling Professors: ‘Stop Acting Like Your Contemporaries in Hong Kong’
In a scathing ruling Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker blocked the University of Florida from enforcing a controversial conflict-of-interest policy that gave school administrators discretion over allowing professors to serve as expert witnesses in litigation.
Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Blocking of Jan. 6 Documents: 3 Takeaways
In a legal blow for Donald Trump, the Supreme Court has indicated a willingness to protect a constitutional system that can ensure transparency and accountability by legitimizing legislative branch oversight over the executive.
GOP Lawmakers Back Prohibition on Innumerable Ballot Initiatives
Florida voters in recent years have approved high-profile initiatives about issues such as raising the minimum wage and broadly legalizing medical marijuana. Such initiatives would be barred in the future if the House proposal is ultimately approved.
Flagler School District Library Plan: Parents May Ban Books for Their Own Kids, But Not Others
Book bans may be a thing of the past in Flagler County schools as the district today presented a library opt-out provision for prohibitive parents, while leaving access free to all books for all other students. The approach, as draconianly restrictive for those who want to exercise it and as liberal as a university library’s open-stack policy for the freer-minded could, in effect, make even book challenges moot.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Radical Message Is Betrayed With Focus on ‘Dream’
Martin Luther King Jr., the “civil saint” portrayed nowadays was, by the end of his life, a social and economic radical, who argued forcefully for the necessity of economic justice in the pursuit of racial equality.