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
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
opinion
How Teachers Unions Are Holding Children With Special Needs Hostage
Teacher unions are now using strikes as a form of extortion. For the second time this year, a state’s teachers union and its members have closed schools and are refusing to work until lawmakers stop considering proposals to give students with special needs more learning opportunities. In recent days, the Kentucky teachers union, and administrators… -
opinion
South Carolina Stands Up to University, Defends Study of Founding Documents
Should college students be required to study America’s founding ideals and the founding documents from which they emanate? Many people in South Carolina believe they should. Last month, the South Carolina Senate passed the Reinforcing College Education on America’s Constitutional Heritage Act (REACH Act), which requires all college students at state colleges to take a three-credit-hour… -
news
Male Runners Dominate Girls High School Track in Connecticut
Two male runners are continuing to dominate high school girls track in Connecticut. High school juniors Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood took first and second place in the state open indoor track championships Feb. 16, The Associated Press noted in a report Sunday. Both Miller and Yearwood are biological males who identify as transgender girls. One of their competitors, high… -
opinion
Federal Early Childhood Education, Care Don’t Benefit Kids. Here Are the Facts.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., unveiled Tuesday a proposal to subsidize universal early education and child care through federal subsidies. According to The Huffington Post, “no family would have to spend more than 7 percent of its household income on child care, no matter the number of kids.” Providers would have to meet safety and curriculum… -
opinion
Florida’s Universal Education Choice Moment
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that the state legislature intends to establish Equal Opportunity Scholarships designed to end the current waiting list on the tax credit scholarship program—a move the Republican chief executive supports. The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship—which provides scholarships to eligible children to attend a private school of choice, and which is… -
news
Parkland Student Activist, Father of Victim Reflect on Year Fighting for School Safety
One year after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 students and staff dead, Kyle Kashuv and Andrew Pollack have emerged as two of the most prominent and outspoken critics of Broward County officials and defenders of the Second Amendment. Pollack, who lost his daughter Meadow, 18, in the massacre on Feb. 14,… -
news
DeSantis Seeks Grand Jury Investigation of Broward County School Failures 1 Year After Parkland Shooting
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday he wants a grand jury to look into possible mistakes made by Broward County Public Schools in addressing the Parkland, Florida, shooting. The grand jury would have more subpoena power and a greater scope compared to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission, which released a January 2019 report detailing… -
opinion
Podcast: 1 Year After Parkland Massacre, Broward County’s School Board Still Failing
It’s been a year since the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that took the lives of 17 people. Today, we speak with Kenneth Preston, a student journalist from Broward County who helped shine light on the corruption in that school district after the shooting. We ask him about what’s changed, and what hasn’t, since… -
news
This Charter School Metropolis Now Seeks a Moratorium on Charter Growth
The Los Angeles Board of Education voted 5-1 on Jan. 29 on a resolution to temporarily halt charter school growth after negotiations were reached with the teachers union. The resolution seeks state approval of a moratorium on charter schools in Los Angeles Unified School District for eight to 10 months to allow for an impact… -
news
A Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program Will Damage School Choice
Americans need more education choice, but just as importantly, we need to preserve the invaluable system of federalism that has been at the cornerstone of our republic. During his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump called on Congress to “pass school choice for America’s children.” Over in the pages of Education Next, Ira… -
news
New Jersey Becomes Second State Mandating Middle Schoolers Learn About LGBTQ Achievements
New Jersey will be the second state to mandate that middle and high school students learn about LGBTQ contributions. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill 1569, which requires schools to adopt curriculums that “accurately portray political, economic, and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.” “The Governor believes that ensuring students…