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
State Supreme Court to Decide if Washington Will Allow Charter Schools
Washington state’s Supreme Court will determine whether charter schools will be allowed in the state. A hearing is scheduled in October. The charter school law, approved by Washington state voters in 2012, allows for about 40 charter schools to open during the next five years. This fall, the private school First Place will be the…Mary Tillotson -
- Opinion
Education Savings Accounts: Enabling Customized Learning
An education option that better targets resources, empowers parents, and tailors a student’s learning experience specifically to his needs—while also enabling families to save for college? Sounds too good to be true, but it’s the reality for families in Arizona and Florida that have access to pioneering education savings accounts (ESAs). In 2011, Arizona Governor…Brittany Corona -
- Opinion
Group That Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls Makes Alliance of Convenience With ISIS
Boko Haram, the terrorist group operating in north-eastern Nigeria and northern Cameroon that drew headlines this spring after kidnapping over 250 female students, aligned itself publicly with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in July. The decision likely has more to do with fundraising than a realignment of goals and ideologies: Boko Haram…Charlotte Florance -
- Opinion
Tuition Tax Credit Scholarships: Advancing School Choice Through Charitable Contributions
Nineteen-year-old Jorge Perez will attend Columbia University this fall to study philosophy and economics—something his single mother, Sophia Flores, never dreamed for her son. But when Sophia discovered Florida’s tuition tax credit scholarship program in 2003, the doors of opportunity opened for Jorge. Sophia was able to use Jorge’s tax credit scholarship toward tuition at…Brittany Corona -
- Opinion
Back to School: The Transformational Impact of School Vouchers
Another summer has come to an end. As I’ve been looking toward the new school year, I have had a chance to reflect on all the children who have touched my life over the past few years. In 2004, when the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) was implemented, I had the privilege of getting to…Virginia Walden Ford -
- Opinion
One Judge Attempts to Block Thousands of Students from Accessing School Vouchers
Last Thursday, North Carolina Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood ruled the state’s school voucher program unconstitutional because the program “appropriates funds in a manner that does not accomplish a public purpose.” The Opportunity Scholarship Program was established last year and set to go into effect this school year, providing children from low-income families scholarships worth…Brittany Corona -
- Opinion
How Charter Schools Spend Less than Public Schools, But Achieve Better Results
This fall, more students than ever will head off to public charter schools as the school year begins. Approximately 2.5 million students will enroll in 6,500 charter schools across the country. Notably, from 2001 to 2011, charter school enrollment increased by 1.2 million students. Charter schools, which are public schools that are independently managed and…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
4 Charts Every Mom With Kids Going Back to School Should See
Many kids are heading back to public school this week, and so begins fall and spring semesters. You have entrusted the government to give your child a good curriculum and a teaching staff you can count on. But what happens when the school staff is equipped with a big list of employees, but not necessarily…Kelsey Lucas -
- News
The Stimulus Is Still Affecting Philadelphia Schools
As financial problems plague the Philadelphia city public school system and politicians at the state level cast blame, the specter of federal stimulus has come to bear. At the end of last week, parents and students across Philadelphia County were relieved to hear classes would not start later because of an $81 million budget shortfall,…Yaël Ossowski -
- News
Teachers Pay Price for Leaving Union
A California teacher has filed a lawsuit against her union that claims she was cut off from benefits and from having a vote on the contract because she did not want her dues spent on political causes she did not support. “There’s this undercurrent of fear and intimidation,” said Rebecca Friedrichs, whose suit seeks an…Mary Tillotson -
- Opinion
A Narrative of Hope: Transforming Lives Through School Choice
Jason Tejada grew up in the Bronx and attended a school that struggled with frequent drug busts and violence. His mother, Luz, knew she wanted more for her son. Jason’s family was awarded a Children’s Scholarship Fund (CSF) scholarship, which enabled Jason to transfer to Incarnation School in upper Manhattan. To Jason, Incarnation felt “more…Jillian Frost -
- Opinion
Should a High School Student Get Suspended for Saying ‘Bless You’?
That’s what one student at a Tennessee high school is claiming happened to her. Kendra Turner, a senior at Dyer County High School, was given an in-school suspension for breaking a class rule prohibiting the saying of “bless you” after a sneeze. The school has responded by claiming that Turner shouted “bless you” across a…Andrew Kloster -
- News
Teachers in Kansas Voted to Leave Their Union. A Year Later, ‘Things Are Going Pretty Well’
OSAWATOMIE, Kan. — More than a year after teachers in the Deerfield, Kan., school district voted to leave their union, leaders say the doom-and-gloom predictions from the state’s largest teachers union haven’t come to pass. “Things are going pretty well, actually,” said Doug Crandall, a teacher who also is president of the newly revived Deerfield Educators…Travis Perry -
- News
Administrative Costs on the Rise in Tennessee Schools
NASHVILLE — About a quarter of Tennessee’s public school districts, 33 in all, spend more on administrative costs — such as principals and school directors — than the statewide average of 10.5 percent, according to a new comptrollers’ report. The report, written by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Offices of Research and Education Accountability, examined the 2012-13 school…Chris Butler -
- Opinion
Why the Average Student Loan Debt Just Keeps Rising
New student orientations are kicking off at colleges across the country, and parents are busy buying mini fridges and dorm-sized bed sheets. As students head off this fall, many will also carry with them record-high levels of student loan debt. This year, outstanding student loan balances reached an all-time high of $1.12 trillion – an…Lindsey Burke -
- News
Poll: Teachers, Public Sour on Common Core Education Standards
Public support for the national education standards known as Common Core is falling, though a slight majority remains in favor, a new poll finds. Less than half of teachers surveyed back Common Core, however. The poll by Education Next, a journal from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, found that public support for the Common Core standards…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
For Some Schools, Educating Undocumented Students Is ‘Business as Usual’
An influx of undocumented and even unaccompanied minors coming to Virginia may be new—and news—to many, but it won’t be to those who work in the commonwealth’s public school systems. Since the beginning of the year, the federal government has released more than 2,000 undocumented students to sponsors—most relatives—in Virginia. Many will start at their…Kathryn Watson -
- Opinion
School Choice Regulation: Be Careful What You Wish For
Attempts to overly regulate private schools participating in school choice programs have a funny way of behaving. We have tried very different approaches to testing across private school choice programs. If we are to make full use of the laboratories of democracy, we must assess the results of new policies as a part of a…Matthew Ladner -
- News
Why One Low-Income Family Is Grateful for State’s School Choice Program
When the North Carolina Legislature approved a budget in late July that allocated more money for a new school choice program, it was the answer to one mom’s prayer. Kena Cooper’s son, Keenan, already had received a scholarship to a private school. He was chosen in a lottery of 4,200 students for 2,400 slots in a…Mary Tillotson -
- Opinion
Teachers Union Seeks to Block School Choice Program for Children with Special Needs
Just two months after Florida became the second state to enact education savings accounts, the state’s largest teachers union has sued to stop the program, which serves children with special needs. Passed by the Florida legislature on the last day of the session and enacted in June, Florida’s Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts help families of children with…Brittany Corona