ron desantis

March 23, 2022 - Arkansas and Florida are the only Southern states that still allow citizens to place questions on the ballot, but Republican lawmakers there want to erect new barriers to this form of direct democracy.

January 25, 2022 - As Republican state lawmakers across the South pass laws restricting how public school teachers can talk about racism with their students, a new national poll of teachers finds that over a third say the surge in such classroom speech bans makes them more likely to leave the profession at the end of this school year.

September 29, 2021 - Governors and legislatures across the South have banned public schools from requiring masks to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The bans have been successfully challenged in lower courts, but appellate courts overturned some of those rulings. Federal courts in several states are taking up the question of whether mask mandate bans violate the rights of students with disabilities.

September 17, 2021 - Though a lawsuit seeking to restore the voting rights of North Carolinians on probation or parole suffered setbacks in recent court rulings, the broader movement to re-enfranchise people with felony convictions has made gains in Southern states in recent years.

July 14, 2021 - As legislative sessions wind down, Republicans in states across the South are still pushing bills that could lead to mass arrests of protesters. Meanwhile, lawsuits have been filed against new anti-protest laws recently passed in Florida and Louisiana.

June 4, 2021 - Some of the 19 young people arrested in Tallahassee last year while protesting deadly police violence are still facing charges that carry prison time. But their push for justice continues, with the goal of one day winning a community task force that holds officers accountable.

May 21, 2021 - Republican state legislators across the South are making it harder for voters to cast a ballot. Voting rights groups and local officials are suing over the changes, which they argue will disparately impact voters of color and those with disabilities. But the judges with the final say are mostly Republicans.