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
Virginia School Bans Chapstick
A school board in Virginia got an earful from one of its students last week over its ban on lip balm. Last winter, Grace Karaffa, a student in Augusta County, was told by her teachers she was not allowed to bring lip balm to school or to wear it while in the building because of… -
news
How the Unaccompanied Children Crisis Is Affecting Public Schools
This year, more than 50,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the southern border into the U.S. If you’re wondering where they’ve gone, you may need to look no further than the classrooms of your local public school. On May 8, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to local… -
news
Poll Finds Strong Support for School Choice in Wisconsin’s Swing Districts
MADISON, Wis. — School choice in Wisconsin now has a big voice advocating for it. The American Federation for Children, “the nation’s voice for educational choice,” this week announced the launch of Wisconsin Federation for Children. Officials of AFC, which has been active in Wisconsin for a decade, say the launch of the local campaign… -
news
Vermont Schools Ban Brownies, Replace Them With Kale
It’s a best-seller at bake sales, a king of American confections, even a mandatory munchie of marijuana users. But the iconic chocolate brownie, that perfect blend of cake and cookie, is banned in Vermont schools. In its place are new hoped-for kid favorites such as fruit shish kabob, kale and even gluten-free paleo lemon bars…. -
news
Controversial Sex Education Program Reinstated in Hawaii Public Schools
HONOLULU — Hawaii’s State Department of Education will reinstate the controversial “Pono Choices” sex education curriculum, but the program for middle school students will include some key revisions after pressure from parents and lawmakers. The curriculum, developed by the University of Hawaii Center on Disability Studies, set off a firestorm over the last year. Some… -
opinion
Police Tackle Female High Schooler for Using a Cellphone in School
How many adults does it take to tackle a girl standing only 4’10” tall and weighing just 100 pounds? Well, at Sam Houston High School the answer appears to be three. Ixel Perez is that girl. She is a 10th grade student at Sam Houston High School in Texas who claims three school resource officers… -
opinion
In One State, More Children Homeschool Than Attend Private Schools. Why That Shouldn’t Shock You.
In North Carolina, the number of homeschoolers has now surpassed the number of students attending private schools. That statistic may seem shocking if you’ve been a stranger to the growth of the homeschooling movement, which has rapidly increased in recent decades. In 1973, there were approximately 13,000 children, ages 5 to 17, being homeschooled in… -
news
How an Anti-Religion Group Convinced a Florida School District to Ban Team Chaplains
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Florida’s fourth-largest public school district is cracking down on religious expression at sporting events. Orange County Public Schools in Orlando has banned team chaplains, signs with Bible references and religious-oriented phrases from appearing on student-athlete clothing. It also prohibited religious music on game tapes. The new policies aren’t a response to complaints from parents… -
opinion
How the Rise in School Choice Helps All of Us
America is built on the philosophy of bootstrapping, or pulling yourself up through your own talents and abilities. No tool is better suited for doing that than a good education. For years, however, a good primary and secondary education has been increasingly difficult to find. But I’m happy to report, at the start of another… -
opinion
How Students Could Get Access to Courses Their High Schools Don’t Offer
Less than two-thirds of high schools across the country offer physics. Just half offer calculus, according to Michael Horn, an education innovation guru. That only half of high schools offer calculus might come as a shock to a large portion of parents, who have worked to ensure their children have adequate educational opportunities. And it’s… -
opinion
9 Adorable Back-to-School Photos Guaranteed to Make You Smile
"Smile, it's your first day of school!" The (usually) dreaded sentence for kids, and the prized moment for parents — the once-a-year, back-to-school photo. Whether you're home-schooled, public-schooled, private-schooled, charter-schooled, or college-bound, the back-to-school photo is more than just a photo. It's the quick moment of nervous excitement that will soon be forgotten amid overdue homework and… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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,…