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
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… -
news
School Will No Longer Play Sports Games at Christian School Over LGBT Stance
A self-described “progressive” K-8 school in Washington, D.C., is figuratively jumping through hoops in efforts to avoid playing basketball at a private Christian school in Northern Virginia that espouses traditional Christian sexual morals. The Sheridan School is refusing to play division basketball games at Immanuel Christian School, a private, evangelical school in Springfield, Virginia, affiliated… -
news
Uptick in States Proposing Bible Literacy in Schools Receives Praise and Pushback
President Donald Trump drew attention this week to the increase in state proposals requiring public schools to offer Bible literacy classes. “Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible,” Trump tweeted Monday. “Starting to make a turn back? Great!” Among the states considering bringing the Bible back to public… -
opinion
How School Choice Can Flourish in Rural America
In “No Longer Forgotten: The Triumphs and Struggles of Rural Education in America,” 13 authors deliver unique perspectives on a little-covered topic. Although conversations on struggling schools often center on inner-city communities, rural schools face some of the same difficulties—and some different ones. Rural schools face the same teacher-vacancy issues as urban schools, but those… -
opinion
Why School Choice Works: It Makes Educators Compete
School choice is a noble cause. In much of America, parents have little or no control over where their kids attend school. Local governments assign schools by ZIP code. Having choice is better. Whether it’s vouchers, scholarships, charters, private schools, or just having options among public schools, choice makes some schools better because educators have… -
opinion
Here Are 10 Reasons School Choice Is Winning
School choice is a growing movement, one that is already lifting thousands of kids across America. The results are tangible. And states are leading the way, giving parents more options in their children’s education than ever before. Here are 10 of the most promising benefits of school choice. 1. School choice is good for student… -
opinion
Parents Deserve to be in the Driver’s Seat of Their Children’s Educations
How your children are educated is probably one of the most important decisions that parents can make. That is why the choice should rest with them and them alone. That’s what National School Choice Week is all about: celebrating policies that put parents where they belong—in the driver’s seat. Case in point: the D.C. Opportunity… -
opinion
The Public School Monopoly Forces Kids to Learn Secular Humanism. We Need More Options.
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation declaring this week, Jan. 20-26, as National School Choice Week. The proclamation expresses concern about performance of U.S. students in international surveys: 24th in reading, 25th in science, 40th in math. And it ascribes the cause of these disappointing statistics to the “consequences of the limitations imposed by a…