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
How Biden Aims to Take Critical Race Theory to the Next Level in Your School
If the Biden administration gets its way, the federal government will soon be alternatively bribing and threatening every school district in the country to push divisive and damaging curricula on race in the classroom. It would come courtesy of a proposed rule from the Department of Education, available for public comment until May 19. In…Lindsey Burke -
- News
Critical Race Theory Weakens Society and Breeds Hate, Minorities Say
Critical race theory, at one time limited primarily to academia, has become a controversial issue as it increasingly is showing up in K-12 school curriculums and in training in government agencies and corporate America. Speakers at a May 6 virtual event sponsored by Latinos for Tennessee, a traditional values advocacy group, explained what critical race theory…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
South Carolina Lawsuit Challenges State’s Blaine Amendment Bias Against Religious, Private Schools
With American education turned upside down during the pandemic, the South Carolina Supreme Court barred Gov. Henry McMaster from distributing any of the funds that the state had received under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to private and religious schools. But private and religious schools and colleges in the state aren’t…John G. Malcolm -
- Opinion
Catholic Schools Beat Public Schools in Reading and Math
Here is one demonstrable fact about the difference between Catholic and public schools: Students who study at Catholic schools do better in reading and math. We know this because students who attended Catholic elementary schools in 2019 tested better in mathematics and reading than students who attended public schools. The latest issue of the Digest…Terence Jeffrey -
- News
Major School District Eyes ‘Anti-Racism’ Instead of Questioning Assumptions
Parents in one of the nation’s largest school districts are being asked about how schools should teach their children about systemic racism, “multiple identities,” and ways to “challenge power and privilege.” Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools sent a survey Thursday to parents and teachers seeking input about the school system’s future “anti-racism” and “anti-bias” policy. …Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Voters in Dallas Suburb Lead Revolt Against Critical Race Theory Curriculum
Critical race theory received a stunning rebuke at the polls in local Texas elections last week in a suburb of Dallas. “On one side, progressives argued that curriculum and disciplinary changes were needed to make all children feel safe and welcome in Carroll, a mostly white but quickly diversifying school district,” NBC News reported. “On…Jarrett Stepman -
- News
Teaching Critical Race Theory to End in Arkansas Agencies Without Governor’s Signature
Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson allowed legislation to become law without his signature Monday that ends the use of critical race theory education for state agencies. Hutchinson effectively approved SB 627 Monday, “an act to prohibit the propagation of divisive concepts” and “to review state entity training materials.” The legislation bans state agencies from teaching “divisive concepts,”…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
How Critical Race Theory Is Taught in Public Schools
Critical race theory is making its way into institutions across America. Christopher Rufo, a visiting fellow for domestic policy studies at The Heritage Foundation, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss how critical race theory is affecting what children learn in schools. (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s multimedia news outlet.) “Critical race theory is an academic…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
PragerU Provides Antidote to Left’s Poisonous Education Agenda
If you’re a conservative parent, you likely know that our schools are littered with leftist propaganda meant to penetrate the minds of our impressionable kids. Although it’s sometimes done subconsciously by teachers, too often it’s part of the left’s agenda to turn students against traditional American values. We’re seeing the consequences throughout our culture. Fortunately,…Robert B. Bluey -
- News
Critical Race Theory About to See Its Day in Court
As recently as last summer, few people outside academia had heard of critical race theory, whose central claim is that racism, not liberty, is the founding value and guiding vision of American society. Then, President Donald Trump issued an executive order last September banning the teaching of this “malign ideology” to federal employees and federal contractors….John Murawski -
- Opinion
Critical Race Theory Drives Students Apart. Idaho Lawmakers Had Enough.
Officials at an Idaho middle school tried pressuring teachers to judge students by the color of their skin. But state lawmakers rejected this application of critical race theory, a deeply divisive philosophy driving many federal, state, and local policies today. Idaho lawmakers made the case that school officials should not force students to believe “any…Jonathan Butcher -
- Opinion
Nebraska’s Education Choice Opportunity
At first glance, Nebraska’s K-12 education system seems to be doing fairly well. On the fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading components of the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Nebraska students scored slightly above average overall. But a closer look shows a more worrisome picture. The Urban Institute reanalyzed the NAEP data while controlling…Jason Bedrick -
- Opinion
I’m a Recent High School Grad. Here’s How I Fought Leftism in Classroom.
In her Advanced Placement government and politics class, a high school student named Anna was assigned to read a New York Times commentary that called the U.S. Constitution “imbecilic.” Many of her peers agreed with this conclusion based on the author’s argument that the Constitution is too difficult to amend. So, Anna approached her teacher…Anna Agresti -
- Opinion
Keep Racist Critical Race Theory Ideology Out of K-12 Classrooms
How would you feel if your child came home from school and said her teacher had told her that everything that happens in the world is “racist” and that she’s part of the problem because of the color of her skin? That may sound far-fetched, but such disturbing ideas are coming to your children’s schools,…Jonathan Butcher -
- Opinion
Federal Court Issues Commonsense Win for Campus Religious Group at Wayne State
Campus groups, students, and professors who aren’t interested in kowtowing to groupthink on issues concerning their own faith and constitutionally guaranteed rights have had a run of good luck lately in federal courts. Just a few days ago, in a lengthy opinion, Judge Robert Cleland of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of…Sarah Parshall Perry -
- Opinion
Military Families Deserve Flexible Education Options
Americans deeply value the sacrifices that U.S. service members and their families make. They include overseas deployments, nationwide moves, mental health strain, or even the death of a spouse or parent. While many military families make major sacrifices, they draw the line when it comes to their children’s education. According to a Military Times survey,…Jude Schwalbach -
- News
This Teacher Says Left Has Turned Public Schools Into ‘Indoctrination Centers’
If you want to keep your job as a politically conservative public school teacher, you learn to keep your mouth shut, a Chicago area teacher told The Daily Signal. Morgan Foster has taught English in middle school and, later, high school in Cook County, Illinois, for about 10 years. Now in her early 30s, Foster…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Biden’s ‘Infrastructure’ Proposal Another Unaffordable Gift to Education Establishment
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced another colossal spending package—an “infrastructure” proposal that would spend $100 billion to help “upgrade or replace crumbling school buildings.” The plan also includes an additional $100 billion to expand broadband, $48 billion for workforce training, and $12 billion for community college infrastructure. With more than half of school districts…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
In a Rebuke to Teachers Unions, School Choice Is Going Gangbusters in the States
School districts are slowly beginning to reopen in-person instruction after being closed for nearly a year—or, in many places, for over a year. While this is a wonderful development, it will never erase what parents experienced last year: uncertainty, inconsistency, and, in some cases, ineptitude from public schools. The events of the last year have…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
Do Charters Drain Funds From Pennsylvania’s Traditional Public Schools? In a Word, No.
In early February, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf delivered his 2020-21 budget address and revealed what many of us already knew: He doesn’t have much love for charter schools. He characterized them as “fronts for private management companies” whose only innovations involve “finding new ways to take money out of the pockets of property-tax payers.” Foes…Amber Northern