The House has already filed a draft budget, which the Senate is debating this week. And legislators are already trying to file sweeping changes to education policy under “one-year” budget amendments. 1/2

I wrote more about this meeting here: otherduties.substack.com/p/a-delibera...

Senator Shane Massey discusses what he says may be “a deliberate effort to circumvent the law” by the S.C. Department of Education.

Read more: otherduties.substack.com/p/a-delibera...

Two women trained as first responders were abducted by three ICE agents. One of the agents starts seizing. The other two don’t know what to do. The women jump into action and save the agent’s life, only to be re-handcuffed and processed. www.startribune.com/detained-by-...

The big brains behind “parental rights” don’t seem to give a damn about kids. otherduties.substack.com/p/more-yamme...

Please email [email protected] by 3PM to share feedback on H. 4757, the so-called “parental rights” censorship bill. 1/

Listen to my very serious holiday synth album: distrokid.com/hyperfollow/...

Faculty at every university instituting these kinds of policies ought to compile every public statement of praise for how great the faculty and curriculum are on your admissions websites, and use those to demand very publicly for mgmt to explain what changed since yesterday. 1/2

Sure, if you want to ban the most books in America, shadow ban AP African American Studies, pay teachers below the SE average (exacerbating historic retention/ recruitment issues), waste $$ each year on unconstitutional voucher laws, and have 1 in 7 schools racially segregated, follow SC's lead.

The weird coloring and awkward grammar recall the hasty change to the number of children, and the addition of Essie Mae--the daughter he secretly fathered with a 15-year-old Black girl who worked in his family home--on longtime segregationist Strom Thurmond's monument at the SC State House.

I'll go one further and add that preparation for job skills alone *is* totally compatible with an authoritarian state-capitalist system but doesn't cut it in a system of democratic self-governance where we expect citizens to do more than work on behalf of the regime.

1. Measles is ravaging South Carolina. Over 100 people infected, and hundreds more in quarantine. In response, RFK Jr., the nation's top public health official, has been SILENT But it's much worse than that. RFK Jr. and his allies are undermining confidence in the vaccine

Beaufort Schools (SC) recently restricted The Handmaid's Tale (and 4 others) after the SC Board of Education pressured them to (again) take up challenges from the one parent who has been seeking to ban 96 books. otherduties.substack.com/p/update-bea...

I will GO TO MY GRAVE beating this drum. Republicans (and Democrats) can win on pro-public education platforms in Georgia. The MAJORITY of voters in Georgia send their kids to public schools. Georgia’s 2026 majority will go to whichever party can figure out this nuance first. #GaPol

The future of vouchers is increasingly opaque. They must hide data because it puts the lie to their arguments: the lie: "they rescue kids from bad public schools" the data: most go to kids already in private school the lie: "they're for the poor children" the data: they mostly go to the well-off

I don't see a lot of the defense of that OU student's paper engaging with the quality of the writing. (Which, to say the least, undermines the arguments many of her supporters have made in favor of "meritocracy".

Summer music. youtu.be/lhlV6zTYL3Q

A local Moms for Liberty chapter’s unsupported claims about the national school counselors organization have been amplified by state officials. The SC Department of Education has evidently removed state counselor standards from its website in response. (PragerU materials are still on the site.)

Hey, look! I got a professional reviewer* to write an analysis of the cop show** I soundtracked starting in the late 1970's. He let me re-post it in celebration of the soundtrack to the movie being on Bandcamp today! * fictional ** fake otherduties.substack.com/p/beachcop?f...

The State Board of Education has called on Beaufort Schools to reconsider book challenges it previously considered. The Board is hearing public comment now. m.youtube.com/watch?v=xq6E...

The ACLU of South Carolina had the privilege of hosting two legal interns this summer. Today on the blog, we’re highlighting their contributions and asking them to share a little bit about what they learned. www.aclusc.org/en/news/meet...

Anyone a #bird #goose or #swan expert know what species this lil chunky beauty might be? I’ve seen three of them on my ride to and from work … and I’m obsessed. There’s usually another gaggle of Canadian Geese (also obsessed) hanging around too. Just makes my day to see them!

South Carolina becomes the nation’s top book banner.

The SC Board of Education is about to come out of over 2 hours in executive session. Presumably they were discussing or receiving legal advice about 43-170, the book ban regulation. Live stream will be here: ed.sc.gov/state-board/...

how your email finds me:

The question we must really ask ourselves is whether we are free to hold and espouse ideas with which the administration disagrees? It would increasingly seem that the answer is no. — Derek Black, professor, University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/o...

The SC Senate is currently discussing S. 62, the private school voucher bill. 1/ www.scstatehouse.gov/video/chambe...

Tomorrow @caseythehuman.bsky.social and @nuzum.bsky.social are playing a songwriters show in Columbia, Sc. Today is the last day to get a ticket for $10, they go up tomorrow. If you have $10 and are free tomorrow, come hang out! www.eventbrite.com/e/uncle-fest... #folk #americana #columbiasc

Highlights from yesterday’s SC State Board of Education meeting.

"There seemed to be a shift in the South Carolina Board of Education." South Carolina leaders pumped the brakes on banning 10 books yesterday. The writer and longtime educator Steve Nuzum sums it up here: otherduties.substack.com/p/ten-books-...

Updated and de-paywalled this piece from August 2023 because it seems to have new resonance. open.substack.com/pub/otherdut...

The House Education and Public Works Committee was just gaveled in. They will be discussing a major amendment to the anti-diversity H.3927, which has not been shared with the public. There will be no public comment. 1/

I was very tired when I first wrote, so here’s a slightly expanded and updated version. SC is banning books statewide, and the committee responsible for those bans seems disinterested in hearing from the public or in considering the books, themselves, beyond lists of naughty words from BookLooks.

"Once the funds were distributed, the state had little way to be sure parents were spending the money appropriately, the oversight committee’s report found."

The House is in session and will be discussing S.62 soon. (Thread.) 1/

The amendment to require that private schools receiving public funds honor IEPs is tabled after a motion from Erickson. Green votes voted *against* further debate or votes on the bill. 20/

The current amendment requires that private schools receiving voucher funds adopt “an open admissions policy.” Erickson moves to table. Vote below. 29/

Collins argues against the bill, starting with the clear constitutional issues. 46/