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Center for Education Policy |
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Dear Colleague,
Welcome back. We are excited to share the latest from The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy.
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The Washington Times, Jonathan Butcher
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Since the pandemic, teachers have reported that students are fighting more at school. Educators are struggling to maintain order. "Yet in a new report, the Department of Education is advising school officials to focus on 'equity' in school discipline policies—offering little help for educators trying to protect students and help them succeed in the classroom," Jonathan Butcher writes.
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Fox News, Jason Bedrick and Lindsey Burke
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Florida has long been a pioneer in ensuring that families can choose the learning environments that align with their values and work best for their children. Now its lawmakers have cemented the state's status as a national leader in education freedom and choice. "For setting the standard for empowering all families to choose the right learning environments for their children, Florida lawmakers deserve an A+," Jason Bedrick and Lindsey Burke argue.
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The Daily Signal, Adam Kissel and Jack Fitzhenry
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Another wrinkle has been introduced into the short, tortured existence of President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation plan. On March 17, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued an opinion stating that the Biden administration’s student loan cancellation is not in effect because it’s a rule that “substantially impact[s] the rights and obligations” of private parties, and such rules must be submitted to Congress before taking effect. Adam Kissel and Jack Fitzhenry explain, "The GAO preserved Congress’ role in supervising the administrative state and afforded Congress the opportunity to debate the merits of mass debt cancellation."
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Education Next, Jason Bedrick
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As education choice policies sweep the nation, critics are raising concerns about the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse. Yet a closer look reveals that these policies offer a model for accountability. "Education savings account policies like Arizona’s have demonstrated their capacity to empower families with greater educational opportunities while maintaining a high degree of financial accountability," Jason Bedrick writes.
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The Daily Signal, Jay Greene and Jason Bedrick
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As school choice sweeps across the country, opponents are getting more desperate in their attempts to stem the tide. "Like those who spring October surprises in presidential campaigns, aiming to derail candidates with false but confidently expressed last-minute accusations, opponents of school choice seek to undermine it with a falsehood just as state legislatures gather to vote on choice proposals," Jay Greene and Jason Bedrick explain.
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The Daily Signal, Jason Bedrick
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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday signed into law what she called “the largest overhaul of the state’s education system in Arkansas history.” Jason Bedrick writes, "With the enactment of the Arkansas LEARNS initiative, Sanders has raised the bar for conservative education reform. Arkansas will now be among the top states that empower families to choose the learning environments that work best for their kids."
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Washington Examiner, Jonathan Butcher
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No one can say “parents’ rights” aren’t popular in North Carolina, with state lawmakers introducing more than one proposal this year to advance them. But there are stark contrasts between the competing pitches to empower parents. "Families should not be fooled by other proposals posing as a parent bill of rights that are merely vague promises for 'mental protection' and education unions," Jonathan Butcher writes.
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The Daily Signal, Jason Bedrick
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You’d think that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp would be getting more national attention, given his solid record of conservative accomplishments. But if he wants to be touted as an exemplar of conservative governance, he needs to fill one gaping hole in his otherwise sterling résumé: school choice. "Kemp has an opportunity to burnish his résumé by throwing his weight behind a proposal to give all K-12 students in Georgia access to education choice. Senate Bill 223 would create K-12 education savings accounts worth $6,000 annually that families could use to pay for private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, homeschool curriculum, online courses, special-needs therapy, and more," Jason Bedrick explains.
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Washington Examiner, Adam Kissel and Jason Bedrick
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American interests require experts on international subject matter. We need diplomats, analysts, and spies with expertise in particular languages and cultures. But Congress made a mistake when it entrusted U.S. universities with millions of dollars to produce these experts -people who are supposed to be trained to serve U.S. interests but who often end up working against them. "Congress must exercise greater oversight over these federal dollars or, even better, discontinue them altogether," Adam Kissel and Jason Bedrick argue.
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National Review, Lindsey Burke and Corey DeAngelis
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Neither rain, nor snow, nor legislator hypocrisy can keep Governor Greg Abbott off the school-choice trail. "Governor Abbott has been a full-throated champion for universal education-savings accounts (ESAs), declaring their introduction an emergency item," Lindsey Burke and Corey DeAngelis of the American Federation for Children explain.
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New York Sun, Jay Greene and Jason Bedrick
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New York’s Orthodox Jewish schools, or yeshivas, won a major victory in court last week. However, fully resolving the issues raised in the lawsuit will require legislative intervention. "In last week’s court decision, the judge stuck down the central part of the state’s effort to crack down on the yeshivas. The ruling forbids the state from closing private schools that failed inspections," Jay Greene and Jason Bedrick write.
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Heritage Expert Reports:
Transforming Federal Foreign Language Programs to Serve U.S. Interests
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Heritage expert Adam Kissel explains that Title VI International and Foreign Language Education programs do not achieve their goal as stated by Congress and should be eliminated.
Read the full report here.
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America Needs an Education in Leisure
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Heritage expert Rachel Cambre argues that the classical school movement, which teaches citizens how to be at leisure, is countercultural and resists both utilitarianism and decadence.
Read the full report here.
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