Midwest

Free speech org torches Iowa classroom’s banned words list featuring ‘Ohio,’ ‘rizz’ and Holocaust references

Published

1 year ago

December 14, 2024

Free speech org torches Iowa classroom’s banned words list featuring ‘Ohio,’ ‘rizz’ and Holocaust references

Free speech advocates are crying foul after they say an Iowa social studies teacher banned the use of a lengthy list of words and phrases in her classroom, including the name of an entire state. But officials from the school now say students helped create the list, and that it’s no longer on display.

On Tuesday, the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) wrote to officials at the Fremont-Mills Community School District, warning that a seventh-grade social studies teacher’s alleged speech ban is unconstitutional.

“Everyone agrees that teachers have a duty to prevent classroom disruption, but a blanket ban on specific words and topics, regardless of the context, goes too far,” Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy for the civil liberties group, told Fox News Digital in an email.

An Iowa social studies teacher’s list of “Banned Words” in her classroom, drew criticism from a free speech group, but the school says the list was made with student input. (Courtesy of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)

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The list of “Banned Words” in the teacher’s classroom spanned more than a dozen individual words such as “Ohio,” which can mean “weird,” “cringe” or “dumb,” among Generation Alpha circles; “rizz,” which is short for “charisma”; and “skibidi,” which refers to a series of videos featuring animated talking heads that emerge from toilets.

“Diddy party,” “baby oil,” “brain rot” and “rage quitting” also made the viral list.

The poster further includes a blanket ban on meowing, barking, curse words, racist comments, LGBTQ+ and fat jokes, and references to drugs, Nazis or the Holocaust.

School administrators told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon that students helped craft the list “as an important lesson of civic responsibility … promoting empathy and awareness of how language affects others.” They added that the “chart has not been displayed since the first quarter.”

“Our goal is not to censor or stifle student speech, but to guide students toward language that fosters a positive and inclusive learning environment,” officials from the rural district located in southwestern Iowa added.

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Saying “any of these words listed” was punishable by a 30-minute detention, according to a note at the bottom of the poster. A parent told FIRE that at least 10 students have been disciplined, but school administrators said “consequences are not based solely upon using particular words, unless they are considered vulgar, lewd, threatening, a substantial disruption of the school environment, or bullying toward another student.”

FIRE acknowledged that schools have a “legitimate interest in preventing actual classroom disruptions,” but said categorically banning a list of terms — including common words like “Ohio” and “chat” — without regard to context violates students’ free speech rights.

“It is well-established that public school students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate,” Terr wrote to the school’s principal and superintendent, citing the landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District.

A rural Iowa school district says a teacher’s list of “Banned Words” was created with the input of students during a civics lesson. “We acknowledge that evolving language and slang from social media platforms plays a tremendous role in students’ interactions,” the district wrote in a statement. “While these expressions can be creative and accepted, they may also carry meanings or connotations that may disrupt the classroom or negatively affect peers.” (iStock)

FIRE called on the district to remove the list, “stop censoring non-disruptive student expression,” and respond by Dec. 23.

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“Students and parents are right to speak up when speech rights are threatened, and we think this can be a great teaching moment for all involved about protecting student expression in our public schools,” Terr told Fox News Digital.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated with a response from the school district.

Fox News Digital reached out to FIRE for additional comment.

Hannah Ray Lambert is an associate producer/writer with Fox News Digital Originals.

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Indiana

Indiana’s Curt Cignetti cashes in on title run with 8-year extension worth $13.2 million per year

Published

10 seconds ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Indiana’s Curt Cignetti cashes in on title run with 8-year extension worth .2 million per year

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is cashing in on his first national championship run — even more than initially expected.

Athletic department officials announced Monday that the two-time national coach of the year has signed a memorandum of understanding on an eight-year contract extension, paying him an annual average of $13.2 million — or an increase of about $1.6 million per year from what school officials said Cignetti would earn when he first agreed to the extension in October.

School officials released the document Cignetti signed Feb. 4.

He joins Georgia coach Kirby Smart and LSU coach Lane Kiffin as the only active Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to receive paychecks of $13 million or more. The payouts could be even higher if Cignetti earns bonuses for winning Big Ten or national coach of the year honors in addition to playoff appearances and conference titles. The 64-year-old Cignetti already has said he hopes to retire at Indiana.

The new deal calls for a base salary of $500,000 per year through the 2033 season and a $1 million retention bonus on Nov. 30 of each year, starting this fall. The remaining portion of the $105.6 million will be collected from outside, promotional and marketing income.

Cignetti initially agreed to an eight-year extension worth $92.8 million — an annual average of $11.6 million — but university officials agreed to modify the deal as the Hoosiers remained undefeated and pursued the first football national championship in school history.

It’s the third time Cignetti has received a raise since he took over the losingest program in FBS history in November 2024. All he’s done since arriving is produce the two best seasons in school history while becoming one of college football’s fan favorites for his quick quips and unique facial expressions. Players have embraced him, too, telling many of their favorite Cignetti tales.

Just ask tight end Riley Nowakowski, who recounted his favorite Cignetti story during the recent NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.

“I think (Alberto Mendoza) was in the game, and he pulled like four runs in a row,” Nowakowski said, referring to last season’s victory over Illinois. “He kept pulling it, kept pulling it, kept pulling it, and then after the fourth time, it was a terrible read. So in the middle of the game, (Cignetti) tells our coach, ‘Get (Alberto) over here.’ Bert’s like, ‘What, it’s the middle of a game, what are you doing?’ And (Cignetti) goes, ‘We’re not paying you to run the ball, hand the ball off, right? We’re up like 70 points, but he’s pissed off, yelling at Bert, and (Cignetti) just turned back at me and gave me one of his little smiles, and he was just like, ’You like that now?’”

Cignetti wasted no time delivering on his promise to win after leading James Madison to the most successful transition from the Football Championship Subdivision to the FBS.

The son of Hall of Fame coach Frank Cignetti and a former Alabama assistant led Indiana to a school record 11 wins and its first College Football Playoff appearance in his first season with the Hoosiers.

Last season, he outdid that mark by producing the first 16-0 mark in major college football since the 1890s. The Hoosiers also won their first outright Big Ten crown since 1945, beat Miami on its home field to claim the national title and shed the label of having the most all-time losses in FBS history.

Mendoza’s older brother, Fernando, also became the first Indiana player to win the Heisman Trophy and is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft.

The reward: A record nine players, including Mendoza and Nowakowski, attended the recent combine in Indianapolis while Cignetti got another pay raise and school officials continued to invest heavily in keeping the coach’s staff together.

Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines each agreed to three-year contract extensions worth about $3 million per year in December, making them two of the highest-paid assistants in the FBS. Haines won this year’s Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach.

Indiana will begin next season with the longest winning streak (16) and longest home winning streak (15) in the FBS. Cignetti has never lost a home game with the Hoosiers, who open defense of their league and national titles at home against North Texas on Sept. 5.

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Iowa

Where Iowa State basketball stands in NCAA Tournament bracketology

Published

6 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Where Iowa State basketball stands in NCAA Tournament bracketology

We’re heading down the homestretch.

Iowa State men’s basketball has two regular-season games left, followed by the Big 12 Tournament.

Iowa State enters the final week of the regular season with a 24-5 overall record and an 11-5 mark in Big 12 action.

The Cyclones have a NCAA Tournament resume-bolstering opportunity on Monday, March 2 with a road game against Arizona, before wrapping up the regular-season on Saturday, March 7 against Arizona State.

Plenty can still change with bracketology from now until Selection Sunday on March 15, but here is where experts are projecting Iowa State to land in the NCAA Tournament entering the final week of the regular season: