“Liberty University has sued Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 million, exacerbating the messy divorce between the Christian university and its former president whose family name has been synonymous with the university since its founding,” the New York Times reports.

“The new suit, which alleges breach of contract and fiduciary duty, claims that Mr. Falwell withheld scandalous and potentially damaging information from Liberty’s board of trustees, while negotiating a generous new contract for himself in 2019 under false pretenses.”

“Mr. Falwell also failed to disclose and address ‘his personal impairment by alcohol,’ the suit alleges.”

“In a push against so-called cancel culture, the Republican majority in the Florida Legislature is ready to pass legislation that would require public colleges and universities to survey students, faculty and staff about their beliefs and viewpoints,” the Miami Herald reports.

“The survey is part of a broader measure that would also bar university and college officials from limiting speech that ‘may be uncomfortable, disagreeable or offensive,’ and would allow students to record lectures without consent to support a civil or criminal case against a higher-education institution.”

“A new survey of educators by the nation’s second-largest teachers union shows as of April 1 at least 81% of educators had been vaccinated for COVID-19 or were scheduled to get their shots,” CBS News reports.

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain told Politico that President Biden has asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to compile a memo on the president’s legal authorities to forgive student loan debt, including a cancellation up to $50,000.

Biden previously said that he opposes canceling $50,000 in student debt, opting instead for canceling $10,000.

“The Biden administration has reversed a controversial Trump-era policy that will lead to the cancellation of roughly $1 billion in student debt for borrowers who were defrauded by their colleges,” CNN reports.

“The change will deliver full loan forgiveness to 73,000 people who were deemed eligible for the relief under former Education Secretary Betsy Devos but received only partial loan forgiveness after she changed the cancellation calculation.”

Jonathan Chait: “It is entirely possible that when we look back at the coronavirus pandemic decades from now, we may see the gravest catastrophe as a generation of schoolchildren whose formative years were irrevocably stunted. Even if the year and counting of public-school rollback has not done as much damage as the death toll itself, it is a social crisis of the same magnitude.”

“As the pandemic recedes, it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand why school closings continue to grind on. The answer at this point is simply to open up schools, everywhere, right away.”

Rolling Stone: “The Biden administration announced it is rescinding a Trump administration rule that only gave partial relief to borrowers defrauded by for-profit institutions. The decision could affect 72,000 borrowers who received less than complete relief under the Trump-era formula and grant them a combined $1 billion in canceled loans.”

“While the Obama administration made it possible for students defrauded by for-profit colleges to secure complete loan relief starting in 2015, Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos — a friend of the for-profit education industry who had investments in a student-debt collection agency — changed the rules to make it harder for borrowers to get that relief. And even if they were approved for relief, it was only partial.”

A new Gallup poll finds 79% of parents of K-12 students in the U.S. favor in-person learning in their communities right now.

“Many frustrated parents have been vocally pushing for a return to the classroom, citing concerns about the damage to their children’s academic progress, psychological health and social development.”

Washington Post: “The promise was clear and hopeful: With strong public health measures, then-President-elect Joe Biden declared in early December, ‘the majority of our schools can be open by the end of my first 100 days.’ The reality has been far more complicated.”

“Unlike many of his other vows and directives — pledging 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses in his first 100 days or mandating that all Americans wear masks on federal property — reopening schools is a daunting task over which the federal government has little authority. Local and district leaders, and sometimes state officials, control how and when schools reopen, with guidance from Biden and his team on the margins.”

Wall Street Journal: “The provision, added by Senate Democrats this week, would remove any tax consequences for households whose student debt is forgiven through 2025, saving them thousands of dollars. Federal law typically treats any forgiven debt as taxable income.”

“The provision would make it easier for President Biden to forgive student debt through executive action, as congressional Democrats have pressed him to do.”

“Joe Biden is tapping a federal agency to facilitate vaccinations for teachers and child care workers. He is using his bully pulpit to push states to get shots into teachers’ arms by the end of the month. The administration is even considering creating a ‘school reopening’ czar,” Politico reports.

“And newly-minted Education secretary Miguel Cardona will launch his tenure on Wednesday with a visit to elementary schools that have successfully reopened, in a high-profile event with First Lady Jill Biden.”

Axios: Biden sends teachers to front of vaccine line.

FiveThirtyEight: “Being a parent is hard enough — but being a parent during a pandemic is even harder. With many schools physically closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, parents are now balancing their omnipresent concerns over their children’s education, development and emotional well-being with their own lives and careers. And the stress of that has bubbled over to the point where reopening schools is now a major political issue.”

“But despite the increased volume of the debate, public opinion on reopening schools is complicated. The issue is not as black-and-white as many are depicting it, and the variations in wording that pollsters use to ask about it can produce different results. Here’s what the polls over the past month do say.”

President Biden balked at forgiving $50,000 in student loan debt, “saying he doesn’t have the power to do so unilaterally,” The Hill reports.

Said Biden: “I do think in this moment of economic pain and strain that we should be eliminating interest on the debts that are accumulated, No. 1. And No. 2, I’m prepared to write off the $10,000 debt, but not $50,000.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) warned her Twitter followers that the “case against student loan forgiveness is looking shakier by the day.”

“The Biden administration is considering using executive action to forgive Americans’ federal student debt, the White House’s chief spokeswoman said Thursday, responding to pressure from Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“President Biden has previously questioned his ability to use executive action to forgive some or all of Americans’ federal student debt. He has instead urged Congress to pass legislation to write off $10,000 in student debt for every borrower.”

“The names of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and other prominent figures including California Sen. Dianne Feinstein will be removed from 44 San Francisco public schools, a move that stirred debate Wednesday on whether the famously liberal city has taken the national reckoning on America’s racist past too far,” the AP reports.