Fighting against federal authority is a political tradition in the South – and resisting federal guidance to wear masks in schools is just the latest example, an education policy expert writes.
The Richardson Independent School District in Texas is among the many districts across the state defying the governor’s mask mandate ban to require masks for students.
AP Photo/LM Otero
If it sounds like the law is all over the place on school mask mandates, that’s because it is. The nation’s schools are subject to a complex web of local, state and federal laws.
President Biden and Vice President Harris met on Feb. 12, 2021, with governors and mayors to discuss supporting them in the fight against COVID-19.
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People can die when the federal government doesn’t work well with state and local governments – the COVID-19 crisis showed that. But the Biden administration has signaled an openness to collaboration.
There are so many different states – and provinces, districts, regions and lander!
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The U.S. is broken up into 50 states, plus territories like Puerto Rico and Guam, and a federal district, Washington, D.C. Most other countries have smaller parts too.
Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed (centre) pictured outside his office awaiting dignitaries in February 2020.
EPA-EFE/STR
The lawsuits filed in Portland sparked by the presence of federal law enforcement agents sent there by President Trump are a preview of the legal battles to come in cities across the US.
When is the right time to wave the green flag?
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What is a state’s balance of payments, and why do some pay so much more? An author of a report at the heart of debates over which states should get coronavirus relief funds breaks it down.
Germany has succeeded in fighting the coronavirus in part by combing strong national leadership with regional autonomy.
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While some authoritarian governments have won early praise, research shows that democratic countries with a balance of power between central and regional bodies are best able to succeed.
The struggle between the federal and state governments over when face-to-face teaching should resume in Australian schools is the latest in a long-running battle.
State police officers during a “Reopen Virginia” rally around Capitol Square in Richmond on April 22, 2020.
Getty/Ryan M. Kelly / AFP
‘Dystopia’ is a term that’s gained popularity during the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s not a synonym for ‘a bad time,’ and a government’s poor handling of a crisis does not constitute dystopia.
On April 13, the president said he had the authority to order the states to reopen the economy.
Getty/Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
Throughout the coronavirus crisis, President Trump has made inconsistent statements about who is responsible for key aspects of the nation’s response to the pandemic. The Constitution has the answer.
Yes, there has been friction over social distancing restrictions and the Ruby Princess debacle, but our federal system of government has actually worked very well during the crisis.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on March 26, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Given the structural limitations of Canadian federalism, the use of the Emergencies Act during the coronavirus pandemic could cause conflict between provincial and federal governments.
European Union flags at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Sept. 11, 2019.
AP/Virginia Mayo
Garret Martin, American University School of International Service
Political chaos is growing in the UK as the government tries to manage the country’s exit from the European Union. What does the EU do that so angered UK voters that they voted to leave?
Are southern-born politicians talking about a state they essentially don’t understand?
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Two Queensland-based experts discuss what so many politicians and pundits get wrong about the Sunshine State – and what its citizens are crying out for.
Steller sea lions in the eastern Pacific are an Endangered Species Act success story.
David B. Ledig/USFWS
The Trump administration is changing implementation of the Endangered Species Act in ways that conservationists say would reduce protection for some of America’s most threatened wildlife.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s notion of “medemer” could have united Ethiopians, but seems to have failed.
EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MEO
Politicians, activists and media outlets continue to deconstruct old narratives and perpetuate new grievances. Nobody, however, is as busy reconstructing a new, inclusive story.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne