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
Cruz Fights for More Flexible Education Savings Accounts
Before Congress adjourned for Memorial Day weekend, Sen. Ted Cruz objected to a new retirement saving bill passed by the House because it left out one important reform. The Texas Republican is standing up for expanded access to personal savings options for family education choice. In 2017, college savings plans, or “529s,” were modified to…Adam Michel -
- News
North Carolina Governor Under Fire for Proposing Freezing School Voucher Program
A billboard campaign in North Carolina is taking aim at Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper after his announcement proposing freezing and eventually ending a scholarship program that has benefited minority students—more than 30% of which are African-American, according to North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. The billboard says the governor is “failing when it comes to…Joshua Q. Nelson -
- Opinion
School Choice Breaks the Poverty Cycle, Not ‘Adversity Scores’
The College Board’s recent announcement that it will no longer score students based only on their ability to correctly answer questions on the SAT exam is about as welcome as a pop quiz. Students will now also be assigned “adversity scores” of one to 100 using 15 different metrics regarding their background. The more disadvantaged a student is…Mary Clare Amselem -
- Opinion
How Charter Schools Empower Inner-City Children to Escape Failing Public Schools
Butler College Prep, a top-rated charter school on the South Side of Chicago, provides an atmosphere that reflects and engages the local community. The founder and principal, Christopher Goins, built his school community by intentionally hiring teachers from historically black colleges so students would have relatable role models. “If [students] don’t love the school and…Jude Schwalbach -
- News
Satisfaction High in DC School Voucher Program, Study Finds
Students who participated in a school choice program for low-income families in the nation’s capital were less likely to miss classes than peers who applied but did not get scholarships, a government evaluation has found. Students in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program also were more likely to give their schools a positive safety rating, concluded…Joshua Q. Nelson -
- News
Massachusetts High Schoolers Give Freed Slave Her 175 Years Overdue Gravestone
Nearly 175 years after the death of freed slave Lucy Foster, a memorial service it’s thought she never got took place at a cemetery on May 9 in Andover, Massachusetts—thanks in no small part to a group of high school girls there. An elective course, “Out of the Shadows,” taught by Linda Meditz at the…Joshua Q. Nelson -
- Opinion
How Louisiana Undermined Its Own School Choice Program
“You couldn’t learn. There was so much bullying. Kids are bullying the other kids and they’re bullying you,” said Willie Augustus, who was relentlessly bullied in his public school in Louisiana. His parents unsuccessfully fought with the school board to address the school bullying. Eventually, they applied for and received a voucher for Willie to…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
The Equality Act Could Let Schools, Not Parents, Make Decisions About Children
It’s not an alliance the media is rushing to cover—and who can blame them? After weeks of talking up this phony consensus on the Equality Act, imagine if the story got out that it’s not just conservatives who are opposed—but grassroots liberals, too. Even in a country as divided as ours, there is no right…Tony Perkins -
- Opinion
Here’s My Plan to Fix Student Debt Without Raiding Taxpayers
Confounded by rising piles of student debt, cash-strapped graduates across the country are realizing that their degrees don’t offer enough bang for the buck. It’s time we rethink the way students pay for college. College is an investment. The conventional wisdom tells us to borrow for college now and be proportionally rewarded in the job…Rep. Mark Green -
- News
8th Place: A High School Girl’s Life After Transgender Students Join Her Sport
When two high school athletes who were born male but identify as female took first and second place at Connecticut’s girls indoor track championship this year, it wasn’t just a local news story. To some, it was a story of triumph and courage. The winner, a junior from Bloomfield High School, set a girls state…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
This Mom Is Fighting Her Kids’ School District’s LGBT Indoctrination
Maria Keffler is a former teacher herself. But when she recently found out, by accident, about new LGBT policies her children’s school district was considering instituting, Keffler was shocked. Now she’s speaking out—and urging other parents to do the same. Read the transcript of the interview, posted below, or listen to the interview on the…Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
LA May Cap Charter Schools to Appease Unions. But Kids Would Pay the Price.
When policymakers in California enacted a charter school law 25 years ago, many children had educational choice for the first time. But now, teachers unions want to needlessly limit children’s choices. Francisco Nunez’s story is a prime example of how charter schools use their independence to inspire and empower children through learning. Growing up in…Jude Schwalbach -
- News
New Jersey Parents to Rally Against LGBT Education Law
A rally this weekend will give New Jersey parents an opportunity to oppose a new state law requiring public schools to teach children about the “political, economic, and social contributions” of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. The new law also requires schools to stress such contributions made by disabled persons, but it’s the LGBT…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
George Washington University Students Far From Consensus on Changing ‘Colonials’ Mascot
The Student Association at George Washington University has called the school’s nickname and mascot, the Colonials, “extremely offensive” and has urged that it be changed, but it’s not at all clear how widespread support for the move is among the broader student body. A recent referendum question asking GW students whether the university should…Courtney Joyner -
- Opinion
Pro-LGBT Group at Brigham Young University Wants to Secularize the School
Brigham Young University is known for a lot of things: a great football team, superior academics, but most of all, being the flagship school of the Mormon church (also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Yet today, BYU’s identity is being challenged. Not by political forces from Washington, but from within…Ryan Neuhaus -
- News
234 House Democrats, 2 Republicans Co-Sponsor Bill Forcing Schools to Let Male Athletes Compete on Girls Sports Teams
Every House Democrat but one has co-sponsored a bill requiring schools to allow male athletes who identify as transgender girls to compete on female sports teams. Democrats’ Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make “sexual orientation and gender identity” protected characteristics under federal anti-discrimination law. Among other things, the bill would force…Peter Hasson -
- Opinion
National School Lunch Program Has Morphed Into Massive, Wasteful Entitlement Program
The National School Lunch Program has changed dramatically since it began in 1946. What started as a grant program to help poor students and those with special needs has morphed into a massive entitlement offering meals to 30 million students every year—equivalent to nearly 55% of all children enrolled in public and private schools. And…Jonathan Butcher -
- Opinion
High School Girls Protest Biological Males Being Allowed to Change in Their Locker Rooms
There are at least 787 students at Pennsylvania’s Honesdale High School—but only one of them seemed to know about a major change in the school’s rules. The others found out the most traumatic way possible—when they walked into the girls’ locker room and found a teenage boy in women’s underwear. For at least one 15-year-old…Tony Perkins -
- News
South Carolina Democrats Fight Against University Constitution Course
South Carolina Democrats argued for more than an hour to prevent legislation that would require state universities to teach a “Constitution 101” course Tuesday. The Republican-proposed bill would update an existing 1924 requirement to teach the course, which the University of South Carolina has hitherto ignored. The legislation has already passed in the Senate, but Democrats…Anders Hagstrom -
- News
Democrats Encourage Kids to Ditch School and Join the ‘Climate Strike’
Democratic politicians are encouraging thousands of children to skip school to demand politicians do something about global warming, including passing the Green New Deal. “[S]tudents are fighting like their world depends on it,” former Vice President Al Gore said in a tweet extolling Haven Coleman, a 12-year-old listed as the U.S. climate strike’s co-founder and co-director. “I…Michael Bastasch