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

    Here’s the Data to Prove School Choice Is Working

    Private school choice initiatives have become increasingly common across the United States. Far from being rare and untested, private school choice policies are an integral part of the fabric of American education policy. In the United States today, 56 different school choice policies exist in 28 states plus the District of Columbia, and the number of…
    Patrick Wolf
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    • News

    Congress Goes to High School: Students Get a Firsthand Look at Debate Over School Choice

    Archbishop Carroll High School, a private Catholic school about four miles north of the U.S. Capitol, today took center stage in the debate over school choice. “When parents have better choices, their kids have a better chance,” says @SenatorTimScott More than 100 students joined teachers and parents in the high school’s auditorium to watch members…
    Rob Bluey
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    • News

    Should Religious Organizations Be Allowed to Worship in Schools? NYC Mayor Reconsiders City’s Policy

    The same week a national debate swept through the nation surrounding Indiana’s decision to adopt a religious freedom law, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a historic lawsuit regarding a New York City policy that plaintiffs say is discriminatory toward religious organizations. The case, Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • Opinion

    Education Savings Accounts Sweep the Nation

    Education savings accounts (ESAs) have become the way forward for states wishing to adopt innovative school choice measures. ESAs enable parents to completely customize their child’s education to his individual needs. According to the Foundation for Excellence in Education, 22 state legislatures are considering ESAs for the 2015 school year. That is serious traction for…
    Lindsey Burke
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    • News

    Should Catholic Schools Be Forced to Fund LGBT Student Groups?

    Religiously affiliated schools in the nation’s capital could soon be forced to formally fund and recognize student groups like LGBT organizations, whose mission conflicts with the schools’ religious beliefs. The measure in question, called The Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014, is one of two pieces of legislation passed by the D.C. Council that supporters…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • Opinion

    This 11-Year-Old Boy Was Suspended … for Bringing a Leaf to School

    A school in Virginia suspended an 11-year-old boy for 364 days after he brought a leaf to class that resembled marijuana. One problem: It was not marijuana, and the school knew this—but still suspended him for almost a year anyway. The sixth-grade son of Bruce and Linda Bays attended Bedford Middle School and was in…
    Jordan Richardson
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    • Opinion

    What This Homeschool Mom Thinks About How the Government Regulates Homeschooling

    If millions of Americans are doing it, the conventional wisdom among government bureaucrats is that somebody ought to regulate it. Look no further than the growing movement known as homeschooling. It’s estimated that upwards of 3 million school age children in America are now foregoing the traditional schoolhouse, public or private, and getting their education…
    Genevieve Wood
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    • News

    An Education Issue That Has the NAACP and Republicans Working Together

    Conservatives in Virginia have teamed up with an unlikely ally to lobby for legislation that would allow parents of disabled children to design an à la carte education tailored for their child’s specific needs. The bill, proposed by Delegate David LaRock, a Republican representing Virginia’s 33rd District, has the backing of the NAACP Virginia State…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    ‘Dumb?’: Joe Scarborough Schools Howard Dean on Scott Walker and the Value of a College Degree

    Democratic commentator Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who rose and fell quickly in the 2004 presidential race, sounded this morning like he thinks a college degree should be a prerequisite for holding the top job in the White House. Dean said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s three and a half…
    Ken McIntyre
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    • News

    Jindal Emphasizes Teacher Tenure Reform, School Choice in Sweeping Education Plan

    Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, hoping that a push for education reform can set him apart among prospective Republican candidates for president, today begins to tout a national plan he says would create “an ecosystem of freedom and choice” for parents, students and teachers. His proposals, Jindal says in the plan to be released this morning,…
    Ken McIntyre
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    • Opinion

    School Suspends 9-Year-Old Boy for Pretending to Be Bilbo Baggins

    It is hard to imagine that when J.R.R. Tolkien published “The Hobbit” he expected school officials would suspend children for imaginatively recreating scenes from the book. But that is exactly what happened to Aiden Steward, a 9-year-old boy from Kermit, Texas. After watching the movie “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” one weekend with…
    Jordan Richardson
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    • Opinion

    The Next Frontier in School Choice

    As we celebrate National School Choice Week, education-reform advocates would be wise to reflect on purpose of school choice as articulated by Milton Friedman, the father of the modern school choice movement. Friedman first proposed the concept of school vouchers in 1955, arguing that by introducing consumer choice into education, vouchers could help create a…
    Jason Bedrick
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    • Opinion

    The Future of School Choice: An Education Savings Account for Every Child

    This week, over 11,000 educational choice events occurred in every state across America—with millions in attendance— to commemorate the 5th annual National School Choice Week. School Choice Week celebrates the thousands of children around the nation benefiting from parental choice in education and encourages more states to adopt policies providing all students an opportunity to…
    Brittany Corona
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    • Opinion

    Another Successful and Inspiring National School Choice Week

    The 2015 National School Choice Week is underway, and there are so many exciting events taking place all over America. Our kickoff event on January 25 here in Little Rock, Arkansas, generated wonderful discussions with parents, educators, and supporters on the state of education in Arkansas and around the country. This week has brought to…
    Virginia Walden Ford
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    • News

    Citing Gender Discrimination, University Bans ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ Salutations

    The City University of New York wants employees at its graduate center to stop using the salutations “Mr.,” “Mrs.” and “Ms.,” sparking a heated debate about gender discrimination and political correctness. This morning on “Fox and Friends,” Campus Reform reporter Gabriella Morrongiello, a contributor to The Daily Signal and graduate of The Heritage Foundation’s Young…
    Daily Signal Staff
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    • Opinion

    How to Put Parents Back in Control of Their Child’s Education

    A good primary and secondary education is the cornerstone of the American Dream: it prepares us for economic and personal success and facilitates our pursuit of happiness. Most parents are powerless to influence the quality of their child’s education. But too often the history of America’s public school system has been a story of dashed…
    Sen. Mike Lee
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    • News

    Flashback: Celebrities Discuss Their Support for School Choice

    Several celebrities spoke out in a video released last year about their support for school choice.. Actress Vivica A. Fox, “Today” show co-host Kathie Lee Gifford and former football and baseball player Deion Sanders all agree that “it’s time for educational choice.” The ad, which was made by American Federation for Children, states that “too…
    Thaleigha Rampersad
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    • News

    About 1 Million Kids Are Now Eating Dinner at School

    First came lunch, then breakfast. Now, schools are serving dinner, too. Should schools feed students dinner before they go home? There’s a growing demand for schools to feed students dinner before they come home, according to the Associated Press. Many low-income students are already provided with breakfast and lunch while they are at school. As…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • Opinion

    What Parents Really Think About Their Kids’ New School Lunches

    School lunch standards have changed—and not for the better. This was evident recently in a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama. Students took photos of their mostly inedible-looking lunch trays of food. >>> These Gross School Lunch Pictures Are Going Viral With the Hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama Yum school lunches #thanksmichelleobama pic.twitter.com/eS27j75Oae — Jess (@Jess_Sency) November 18, 2014…
    Ericka Andersen
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    • Opinion

    Government Shouldn’t Force Religious Schools to Violate Religious Beliefs

    Just before the Christmas break, the D.C. City Council passed a law that could force pro-life organizations to pay for abortion coverage. But that wasn’t the only piece of bad legislation, violating religious liberty which came out of the D.C. Council in December. A new bill might force Christian schools to recognize an LGBT student…
    Ryan T. Anderson
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