About $60 billion more federal education dollars. That’s President Obama’s latest proposal to fix schools—this time in the form of his $447 billion jobs bill. Despite tens of billions in education bailouts in the last two years, not to mention ever increasing federal education budgets, Obama somehow believes that this next round of government dollars is just the answer to the nation’s education woes. Speaking yesterday at Fort Hayes High School in Columbus, Ohio—in another rendition of his “pass this bill speech”—Obama decried the poor condition of the nation’s schools …
“The power and influence of education unions has a significant effect on schools today. But is that good for American students?” Education Unions: Made Simple, the fourth in a series of short videos, explains the stifling effect of unions on the nation’s schools using a simple analogy. Sunny, a talented musician who is adored by his fans, is suddenly forced to join a musicians’ union. While the union provides perks, it also pushes rules upon him, such as restricting how long he can meet with fans and the time he …
In the national effort to overcome dependence on government, Michigan has just moved one step forward toward ensuring that welfare promotes self-reliance. On Tuesday, Governor Rick Snyder (R) signed legislation to place a four-year time limit on cash assistance benefits for welfare recipients. In 2006, Michigan passed similar legislation under then-Governor Jennifer Granholm (D). But, according to Jack McHugh of Michigan’s Mackinac Center, that particular legislation included so many loopholes that it rendered the time limits practically meaningless. The legislation signed this week attempts strengthen the time limits and thus …
In a momentous move in March of this year, a Colorado school board voted to implement its first private school choice program. The program allows up to 500 children in Douglas County to attend a private school of their choice. Now, hundreds of students are being blocked from receiving these scholarships due to the decision of a state district judge from Denver to halt the voucher program, claiming that it violates the state constitution. The county school board is planning to appeal the decision. John Carson, president of the Douglas …
It’s back to school time. And this year, students across the nation have more educational opportunity than in any previous year. 2011 has been named “The Year of School Choice,” and for good reason. Forty-two states introduced over 150 pieces of school choice legislation, and 12 states and the District of Columbia enacted plans to broaden school choice. As of this year, 18 states plus D.C. offer some form of private school choice: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, …
On August 8, the Obama Administration announced it would begin granting waivers to states to allow them to opt out of the requirements of No Child Left Behind. But there’s a catch: If a state desires to obtain a waiver, it must also agree to sign on to requirements the Obama Administration sets forth. In response, last Friday Chairman John Kline (R–MN) of the House Education and the Workforce Committee stated: …the Obama Administration seems determined to override Congressional efforts to reform the law and enact a backdoor education agenda. …
Fifteen years ago today, after lengthy battles between a Republican-led Congress and a Democratic White House, President Bill Clinton signed into law the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, otherwise known as welfare reform. Among other changes, the act inserted work requirements and time limits into the nation’s largest cash assistance welfare program. As a result, five years after the reform, 3.5 million fewer individuals lived in poverty, and the poverty rate for black children dropped to its lowest level in the nation’s history. However, there have been …
On Monday, the White House announced that it will start issuing waivers for states to avoid the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The White House is making states sign on to Obama education policies in order to receive a waiver, completely bypassing Congress and the normal legislative process. As Joy Pullman noted in the Weekly Standard this past Tuesday: The president has decided to take a tack on the largest federal education law…bypassing Congress and legislating through administrative agencies by offering states waivers in exchange for education …
Good news: At the end of July, the federal government announced it will not be implementing President Obama’s spread-the-wealth “Supplemental Poverty Measure.” The Census Bureau reported: Since the FY 2011 federal budget did not include the funding requested by the President for the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) initiative, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics do not currently have the resources necessary to move the Supplemental Poverty Measure from research mode to production mode. The proposed measure would have resulted in a major reconstruction of the definition of …
If you happened to be in Washington, D.C., last weekend, you may have run into the “Save Our Schools Rally”—perhaps more accurately titled “Maintain the Status Quo in Education Rally.” The folks over at Reason TV were on hand to talk with participants of the rally and created this short video (language warning) that highlights the left’s misunderstanding of the problems in America’s education system today. For example, Matt Damon, who spoke at the rally, scoffs at the idea of providing incentives to high-performing teachers or firing poorly performing teachers. …
