Education
PA school district removes requirement to show CNN every morning
Teachers were required to show "CNN 10," a 10-minute news roundup targeting junior high and high school students, at the beginning of their homeroom class. Under the new policy, teachers will be allowed to use their discretion and choose their own videos.
February 18, 2022 9:16am
Updated: February 18, 2022 10:05am
A school district in Pennsylvania voted 5-4 on Monday to remove mandatory CNN programming from first period in its middle schools.
Teachers were required to show "CNN 10," a 10-minute news roundup targeting junior high and high school students, at the beginning of their homeroom class. Under the new policy, teachers will be allowed to use their discretion and choose their own videos about current events or holidays, like Veterans Day or Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Alex Detschelt, a Republican, campaigned on the issue in his successful 2021 election campaign and was one of the five who voted to revoke the policy. He argued “there is always bias” and said the district was “grooming the children” to a viewpoint by making the "CNN 10" broadcast mandatory.
Students were not forced to watch the program, but also were not allowed to turn it off or change the channel.
Before the vote, Megan Zobb, a seventh grade social studies teacher told the board teachers were already using the homeroom TV time to show videos aside from "CNN 10." Zobb also discouraged a ban on TV altogether, which also been proposed.
"CNN 10" was previously known as "CNN Student News." Launched in 1989, it is the network’s longest-running show.
