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
After Scalia’s Death, Lawyer for Teacher Challenging Public Unions Wants Supreme Court to Rehear Case
California teacher Rebecca Friedrichs had her day before the Supreme Court to challenge public-sector unions once. Now, following the unexpected passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, her lawyers are pushing for the elementary school teacher to have her day before the high court again. Oral arguments in the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association took place… -
opinion
The Dirty Little Secret of How Teachers Unions Stay in Business
Less than 1 percent of Pennsylvania public school teachers have formally approved of the unions representing them, and teachers unions from Erie to Philadelphia have not been elected by their members for more than four decades. That should change, according to a blistering policy brief published by the Commonwealth Foundation, a free-market think tank that’s… -
opinion
Why School Choice Helps All Kids (Not Just a Few)
No child should be placed on a wait list to his future. Yet today, more than a million kids in cities across America languish on wait lists for the charter school of their choice. Many more can’t attend the private school of their choice, because their families simply cannot afford it. Millions of children have their… -
opinion
My School Choice Story
It’s National School Choice Week, and I am so excited to see the incredible number of events around the country highlighting education. It brings back so many memories of how we got here. My fight for school choice began in the 1990s, when I was working for my child William to get a quality education in… -
news
What a Gay Man’s Court Victory Over a Catholic Girls School Means
A court ruling against a Catholic girls school that declined to hire a gay man in a non-classroom job highlights the need for such religious institutions to do a better job of spelling out their teachings and expectations for potential employees, a Catholic educator said. “Parents and extended family members who entrust their children to a faith-based… -
opinion
How School Choice Could Improve Life for Teachers
During National School Choice Week, advocates are demonstrating how students thrive when they have more education options. While it’s often easy to see the success school choice programs have on students, what’s often missing from this conversation is the acknowledgment that teachers are also empowered by school choice. Schools of choice, be they private or… -
news
After Losing His Public School Job for Praying, Coach Kennedy Speaks Out
After refusing to comply with orders to stop kneeling at the 50-yard line and praying after games, Coach Joe Kennedy was banned from participating in any Bremerton High School football programs. The first game he was sidelined for happened to be Senior Night, the night where senior players are honored for their contributions to the team. Looking… -
news
Christian School’s Plea for ‘Equal Protection’ on Playground Goes to Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a state natural resources agency violated the First Amendment when it refused to grant funds to a preschool and daycare run by a church. In 2012, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Mo., applied for a state grant to pay for replacing pea gravel at its Learning Center’s playground with recycled rubber material,… -
opinion
What School Choice Advocates Have to Celebrate
National School Choice Week has just kicked-off, and there is much to celebrate this year. National School Choice Week will feature over 16,000 events across the country this week, ranging from school pep rallies in support of school choice, to policy panels exploring the many school choice options that are now available to families. Over… -
opinion
School Choice Interest Skyrocketing as Public Schools Disappoint
This is shaping up to be the best year yet for National School Choice Week. The annual January event, which began in 2011, will feature 16,140 events, up from roughly 11,000 last year. The festivities officially kicked off across the country on Sunday and run through Jan. 30. Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice… -
news
District 211 School Allows Transgender Student to Use Girls’ Locker Room
A transgender student was granted access to an Illinois public school’s female locker room Friday after reaching an agreement with the school. The agreement with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights states that “Student A” will change behind curtains installed by the district in the girls’ locker room. The school has since upgraded… -
opinion
Detroit Public School Teacher ‘Sick Out‘ Underway While Just 8% of Students Can Read Proficiently
Nearly all schools in Detroit were closed Wednesday due to a massive teacher “sick out,” preventing students from attending class. Teachers have complained about over-crowded classrooms, poor school conditions, and dissatisfaction with the idea of charter school growth in Michigan. The teachers’ sick-out includes a planned march, which will conclude near a venue being visited… -
news
Meet the California Teacher Taking On the Unions
For teachers standing in the cold outside the Supreme Court on Monday, as well as thousands of educators across the country, California teacher Rebecca Friedrichs is mounting a battle that could change the power of public-sector unions. In the Supreme Court case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association that went before the nine justices today, Friedrichs is… -
news
California Teachers Gear Up to Take Fight Against Unions to Supreme Court
On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. Rebecca Friedrichs and nine other teachers are calling into question the agency fees that public-sector workers are required to pay to unions, which they say violate their First Amendment rights. If the Supreme Court rules in Friedrichs’ favor,… -
opinion
Why Sexual Orientation Laws Are a Threat to Local Education
Since the Department of Education was founded in 1979, the federal government has been increasingly involved in public education. The newest encroachment by the federal government into education comes with the arrival of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) laws. The Department of Education has unilaterally decided that “sex” in Title IX (a federal law… -
news
Ohio Teachers Union Officials Paid Twice as Much as Teachers
Ohio’s largest labor union is in the business of selling worker “solidarity,” and for union bosses, business is good. Ohio Education Association president Becky Higgins was paid $209,039 to preside over a union that took member dues and mandatory fees from 121,625 teachers during the fiscal year ending Aug. 31. Regular OEA dues for full-time teachers are… -
news
LGBT Group Calls on Government to Address ‘Disturbing Trend’ on Religious College Campuses
The largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activist group in the country is calling on the Department of Education to address what it calls a “disturbing trend” on college campuses. Specifically, the Human Rights Campaign is calling for more transparency towards what it sees as a trend of schools citing religious reasons for not adhering… -
news
Revealed: The Best and Worst Cities for School Choice
A recent report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute ranking America’s best and worst cities for school choice includes two consistent winners—New Orleans and Washington, D.C.—at the top, and a trio of Texas cities in the bottom half of the 30 areas surveyed, with Albany, N.Y., bringing up the rear. Fordham considered three criteria: political support,… -
news
Why These High School Girls Don’t Want a Transgender Student in Their Locker Room
Speaking out, they knew, could make them the public face of a very private issue. It could lead their classmates to call them “bigots,” “insensitive,” and “homophobes.” But after seeing their high school back down to threats that the U.S. Department of Education would strip away federal funding, and watching school officials overrule their parents,… -
news
Dispute Over Islam Homework Assignment Raises Questions About Public School Curriculum
A local dispute over a high school homework assignment made national headlines when parents in Virginia complained that a teacher was attempting to “indoctrinate” their children with the Muslim religion. “The sheet she gave out was pure doctrine in its origin,” Kimberly Herndon, mother of a 9th grade boy at the high school, told ABC affiliate…