We are less than two months into 2023, but Popular Information has been busy. Here is some of what we’ve done this year:

• Popular Information broke the news that teachers in Manatee County, Florida, were told to make their classroom libraries inaccessible to students, or risk felony prosecution. The story was picked up nationally and prompted an angry attack from Manny Diaz, Florida's Secretary of Education. Diaz called Popular Information's reporting "fake news from media activists too lazy to read [Florida] law." (Popular Information's reporting is accurate; we have receipts.) 

• Popular Information revealed that a conservative group had launched a brazen plan to exploit a Michigan statute that allows parents to opt kids out of sex education, using the law to force schools to erase LGBTQ people. Four days later, the Michigan Department of Education released a memo telling schools that parents are not legally entitled to opt children out of "programs, practices, and resources" outside of sexual education. The memo was first reported by the Detroit Free Press, which linked the publication of the memo to Popular Information's reporting. 

• Popular Information exposed that the College Board had deleted a statement defending its revisions to the new AP African American Studies course from its website. The deleted statement purported to contain ironclad proof that the contents of the revised course were not influenced by the DeSantis administration. Shortly after publication, the College Board was forced to restore the statement, thwarting its effort to cover its tracks. 

Today, however, I want to hear from you. What's on your mind? What topics should be on Popular Information's radar? You can leave your thoughts in the discussion thread linked below, starting now. I’ll be dropping by later today to respond to as many people as I can. 

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