What happened to learning as a national priority? For decades, both Republicans and Democrats strove to be seen as champions of student achievement. Politicians believed pushing for stronger reading and math skills wasn’t just a responsibility, it was potentially a winning electoral strategy. At the moment, though, it seems as though neither party, nor even…
The very identity of the nation’s 8,100 charter schools is on the line on Wednesday, as the Supreme Court considers whether they are fundamentally public or private institutions. If they are public, there is little room for religious instruction, as proposed by the school at the center of the case, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic…
When the justices take the bench for oral arguments on Wednesday, one seat will be empty: Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the junior member of the court’s conservative supermajority, has recused herself from the case, which means she will not take part in the oral arguments, deliberations or vote. The justice did not provide an explanation…
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, the school at the center of Wednesday’s case, has not yet opened its doors. In fact, it does not have doors to open. If the Supreme Court allows it to proceed, St. Isidore will be an online school, an alternative to traditional schooling that has been growing in…
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday over the fate of the nation’s first religious charter school, in Oklahoma, which seeks to use government money to teach a curriculum infused by Catholic doctrine. In earlier cases from Maine and Montana, the court ruled that states that decide to create programs to help parents pay…
In 2008, Steven F. Wilson, who had been an adviser to the former Massachusetts governor, William Weld, on education policy, opened a charter school to educate children from low-income families, in central Brooklyn. Over the years that followed, his vision grew to a consortium of 15 schools, the Ascend Network, serving roughly 5,500 students, 84…
US President Donald Trump President Donald Trump is fixated on his ideology of expanding school choice, positioning it as the heart of his education agenda. In reshaping the US Department of Education, he has consistently emphasized empowering parents to choose schools for their children. Framed as a victory for families, the reality speaks a different…
While the country holds its breath for the Supreme Court’s responses to the Trump administration’s serial depredations, it’s hard to focus on anything else. Nonetheless, a case set for argument next month before the court merits more attention than the little it has received, given its destabilizing potential for public education. The central question is…
The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider a high-profile case that could open the door to allowing public dollars to directly fund religious schools. The widely watched case out of Oklahoma could transform the line between church and state in education, and it will come before a court whose conservative majority has broadly embraced…
As Donald Trump gears up for his second term as President of the United States, with his inauguration set for January 20, the spotlight turns to his ambitious vision for the future of American education. Education was a cornerstone of his campaign, where he pledged sweeping reforms aimed at empowering families and addressing systemic inefficiencies….