First lady Michelle Obama is striking back at House Republicans over their efforts to introduce flexibility to healthy school meal standards, saying any attempt to revise the current guidelines is “unacceptable.”

The standards originated in 2012 and were a major component of the first lady’s “Let’s Move!” campaign. They were the first major revision to the $11 billion school lunch program in 15 years. The rules require more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and set limits on sodium, sugar, and fat.

As states including Tennessee, Oregon, and Mississippi consider providing free community college for students, critics say that such a program could create unfair competition for traditional four-year colleges and actually take money away from students who need it most.

Earlier this month, newly-inaugurated New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blocked three charter schools from using space inside public school buildings for next school year. The action makes good on a campaign promise de Blasio made to rein in the influence of private education providers. It also reverses the decisions made by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican.

At age 80, retired Chicago physician and educator Dan Winship is getting a bittersweet last chance to teach about medicine—only this time he’s the subject as well as the teacher. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, Winship is giving a young medical student a close-up look at a devastating illness affecting millions of patients worldwide.

The two are part of a “buddy” program pairing doctors-to-be with dementia patients. The program was pioneered at Northwestern University and has been adopted at a handful of other medical schools.

Northwestern University football players are advocating the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recognize them as university employees, which would form the first union for college athletes in U.S. history.

The door to a hen house bursts open on a chilly winter day and several Kansas charter school students scramble inside, squealing “Thank you!” to the chickens as they check for eggs and replenish their grain.

Several states appear to be asking “What’s in a name?” with regard to the national Common Core standards for reading and math in public schools.

In Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer issued an executive order stripping the name “Common Core” from the controversial standards. Florida lawmakers have dropped the name and replaced it with “Florida Standards.” In Iowa, some of the standards are now referred to as “The Iowa Core.”