Education Policy & School Reform News

Every June, schools across America fill their bulletin boards with rainbows, host Pride events, and encourage elementary school children to participate in LGBTQ-themed activities. Whether it’s teachers in New Jersey posing on social media in shirts that suggest non-gender-affirming parents are not loving, or an Oregon school district planning a Pride-themed field day for young students, the emphasis is…

The Classic Learning Test, an alternative to standardized tests like the SAT and ACT, has scored recent legislative victories in Texas and Oklahoma, with another win expected in Louisiana. These changes allow students to use their CLT score when applying for college. Jeremy Tate, a former schoolteacher who created the CLT in 2015, spoke with…

It turns out, sororities are for women after all. The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights just affirmed what every sorority woman in America knew the first time she walked into her chapter—a sorority is for women. In a statement that would’ve been self-evident five minutes ago—just as it was over a century…

To mark the 53rd anniversary of Title IX, the Department of Education is announcing investigations into two apparent violations of the federal law protecting women’s spaces and sports. Title IX was enacted into law on June 23 in 1972, so President Donald Trump’s Department of Education will celebrate June as Title IX month. Secretary of…

Harvard University is having a rough time. I know, how tragic, right? On Monday, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that his administration was considering giving $3 billion in grant money initially slated for Harvard to trade schools. This comes right after he tried to block foreign students from attending the school. That move was initially…

THE CENTER SQUARE—With days left in the legislative session, the Texas House passed bills authorizing prayer and Bible reading in public schools and requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in classrooms. Democrats opposed them, citing biblical references to slavery that teachers are not qualified to teach or shouldn’t be discussing. SB 10, filed by…

Now that Texas and South Carolina have passed school choice bills, parents will be able to choose the best school for their kids in 17 states. Why not all states? After all, competition improves services. The Post Office couldn’t get it there overnight. Then FedEx showed it can be done. Quickly, UPS and DHL did it, too,…

In a tied decision, the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday allowed an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision to stand, disqualifying a Catholic charter school from receiving state funding. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the ruling, resulting in the 4-4 decision. The court did not issue an opinion, only stating, “The judgment is affirmed by an…

The Department of Education under President Joe Biden loosened requirements for a student loan program specifically for public servants and nonprofit employees a few months after unions that stood to benefit from the change sent a letter to then-Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. The watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust, which obtained the letter via a Freedom…

Why do the folks who shout about “following the science” repeatedly object when decisions are made to shutter federal education programs that rigorous research—i.e., “the science”— has shown to be ineffective? A prime example of this selective embrace of “the science” can be heard in the howls of protest to proposed cuts in the Trump…

The rise of parental activism in education has transformed America’s political landscape since COVID-19 lockdowns exposed what was happening behind classroom doors. Now, one of the movement’s most influential voices is taking on a new role to champion parental rights at the national level. Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, recently joined The Heritage…

One of the Supreme Court’s last argued cases of the 2024-25 term may turn out to be one of its most significant. On Wednesday, the court heard arguments over whether states may insist that charter schools, which they all define as public schools, be nonsectarian. Nearly every state offers charter schools to provide an alternative…

During oral arguments in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson unintentionally made a practical and convincing case for universal school choice. A few years back, the Montgomery County, Maryland, school board instituted an “LGBTQ-inclusive” curriculum that included storybooks for kids as young as prekindergarten. The books are ostensibly part…

Two important developments in education occurred over the last week. One was a sign of the problem we have. The other was a sign of the solution. The sign of the problem, to which hopefully the U.S. Supreme Court will provide the correct answer, falls under the headline of sex education. The court has just…

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on an important case involving the intersection of the rights to exercise religion and to direct the upbringing of children. The court’s decision, expected by the end of June, may advance or curtail an expanding recognition of the fundamental right to exercise religion.  In October 2022, the Montgomery County,…

Oklahoma consistently ranks among the worst states in the country for public school outcomes. In an effort to improve educational options, the state’s official charter school board and an online Catholic charter school are fighting what they say is religious discrimination all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.   Charter schools in Oklahoma are run…