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Earlier this week, the man who's been widely credited with single-handedly willing the "critical race theory" panic into existence (even if the truth is a bit more complex), laid out a new set of marching orders for the right: Defund public universities, discard academic freedom, remove credentialing requirements for K-12 teachers and generally foster so much anger against public schools that it drives a nationwide popular movement to privatize education.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WSMV) -A digital library used by students in Williamson County Schools has been temporarily disabled while the district reviews its content.

WCS parent Trisha Lucente says earlier this week she notified school board members about content on the digital library app called “EPIC!”

She says she logged in on her kindergartener’s Chromebook and found a range of books.

Williamson County Schools temporarily removed a children’s digital library with more than 40,000 selections from student learning devices on Wednesday after a “concern” was shared with district staff about the app, according to an email sent to parents that same day.

The app, called Epic!, is used daily by students and teachers. The district is in the process of reviewing the app.

Students in Williamson County, Tennessee, have experienced near non-stop changes to the books and resources available to them this school year. Thanks to Moms for Liberty’s relentless campaigns locally, books continue to be challenged and removed throughout the district.

Book banning is not new — in the U.S. alone the practice goes back to Puritan times, when Thomas Morton's book New English Caanan and others opposing this way of life were tossed from Massachusetts.

But the American Library Association said Monday that this year there have been more challenges to books than they have seen since they started tracking it in 2000.

No Left Turn in Education and Parents Defending Education have curated lists of “radical” books that they view as “indoctrination,” and have actively sought to mobilize disaffected parents under the banner of “parents’ rights.” These efforts are having a widespread impact; even where books are not ultimately banned, and even when processes are being followed, these campaigns can inspire skittishness about teaching topics that might in any way be construed as taboo. In Williamson County, Tennessee, a challenge from a local Moms For Liberty chapter resulted in only one title banned from the curriculum, but six books were ascribed “instructional adjustments.” These six books were not banned in their entirety–and therefore are not listed in the Index–but wound up with restrictions placed on specific pages. Teachers are allowed to read Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh, but cannot read pages 25-27 aloud to students. They can read Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea by Chris Butterworth to students, but they cannot display pages 12-13.

Williamson County Schools has temporarily removed access to a digital library used daily by elementary school teachers and students.

In a message sent to families and media on Thursday, the district said the move was in response to concerns surrounding a book titled "An ABC of Equality" and "others with similar topics" on the app called Epic!

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April 6 (Reuters) - Last month, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds surrounded herself with members of the conservative parents-rights group Moms for Liberty when she signed a bill that outlawed transgender students from playing girls’ sports.

The Tennessee Public Education Coalition is out with a piece on why Gov. Bill Lee’s school funding plan (TISA) is a threat to strong public schools in our state.

A lot has happened in the arena of diversity and inclusion in Williamson County schools. Not only in recent months, but also in recent years.

Four years have passed since a group dubbed the "cultural competency council" had its first meeting with former Williamson County Schools superintendent Mike Looney in 2018. The council's aim was to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all students and families.

Tiffany Justice, one of the co-founders of Moms For Liberty and experienced Florida rabble rouser, appeared on Steve Bannon's show to share some of her thoughts about ongoing culture battles, and at one point she laid out her plans for what comes next:

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is out with a report on teacher compensation across the region. Not surprisingly, teacher compensation in the South is about 16% below the national average. Of course, Tennessee teacher compensation lags behind even the average in our region. We are low in a region that is low.