Education News
Reports on education reform, school choice, and classroom policies. The Daily Signal provides conservative commentary and opinion alongside education news.
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- News
Speaking at Columbia University, House Speaker Johnson Calls on School’s President to Resign
House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign Wednesday in a speech at the embattled Ivy League university. Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests and encampments have taken over large swaths of the New York college’s campus and those of other campuses in the past week following Shafik’s House testimony on antisemitism. During that April 17…Jarrett Stepman -
- News
EXCLUSIVE: Parents Question Why Virginia High School Staging Drag Musical, Brunch
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A high school theater troupe is staging the risque musical “Kinky Boots” just outside the nation’s capital “in collaboration” with a leading Virginia school system’s “Pride” programs, prompting concern and questions from some parents. The Beyond the Page Theatre Company at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Virginia, will perform “Kinky…Tony Kinnett -
- Opinion
Kansas Universities Spent $45 Million on DEI. Lawmakers Want to Know What They Paid For.
Kansas university officials have spent millions of dollars on diversity, equity, and inclusion, in what appears to be just a jobs program for DEI staff. A state auditor could not determine what DEI means at state universities or what DEI programs produce, and Kansas lawmakers made a proactive decision to reinforce civil rights laws and…Jonathan Butcher -
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These 2 States Are Poised to Scrap Fractured Electoral College System—in Different Ways
The only two states that apportion Electoral College votes in presidential races by congressional district are poised to scrap what makes them unique. In these systems, presidential candidates get one electoral vote for each congressional district they win in the state. Unlike in other states, the Democratic, Republican, and other party candidates could end up…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Largest Christian University in America Gets Fined $37 Million. Coincidence or Targeted Attack?
A dust storm of political madness is brewing in Phoenix as Grand Canyon University faces the continued threats of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Christians have watched as the Biden administration attacks biblical views left and right, with a particularly vehement disregard for the sanctity of life and marriage. As such, it can’t be too surprising…Sarah Holliday -
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Majority of Catholic Women’s Colleges Enroll Men Who Identify As Trans Women
A majority of the Catholic women’s colleges in the United States allow men who identify as transgender women to enroll, according to a new report—despite church teaching on gender and sex. The National Catholic Register reported on Friday that of the three dozen women’s colleges throughout the country, most are now admitting men. The publication…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Department of Education’s New Title IX Rule Just as Bad as Expected
The Department of Education just released its long-delayed Title IX rule—a rewrite of the 50 year-old civil rights law so vast that it promises to turn Title IX’s guarantee of sex equality in education completely upside down. Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is all of a single sentence. It simply…Sarah Parshall Perry -
- Opinion
High Court’s 9-0 Ruling Lowers Bar for Filing Anti-DEI Discrimination Lawsuits
A low-profile case decided Wednesday by the Supreme Court could have big implications for employers’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Muldrow v. City of St. Louis was a case about a female police officer who alleged that she was transferred from one department to another because of her sex. She argued that the transfer violated…GianCarlo Canaparo -
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Elementary School Denies Request to Start Prayer Club, Approves ‘Pride Club’
In 2015, religious freedom seemed compromised when a Washington high school football coach was fired for praying with his team after a game. Joe Kennedy waited roughly six years for the Supreme Court to hear the oral arguments for his case. He was represented by a Christian nonprofit legal organization, First Liberty Institute, which took the position…Sarah Holliday -
- Opinion
Education Department’s Incompetence on Student Aid Hurts Millions
Millions of students each year rely on student loans and grants to afford the rising cost of college. This year, that’s about 17 million Americans. They fill out the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. But this year, the U.S. Department of Education is very far behind in processing the forms,…Adam Kissel -
- Opinion
I Go to College in DC. Why Is It So Unsafe Here?
The words every parent dreads when a child goes off to college: “Mom, Dad. My school is on lockdown for an active shooter.” I’ve told my parents this twice now. Violence has become a regular occurrence in my three years at The Catholic University of America, acronymized as CUA. Last week, CUA issued a shelter-in-place…Noah Slayter -
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Think Tanks, Political Groups, and Activists Join Forces to Amplify School Choice Efforts in Virginia
A coalition of parents’ rights activists have reignited the fight for school choice for Virginia’s families with the help of The Heritage Foundation. Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson Institute has pushed for education reform in the Old Dominion for years, including through its Virginia Education Opportunity Alliance, a parents’ rights coalition. A $150,000 Innovation Prize grant from…Noah Slayter -
- Opinion
DEI Cronyism and Woke Grifters
When ideology replaces meritocracy or provides immunity from the consequences of illegal behavior, systemic mediocrity follows. Under toxic National Socialism, Stalinism, and Maoism, millions of cronies and grifters mouthed party lines in hopes that their approved ideology would allow them to advance their careers and excuse their lawbreaking. The same thing has happened with the…Victor Davis Hanson -
- Opinion
Lawmakers Must Protect Civil Rights as Louisiana Universities Hold Fast to Discrimination via DEI
Neuroscientists interested in teaching at Tulane University in Louisiana must be board-certified or eligible to apply for a medical license as well as skilled in neurocritical care. All are standard requirements for a postsecondary position. But read the fine print: Applicants also have to commit to Tulane’s statement on diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI,…Jonathan Butcher -
- Opinion
Education Eclipsed: Unnecessary School Closures Breed Anxious Children
A total eclipse crossed the country this week in a display of natural wonder. Rather than seize the opportunity for an engaging science lesson, hundreds of school districts with several hundred thousand students decided to close for the day, many citing safety concerns that students might accidentally look at the eclipse without proper eye protection….Jay Greene -
- Opinion
Tylenol vs. Transgenderism: Schools Need Parents’ Permission for One, but Not for Other?
Schools across the country routinely inform parents—and often must obtain their written permission—about all sorts of things, from a trip to the zoo to taking a Tylenol. A field trip might make Johnny’s day, and a Tylenol might make his headache go away, but they won’t profoundly change the way he understands the world…Thomas Jipping -
- News
School Busing of a Different Sort: Nonprofit Takes Students to Off-Campus Bible Studies
Once a week, an estimated 30,000 students across the country are picked up by what’s called “a big, red LifeWise bus” and leave public school grounds for a Bible lesson at a local church or other religious institution. It might surprise some, but it’s entirely legal in the United States, says LifeWise Academy founder and…Noah Slayter -
- Opinion
‘Inclusive’ Sex Education Puts Kids at Risk
As suicide rates, sexual assaults, mass depression, and anxiety grip America’s youth, the Biden administration, state legislatures, and public school districts have begun usurping science education with “transgender and gender-nonconforming” curriculum. Students in over a dozen states no longer have access to biologically based sex education; that’s been replaced by liberal laws and policies requiring…Tony Kinnett -
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How Oklahoma Is Fighting Teachers Unions and ‘Wokeism’ in Its Schools
“Listen, we’re going to have school choice. We’re going to bring back parents’ rights. We’re going to focus on the basics,” said the state superintendent for Oklahoma’s public schools. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts interviewed Ryan Walters on “The Kevin Roberts Show” podcast. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) The two…Noah Slayter -
- Opinion
Higher Ed’s DEI Plagiarism Dilemma
Academic culture is facing a crisis of its own making. The now myriad plagiarism and other scandals rocking the ivory tower increasingly are being waved away by left-wing media. But this growing phenomenon represents an existential crisis for institutions that have long coasted on flimsy claims to their exalted position in our society. Following the…Jarrett Stepman