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

    Concealed Carry on Campus Is More Common, and Useful, Than You Thought

    Recent tragedies have put a spotlight on the issue of firearms in schools, particularly whether there should be more or fewer armed personnel protecting students in the classroom. What many do not realize is that students and teachers at some colleges and universities have for years been able to arm themselves on school property. Which…
    Amy Swearer
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    • Opinion

    Podcast: What School Shooters Have in Common

    Warning signs were abundant prior to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last month—so why wasn’t it prevented? Aside from protocol failures and lack of sufficient school security, Amy Swearer points to three specific traits that tend to mark school shooters. Swearer joins the podcast to explain what those are. Plus: “Roseanne” makes a major…
    Daniel Davis
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    • News

    Brown University Offers ‘Tuition-Free’ Master’s Degree to DACA Recipients

    Brown University plans to offer “tuition-free” master’s degree programs to beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals if the federal government ends the Obama administration protections. DACA, an executive action implemented by then-President Barack Obama, authorized renewable two-year deferrals of deportation along with eligibility for work permits for illegal immigrants brought to this country as…
    Chrissy Clark
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    • News

    Poll Finds Most Teachers, Students Say They’re Protected From School Shooters

    A majority of teachers say they believe they are protected from shooters entering their school, according to a recent poll. The Gallup poll found that 60 percent of teachers agreed their school is somewhat protected or very protected. Gallup, however, chose to look at the down side with a headline reading: “Four in 10 Teachers…
    Kyle Perisic
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    • Opinion

    3 Common Traits of School Shooters

    It’s time to get serious about school safety.  Nearly 20 years separate the horrible tragedies at Columbine High School in Colorado and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In that time, too little has been done to make our schools safer. That’s why our grieving nation is again searching for a solution. If…
    John G. Malcolm
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    • News

    How This College Conservative Counters Liberal Intolerance on Massachusetts Campuses

    The leader of Republican groups at Massachusetts colleges says the position is rewarding because it allows him to support fellow students, such as the one who felt attacked by a professor who openly derided President Donald Trump. The episode occurred last fall at Bridgewater State University, where Jason Ross is a senior. “It wasn’t a…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • News

    Armed School Resource Officer’s Intervention Helps Stop Gunman at Maryland High School

    An armed school resource officer intervened and engaged a gunman who had opened fire at a Maryland school Tuesday morning. “When the shooting took place, our school resource officer, who was stationed inside the school, was alerted to the event and [to] the shots being fired,” St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said of the…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    This Education Bill Would Be a Game-Changer for Military Families Like Mine

    As a third-generation Army wife and the mother of four school-age children, I am immensely grateful that my family has had the privilege of living among America’s heroes. Yet, life as a military family has also provided some unique challenges. In the past 15 years of marriage, our family has lived in seven homes at…
    Brooke Medina
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    • Opinion

    House Bill Would Give Military Families the Schooling Options They Deserve

    Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced a proposal on Monday that would create well-deserved educational opportunities for military families. The Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act of 2018 would allow military families to choose education options that are the right fit for their children instead of having to attend the public schools nearest to base….
    Jude Schwalbach
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    • News

    This High School Senior Explains Why It’s Better to ‘Walk Up’ to Help Others Than to Walk Out of Classes

    While students across the country protest school shootings Wednesday with walkouts, one senior says her school in Utah is encouraging students to “walk up, not out” and show an act of kindness. “I feel like the media tends to focus a lot on the anger, hurt, and destruction of our youth in society,” Alessa Love,…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    ‘60 Minutes’ Snubs the Facts on Education

    Beth Richardson is committed to her son’s success. She expected Jed to do his homework once in school, so she did her homework first on the schools near their South Carolina home. “I visited every single school that was available,” she says. She wasn’t satisfied with Jed’s assigned school, and her research led her to…
    Jonathan Butcher
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    • Opinion

    Podcast: What It’s Really Like to Be a Conservative on a College Campus

    The Daily Signal’s two interns this semester, Kyle Perisic and Chrissy Clark, join us to weigh in on life as a conservative at the university—and what they think of a new Gallup poll that found 6 out of 10 college students believe “campus climate prevents people from speaking freely.” Plus: We talk about Hillary Clinton’s…
    Katrina Trinko
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    • Opinion

    My University Stripped a Campus Ministry of Recognition, Until It Fought Back

    My school, Wayne State University, doesn’t typically get much media attention. It’s the third-largest university in Michigan, with over 27,000 students, yet it often gets overshadowed by the bigger universities in the state. So I was surprised last week to see Wayne State make national headlines for reinstating a Christian student group on campus. The…
    Jake Goeddeke
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    • Opinion

    My Bill to Expand Education Options for Military Families

    All across America, military families are making personal sacrifices to keep our country safe. As a veteran who served overseas and away from my family, I know the toll service takes on those who wear the uniform and their families. But military families should not have to sacrifice the quality of their children’s education to…
    Rep. Jim Banks
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    • Opinion

    Here’s What Congress Is Doing to Tackle School Safety

    In the wake of the recent horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a number of proposals involving federal grant programs have been offered in Congress to try to address the critical issue of school safety. Empowering states and localities to implement evidence-based programs that meet their needs represents a sensible…
    John G. Malcolm
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    • News

    Schools Safer Now Than They Were in 1990s, According to New Study

    According to a new study, school shootings have declined since the early 1990s. “There is not an epidemic of school shootings,” said James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology, law, and public policy at Northeastern University. “The thing to remember is that these are extremely rare events, and no matter what you can come up…
    Kyle Perisic
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    • News

    Fact Check: Did Broward Sheriff’s Department Get 23 Calls Beforehand About School Shooter?

    Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said his department received only 23 calls involving shooter Nikolas Cruz or his family before the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Verdict: False Records show that the sheriff’s department received 39 calls requesting service from authorities at Cruz’s family home since 2011, though it is…
    Emily Larsen
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    • News

    Betsy DeVos Urges Americans to Embrace ‘Education Freedom’

    Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is calling on Americans to embrace a vision of “education freedom” that empowers students and parents with a “multitude of pathways” toward new opportunities. DeVos, speaking during a question-and-answer session Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, said one such pathway would be educational savings accounts to benefit military families who…
    Kevin Mooney
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    • News

    Education Department Won’t Investigate Transgender Bathroom Complaints

    After much speculation pertaining to the Trump administration’s official policy on transgender restroom policies, a White House spokeswoman indicated that the U.S. Department of Education won’t investigate any complaints regarding transgender restroom policies. Spokeswoman Liz Hill told BuzzFeed News that specific kinds of  transgender complaints may be investigated, but no bathroom complaints will garner the Department of…
    Grace Carr
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    • News

    Georgetown University Pro-Family Group Gets Back Money Wrongly Given to LGBT Organizations

    A pro-family student organization at Georgetown University has received its donations back after an investigation of faculty and others who the group accused of misappropriating funds contributed to it. The group, Love Saxa, said that Georgetown officials had taken private donations intended for it and deposited them into other student organizations’ accounts. The organizations who…
    Chrissy Clark
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