Isaac Thornton is a national correspondent covering education policy and civil liberties. He specializes in issues at the intersection of law and education, including free speech for educators and student rights.
20 published articles
The Alum Rock Union School District in San Jose has approved layoffs for managers and administrators to address a looming $8 million budget deficit for 2026-27.
Bryan ISD has decided not to adopt a state policy allowing for designated prayer time in schools, joining other Brazos Valley districts in opting out.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Houston, Katy, and Plano ISDs from enforcing four key parts of Senate Bill 12 related to DEI and gender identity.
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a formal compliance investigation into Godfrey-Lee Public Schools over its curriculum on sexual orientation and gender identity.
A Massachusetts judge has ordered UMass Amherst to lift a student's one-year suspension for protesting, ruling the university likely violated his First Amendment rights.
A Penn State enology educator has filed a federal lawsuit against the university, claiming she was twice denied promotion for not adhering to its DEI ideology.
A Nevada middle school faces a potential lawsuit after threatening students with extra punishment for political protesting, a move the ACLU calls a First Amendment violation.
Jennifer Mnookin, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2022, has been appointed the new president of Columbia University.
Fairfax County's school board is set to vote on its first major boundary change in 40 years, a move impacting nearly 1,700 students to ease overcrowding.
The Harvard Club of Boston has agreed to pay a $2.4 million settlement over allegations it improperly obtained and had forgiven a federal PPP loan.
Rincon Valley Union School District trustees will vote Tuesday on which elementary school to close in June to address an $8.5 million budget deficit.
Austin Peay State University has reinstated a tenured professor and agreed to a $500,000 settlement after he was fired over a social media post.
The Texas American Federation of Teachers is suing the state's education department, alleging that investigations into teachers' social media posts are unconstitutional.
Escambia County Public Schools is celebrating its top educators by naming a Teacher of the Year from each school, with five finalists set to compete for the overall district title.
UC Berkeley faces backlash after suspending a computer science lecturer for pro-Palestinian remarks, sparking a campus-wide debate on academic freedom and political speech.
Teachers in Minnesota's largest school district, Anoka-Hennepin, have filed an intent to strike, setting a potential walkout date for January 8.
The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System saw major gains, with 70% of its schools earning an A or B on the latest Tennessee State Report Card.
The University of Oklahoma's faculty is petitioning for stronger protections after a teaching assistant was suspended over a grading dispute involving religion.
University of Arizona faculty report a growing climate of fear, caught between new government mandates from the right and established cultural norms from the left.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called on citizens to report schools that block the formation of conservative student groups linked to Turning Point USA.
