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.
Filter articles by
    • Opinion

    South Carolina Stands Up to University, Defends Study of Founding Documents

    Should college students be required to study America’s founding ideals and the founding documents from which they emanate? Many people in South Carolina believe they should. Last month, the South Carolina Senate passed the Reinforcing College Education on America’s Constitutional Heritage Act (REACH Act), which requires all college students at state colleges to take a three-credit-hour…
    Jameson Broggi
    Read More
    • News

    Male Runners Dominate Girls High School Track in Connecticut

    Two male runners are continuing to dominate high school girls track in Connecticut. High school juniors Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood took first and second place in the state open indoor track championships Feb. 16, The Associated Press noted in a report Sunday. Both Miller and Yearwood are biological males who identify as transgender girls. One of their competitors, high…
    Peter Hasson
    Read More
    • Opinion

    Federal Early Childhood Education, Care Don’t Benefit Kids. Here Are the Facts.

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., unveiled Tuesday a proposal to subsidize universal early education and child care through federal subsidies. According to The Huffington Post, “no family would have to spend more than 7 percent of its household income on child care, no matter the number of kids.” Providers would have to meet safety and curriculum…
    Lindsey Burke
    Read More
    • Opinion

    Florida’s Universal Education Choice Moment

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that the state legislature intends to establish Equal Opportunity Scholarships designed to end the current waiting list on the tax credit scholarship program—a move the Republican chief executive supports. The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship—which provides scholarships to eligible children to attend a private school of choice, and which is…
    Lindsey Burke
    Read More
    • News

    Parkland Student Activist, Father of Victim Reflect on Year Fighting for School Safety

    One year after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 students and staff dead, Kyle Kashuv and Andrew Pollack have emerged as two of the most prominent and outspoken critics of Broward County officials and defenders of the Second Amendment. Pollack, who lost his daughter Meadow, 18, in the massacre on Feb. 14,…
    Ginny Montalbano
    Read More
    • News

    DeSantis Seeks Grand Jury Investigation of Broward County School Failures 1 Year After Parkland Shooting

    Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday he wants a grand jury to look into possible mistakes made by Broward County Public Schools in addressing the Parkland, Florida, shooting. The grand jury would have more subpoena power and a greater scope compared to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission, which released a January 2019 report detailing…
    Neetu Chandak
    Read More
    • Opinion

    Podcast: 1 Year After Parkland Massacre, Broward County’s School Board Still Failing

    It’s been a year since the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that took the lives of 17 people. Today, we speak with Kenneth Preston, a student journalist from Broward County who helped shine light on the corruption in that school district after the shooting. We ask him about what’s changed, and what hasn’t, since…
    Daniel Davis
    Read More
    • News

    This Charter School Metropolis Now Seeks a Moratorium on Charter Growth

    The Los Angeles Board of Education voted 5-1 on Jan. 29 on a resolution to temporarily halt charter school growth after negotiations were reached with the teachers union. The resolution seeks state approval of a moratorium on charter schools in Los Angeles Unified School District for eight to 10 months to allow for an impact…
    Joshua Q. Nelson
    Read More
    • News

    A Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program Will Damage School Choice

    Americans need more education choice, but just as importantly, we need to preserve the invaluable system of federalism that has been at the cornerstone of our republic. During his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump called on Congress to “pass school choice for America’s children.” Over in the pages of Education Next, Ira…
    Lindsey Burke
    Read More
    • News

    New Jersey Becomes Second State Mandating Middle Schoolers Learn About LGBTQ Achievements

    New Jersey will be the second state to mandate that middle and high school students learn about LGBTQ contributions. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill 1569, which requires schools to adopt curriculums that “accurately portray political, economic, and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.” “The Governor believes that ensuring students…
    Neetu Chandak
    Read More
    • News

    School Will No Longer Play Sports Games at Christian School Over LGBT Stance

    A self-described “progressive” K-8 school in Washington, D.C., is figuratively jumping through hoops in efforts to avoid playing basketball at a private Christian school in Northern Virginia that espouses traditional Christian sexual morals. The Sheridan School is refusing to play division basketball games at Immanuel Christian School, a private, evangelical school in Springfield, Virginia, affiliated…
    Ginny Montalbano
    Read More
    • News

    Uptick in States Proposing Bible Literacy in Schools Receives Praise and Pushback

    President Donald Trump drew attention this week to the increase in state proposals requiring public schools to offer Bible literacy classes. “Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible,” Trump tweeted Monday. “Starting to make a turn back? Great!” Among the states considering bringing the Bible back to public…
    Joshua Q. Nelson
    Read More
    • Opinion

    How School Choice Can Flourish in Rural America

    In “No Longer Forgotten: The Triumphs and Struggles of Rural Education in America,” 13 authors deliver unique perspectives on a little-covered topic. Although conversations on struggling schools often center on inner-city communities, rural schools face some of the same difficulties—and some different ones. Rural schools face the same teacher-vacancy issues as urban schools, but those…
    Jude Schwalbach
    Read More
    • Opinion

    Why School Choice Works: It Makes Educators Compete

    School choice is a noble cause. In much of America, parents have little or no control over where their kids attend school. Local governments assign schools by ZIP code. Having choice is better. Whether it’s vouchers, scholarships, charters, private schools, or just having options among public schools, choice makes some schools better because educators have…
    John Stossel
    Read More
    • Opinion

    Here Are 10 Reasons School Choice Is Winning

    School choice is a growing movement, one that is already lifting thousands of kids across America. The results are tangible. And states are leading the way, giving parents more options in their children’s education than ever before. Here are 10 of the most promising benefits of school choice. 1. School choice is good for student…
    Jude Schwalbach
    Read More
    • Opinion

    Parents Deserve to be in the Driver’s Seat of Their Children’s Educations

    How your children are educated is probably one of the most important decisions that parents can make. That is why the choice should rest with them and them alone. That’s what National School Choice Week is all about: celebrating policies that put parents where they belong—in the driver’s seat. Case in point: the D.C. Opportunity…
    Kay C. James
    Read More
    • Opinion

    The Public School Monopoly Forces Kids to Learn Secular Humanism. We Need More Options.

    President Donald Trump issued a proclamation declaring this week, Jan. 20-26, as National School Choice Week. The proclamation expresses concern about performance of U.S. students in international surveys: 24th in reading, 25th in science, 40th in math. And it ascribes the cause of these disappointing statistics to the “consequences of the limitations imposed by a…
    Star Parker
    Read More
    • News

    Betsy DeVos Hails Growth and Popularity of School Choice

    Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called it “imperative” that Congress reauthorize a scholarship program in the nation’s capital that allows children from low-income families to attend private schools. “The outcomes for students in D.C. have continued to improve, from the most underperforming district in the country to now one that is on a growth trajectory,” DeVos…
    Fred Lucas
    Read More
    • Opinion

    I’m a Single Mom From the City. School Choice Has Changed My Kids’ Lives Forever.

    Fifteen years ago, I found myself feeling hopeless and helpless in the nation’s capital. My children’s school situation was dismal. My older kids were academically driven, yet faced a steady stream of challenges. My youngest seemed completely overwhelmed and destined for failure. And when I looked around my neighborhood, I saw the same dismal situation…
    Virginia Walden Ford
    Read More
    • Opinion

    How School Choice Is Breaking Down Barriers in Puerto Rico

    The new year is bringing exciting developments to Puerto Rico’s education reforms. Not only will the U.S. territory open new charter schools, it will also launch a new pilot private school voucher program in the fall. The need for education reform is most clearly illustrated by Puerto Rico’s National Assessment of Educational Progress results, where…
    Jude Schwalbach
    Read More