Virginia Department of Education Sued Over Model Transgender Policies

Brooke Migdon at The Hill reportsthat the ACLU of Virginia has filed two complaints on behalf of transgender students asserting that Virginia’s model policies for transgender students violate local and federal law. The current policies permit teachers to use transgender students’ names and pronouns they were assigned at birth, bar transgender students from competing on sports teams that align with their gender identity, and mandate parental consent and notification regarding transgender students’ identities. PRRI researchfinds that less than half of Americans (43%) agree that “young people are being peer pressured into being transgender.”

New Charges and New Analysis of January 6 Defendants

In the past week, new charges have been brought against several Jan. 6 participants including an anti-vaccine protester, a man who filmed a “videomanifesto” while traveling to the Capitol, and a former member of the military arrested outside fomer President Obama’s home last June. Additionally, a new analysis of public records from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington finds that more than 200 defendants have said that “they were answering Donald Trump’s call” when they traveled to Washington and participated in the attack on the Capitol. According to PRRI’s 2023American Values Survey, six in ten Americans (60%) agree that it is likely that former President Trump broke the law to try to stay in power after losing the 2020 election.

White House Expands Plans To Cancel Student Debt

Michael Stratford at POLITICO reports that the Biden administration has released a draft proposal to expand student debt cancellation by assessing the financial hardships of borrowers. The Administration has faced pressure from activists and Congressional Democrats after the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s initial attempt to cancel up to $400 billion of student debt last summer. PRRI research finds that around one in five Americans (20%) say they are concerned about their ability to pay their student loan payments.

The “He Gets Us” Christian Super Bowl Ads — And The Backlash To Them — Explained

At Vox, Aja Romano writes that the He Gets Us campaign’s “Foot Washing” Super Bowl ad has received backlash for its seemingly performative, us/them dynamic of primarily white, cisgender presenting individuals washing the feet of their presumed opposites. Critics question the ad’s sincerity given the He Gets Us campaign’s ties to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an anti-trans, anti-gay organization that played a role in successfully arguing religious service refusals against same-sex couples before the Supreme Court. PRRI data finds that a majority of Americans have consistently opposed permitting businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ people on religious grounds; in 2022 nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) opposed allowing such refusals.