California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an interview in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. Newsom signed a bill on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, to ban school boards from rejecting textbooks based on their teachings about the contributions of people from different racial backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities, calling the measure "long overdue." Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption
A Spelman College graduate waves during the school's 2023 commencement ceremony on May 21. Recent college graduates are due to make their first student loan payments in the coming weeks. Paras Griffin/Getty Images hide caption
Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead serves as Maryland's 31st adjutant general — making her the only Black woman who leads a state military in the U.S. Here, Birckhead sits inside NPR's studios for an interview with NPR's Jonathan Franklin. Ajani Daniel/NPR hide caption
Darryl George, a 17-year-old junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, has been suspended for not cutting his hair. Michael Wyke/AP hide caption
A PEN America report found that the number of books permanently removed from U.S. school libraries and classrooms has quadrupled — to 1,263 books in the last school year from 333 the year before. Harkim Wright Sr./AP hide caption
Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18. Harkim Wright Sr./AP hide caption
JoAnne A. Epps, acting president of Temple University, speaks during a Temple University graduation ceremony, May 11, 2023, at the Liacouras Center on Temple's campus in Philadelphia. Epps has died after collapsing at a memorial service Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 19, the university said. Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP hide caption
West Point graduating cadets are seen during commencement ceremonies at Plain Parade Field at the United States Military Academy on June 13, 2020, in West Point, N.Y. John Minchillo/Pool/Getty Images hide caption
The Tennessee State University Aristocrat of Bands performs during the 2023 National Battle of the Bands, a showcase for HBCU marching bands, held at NRG Stadium Saturday, August 26, 2023, in Houston. Michael Wyke/AP hide caption
James Hatch in Afghanistan in July, 2009, the night he was wounded. James Hatch hide caption
Families walk in and out of the Department of Education in Long Island City. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption
Kwame Alexander (left) and Jerry Craft have each won a Newbery Medal for their children's books. Alexander invited Craft on a trip to Kenya this summer to speak to schoolkids about reading. The kids were impressed. So were the authors. Brian Otieno for NPR hide caption
The Princess Nahi'ena'ena Elementary School in Lahaina is closed pending the results of air, water and soil tests. Pien Huang/NPR hide caption
Michigan State coach Mel Tucker walks the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Richmond on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 45-14. Al Goldis/AP hide caption
The Westcott administration building on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., on April 30, 2015. Mark Wallheiser/AP hide caption
A high school boys' soccer game. Jon C. Hancock/AP hide caption
An elementary student at Maryland Avenue Montessori in Milwaukee sits under an open window and fan. Milwaukee Public Schools dismissed students early Tuesday due to hot temperatures and lack of air conditioning in most schools. Emily R. Files/WUWM hide caption
The pandemic forced Americans to work from home. Now, more than three years on, employers are struggling to bring them back to the office. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Many students who graduated in the last three and a half years have never had the experience of making a federal student loan payment. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Law enforcement respond to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus on Monday after the university locked down and warned of an armed person on campus. Hannah Schoenbaum/AP hide caption
