School News

A pretrial conference was held Wednesday in federal court stemming from Liberty High School Assistant Principal Antonio Traca's federal civil rights lawsuit against retiring Superintendent Joseph Roy and the Bethlehem Area School District.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

This week's Supreme Court ruling overturned 45 years of precedent. What remains to be seen is how much damage it might do to our competitiveness as a nation — and how colleges and universities can help mitigate it.

Speakers accuse public school officials, teachers' unions of trying to "sexualize children" or indoctrinating them. Some called for restricting LGBTQ books. Protestors traveled from the Lehigh Valley and beyond to stand against the Moms for Liberty's "extremism" and in support of LGBTQ people.

High school seniors in Pennsylvania would be required to fill out a form that determines eligibility for financial aid for postsecondary programs under a bill passed by the state Senate.

Public school advocates worry vouchers will divert money from public education into charters or private schools.

Michael St. Pierre will assume the position as the diocese's fifth superintendent effective Aug. 1, the diocese said in a news release

Maria Shantz was one of a group of Republicans who signed a controversial pledge to create policies around gender and rejecting "wokeness."

Lehigh Carbon Community College and Northampton Community College received money from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to help adults learn English.

Alongside its efforts to boost the enrollment of local students, Lehigh has sought to make its education more affordable, too.

Parkland Superintendent Mark Madson, Assistant Superintendent Michelle Minotti and Chief Financial Officer Leslie Frisbie were awarded five-year extensions on Tuesday, the district said in a news release.

Parkland's school board voted unanimously Tuesday to stop payments to charter schools until a state budget is in place.

Police responded to a report of an armed person at Innovative Arts Academy in Catasauqua on Tuesday afternoon. An investigation is ongoing.

Fountain Hill Elementary School soon will have a new principal who will join Bethlehem Area from another local school district. The move comes as site work is underway at 1330 Church St. for the construction of a new Fountain Hill school building.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola is proposing changes to the school bus camera arm bill to improve transparency, ensure timely hearings and make the enforcement process more reasonable for drivers while preserving the essential goal of protecting students.

Southern Lehigh school directors will vote on the final version of a proposed generative artificial intelligence policy at their Oct. 27 meeting.

Even after Hispanic Heritage Month ended, Northeast Middle School in Bethlehem was alive with the sound of salsa and the aroma of arroz con gandules during BASD’s annual Hispanic Heritage celebration.

Sketch plans for an athletic complex for Allentown Central Catholic High School were reviewed by the Whitehall Township Planning Commission on Wednesday night.

The anonymous donation will be used to support the teachers and students across the district, officials from the Foundation for the Bethlehem Area School District said.

Billionaire and civilian astronaut Jared Isaacman discussed the importance of space exploration during an event at Lehigh University on Tuesday night.

Board Treasurer Donald Carpenter thanked residents from all sides of the topic at hand for their emails in to the board. He said he received upward of 40 messages.