Author: BelieveAgain

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a New Hampshire law that bars the teaching of “divisive concepts,” such as that one individual’s race is superior to others or that any person is inherently racist.U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro of Concord, N.H., said the law is impermissibly vague and in violation of the First Amendment because it does not provide fair notice to teachers as to what they may not teach, does not explain when classroom discussion of a forbidden topic crosses the line into impermissible teaching, and does not make clear when teacher speech outside the classroom violates…

The availability of education savings accounts spurs private schools to raise tuition. Wealthy families benefit from state-subsidized private education options more than poor families do. Politicians in states without vouchers or ESAs aren’t giving up on making them legal.Those are a few takeaways from recent developments on the landscape of private school choice—state-led programs that offer public funds for parents to spend on private school tuition, fees, and other related expenses.Private school choice has grown rapidly in recent years. Twenty-nine states currently have at least one private school choice program, and 12 of those states have at least one program…

A divisive political climate has made it more difficult to forge broad support for education policies across party lines. But “cross-partisan” solutions are still possible—and urgently needed, said education policy advocates who spoke at a virtual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Education & Society Program Wednesday. They discussed a March report on forming coalitions to solve problems in the field, based on feedback and listening sessions from education leaders and advocates from a variety of political backgrounds.“We may not have the political environment we want, but there are ways to operate in the one that we have,” said Karen…

In “Straight Talk with Rick and Jal,” Harvard University’s Jal Mehta and I examine the reforms and enthusiasms that permeate education. In a field full of buzzwords, our goal is simple: Tell the truth, in plain English, about what’s being proposed and what it means for students, teachers, and parents. We may be wrong and we will frequently disagree, but we’ll try to be candid and ensure that you don’t need a Ph.D. in eduspeak to understand us.Today’s topic is educational choice and whether it “works.”—RickRick: It’s been another busy spring for educational choice, so let’s dig into the heated…

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case about a Maryland school district’s policies to support transgender students and when parents may challenge them.The court’s action in Parents 1 v. Montgomery County Board of Education was not a decision on the merits, but the case is emblematic of a widespread national debate over gender identity policies in public schools and parental rights.“Schools across the country over the past few years have adopted policies similar to that involved here that require school personnel to hide from parents—lying if need be—that the school is assisting their child to…

A federal appeals court on May 15 refused to block a Maryland school district’s policy preventing parents from opting their children out of LGBTQ+ inclusive “storybooks” used in the English language arts curriculum in its elementary schools.A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, in Richmond, Va., voted 2-1 to deny a preliminary injunction to block the policy of the 160,000-student Montgomery County school district outside the nation’s capital.The school system in 2022 approved books such as Pride Puppy!, which encourages readers to look for terms such as drag queen and king, lip ring, and leather,…

Corey DeAngelis is a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and the executive director of the Educational Freedom Institute. He’s a controversial, highly visible school choice champion who’s engaged in high-profile clashes with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, AFT chief Randi Weingarten, and many others. He’s now out with a new book, The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools (which was the #1 new release on Amazon as I was drafting this introduction). It seemed like a good opportunity to chat with Corey about his book, his oft-controversial rhetoric, the state of school choice, and…

After 70 years, what is left to say about Brown v. Board of Education?A lot, it turns out. As the anniversary nears this week for the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic May 17, 1954, decision that outlawed racial segregation in public schools, there are new books, reports, and academic conferences analyzing its impact and legacy.Just last year, members of the current Supreme Court debated divergent interpretations of Brown as they weighed the use of race in higher education admissions, with numerous references to the landmark ruling in their deeply divided opinions in the case that ended college affirmative action as it…

Leaders from three large school districts condemned antisemitism at a congressional hearing on Wednesday and didn’t deny it has been on the rise in their schools. But they defended their handling of hateful incidents and said they’re fighting antisemitism through education, not just discipline.The U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing was the first at which Republican House members turned their focus to antisemitism in K-12 settings, after training their sights on universities in previous hearings that precipitated the resignations of two university presidents.The session with K-12 leaders offered a stark contrast to the first hearing with higher education leaders on…

Schools stand to lose a significant chunk of revenue when federal COVID-relief aid expires.That’s one of the takeaways from a new batch of federal data illustrating the money schools received (revenues) and the money they invested (expenditures) during the 2021-22 school year—the second full one after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.The data come from the results of the Common Core of Data National Public Education Financial Survey, which annually collects data from school districts nationwide.The numbers, published on May 7 by the National Center for Education Statistics, a research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, lag present-day conditions…