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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    • News

    Sheriff’s Department Seized $53K From Christian Band Raised for Orphanage, School

    A Texas man and his Burmese Christian band, who had $53,000 seized by law enforcement in Muskogee, Okla., in February will get their money back, the prosecutor said. Muskogee County District Attorney Orvil Loge confirmed Monday afternoon that civil and criminal charges filed against Eh Wah, a 40-year-old musician are going to be dropped. “[Eh] Wah had court…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • Opinion

    Federal Court: Schools May Not Provide Separate Bathrooms Based on Biology

    The Fourth Circuit Court ruled today against a Virginia school district that sought to accommodate a transgender student while also protecting the privacy rights of other students. The federal court concluded that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex—should be interpreted as prohibiting discrimination on the basis of…
    Ryan T. Anderson
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    • Opinion

    George Mason University Honors Scalia Legacy by Naming Law School After the Late Justice

    George Mason University has announced it will rename its law school after the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. This stands in stark contrast to Georgetown Law Center, which sadly was embroiled in controversy over whether to even mourn the passing of this conservative legal icon. As an alumna of George Mason Law, I am…
    Elizabeth Slattery
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    • Opinion

    Federally Run Schools for Native American Children Are Worst in America. Here’s How to Fix That.

    Congress could soon find itself with a chance to radically improve the lives of thousands of children currently trapped in crumbling and failing schools now that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has proposed the Native American Educational Opportunity Act. The proposal would enable children attending Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools to access education savings accounts to…
    Lindsey Burke
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    • Opinion

    Why Are Higher Education Subsidies Going Toward Lazy River Rides?

    Navigating life after college can be tricky for new graduates. Students are struggling to pay off debt and many recent graduates find their degrees don’t guarantee a job in their preferred field. The debt many students are incurring—more than $30,000 for the typical graduate—appears to be underwriting luxurious living at some universities. Recently, College Rank…
    Mary Clare Amselem
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    • Opinion

    This State Offered Free College Education. Here’s What Happened.

    Several politicians have recently been offering free goodies to voters. One of the most popular of these, oddly enough, is something that several state governments have already tackled: free college tuition. The details vary by state, but Oregon, Tennessee, Georgia, Michigan, and Louisiana (among others) all use tax dollars to pay for at least some…
    Norbert Michel
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    • Opinion

    Why School Choice Helps All Kids (Not Just a Few)

    No child should be placed on a wait list to his future. Yet today, more than a million kids in cities across America languish on wait lists for the charter school of their choice. Many more can’t attend the private school of their choice, because their families simply cannot afford it. Millions of children have their…
    Rep. Luke Messer
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    • Opinion

    My School Choice Story

    It’s National School Choice Week, and I am so excited to see the incredible number of events around the country highlighting education. It brings back so many memories of how we got here. My fight for school choice began in the 1990s, when I was working for my child William to get a quality education in…
    Virginia Walden Ford
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    • News

    What a Gay Man’s Court Victory Over a Catholic Girls School Means

    A court ruling against a Catholic girls school that declined to hire a gay man in a non-classroom job highlights the need for such religious institutions to do a better job of spelling out their teachings and expectations for potential employees, a Catholic educator said. “Parents and extended family members who entrust their children to a faith-based…
    Diana Stancy
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    • Opinion

    How School Choice Could Improve Life for Teachers

    During National School Choice Week, advocates are demonstrating how students thrive when they have more education options. While it’s often easy to see the success school choice programs have on students, what’s often missing from this conversation is the acknowledgment that teachers are also empowered by school choice. Schools of choice, be they private or…
    Mary Clare Amselem
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    • News

    After Losing His Public School Job for Praying, Coach Kennedy Speaks Out

    After refusing to comply with orders to stop kneeling at the 50-yard line and praying after games, Coach Joe Kennedy was banned from participating in any Bremerton High School football programs. The first game he was sidelined for happened to be Senior Night, the night where senior players are honored for their contributions to the team. Looking…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    Christian School’s Plea for ‘Equal Protection’ on Playground Goes to Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a state natural resources agency violated the First Amendment when it refused to grant funds to a preschool and daycare run by a church. In 2012, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Mo., applied for a state grant to pay for replacing pea gravel at its Learning Center’s playground with recycled rubber material,…
    Kristiana Mork
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    • Opinion

    What School Choice Advocates Have to Celebrate

    National School Choice Week has just kicked-off, and there is much to celebrate this year. National School Choice Week will feature over 16,000 events across the country this week, ranging from school pep rallies in support of school choice, to policy panels exploring the many school choice options that are now available to families. Over…
    Lindsey Burke
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    • Opinion

    School Choice Interest Skyrocketing as Public Schools Disappoint

    This is shaping up to be the best year yet for National School Choice Week. The annual January event, which began in 2011, will feature 16,140 events, up from roughly 11,000 last year. The festivities officially kicked off across the country on Sunday and run through Jan. 30. Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice…
    Josh Kaib
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    • News

    District 211 School Allows Transgender Student to Use Girls’ Locker Room

    A transgender student was granted access to an Illinois public school’s female locker room Friday after reaching an agreement with the school. The agreement with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights states that “Student A” will change behind curtains installed by the district in the girls’ locker room. The school has since upgraded…
    Mariana Barillas
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    • Opinion

    Detroit Public School Teacher ‘Sick Out‘ Underway While Just 8% of Students Can Read Proficiently

    Nearly all schools in Detroit were closed Wednesday due to a massive teacher “sick out,” preventing students from attending class. Teachers have complained about over-crowded classrooms, poor school conditions, and dissatisfaction with the idea of charter school growth in Michigan. The teachers’ sick-out includes a planned march, which will conclude near a venue being visited…
    Lindsey Burke
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    • Opinion

    Why Sexual Orientation Laws Are a Threat to Local Education

    Since the Department of Education was founded in 1979, the federal government has been increasingly involved in public education. The newest encroachment by the federal government into education comes with the arrival of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) laws. The Department of Education has unilaterally decided that “sex” in Title IX (a federal law…
    Taylor LaJoie
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    • News

    LGBT Group Calls on Government to Address ‘Disturbing Trend’ on Religious College Campuses

    The largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activist group in the country is calling on the Department of Education to address what it calls a “disturbing trend” on college campuses. Specifically, the Human Rights Campaign is calling for more transparency towards what it sees as a trend of schools citing religious reasons for not adhering…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    Revealed: The Best and Worst Cities for School Choice

    A recent report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute ranking America’s best and worst cities for school choice includes two consistent winners—New Orleans and Washington, D.C.—at the top, and a trio of Texas cities in the bottom half of the 30 areas surveyed, with Albany, N.Y., bringing up the rear. Fordham considered three criteria: political support,…
    Amelia Hamilton
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    • News

    Why These High School Girls Don’t Want a Transgender Student in Their Locker Room

    Speaking out, they knew, could make them the public face of a very private issue. It could lead their classmates to call them “bigots,” “insensitive,” and “homophobes.” But after seeing their high school back down to threats that the U.S. Department of Education would strip away federal funding, and watching school officials overrule their parents,…
    Kelsey Bolar
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