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
Is an Ohio School District Using Public Money to Campaign?
Brad Reynolds received a text message, Oct. 24, from Maumee City Schools: “Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser tonight at Maumee High School. 5 – 6:30. $6 adults. $4 seniors/students. Students performing throughout” The text came from the School Messenger alert system — the one that’s supposed to be used to notify parents of an emergency or about… -
opinion
These Studies Found Exposure to the Arts Boosted Educational Success
New research into humanities education suggests student learning outcomes increase with exposure to the arts. Few empirical studies have been conducted on the benefits of arts education for students. Jay Greene, endowed chair of the Department of Education at the University of Arkansas, and his team have released two studies on the educational benefits of… -
opinion
Majority of Delawareans Support Education Savings Accounts
A majority of Delawareans support education savings accounts (ESAs), according to a new study released by The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. The study used a randomly selected sample of Delaware voters to measure public opinion on a variety of education-related issues, including the direction of K–12 education, education spending, school choice options, and standardized… -
news
See the Picture of a Skimpy School Lunch That One Parent Called ‘Ridiculous’
An Oklahoma student has sparked outrage about federal school lunch guidelines after taking a picture of her meager lunch. Kaytlin Shelton’s lunch consisted of a few slices of lunch meat, a slice of cheese, two small packages of crackers and two pieces of cauliflower. The lunch is particularly small for Shelton, 17, who is eight… -
opinion
This Little Girl With Down Syndrome Was Stuck in a Horrible School Situation. How a New Policy Changed Her Life Completely.
“When I would pick her up almost every evening, she would wait until she got into the car and she would just start weeping.” That’s what Veronica, mother of Salima, who has Down syndrome, says in a powerful video about her daughter’s experience at her assigned public school. But thanks to a fairly new school… -
news
Where’s the Beef? You Won’t Find Any on ‘Meatless Mondays’ in This School District
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Students attending Sarasota County public schools might be wondering, “Where’s the beef?” The answer won’t be found between two buns, at least not on Mondays. Sarasota County Schools kicked off a Meatless Monday campaign last week, nixing traditional protein-packed food items for vegetarian substitutes. The program is part of “a popular international movement … to promote… -
news
For Second Time, High School Forced to Reverse Ban on Christian Student Group
High school students in Long Island, N.Y., were recently denied the right to establish a club for Christian students by their school administrators. This marks the second time they’ve run into trouble. Last year, John Raney, a 17-year-old student at Ward Melville High School, created Students United in Faith as an extracurricular club where Christian… -
opinion
Education Savings Accounts Are the Next Generation of School Choice
“A blind student in Arizona gets about $21,000 a year,” says Marc Ashton, whose son, Max, is legally blind. That $21,000 represents what Arizona spends to educate a student such as Max in the public-school system. “We took our 90 percent of that, paid for Max to get the best education in Arizona, plus all… -
news
‘Boys and Girls’ a No-No at School Seeking to Be More ‘Gender Inclusive’
LINCOLN, Neb.—A middle school employee gave teachers training documents advising them not to use “gendered expressions” by calling students “boys and girls” or “ladies and gentlemen,” but to instead use more generic expressions such as campers, readers, athletes or even purple penguins to be more “gender inclusive.” A handout called “12 easy steps on the way… -
news
See Why This School District Is Standing Up to an Atheist Group
Post by Donald Zolan. An atheist group has demanded that an Oklahoma school remove a poster from its main office–but the school district said “no.” For the last 18 years, a poster based on a painting, “Faith in America” by Donald Zolan, has been displayed in the main office of Kenneth Cooper Middle School in… -
news
Middle Schoolers Bored by Common Core’s One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Seventh grader Kayla Gillman loves math. She doesn’t love Common Core math. Thanks to Common Core, her Sacramento, Calif., middle school, Turlock Junior High, only offers one one math course for seventh grade students and one math class for eighth grade students. Gillman says it’s not challenging enough, and parents are requesting additional classes that… -
news
Teachers Sue Union for Censoring Charitable Donations
Two teachers have taken Pennsylvania’s largest teachers union to court over its attempt to decide which charities may be supported by teachers as an alternative when they decline to join the union on religious grounds. The teachers, Chris Meier from Lancaster County and Jane Ladley from Chester County, are required—as a condition of employment—either to… -
opinion
Is School Choice Feasible in Rural States?
School choice is now a reality for children in 24 states and Washington, D.C. They take advantage of some 40 options ranging from tuition scholarships to education savings accounts. Although states across the country have embraced school choice, rural states have done so more slowly, in part, say some, out of a belief that choice… -
opinion
School Board Tells Homeschool Family Their Curriculum Must Be ‘Guided’ by Common Core Standards
For many public school students, Common Core national standards and tests are being implemented in their classrooms this school year. Yet parent opposition has been vocal over the past few years, 60 percent of the public opposes Common Core, and teacher support for the standards has dropped precipitously over the past year from 76 percent… -
news
University Reconsiders Questionnaire About Students’ Sex Lives
Officials at Western New Mexico University say a controversial questionnaire that sparked complains elsewhere in the country because it asked students about their sex lives and drinking habits will be administered only after it’s been vetted by WNMU’s administration. “We are going to review the questions more carefully going forward,” WNMU public information officer Abe Villareal said Tuesday after… -
opinion
Teachers Union Trying to Block School Choice Loses in Florida Court
Florida children won in court Wednesday. In a hearing that lasted approximately 19-minutes, Leon County circuit court judge Charles Francis dismissed the Florida Education Association’s lawsuit to block the state’s innovative Personal Learning Scholarship Account school choice option, finding that the FEA did not have standing to challenge the law. Although the FEA has 15… -
news
S.C. High School Apologizes for Forcing Students to Remove American Flags on 9/11
Administrators at a South Carolina high school confiscated American flags from students’ trucks on 9/11 as part of a rule preventing students from calling “an unusual amount of attention to oneself.” On the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, four students at Woodruff High School arrived at school with large American flags propped… -
news
First of Its Kind: Tufts University Hires Humanist Chaplain for Atheist Students
Five years ago, a group of atheist and agnostic students launched a campaign to hire a nonreligious chaplain at Tufts University. With the recent addition of a university-funded “humanist in residence,’ it appears their prayers—or lack thereof—have finally been answered. The new position is believed to be the first-ever university-funded campus chaplain catering to atheist,… -
news
UK’s Fox: We Must Stop ISIS Before It Becomes ‘University of Jihad’
If the world does not destroy the terrorist group ISIS, former British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said today, “they will become the University of Jihad, ready and willing to export their graduates to wherever they can do the greatest damage.” Fox, speaking at The Heritage Foundation, also addressed global economics, Russian aggression in Ukraine and… -
news
Teachers Hope to Erase Union Dues That Deny Free Speech
Fourth-grade teacher Rebecca Friedrichs doesn’t support a new state law allowing self-identifying transgender children in the public school system to choose which bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities they will use. Allowing these students to occupy the same private space with classmates who don’t share their biological traits, Friedrichs believes, puts the interests of a…