Minnesota Independent

Anoka-Hennepin lawsuit spurs petition, tough settlement talks

By Andy Birkey | 08.24.11 | 10:40 am

The Anoka-Hennepin School District and lawyers for six students who sued the district over bullying began talks this week in an attempt to reach a settlement. While those talks were underway, the Parents Action League submitted a petition to the school board urging it not to budge on a policy that limits discussion of LGBT issues in the schools. And PAL came under scrutiny by other parents who questioned the group’s ties to the Minnesota Family Council.

Parents Action League warns of ‘radical homosexual agenda’ in Anoka-Hennepin schools

By Andy Birkey | 08.22.11 | 7:56 am

The Parents Action League is circulating a petition to the Anoka-Hennepin School Board asking it to maintain a policy that limits discussions of LGBT issues in the classroom. The petition comes as six students and their parents are suing the district over alleged persistent bullying in its schools and are requesting the policy be dropped. PAL’s petition asserts that LGBT people suffer “life-threatening health risks” and a flier by the group warns of a “radical homosexual agenda.”

Contentious debate continues to rile Anoka-Hennepin School District

By Andy Birkey | 08.16.11 | 7:25 am

The Anoka-Hennepin School District is defending its policies in light of lawsuits by six district students, unfavorable coverage on the editorial pages of area newspapers and a renewed national spotlight on the accusation of an unsafe environment for LGBT youth in the district’s schools. The district says its policies are not to blame for bullying in the district, but others have charged that the schools’ policy that limits LGBT discussions in schools is harmful to students.

Another student sues Anoka-Hennepin over anti-LGBT bullying

By Andy Birkey | 08.10.11 | 3:35 pm

A student filed suit against the Anoka-Hennepin School District on Monday alleging that the school district did not do enough to protect her from bullying. Filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the new suit alleges that a lesbian student was repeatedly harassed, both verbally and physically, and that the school undertook disciplinary action against the student instead of her tormentors.

Minnesota to apply for exemptions from No Child Left Behind

By Jon Collins | 08.08.11 | 2:25 pm

The state is seeking to take advantage of flexibility in the program offered by President Barack Obama this morning.

Anoka-Hennepin schools dig in on anti-LGBT policy as lawsuit, federal investigation start

By Andy Birkey | 07.21.11 | 1:54 pm

Anoka-Hennepin School District, the largest in the state of Minnesota, has been at the center of a tug of war between the LGBT community, which says the district is not safe for students, and religious right parents, who want all mentions of LGBT issues stricken from school curricula and programming. At issue is a policy that restricts LGBT content in the schools, a policy the school district said on Monday it would not change. In response, a pair of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Thursday morning. In addition, federal authorities have opened an investigation into the school district.

Mark Dayton to concede to GOP on shutdown compromise

By Andy Birkey | 07.14.11 | 10:45 am

At a speech at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota on Thursday, Gov. Mark Dayton announced that he is prepared to concede to most of the demands offered by Republican legislative leadership on June 30 in order to end the 14-day government shutdown. The Republican demands included a shift of $700 million in payments to public schools and borrowing another $700 million from the state’s tobacco settlement fund. Dayton will also drop his proposal to tax the wealthiest 2 percent of Minnesotans. He excoriated Republicans for not offering any compromises during the shutdown.

Religious right lawyers defend Anoka-Hennepin schools’ LGBT policy

By Andy Birkey | 06.30.11 | 11:23 am

Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a national conservative Christian legal organization, sent a letter to the Anoka-Hennepin School District this week urging it to maintain its “neutrality policy” on sexual orientation. The letter comes in response to a possible lawsuit by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Council for Lesbian Rights, two groups that have accused the district of creating an unsafe environment for LGBT students. The ADF argues that no changes are needed in the district, which has seen a spike in student suicides, including among LGBT students.

Franken: Education, fair taxes key to middle-class revitalization in America

By Andy Birkey | 06.20.11 | 8:22 am

In his keynote speech Saturday morning at the Netroots Nation conference in Minneapolis, Sen. Al Franken noted the growing income disparity between the middle class and the rich, a trend that began in the late-1970s. The Minnesota Independent sat down with Sen. Franken to get some thoughts on that disparity and how the American middle class might once again benefit from economic growth.

Wisconsin moves closer to dramatic expansion of school voucher program

By Mikhail Zinshteyn | 06.06.11 | 11:42 am

The Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee has expanded school choice in the Badger State, increasing the income eligibility threshold in Milwaukee while adding a new voucher program in Racine County.