A group of California students are pushing back against the California Education Code’s “school meaning” regulations, saying that they’re limiting the ability of children to understand what education means.
“The school meaning regulation is a terrible regulation,” said Lauren Siegel, a senior at Santa Clara High School.
“What it really does is force teachers to teach students the meaning of life, and then it gives them the ability to make up their own meaning of education and what it means to them.”
It’s an extremely narrow definition,” she added.
Siegel, who’s a member of the group Parents For Education, said that while her school had been teaching in the “school of life” since the school year started, her teachers weren’t taught the meaning.
She’s hoping to get a better understanding of the meaning that she and her peers are using in class.
At the same time, she said that she’s concerned that students are learning about their education through video games and social media.
The California Education Department’s definition of “school,” which has been in place since 1998, doesn’t give a clear picture of what school means.
Students are not taught the actual purpose of schooling, but instead how to use it, according to a Department of Education report.
In 2015, the Department of Justice sued to overturn the state’s definition, saying the law unfairly punished students who are using the curriculum to pursue careers and make friends.
The lawsuit was eventually settled.
According to a new report from the National Education Association, “meaning is becoming increasingly elusive” for California students.
The group found that students were still learning about education from video games, but they’re learning a lot more from reading, writing and socializing, as well as the importance of self-care.
This has caused many parents to opt out of teaching their children in the state.
It’s unclear how the new meaning regulations will affect students in California, but one thing is clear: the California Department of Public Instruction will continue to push its strict version of “meaning” through the state legislature.
Parents for Education, which has a number of members, will hold a press conference on Thursday to announce that they are planning to bring a similar bill to the California House of Representatives.
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