Lack of parental demand is not deterring Republicans from introducing laws to ban teachers from discussing certain topics in the classroom including race and LGBTQ+ issues. In 2021 there were 155 bills in 38 states censoring teachers in the classroom. (The Guardian, February 21, 2022, by Adam Gabbatt) The sponsors of a Florida law to ban classroom discussions to indoctrinate cultural guilt in students contend that nothing in the bill prohibits the teaching of facts

A federal district judge took an unfavorable view of the new Texas law making it a criminal offense for election workers to encourage voters to request mail-in ballots. The judge issued an injunction on enforcing the law, ruling that it likely violates the First Amendment. (The Texas Tribune, February 11, 2022. by Alexa Ura) Local election officials complained in court about the law stifling their interaction with voters. Judge Xavier Rodriguez agreed that the law

The National Archives reported that the Trump administration failed to preserve social media accounts and that some of the records may not be retrievable. The archives has been working with social media companies to find missing records including Twitter messages deleted by Trump or White House staff. (Los Angeles Times, February 18, 2022, by Sarah D. Wire) The missing accounts included those for Andrew Giuliani, Chad Gilmartin, Ivanka Trump, Kayleigh McEnany, Kellyanne Conway, Mark Meadows

State legislators are proposing laws to alter the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, to meet changing circumstances. Assembly Bill 1944 would require a remote participation option for city council, commission and school board meetings. (Patch, February 18, 2022, by Eric He) Senate Bill 1100 changes the Brown Act to establish a more precise definition of the provision to remove citizens for “willfully interrupting” a public meeting. The new wording would define disruption as

Law professor David A. Logan said as the U.S. Supreme Court considers their options in addressing Times v. Sullivan, they might be more likely to take up a case involving definitions of a public figure, specifically a lessor known individual than Sarah Palin. (The New York Times, February 16, 2022, by Jeremy W. Peters) Law professor Eugene Volokh, Reason, February 15, 2022, writes that the U.S. Supreme Court is unlikely to take the Palin case