Education News
Reports on education reform, school choice, and classroom policies. The Daily Signal provides conservative commentary and opinion alongside education news.
-
opinion
Dispelling Myths About This Inexcusable School Meal Policy
A Washington Post article argues that a recently implemented federal school meals policy, the Community Eligibility Provision, is largely responsible for increased participation of low-income children in the school breakfast program. In reality, the Community Eligibility Provision turns welfare on its head by making it possible for children from middle-class and wealthy families to receive… -
news
Protesters Block Betsy DeVos From Entering DC Public School
Protesters effectively blocked new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos from entering a Washington, D.C.-area public school, according to a local NBC News affiliate report. The trip to Jefferson Middle School Academy was supposed to be DeVos’ first trip to a school in her official role, but protesters critical of her appointment blocked the entrance; security was forced… -
opinion
Americans Should Not Have to Subsidize Campus Lawlessness
In 1964, students at the University of California, Berkeley joined together to fight for their right to free speech. Last night, a group of over 1,500 protestors showed up on that same campus to shut down a speaker with whom they disagreed, and about 150 of them started a riot. Clearly, the culture of tolerance… -
opinion
Fossil Fuel Divestment Foolishness on Our College Campuses
Students at dozens of academic institutions across the country have called for their university endowments to divest equities in the fossil fuel industries. When University of Denver trustees voted this week against fossil fuel divestment, many students walked out of their classes to bring awareness to this cause as the meeting took place. Fossil fuel… -
opinion
Another College’s Speech Code at Odds With First Amendment Values
In the words of Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr., America serves as a “marketplace of ideas.” A state-funded college campus, of all places, should epitomize this function. But restrictive policies on campuses across the country are silencing certain viewpoints and limiting speech on campus. Take Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Michigan. This college… -
opinion
Before Leaving Office, Obama Administration Admits It Got Student Loan Data Wrong
In case you ever had any doubts about the inefficiencies of the Department of Education, look no further than the recent revelation that the agency has been vastly overestimating student loan repayment rates. On the last day of the Obama administration’s tenure, the College Scorecard the department established has been quietly revealed to have serious… -
opinion
Why Betsy DeVos’ Support for School Choice Will Help America’s Schoolchildren
According to her opponents during Wednesday’s Senate confirmation hearing, Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of education, is guilty of wanting to privatize the public schools. To be sure, the nominee’s critics are entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. Here are the facts: DeVos believes that all children are… -
opinion
Betsy DeVos Hearing Highlights the Need for Less Government Control in Education
On Tuesday night, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a confirmation hearing for Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos. Devos, a longtime proponent of school choice, also fielded questions about her positions on higher education and preschool. The hearing turned into a vibrant debate among the senators about the merits of education choice,… -
opinion
What Went Wrong in US Higher Ed? Harvard Tells the Story
In 1636, the first college in our nation was founded for Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae (for Truth, for Christ, and for the Church). Since then, Harvard has had a profound—and sometimes profoundly bad—impact on the American system of higher learning. With the start of a new academic semester and 381 years of history, now is… -
news
They Grew Up in a Poor Neighborhood. How School Choice Changed These Brothers’ Lives.
Carlos and Calvin Battle grew up in the poorest neighborhood of Washington, D.C., where nearly two-thirds of children are living in poverty. In 2016, only 42 percent of students attending the local public high school graduated. In an attempt to get her sons a better education, their mother, Pam Battle, enrolled Calvin and Carlos in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship… -
news
Campus Disinvitations Hit Record Number in 2016, Report Says
The number of speakers who faced opposition or disinvitation this year reached a record high, according to a report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. FIRE, which has been tracking the number of incidents involving campus speakers since 2000, found that in 2016, at least 42 separate incidents occurred—double the number that occurred… -
opinion
Middle School Girl Gets Suspended for Possessing a Butter Knife
Who would have thought a butter knife could become the center of a school controversy? Last month, officials at Silver Trail Middle School near Miami, Florida, suspended an 11-year-old honors student for violating a county policy strictly prohibiting weapons on campus. The girl’s weapon of choice: a butter knife fit for a toddler. To highlight the… -
opinion
How Texas Can Lead the Charge on Education Choice
The debate around school choice has shifted from whether states should enact education choice to how best to accomplish that goal. In a special report released on Monday—co-published by The Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation—we discuss how this question will be especially important in Texas, which is considering adopting education savings accounts,… -
opinion
Setting the Record Straight on Detroit Charter Schools
The nomination of school choice supporter Betsy DeVos for the post of education secretary has reignited a lively debate over the impact of school choice and student-centered education financing. One case in point is a piece by Douglas Harris, who last Friday took to the pages of the The New York Times. In his piece,… -
opinion
How Infantilized Campuses Threaten Our Nation’s Future
What are we to make of higher education when students and institutions respond to the recent presidential election with cry-ins, canceled exams, therapy dogs, Play-Doh, coloring books, group screams, Legos, bubble-blowing, and trauma counseling? Well, college “ain’t what it used to be.” For some time, higher learning has been a political matter, one where the… -
news
President of National Teachers’ Union Cites Holocaust in Comments on Trump
The president of one of the nation’s largest teachers’ union cited the Holocaust in comments she made about President-elect Donald Trump while speaking at an LGBT event in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “After what happened in the 1930s and ’40s, we used to have a saying called ‘never again,’” Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation… -
opinion
Thomas Jefferson Now Politically Incorrect at the University He Founded
A group of students and professors at the University of Virginia want to give the founder of their school the shaft. In a letter to the university’s president, Teresa Sullivan, they asked her to remove Thomas Jefferson quotes from messages to students, according to the Washington Examiner. “For many of us, the inclusion of Jefferson… -
news
California Voters to Decide Whether Schools May Teach Students in Spanish
Voters in California will weigh in Tuesday on a decades-old debate about bilingual education in the state’s public school system. The outcome ultimately could determine whether California schools will continue to be required to teach in English, or may use Spanish or another language. Although largely overlooked in a crowded election season, the issue has… -
news
John Oliver Wonders How to Improve ‘Segregated’ Public Schools. Never Mentions Vouchers.
John Oliver, a comedian and political pundit, blasted what he called “racial segregation” in modern public schools. However, several school choice advocates took issue with the host’s rhetoric. In a sketch on his Sunday show “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” Oliver said there is significantly greater racial homogeneity in public schools than there was… -
news
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Transgender School Bathrooms Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a federal order requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity is lawful. The Obama administration issued a directive earlier this year requiring public schools to accommodate transgender students. The case before the Supreme Court originates in Gloucester County, Virginia. The…