Key moments that defined education in America in 2023

America's Newsroom anchor Bill Hemmer looks back at the top headlines of the past 12 months. Supreme Court rulings, wars waged over parental rights, crackdowns on conservative school boards and scandals that imbued some districts with controversy: Education's rocky landscape showcased this year's equally tumultuous cultural climate, and the issue has taken center stage for candidates going into 2024. Republicans continued to capitalize on parents' concerns that children are being exposed to age-inappropriate content in the classroom while calling for school choice and cautioning against giving transgender students access to single-sex spaces. Democrats, meanwhile, called out the opposition for alleged "book bans" and a majority defended transgender students' access to spaces corresponding with their preferred gender. The gridlock is expected to augment the intensity of an already explosive election season next year, and the issues aren't expected to fade anytime soon.