Education News
Reports on education reform, school choice, and classroom policies. The Daily Signal provides conservative commentary and opinion alongside education news.
-
opinion
Liberal Totalitarianism Is Dominating College Campuses
American liberals once prided themselves on their fidelity to the First Amendment. Indeed, they had an expansive understanding of it. They defended unpopular speech and even the most provocative examples of “freedom of expression.” One could question their hesitation to set limits in these areas, but there was something admirable about their principled defense of… -
opinion
How School Choice Is About Marriage and Family, Not Just ‘the 3 Rs’
Nearly two decades ago, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act, ushering in a period of education “reform” laser-focused on reading and math achievement. That effort shined a bright light on academic achievement gaps, disaggregating student outcomes by race and income, and providing reams of data detailing all the… -
opinion
The Civil Rights Legend Who Opposed Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory is in the news these days, but many people still may not know what it really means. They think critical race theory is part of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights efforts. In truth, it is directly opposed to the central concept and vision he most stood for. One of the last and… -
opinion
Plan for Higher Education Would Fuel ‘Degree Inflation,’ Further Federal Takeover
When addressing the very real issues of rising student loan debt and unaffordable tuition prices, former Vice President Joe Biden’s policy solutions embrace the false promise of “free college.” The Biden campaign recently released “The Biden Plan for Education Beyond High School,” which details many proposals the plan’s authors suggest are the cure for fixing… -
opinion
How ‘Systemic Liberalism’ Failed Public Education in America
Liberalism and its big government underpinnings have become systemic in American culture and institutions, with a profound impact on the nation. In large part, an increasingly biased media, Hollywood, Big Tech, and academia have driven the left’s rise in prominence. Freedom of thought, tolerance, and inclusion, once foundational principles of liberalism, have been replaced by… -
news
Public Schools Across Country Promote Black Lives Matter, Organize Protests
Public schools across the country have endorsed the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraged teachers, students, and parents to do the same, with some schools organizing their own BLM protests, a Daily Caller News Foundation review found. The Black Lives Matter movement has been linked to 91% of riots across the United States between May 24 and… -
news
4 Key Moments From Trump’s Speech on History, Critical Race Theory
President Donald Trump, in Constitution Day remarks, drew a direct connection between the riots and mayhem in the streets to what schools are teaching about America. “Our mission is to defend the legacy of America’s founding, the virtue of America’s heroes, and the nobility of the American character,” the president said at the National Archives… -
opinion
Why ‘A PLUS’ Would Be Better Than Yet Another Federal Education Bailout
The Senate last week rejected a $500 billion “skinny stimulus” proposal addressing the coronavirus pandemic that included $105 billion in new federal education spending. The latter is a sum double what is spent annually by the federal Education Department on K-12 schools. The proposal would have continued a failed legacy of ever-increasing federal education spending…. -
news
Maryland to Add LGBTQ Content to Public Schools’ History Curricula
Maryland public school history teachers will add LGBTQ content to high school curricula in coming years, a lawmaker said. The Maryland State Department of Education agreed to add “expectations” and implement new standards for high school U.S. history curricula that includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and "queer" individuals, WUSA9 reported. The changes are expected to be… -
opinion
Are ‘Nice White Parents’ to Blame for Failures in the Education System?
A new podcast from The New York Times suggests that “Nice White Parents” are the reason for failures in the education system. The podcast, according to The Heritage Foundation’s Mary Clare Amselem, cites “examples of parents getting involved in the day-to-day operation of the school, and paints this involvement as an affront to public schooling,”… -
opinion
Looking Back: Reclaiming Educational Excellence
This article is an excerpt from the "2020 Mandate for Leadership: A Clear Vision for the Next Administration." It looks back at policy decisions made by the Trump administration over the past four years. You can purchase your copy of "Mandate 2020" here. Since publication of the last Mandate for Leadership, the Trump administration has… -
opinion
DC’s Opportunity Scholarship Program Giving Students Access to In-Class Education
For many children living in the District of Columbia, the new school year begins much like the last one ended—at home. The unexpected onset of the coronavirus pandemic initiated an abrupt transition to crisis online learning. While some children perform well in their virtual classrooms, not all children respond the same. For instance, although D.C…. -
opinion
Some Schools Don’t Want You to Know What They Are Teaching Your Kids. That’s a Problem.
Six months into the pandemic, some traditions will still not be upset by a virus. As approximately half of K-12 schools are only offering online instruction, parents will still know little, if anything, of what their children are being taught in school except by accident—or unless they ask. Recent fallout from such asymmetric information comes… -
opinion
1776 Initiative Is Helping Turn Civics Education Around
Entrepreneur and civil rights movement veteran Robert L. Woodson Sr. believes that American civics can help save our country—and that’s the mission of 1776, a major initiative launched earlier this year by the Woodson Center, which Woodson founded to give local leaders the training they need to improve their communities. Featuring essays by notable scholars and writers… -
opinion
University Shouldn’t Punish Me for Not Addressing Male Student as ‘Ms.’
Returning from a sabbatical in my 21st year at Ohio’s Shawnee State University, I resumed teaching my regular political philosophy course. Taking questions in one such class at the end of my first day back, I acknowledged a male student with a “Yes, sir?” (It’s my practice to address my students in this way and… -
opinion
School Choice Shines This Week
School choice was a policy star this week at the Republican National Convention. President Donald Trump capped off the week by stating his desire to “expand charter schools and provide school choice for every family in America” during his speech Thursday night, the final night of the convention. A slate of speakers throughout the week… -
opinion
Problematic Women: Back to School, Sort of, and the Future of Education
The coronavirus pandemic might permanently affect American education. Lindsey Burke, director for the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, says “the pandemic has just completely upended education.” But some of the changes might actually be a good thing. Burke joins “Problematic Women” to discuss how COVID-19 could bring about needed education policy reform… -
opinion
A Back-to-School Guide for Conservatives
Is patriotism dying? Are there any good Americans left? Over the past few months, Americans may have begun to wonder about those questions, and both will be on the minds of conservative students as they return to school this fall. It has been a long time since colleges were the refuges of free thought and… -
opinion
Schools Use Empty Classes for Expensive Day Care, and Parents Are Charged Twice. This Needs to End.
Normally when a business shuts its doors, it doesn’t still get to charge its customers for a product they can no longer access. It certainly doesn’t get to charge its customers twice for the privilege. Yet, that’s exactly what we’re seeing from some public school districts. They refuse to open their doors for in-person learning—citing… -
opinion
This Mom Created an Education Pod, and You Can Too
For many families, home has become both office and school during the coronavirus pandemic. Parents across America are facing the challenge this fall of managing a full-time job with their child’s education. Memories of a chaotic spring have driven moms and dads to find creative solutions. Education pods are one way families can ensure their…