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
Planned Parenthood Targets Los Angeles High Schoolers
Planned Parenthood announced Wednesday a plan to open 50 health centers at Los Angeles high schools. The nation’s largest abortion provider plans to spend millions to build “Wellbeing Centers” that target high schoolers in Los Angeles County and aims to “create a safe space in each school where students can receive the education and health…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Traditional Values Shouldn’t Exempt Schools From State Voucher Programs
Officials in the state of Maryland have banned a school from their voucher program due to its faith-based views on gay marriage and transgenderism. The Baltimore Sun reported that Bethel Christian Academy responded to the ban with a lawsuit contending officials violated its religious freedom. The case will now be heard in federal court According…Nicole Russell -
- Opinion
Fraud in Higher Education
This year’s education scandal saw parents shelling out megabucks to gain college admittance for their children. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 50 people with participating in a scheme to get their children into colleges by cheating on entrance exams or bribing athletic coaches. They paid William Singer, a college-prep professional, more than $25 million…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
In a Time of Distraction, an Education Focused on Timeless Ideas
What does it mean to truly be educated? Great Hearts Academies, a series of charter schools in Texas and Arizona, is focused on a classical curriculum. “We are trying to provide a form of education where our students’ loves are tapped into. They begin to learn to love what is true. They are drawn to…Katrina Trinko -
- News
‘My Privacy Is Being Invaded’: High School Girl Reacts to New Transgender Bathroom Policy
Video footage shows a high school girl choked up when her high school ruled that trans students have unrestricted access to bathrooms and locker rooms. A high school student identified by the Daily Herald as Julia Burca chokes up as she discusses how her school district ruled Thursday that transgender students will have unrestricted access…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Baltimore’s Answer to High Homicide Rates and Low School Performance? Ban Plastic Bags
What do you do when your community faces crushing poverty, failing schools, and disturbing homicide rates? In Baltimore, the answer is: Ban plastic bags, of course. Yes, Charm City is saving the world, one plastic bag at a time. The Baltimore City Council passed a citywide ban on retailers’ use of plastic bags at checkout…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
We Hear You: ‘Education Is Too Important to Leave to Professionals’
Editor's note: Count on The Daily Signal's audience to have a lot to say on the state of public education and other topics, as this week's mailbag reveals. You can join in by emailing [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Excellent article by Fred Lucas about the education failures of the Great Society (“Why LBJ’s Great…Ken McIntyre -
- Opinion
What I Learned About the Transgender Politics Injected Into This Affluent County’s Schools
I live in Fairfax County, Virginia, which has the 10th-largest public school district in the nation, but I never focused on our public schools. My kids go to Catholic schools, and that was the center of our universe. I never focused, that is, until I heard that the Fairfax County School Board voted to let…Cathy Ruse -
- Opinion
Nation’s Report Card Shows Why We Should Get Washington Out of Education
Across the country, math and reading scores have continued a yearslong stagnation, with students largely showing no progress in academic achievement. That’s one major takeaway from the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress, released earlier this week by the National Assessment Governing Board. Often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, the assessment tracks the…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
We Hear You: Notes on Our Schools From the ‘Belly of the Beast’
Editor's note: We’re back with a roundup of your emails, beginning with one on the state of public schools from a correspondent who recently moved from California to Virginia. Don’t forget to write us at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: About your "Back to School Edition" roundup of reader comments: I served on a consultative…Ken McIntyre -
- Opinion
Student Loans Can Be Perilous. Here’s a Better Way to Pay for College.
Student loan debt keeps growing. There is a better solution than the ones politicians offer, which stick the taxpayer or the loan lenders with the whole bill. It’s called an “income share agreement.” Investors give money to a college, and the college then gives a free or partially free education to some students. When those…John Stossel -
- Opinion
‘Micro-Schools’ Punch Above Their Weight by Offering Personalized Education
With the school year in full swing, anxious parents hope their children are content in their local schools. Families worry about finding the right school environment for their children, especially since every child learns differently. Take the Gilbert family, in Florida, whose story captures the importance of having multiple education options. Four of their five…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
Problematic Women: How Big Government Education Programs Failed the Young
This week on “Problematic Women” we talk with Lindsey Burke, The Heritage Foundation’s education fellow, about a new collection of essays, “The Not-So-Great Society.” Burke, co-editor of the project, discusses what Lyndon B. Johnson’s programs really did for public education, and it’s little that is positive. She also suggests how we can begin to solve…Virginia Allen -
- News
Why LBJ’s Great Society Gets a Failing Grade in Improving Education
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s vision for a Great Society unleashed an army of bureaucrats on American schools but produced little or no improvements to public education in 54 years, according to a new report published by The Heritage Foundation. The report, titled “The Not-So-Great Society,” delves into the impact of Johnson’s string of initiatives—among them…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Puerto Rico’s School Choice Reforms Are Helping Kids
Last year brought a whirlwind of education opportunities to Puerto Rican families. The island’s first charter school, Proyecto Vimenti, opened to serve disadvantaged children. The commonwealth’s legislature approved a private school scholarship program for children who are bullied, experience sexual harassment, or who have special needs. These were notable victories for families where most have…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
How to Beat the Student Debt Crisis
The cost of college has gone sky-high, and now Americans are $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. How did we get here? And how do we get out? Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and The Heritage Foundation’s Mary Clare Amselem explain on this week’s episode of Washington Waste Wednesday.Mary Clare Amselem -
- Opinion
After Getting Kicked Off Campus, This Christian Group Got Justice
In a significant win for religious liberty, a federal court last month ruled that a state university in Iowa can’t require a Christian student organization to have non-Christian leaders. The court ruled that the university had discriminated against the Christian group and that top university officers, including the vice president, must pay out of their…Nicole Russell -
- Opinion
Teacher Fired Over Trans Pronouns Sues School
West Point High School French teacher Peter Vlaming is a soft-spoken man who was well loved by his students. He wasn’t looking for a fight. He was just looking to do his job. But when the school demanded that he use male pronouns for a biological girl student who had decided to identify as a…Cathy Ruse -
- Opinion
How 1 Man Is Leading the Fight for School Choice in Richmond
Antione Green is working to open a second charter school in Richmond, Virginia. The school, called Richmond Urban Collective, would serve at-risk boys in grades six through eight. Although he is facing steep opposition from the school board in the city, Green has mobilized parents around Richmond who are supportive of his fight to bring…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
How 1 Woman Helped DC’s Underprivileged Kids Find School Success
When Virginia Walden Ford crossed the threshold of her new high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, as one of the second wave of black students to integrate the school, little did she know these were her first steps in a lifetime journey to champion educational opportunity for all children. Ford would go on to help…Jude Schwalbach