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The U.S. Education Department’s civil rights enforcement arm has launched an investigation into a North Texas school district whose superintendent was secretly recorded ordering librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed library books.

accused the district of violating a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender. The ACLU complaint was based largely on an investigation published in March by NBC News, ProPublica and the Tribune that revealed that Granbury’s superintendent, Jeremy Glenn, instructed librarians to remove books dealing with sexual orientation and people who are transgender.

An Education Department spokesperson confirmed the investigation and said it was related to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits schools from discriminating on the basis of sex, gender and sexual orientation.

Budget shortfalls are forcing states to come up with novel solutions for the wide disparities between poor and affluent school districts. The latest reminder was a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in May that ordered the Legislature to increase spending for only the 31 poorest urban districts ("Court Orders New Jersey to Increase Aid to Schools," The New York Times, May 24). Not surprisingly, the decision did not please the other districts in the state. In light of the problem in New Jersey and in other states as well, perhaps it's time to consider what is known as weighted student funding. The Summer 2011 issue of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management contains a study by Helen F. Ladd and Edward B. Fiske titled "Weighted Student Funding in the Netherlands: A Model for the U.S.?" For the past quarter of a century, the Netherlands has been using a version of WSF for all its elementary schools serving children from ages 4 to 12.

Discovery Center Museum has provided after school activities within the Rockford School District #205 for the past 10 years. The After School Achievement Program is provided to schools within the Rockford School District that are defined as Title One schools. These schools are all located in predominately low-income neighborhoods and have a high number of children on the free or reduced lunch program, and have been placed on a statewide Watch List due to their low academic test scores. This program runs from September-May each year.

safe environment, positive mentoring and lessons that foster success in school and the community at large. Our program helps children succeed, develop a positive self-image and stay in school by improving their English language, reading, math, science and creative skills. Our program also teaches social and personal life skills, team building, and exposes children to a wide variety of cultural experiences

These after school programs are partially funded by the state of Illinois. Discovery Center provides approximately $100,000 of in-kind services for the five schools in which we serve as Lead Agency. This support is in the form of donated staff salaries, a free Family Nights at the museum for participating children and their families, materials, food, student incentives, contractual costs to other participating organizations, free admission to the museum for a field trip one time each year and free family memberships to the museum to all lead agency schools (approximately 500 families).

The wage increase comes as several museum employees said the morale of some guards had sunk because they felt worn out and undervalued while working in often difficult circumstances.

The Met’s main building on Fifth Avenue is now served by a staff of some 300 full-time guards versus the 404 that had been assigned there before the pandemic

Under the new wage agreement, existing guards who were being paid $15.51 an hour were given raises and are now being paid $17 an hour. District Council 37 said that average pay among guards at the museum was around $20 an hour.