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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opinion
California Mom Wins Settlement Against School District That Socially Transitioned Her Daughter
California mom Jessica Konen won a $100,000 settlement from her daughter’s school district, Spreckels Union School District, after Buena Vista Middle School had socially transitioned her 11-year-old daughter, Alicia, without her knowledge or consent. The school district still refuses to admit that it’s at fault. Many are calling this a landmark case, saying it will make… -
opinion
Parents’ Nightmare Shows It Matters How States Implement School Choice
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that we were not able to reach Christine Accurso prior to publication. (We reached out to Ms. Accurso's former place of work and a phone number provided to us.) At the end of this article, we have added Ms. Accurso's full response. This article has also… -
news
Gadsden Flag Vindicated: Colorado School Reverses Course After Kicking Student Out for Patriotic Backpack
A Colorado Springs school has reversed course after booting a 12-year-old boy off campus for refusing to remove a patch on his backpack depicting the patriotic “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flag. According to video footage, administrators at The Vanguard Secondary School had told a seventh grader named Jaiden that he could not step on… -
news
School District Speaks Out After Pro-Trans AG Sues to Block Parental Notification Policy
School districts in the Sacramento area of California are considering policies requiring schools to notify parents if their children claim to identify as transgender, despite California Attorney General Rob Bonta's lawsuit challenging one such policy. "Every school district in our area is considering such a policy," Jonathan Zachreson, a member of the Roseville City School… -
opinion
Colorado School Kicks Out Student for Wearing ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ Flag Patch
A Colorado school has kicked a 12-year-old student off campus for refusing to remove a patch on his backpack depicting the nation’s historical “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. According to a video and documents first posted by Connor Boyack, president of Libertas Institute, a seventh grader at The Vanguard Secondary School named Jaiden and his… -
news
California AG Sues School District to Stop Policy That Informs Parents of Student Gender Transitions
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday against the Chino Valley Unified School District for approving a policy that requires school officials to inform parents if their child wants to change their gender. The district’s board of education approved the policy in July after many parents weighed in, some in favor and some against, but… -
news
In Woke Wars, Faith-Based Virginia Schools See Enrollment Jump
Schools rooted in a biblical worldview are seeing increased enrollment in Virginia, while public schools are faltering. According to a recent report, Catholic schools in Northern Virginia have seen a 10% increase in enrollment since 2019. The Catholic Diocese of Arlington covers the entirety of Northern Virginia, including Loudoun County, which has been at the heart of… -
news
Over 1,000 School Districts Hide Students’ Gender Identities From Parents
A new report sounds the alarm on the growing number of schools embracing transgender ideology and keeping parents in the dark. According to Parents Defending Education, at least 1,040 U.S. school districts have adopted policies instructing or encouraging faculty and staff to keep students’ gender identities a secret from parents. Those districts include over 18,000 schools responsible… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: St. Louis University Pushes Ideological Transgender ‘Toolkit’ on Med Students
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—St. Louis University's Transgender Health Collaborative is pushing a toolkit on "transgender health" intended to influence students of medicine to embrace ideological understandings of gender and sexuality. Published in November 2022, St. Louis University's toolkit is a collaborative effort of the university's Transgender Health Collaborative as well as Metro Trans Umbrella… -
opinion
Sending Public Officials Who Censor to Free Speech School
With no opportunity to mount a defense, Maggie DeJong was banned by her university from speaking to three classmates because she expressed views those classmates opposed. With no defense of its own to mount when DeJong sued the school for violating her free speech rights, Southern Illinois University agreed to settle, paying her $80,000. The… -
news
Air Force Colonel in Line for Promotion Preaches DEI Agenda, Endorses CRT Book
In the weeks following George Floyd’s death in 2020, a U.S. Air Force officer—currently awaiting promotion to brigadier general—accused his fellow “white colonels” of being the “biggest barriers” to addressing “racial injustice” in the military and being “blind to institutional racism.” Col. Ben Jonsson’s 825-word commentary in the Air Force Times on July 1, 2020,… -
opinion
Back to (What Kind of) School: Education or Indoctrination?
As millions of children return to public school, it’s a good idea to again examine what they are being taught and what is being left out. It also offers an annual opportunity for parents to ask if their kids are being educated or indoctrinated. At the recent convention of the National Education Association in Orlando,… -
opinion
College Rip-Off
It’s August, when many young people head off to college. This year, fortunately, fewer will go. I say “fortunately” because college is now an overpriced scam. Overpriced, because normal incentives to be frugal and make smart judgments about who should go to college were thrown out when the federal government took over granting student loans…. -
news
California AG Hints at Investigating Second School Board to Back Parental Rights on Kids’ Gender Transitions
Parental rights advanced last week in deep blue California, as another school district required teachers to notify parents if their children begin to identify as transgender. The school board of the Murrieta Valley Unified School District adopted a Parental Notification Policy by a 3-2 vote Thursday. Under it, teachers must contact a parent or guardian within three days if… -
news
School District Allowed to Keep Child Gender Transitions From Parents, Court Rules
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a Maryland school district can continue to keep students’ gender transitions from their parents. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit dismissed a coalition of parents’ lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools alleging that the district’s gender support plan, which allows students to change their gender without their… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Florida Schools See Decline in Teacher Vacancies
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Florida schools saw an eight percent decline in teacher vacancies heading into the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year compared to the previous year, The Daily Signal has learned. Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. will announce Tuesday that Florida schools will have 4,776 total teacher vacancies as students head into… -
news
VINDICATED: School Board Fails to Sweep Dad’s Rights Under ‘Legal Rug’ After It Had Him Removed From Meeting
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A U.S. district court judge in Texas upheld a father's claims that school board members and police violated his constitutional rights when they forcibly removed him and prevented him from attending school board meetings in 2021. Police removed him after he spoke at a school board meeting, raising concerns about the… -
opinion
Alabama GOP Says No to Teachers Unions’ Money in School-Related Elections
Alabama Republicans have told teachers unions to stay out of their school-related elections. The Alabama Republican Party recently voted to ban GOP candidates for the Alabama Board of Education, local school boards, and county school superintendent from accepting donations from teachers unions. John Wahl, chairman of the Alabama GOP, says the change was needed to… -
news
New College of Florida Trustees Vote to End Gender Studies
Trustees for the New College of Florida have voted to end a 28-year-old gender studies program. Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist and Manhattan Institute scholar appointed to New College’s board of trustees by Gov. Ron DeSantis, introduced the motion to direct the school’s president to eliminate the gender studies program. The board voted 7-3 in… -
news
School System Shuts Down as Students Stranded on Buses After First Day Back
After a long first day of school Wednesday, hundreds of students in Louisville, Kentucky, were stuck on school buses until almost 10 p.m. The school system announced a complete closure of schools Thursday, including canceling all extracurricular activities on the second day of school, because of what it called “transportation issues.” Parents are outraged over…