Education Policy & School Reform News

This section covers K12 policy, school board elections, curriculum transparency, parental rights, school choice, charter and voucher programs, and state and federal rules that shape classrooms. The Daily Signal includes news reports, analysis, commentary, and opinion pieces to explain how these decisions affect students, families, and educators.
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  • opinion

    Ensuring Civics Education for the Next Generation

    The value of civics education in middle and high school cannot be overstated, advocates say. The Founding Fathers knew that if America did not hold fast to the principles they had set forth in our founding documents, the great American experiment surely would fail. David Bobb, president of the Bill of Rights Institute, joins The…
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  • news

    Federal Government Can’t Fix Public Schools, Betsy DeVos Says

    “I want to tell everyone today you are either for children or against children when it comes to educational freedom and choice in education.” So said Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, who spoke Thursday with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at the Conservative Political Action Conference about the need to bring more education opportunities…
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  • opinion

    LGBT Activists Promote ‘Trans Reading Day’ in Public Schools

    It started as just one rogue Wisconsin school, showing its LGBT pride. Now, five years later, it’s a national movement in public schools—and most parents have no idea it’s happening. Do you want your child to be psychologically manipulated at school Thursday? Most moms and dads would say no. But on Thursday, the Human Rights…
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  • opinion

    Booker T. Washington: A Legacy of Enterprise and Education

    Author and educator Booker T. Washington played a critical role in the promotion of education and free market enterprise among black Americans at the turn of the century. Alabama businessman and political consultant Richard Finley joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss what the legacy of Washington, who died in 1915, means to him and…
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  • opinion

    Study Shows the Result of Left-Wing Conformity on College Campuses

    Are our institutions of higher education little more than left-wing indoctrination centers? A recently released study found that, whether that’s generally true or not, the perception that they are indoctrinating students is fairly universal at one of the nation’s large, public universities. A team of professors at the University of North Carolina conducted research on…
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  • news

    Review of School-Based Sex Ed Finds Increases in Sexual Activity

    A global research review of school-based comprehensive sex education programs found very little effectiveness from these programs and instead found increased sexual activity. The review, conducted by the Institute for Research & Evaluation and published in the Institute of Law and Medicine in January, examined 60 studies of 40 school-based comprehensive sex education programs in…
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  • news

    Parents Ask Court to Stop Schools From Helping Children Make Gender Transitions

    A group of Wisconsin parents is asking a state court to halt a public school district’s policy that they say instructs teachers to assist and encourage children in adopting transgender identities without notifying—and possibly while deceiving—parents. The lawsuit is being brought by 14 parents, representing eight families, who allege the Madison Metropolitan School District’s policy…
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  • news

    Opponents Go After ‘Draconian’ Bill Requiring Parental Notification Before Teaching LGBTQ Content in Schools

    Opponents criticized an Iowa bill that would require schools to notify parents before teaching LGBTQ content to children. Lawmakers introduced the Republican-sponsored House File 2201 in January, a bill that would require schools to annually notify parents about any kind of material that discusses gender or sexual orientation. This would then give parents the opportunity to inspect such material…
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  • opinion

    Political Bias and Anti-Americanism on College Campuses

    A recent Pew Research Center survey finds that only half of American adults think colleges and universities are having a positive effect on our nation. The leftward political bias, held by faculty members affiliated with the Democratic Party, at most institutions of higher education explains a lot of that disappointment. Professors Mitchell Langbert and Sean…
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  • opinion

    Free to Succeed: A Brief History of School Choice

    Perhaps it’s the title, but at first glance, Milton Friedman’s 1955 essay, “The Role of Government in Education,” seems unassuming. To many Americans, the role of government in education is self-evident and impregnable. So, given public schools are run by the government, an essay on the government’s role in education seems like it would be…
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  • opinion

    Study Reveals the Absurd Conformity of Higher Education

    A recently released study confirms the suspicion that American higher education has become absurdly and ruthlessly monolithic in terms of political ideology. The study found that the ratio of college professor donations to Democrats as opposed to Republicans was 95:1. Besides federal agency employees, few other industries outside working for the Democratic National Committee or…
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  • opinion

    School Choice Lets Parents Pick Safer Schools

    Parents look for many things in a school: strong academics, engaging extracurricular activities, and quality teachers who offer one-on-one help to their kids. But increasingly, parents are adding safety to their list: They want a school where their children will feel safe. Safety is a growing concern for parents. A 2017 Gallup survey found that…
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  • opinion

    5 Key Exchanges From the Supreme Court in Religious School Case

    The Supreme Court heard oral argument Wednesday in an important case involving a Montana tax credit scholarship program that provided scholarships for underprivileged kids to use at private schools. Initially, families could use scholarship funds at qualified religious schools, but the Montana Department of Revenue later implemented an administrative rule excluding religious schools, citing a provision in the…
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  • opinion

    It’s Time for the Supreme Court to End Anti-Religious Prejudice in This School Choice Case

    Anti-Catholic prejudice, which spread like gangrene in the 19th and 20th centuries, often manifested itself in so-called Blaine Amendments, which enabled government discrimination against religious families, students, and schools. This month, the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to overturn one such law. In Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the court will examine Montana’s…
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  • opinion

    What You Need to Know About Religious School Case at the Supreme Court

    Should families be able to use school choice tax credits on religious schools? That’s the question that’s at the heart of Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which the Supreme Court is hearing Wednesday. Heritage Foundation legal scholar and host of the podcast “SCOTUS 101” Elizabeth Slattery breaks down the case for us. Read a…
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  • opinion

    Supreme Court to Hear ‘Bridgegate’ and School Choice Cases

    The Supreme Court returned Monday for oral arguments after a lengthy holiday break. During the court’s January sitting, the justices will hear arguments in eight cases, including ones dealing with school choice and the “Bridgegate” scandal. The justices already have heard arguments in cases involving the Second Amendment, Obamacare, and whether federal law covers claims…
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  • news

    Parents Challenge ‘Radical’ LGBT Curriculum in New Jersey Schools

    TRENTON, N.J.—Parents are plenty angry about a New Jersey law that requires LGBT material to be incorporated into public school classroom instruction. The parents say they are concerned the new law will “teach lifestyles and life choices that stand 100% against our family values.” They object to their tax dollars being used for what they…
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  • news

    Planned Parenthood Targets Los Angeles High Schoolers

    Planned Parenthood announced Wednesday a plan to open 50 health centers at Los Angeles high schools. The nation’s largest abortion provider plans to spend millions to build “Wellbeing Centers” that target high schoolers in Los Angeles County and aims to “create a safe space in each school where students can receive the education and health…
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  • opinion

    Traditional Values Shouldn’t Exempt Schools From State Voucher Programs

    Officials in the state of Maryland have banned a school from their voucher program due to its faith-based views on gay marriage and transgenderism. The Baltimore Sun reported that Bethel Christian Academy responded to the ban with a lawsuit contending officials violated its religious freedom. The case will now be heard in federal court According…
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  • opinion

    Fraud in Higher Education

    This year’s education scandal saw parents shelling out megabucks to gain college admittance for their children. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 50 people with participating in a scheme to get their children into colleges by cheating on entrance exams or bribing athletic coaches. They paid William Singer, a college-prep professional, more than $25 million…
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