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
Here’s How Some States and Families Are Taking Back Control Over Their Children’s Education
When schools closed last March due to the coronavirus pandemic, no one expected them to still be closed nearly a year later. The image projected by the public education system as a reliable and stable fixture of society has waned as classrooms remain empty. At the same time, teachers unions—who have long tried to claim…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
Military Families Deserve More School Choice for Their Children
I was disturbed to read a 2017 Military Times survey that found that 35% of service members pointed to dissatisfaction with their children’s education as a “significant factor” in deciding whether to continue their military service. A big part of the military’s readiness is its retention rate. If more service members stay enlisted for longer,…Rep. Jim Banks -
- Opinion
Amid Shuttered Schools, 7 Days of Hope for Educational Freedom
Hope is a powerful, uniquely human concept. Hope is also a necessity to persevere through the trials and tribulations, the ups and the downs, of the human experience that all of us inevitably will face. Hope is especially important as the country approaches what is, hopefully, the twilight of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hope is exactly…Garrett Ballengee -
- News
EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Offer 6 School Choice Bills
The Republican Study Committee plans to introduce six school choice measures in the House on Thursday in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered schools across the country. “These [committee] members recognize that if Congress had placed a greater emphasis on school choice, parents and students could’ve been freer to avoid the debacle…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
It’s Time for a Bold, Reaganesque Approach to Teachers Unions on School Closures
In 1971, the Supreme Court upheld a 1955 law making it illegal for federal employees to strike against the U.S. government. So, when members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization union went on strike in August 1981, demanding a $10,000 a year bump in pay and a reduction in the workweek from 40 hours…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
Teachers Unions Are Keeping Kids Out of the Classroom. School Choice Can Ensure They Learn Anyway.
National School Choice Week has taken on renewed importance this year, as too many families are approaching the one-year mark of crisis online learning provided by their public school district. Last March, the coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools nationwide, forcing teachers, parents, and students to transition to virtual classrooms and grapple with the various effects of…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
National School Choice Week 2021 Is an Opportunity to Reexamine Our Children’s Education
As we prepare to celebrate National School Choice Week, so many things come to my mind. The months of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused parents everywhere to look at how their children are being educated. I think back to a time when we became so concerned about our children and began looking for ways to help them…Virginia Walden Ford -
- News
Podcast: What You Need to Know About Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory is fast becoming part of classroom curriculums and the larger culture in general. The Heritage Foundation recently hosted a panel discussion breaking down what critical race theory is and why it poses a threat. The event features insights from several Heritage scholars and policy experts. On today’s podcast, we share the audio…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Teachers Unions Fail Science
Is your child’s school open now? Probably not — because teachers unions say that reopening would “put their health and safety at risk.” They keep schools closed by lobbying and protesting. “If I die from catching COVID-19 from being forced back into Pinellas County Schools, you can drop my dead body right here!” shouts one…John Stossel -
- News
Minnesota Law School Students Aim to ‘Cancel’ Alumna Rep. Fischbach
Some students at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, are asking the school’s administration to ban an alumna and newly elected congresswoman because of her stance on voter fraud and support for President Donald Trump. “Rep. Michelle Fischbach (MN-8), an alumna of one of Mitchell Hamline’s predecessor institutions, directly contributed to…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
Critical Race Theory Infiltrates Government, Classrooms
Critical theory, an ideology that has dropped deep roots into America’s most powerful institutions, is opposed to the very foundation of Western civilization. This is according to a group of panelists on a Heritage Foundation webinar on Monday, who laid out what critical race theory is, how pervasive it has become, and what needs to…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
Time to Heed the Science and Reopen Schools
There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted childhood education. In many countries, kids have physically returned to school. In others, schools were never closed. Yet in the United States, many public schools have been closed since March, yielding disastrous results for millions of kids. While scientific data say it’s safe to bring them…Veronique de Rugy -
- Opinion
How to Stop Schools From Parenting Your Children
I’m tired of schools trying to play the role of surrogate parents. Like too many parents across our nation, I’ve become increasingly concerned about the radical social and political ideas that are being forced upon our children in public schools. While I’m raising my children with biblically-based morals and values at home, schools are undermining…Stephanie Curry -
- Opinion
2020 Proves What Happens on Campus Does Not Stay on Campus
The Las Vegas marketing slogan “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” meant to convey the hope that whatever you did during your stopover in “Sin City” would remain secret to friends and family. Equally, many assumed that the racialized theories that developed in the academy in the 20th century would stay within the cloistered…Mike Gonzalez -
- Opinion
8 Education Choice Wins in 2020
This year, the coronavirus pandemic presented new hurdles for 55.1 million students and their families after 124,000 public and private schools closed nationwide. Despite these unprecedented challenges, policymakers and families responded quickly with innovative solutions, which helped to advance education choice in 2020. Here are eight examples of education choice wins from this year: 1….Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
Human Rights Campaign Wants Christian Schools to Abandon Beliefs or Lose Accreditation
The Human Rights Campaign—a large, influential LGBTQ advocacy group— recently released a policy brief with recommendations for a Biden administration, and the suggestions are alarming. The organization’s “Blueprint for Positive Change 2020” describes itself as “a comprehensive list of 85 individual policy recommendations aimed at improving the lives of LGBTQ people.” But the Human Rights…Nicole Russell -
- Opinion
Feeling Guilty About Everything? Thank Critical Race Theory
Noxious Marxist theories that have festered in academia for decades finally burst out of ivy-covered walls in 2020, invading all aspects of American life. It wasn’t just the cities succumbing to nightly riots—everything from sporting events, to classrooms, to the workplace was hammered with the message that America was never the land of the free….Jonathan Butcher -
- News
Ohio County Closes Schools, Leaves Casino Open
The blackjack tables remain open in Toledo, Ohio, but some middle schools and all high schools are required to close. An order issued by Ohio’s Lucas County Regional Board of Health on Nov. 25 mandated that “education for Grades 7-12 (or 9 to 12 depending on school configuration) will be virtual from December 4th until…Virginia Allen -
- News
Education or Indoctrination? ‘Anti-Racist’ Teaching Sweeps K-12 Schools Targeting ‘Whiteness’
The notices to parents began arriving fast and furious in the weeks after the death of George Floyd in late May. In dramatic, urgent language, K-12 schools across the country—both public and private—professed solidarity with Black Lives Matter and vowed to dismantle white supremacy, as they scrambled to introduce anti-racist courses and remake themselves into…John Murawski -
- Opinion
The Tragedy of Black Education Is New
Several years ago, Project Baltimore began an investigation of Baltimore’s school system. What it found was an utter disgrace. In 19 of Baltimore’s 39 high schools, out of 3,804 students, only 14 of them, or less than 1%, were proficient in math. In 13 of Baltimore’s high schools, not a single student scored proficient in…Walter E. Williams