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
School Board Fights to Preserve Bathroom Policy After Judge OKs Trans Student’s Lawsuit
A Virginia public school district will pursue an appeal after a federal judge ruled that a transgender student can challenge the district’s bathroom access policies under federal civil rights law and the Constitution. Gloucester County Public Schools asked U.S. District Court Judge Arenda Wright Allen to allow its appeal on Friday. Allen’s late May decision allowing the student… -
opinion
Why There’s an Increased Interest in Homeschooling
There’s a lot to dislike about many public schools—and right now, student safety is at the top of the list. “After a gunman opened fire on students in Parkland, Florida,” a new Washington Times feature explains, “the phones started ringing at the Texas Home School Coalition, and they haven’t stopped yet.” Like so many state organizations,… -
news
San Diego Parents Pulling Their Kids From School Over Inappropriate Sex-Ed Curriculum
San Diego parents pulled their kids from school and rallied outside the district’s headquarters Tuesday, expressing anger and frustration over a sex-ed curriculum they allege is completely inappropriate for their young children. The sixth grade curriculum includes lessons on gender identity, birth control, the stages of sex, STDs, HIV, and pregnancy. Parents are calling the material “too much,… -
opinion
Why It’s OK for This School Choice Program to Underperform on Standardized Tests
K-12 education in the nation’s capital has struggled for decades. Yet since 2003, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program—a voucher program open to low-income children in the District of Columbia—has been a bright spot for educational opportunity. But a new report by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, released Tuesday, found… -
news
School Can Force Students to Share Bathrooms With Transgender Students, Federal Court Rules
A Pennsylvania student said Thursday that her school opening its locker rooms, showers, and restrooms to students of the opposite sex is unfair and wrong. “There are good ways to make room for everyone, without letting a boy into the girls’ locker rooms, shower areas, or restrooms,” said Alexis Lightcap, a senior at Boyertown Area… -
news
Federal Court Sides With Trans Student Barred From Preferred School Bathroom
A federal judge in Newport News, Virginia, ruled Tuesday that federal law allows a transgender teenager to sue his school district for barring his access to the bathrooms of his preference. Though the ruling is not a decision on the merits of the controversy, U.S. District Court Judge Arenda Wright Allen’s decision is a boon to the… -
opinion
Only in America’s Schools Could ‘Partying Like It’s 1776’ Be Offensive
At the rate we are going, saying “good morning” might become offensive. The principal of Cherry Hill High School East in New Jersey issued an apology after some students deemed the public school’s prom theme, “Party Like It’s 1776,” to be insensitive. “I am writing to apologize for the hurt feelings this reference caused for… -
news
‘Party Like It’s 1776’ Theme Too Offensive for New Jersey School Prom
A New Jersey high school principal apologized Friday for a “Party Like It’s 1776” theme at prom. Dennis Perry, principal of Cherry Hill High School East, posted on his Twitter feed an apology for the theme printed on prom tickets, calling the decision “insensitive and irresponsible,” reported Fox News. “I especially apologize to our African-American students,… -
opinion
UN Poses Danger to Free Speech, Parents’ Rights. Here’s How Trump Administration Can Fight Back.
A dangerous alliance between United Nations bureaucrats and LGBT activists poses a new danger to free speech, free exercise of religion, and parental rights—not just for Americans but for people around the world. Under the leadership of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ambassador Nikki Haley, the Trump administration should strengthen protections of the fundamental… -
news
Remembering Meadow: Her Family Hopes to Prevent More School Massacres
Julie Pollack, who lost her 18-year-old stepdaughter Meadow in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, is taking steps she hopes will prevent other students from dying in similar mass murders. Meadow Pollack, a senior, died during the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in which a 19-year-old former student with a rifle… -
opinion
We Hear You: Betsy DeVos ‘Headed in Right Direction’ at Education Department
Editor's note: The Daily Signal's audience sees Betsy DeVos as a stronger champion of improved public education than her predecessors in the Obama administration, judging by reaction to our recent interviews. We begin with that topic. Don't forget to email us: [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Thanks for Rob Bluey's interview with Education Secretary Betsy… -
opinion
In Government-Controlled Health Care, Bureaucrats’ Whims Trump Parents’ Rights
Alfie Evans, a severely ill 23-month-old British child, recently died. The child was confined by British authorities in a hospital run by the British National Health Service. In commenting on this tragic case, this writer cited the plight of Alfie’s parents—Tom Evans and Kate James—waging a desperate battle with hospital officials in the British courts… -
opinion
How Homeschoolers Defeated California’s Push to Take Power From Parents
They came by the hundreds, one newspaper said—“perhaps thousands.” Some traveled hours, others waited hours, all for the opportunity to protest one of the most outrageous homeschooling bills ever introduced: California’s AB 2756. Spilling out into crammed hallways and overflow rooms, families poured into the Statehouse just for the opportunity to spend a few minutes speaking… -
opinion
New National Test Scores Show Betsy DeVos Was Right About Public Schools
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ recent interview with Lesley Stahl on “60 Minutes” caused quite a bit of backlash from critics. As my colleague Jonathan Butcher has written, “60 Minutes” ignored many of the facts about the state of education in America. Response to the interview drew quite a bit of criticism of DeVos and her… -
news
Purdue University Just Froze Tuition for the 7th Straight Year. Mitch Daniels Explains How.
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, the former governor of Indiana and director of President George W. Bush’s Office of Management and Budget, spoke exclusively to The Daily Signal’s Rob Bluey at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education on Thursday. Daniels explained how Purdue has been able to freeze its tuition for seven consecutive years and… -
news
Exclusive: Betsy DeVos Says Federal Government Has Failed to Improve Education
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke exclusively to The Daily Signal’s Rob Bluey for an on-camera interview at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education on Thursday. This week, the Department of Education released what’s known as the “nation’s report card.” DeVos addressed its disappointing results and how the Trump administration is pursuing reforms to improve education… -
opinion
Student Journalist Says Discipline Policies Weakened School Safety Before Parkland Shooting
While the media continues to focus on gun control in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, one area student has dug into his school’s policies and found them wanting. Kenneth Preston, a 19-year-old student journalist who attends high school in Broward County, Florida, has done an in-depth investigation… -
opinion
How to Give Military Kids a Flexible, High-Quality Education
I’m a military brat, along with my five siblings. My dad was a pilot in the Air Force, and being part of a shared community while living on base made for a wonderful childhood. But if there’s anything you learn from being in a big military family, it’s that educating your kids while being in… -
opinion
Concealed Carry on Campus Is More Common, and Useful, Than You Thought
Recent tragedies have put a spotlight on the issue of firearms in schools, particularly whether there should be more or fewer armed personnel protecting students in the classroom. What many do not realize is that students and teachers at some colleges and universities have for years been able to arm themselves on school property. Which… -
opinion
Podcast: What School Shooters Have in Common
Warning signs were abundant prior to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last month—so why wasn’t it prevented? Aside from protocol failures and lack of sufficient school security, Amy Swearer points to three specific traits that tend to mark school shooters. Swearer joins the podcast to explain what those are. Plus: “Roseanne” makes a major…