I remember how it was -- JR
US colleges impose new limits on transgender athletes
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the governing body for small US colleges, has announced a policy that effectively bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
In a move that was approved by a 20-0 vote of its council of presidents, the NAIA ruled athletes will only be allowed to compete in women’s sports if they were assigned the female gender at birth.
Transgender athletes may still participate in college sport, but only in male categories.
A student who has begun hormone therapy may participate in activities such as workouts, practices and team activities, but not in inter-scholastic competition.
The NAIA oversees about 83,000 athletes in 249 mostly small colleges across the US.
The ruling is believed to be the first of its kind in college sport, but it does not affect the more high-profile National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which oversees student athletics across 1100 schools and about 500,000 student athletes.
“We know there are a lot of different opinions out there,” NAIA president Jim Carr told CBS Sports.
“For us, we believed our first responsibility was to create fairness and competition in the NAIA … we also think it aligns with the reasons Title IX was created. You’re allowed to have separate but equal opportunities for women to compete.”
The NAIA issued a statement after the decision: “With the exception of competitive (cheerleading) and competitive dance, the NAIA created separate categories for male and female participants,” it read.
“Each NAIA sport includes some combination of strength, speed and stamina, providing competitive advantages for male student-athletes. As a result, the NAIA policy for transgender student-athletes applies to all sports except for competitive cheer and competitive dance, which are open to all students.”
The Washington Post reported that the NAIA ban has sparked “concerns” that the NCAA might follow suit.
In March, a more than a dozen current and former college athletes filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing the sports governing body for more than 500,000 athletes of violating their rights by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
The issue rose to prominence in 2022 when Penn University swimmer Lia Thomas became the only openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship.
That year, Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4min33.24sec, beating out Olympic silver medallist Emma Weyant by 1.75 seconds.
Thomas had previously competed for the university as Will Thomas for three years and was ranked No.462 in the NCAA.
Title IX gives women athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports in educational institutions that receive federal government funding.
The Biden administration had planned to overhaul the legislation but has so far stalled on finalising laws that would provide stronger support for transgender and non-binary students, as well as victims of sexual assault.
Former president Donald Trump has promised to ban trans women from women’s sports if re-elected.
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Public Schools Are Fully Funded Already
Teachers unions and politicians frequently say that public schools need to be “fully funded.” Some politicians even run on the campaign promise of working hard to fully fund schools. Truthfully, no one knows what that means, and a price tag is never given when asked how much it will take to fully fund schools.
In 2020 and 2021, the federal government provided about $190.5 billion toward the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) to allegedly make schools better and safer during the pandemic. One must wonder: How were the ESSER funds spent nationwide?
Many schools used their ESSER funds to hire more administrators and learning specialists, as well as create or expand tutoring and social and emotional learning programs.
Why does this matter? ESSER funds are not recurring funds from the federal government. They have an expiration date. This means that school districts nationwide spent the funds on recurring initiatives and salaries, knowing they have an expiration date. This results in school districts needing to either cut or fit their new recurring expenses into an already inflated budget.
This raises another question: What budgets do school districts already have?
The Baltimore school district’s budget for 2025 has been approved for $2.58 billion. This is the same district where zero students at 13 high schools tested proficient on state math exams, as Fox 5 News reported.
In 2023, Nashville’s school district had a budget of $1.2 billion, according to News Channel 5. In that same year, only 34% of students tested proficient in math, and 36% of students tested proficient in English Language Arts assessments.
Aside from a school district’s regular budget, many districts also have foundations, whereby they take monetary donations to get more funding for their schools. School districts also often apply for grants, which give them even more money to fund their schools.
As ESSER funds for school districts expire, teachers unions and politicians are about to cry out that we must “fully fund” schools.
I would argue that schools are fully funded and have been for quite some time. What has been missing is transparency and accountability in how school districts use the funds they are given.
School districts spend millions on contracts with social and emotional learning providers while students continue to graduate with low proficiency in reading and math. Central offices are bloated with unnecessary administrative positions that do not produce positive results.
Memphis public schools recently announced their new superintendent’s salary starts at $325,000. This is the same school district where only 22% of students can read and write proficiently, and only 13% of students can do math proficiently.
According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a Chief Equity Officer is $151,203. Most school districts employ a Chief Equity Officer.
Parents and community members have the power to hold their local school district accountable for how funds are spent. Reading school budgets can be confusing and boring, but it must be done when school districts continue to ask for more money each year.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/105696-public-schools-are-fully-funded-already-2024-04-04
****************************************************This Is How Much New Student Debt Biden Just Reallocated
In defiance of the Supreme Court and in an effort to buy votes in November, President Joe Biden announced yet another round of student loan debt reallocation Monday.
"To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic action to approve debt cancellation for 4 million borrowers, helping these borrowers get more breathing room in their daily lives, access economic mobility, buy homes, start businesses, and pursue their dreams," the White House touted in a statement. "Today, President Biden is announcing his Administration’s new plans that, if finalized as proposed, would provide debt relief to over 30 million borrowers when combined with actions the Administration has taken over the last four years."
During a call with reporters, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona bragged about finding ways around the June 2023 Supreme Court ruling that declared Biden doesn't have the legal authority to reallocate debt.
"When the Supreme Court struck down the President’s boldest student debt relief plan, within hours, we said, 'We won’t be deterred,'" Cardona said. "We announced a new rulemaking process designed to provide borrowers relief under the Higher Education Act."
Meanwhile, the cost of college continues to skyrocket as a result of government intervention, lack of incentives to lower tuition costs and federal bailouts.
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My other blogs: Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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