When it comes to K-12 education, Washington bureaucrats have woven a very tangled web of programs, mandates, and pet projects. Under No Child Left Behind, the Department of Education is a vast bureaucracy that: Operates more than 80 programs tied to the nation’s classrooms – the majority of which are ineffective, duplicative, and unnecessary; Dictates how states and school districts gauge school p... Read more »
There is more to celebrate this week than quality charter schools. With Teacher Appreciation Week upon us, men and women from across the country are also taking time to #ThankATeacher for their dedication to improving the lives of children through education. Research shows an effective teacher can dramatically boost a child’s academic achievement and opportunities for success in life. According to... Read more »
This week marks National Charter Schools Week, when parents, students, educators, advocates, and policymakers recognize the successes of the charter school movement. Twenty-three years ago, parents, teachers, and state and local leaders joined together to launch a new kind of public school – a charter school – that would promote parental choice, foster innovation, and ensure a high level of accoun... Read more »
The president’s appointees at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seem determined to undercut the American Dream. With the General Counsel’s unprecedented decision last July that McDonald’s Inc. and its franchisees are joint employers, and a similar case pending before the full board, the Obama NLRB is poised to upend a business model that has benefited countless American entrepreneurs. Take... Read more »
After decades of federal intrusion into the nation’s classrooms, it’s time for Congress to pass a law that restores parental, local, and state control over education. Will Estrada with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) describes the urgent need to replace the current education law, No Child Left Behind, with conservative education reforms embodied in the Student Success Act. In a b... Read more »
For too long, Washington has insisted more programs, mandates, and spending would fix a broken K-12 education system. While well intended, No Child Left Behind doubled-down on this flawed approach, leaving countless students trapped in failing schools. A one-size-fits-all accountability system has ushered in an era of ineffective high-stakes testing that has done little – if anything – to improve ... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has implemented new policies that jeopardize the privacy of workers and their families. Buried in the NLRB’s new ambush election rule – regulations designed to speed up union elections – are requirements that force employers to disclose employees’ personal information to union organizers. The Obama board’s regulatory scheme provides labor bos... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ambush election rule dramatically alters long-standing policies governing union elections. The board’s rule significantly shortens the time between the filing of a petition for a union election and the election date by: Giving workers as few as 11 days to consider all the consequences of joining a union before they have to vote in the elect... Read more »
Dear Secretary Burwell, As members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, we are responsible for oversight of the Head Start Act and write today deeply concerned about the health and safety of children enrolled in the Head Start program. This concern stems from apparent discrepancies in how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decides when to suspend or terminate the con... Read more »
The Obama administration is once again pushing a multi-billion dollar proposal to offer ‘free’ community college to every American. In the weekly address, Vice President Biden said this was a “straightforward plan to … expand the pathway to the middle class.” Like most political gestures that offer something for nothing, this one is not all it’s cracked up to be. There is nothing ‘free’ about the ... Read more »
