During remarks to attendees in Charlotte last week, Education Secretary Arne Duncan claimed that the budget passed by the House of Representatives would mean “fewer teachers in the classroom, fewer resources for poor kids and students with disabilities, [and] fewer after school programs.” However, the House budget does not designate …
Alabama is considering requesting a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education to relieve the state of some of the burdensome requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). But the waivers represent a troubling pact with Washington: To get relief from federal mandates, Alabama must agree to more federal intervention. …
As children head back to the classrooms, let’s look at two important figures to consider this school year: 308,000 and $11,400. 308,000: Number of members lost by the National Education Association. Education special interest groups, such as the teachers unions, are experiencing a decline in membership. As Stephen Sawchuck reports …
Last month President Obama signed an executive order to form the new White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. According to the White House, the new initiative, which will work across federal agencies, “aims to ensure that all African American students receive an education that fully prepares them …
Support for school choice is at an all-time high, according to this year’s PDK/Gallup Poll, released just this morning. Forty-four percent of Americans now favor allowing students to choose a private school to attend at public expense. School choice favorability has jumped 10 percentage points since last year, a sign …
The Obama Administration’s new Race to the Top District (RTT-D) competition, a competitive grant program on top of the more than 100 programs the Department of Education (DOE) already operates, entices cash-strapped school districts with another $400 million to implement the Obama education agenda. For the past half-century, federal education …
When the fight for control over what is taught in American schools is won, Utah will be remembered for having fired the shot heard ’round the country’s classrooms and statehouses. In a move that should inspire other state leaders concerned with the Obama Administration’s push to nationalize standards and tests …
Let us imagine we have the power to rebuild our education system from the ground up—an appropriate mental exercise as we remember the late Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman on his 100th birthday tomorrow. If we could rebuild our education system from scratch, it’s unlikely we would create a system …
The left’s tactic of intimidation is at work again, this time in Louisiana. The Louisiana Association of Educators is threatening litigation against private parochial schools in the state that plan to accept voucher students this fall. This past Wednesday, private schools that have elected to participate in the new statewide …
