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

    ‘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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    • News

    Nation’s Eighth Largest School District Faces Big Questions

    This is could be a landmark year for Philadelphia schools. From the results of an anticipated state audit to the expansion of its charter program, the district faces important changes in 2015 that will affect the quality of education and help drive spending in the face of a massive deficit. Here are the five biggest…
    Evan Grossman
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    • News

    State-Run University Under Fire for Sloppy Fiscal Practices, Improperly Hiking Student Fees

    As if the University of Virginia didn’t have enough of a negative spotlight, a new audit finds Thomas Jefferson’s institution isn’t keeping tight reins on all of its money and property. The university, located in Charlottesville, improperly awarded no-bid contracts, eliminated competitive bids by separating purchases, nixed $72,0000 worth of forklifts from its asset records…
    Kathryn Watson
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    • News

    School Stops Seventh-Grader From Distributing Fliers for Religious Event

    A Kansas school blocked a seventh-grader from handing out fliers inviting students to join her in prayer at the school’s flagpole. Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano called the school’s ban “so obviously wrong and misguided,” noting that students “theoretically” have the same constitutional rights as anyone else. “Schools can restrain speech if the…
    Natalie Johnson
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    • Opinion

    Former Catholic School Teacher Fired for Violating Catholic Teaching Awarded $1.95M, Mostly for Hurt Feelings

    It is no secret that the Catholic Church teaches that birth control, abortion and in vitro fertilization are morally wrong. It is also no secret that many Americans who self-identify as Catholic also see no moral problem with these things. While regulated, these things are legal throughout the United States. But can a Catholic diocese…
    Andrew Kloster
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    • Opinion

    ‘Public Education’ Should Fund Any Education, Not Just Government-Run Schools

    “Are you saying public education is just a funding mechanism? … Is all education now public [and parents] can just choose?” asked Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Nancy Rice during oral arguments over the constitutionality of Douglas County’s Choice Scholarship Pilot Program. The case has brought forth a question that has been at the forefront…
    Brittany Corona
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    • News

    State-Run University Spent $96,000 on First-Class Airline Tickets

    LINCOLN, Neb. — The University of Nebraska has been dinged by the state auditor for allowing employees to spend nearly $96,000 on 20 first-class flights around the world, book $300-a-night oceanfront resort rooms for a week and get reimbursed for alcohol while traveling, in violation of state law. While digging through travel records, auditors found…
    Deena Winter
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    • News

    Watch This 10-Year-Old Explain Common Core to Her School Board: ‘It Stinks’

    Elizabeth Blaine, a 10-year-old from New Jersey, doesn’t like Common Core. Why? “Because it stinks,” the fourth-grader told school board members Monday night in Montclair, N.J., during a meeting on the national standards. Silencing everyone in the room, Blaine was critical of the assessment group known as PARCC, arguing that she should have the option…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    Pakistani Nation Must Unite Against Terrorists Following Attack on Schoolchildren

    Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership must do what is necessary to rid the nation of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, the Pakistani Taliban), the group claiming responsibility for today’s abominable attack on a Pakistani school that left more than 100 children dead. Nine TTP gunmen stormed the Army Public School and Degree College in Peshawar Tuesday…
    Lisa Curtis
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