The Bottom Line

The Trump Administration continues to take decisive action to address the national K-12 public education crisis, ensuring a change of course from the dire status quo. The latest action occurred on May 7th when the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education sent a letter to all state education chiefs, which opened by stating: “Parents should never worry about their child’s safety at school.” Continuing the letter read: “All children deserve to attend a safe school in which they can focus on mastering the literacy, mathematics, and other skills necessary for success in school and beyond.” Yet, violence has become commonplace in American public schools. For example, during the 2021-2022 school year, schools reported roughly 1.2 million violent offenses to the U.S. Read More ›

In April, Keri D. Ingraham appeared on Wake Up Missouri, hosted by Randy Tobler. Together, they discuss the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, the transition of student loans to the Small Business Administration, reforming teacher pay, and the impressive progress of school choice.

On April 16, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and American Center for Transforming Education Director Keri D. Ingraham delivered a 45-minute speech at a Women of Washington dinner event. The speech was followed by a time for questions and answers. Approximately a hundred people attended the special event held in Bellevue, Washington. The following is an excerpt from Ingraham’s speech: As President Ronald Reagan famously said in his March 30, 1961, speech: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with Read More ›

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the essay, “Making Admissions to Elite Colleges Fair.” The full essay can be accessed here. If by some quirk of fate I should have complete control over how admissions at an elite school get decided, what would I do? It’s the old hypothetical of if I were king or dictator or grand poobah. Hypotheticals like this often have no traction with reality. But bear with my proposal for running admissions at an elite school. Once the proposal is on the table, we can turn to its practicability—whether it stands any chance of actually being implemented.  My goal in changing admissions at elite schools is to make them fair. Right now they are unfair, Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham appeared on NTD News Today on Tuesday, April 22, to discuss the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement that collections of defaulted federal student loans would resume on May 5. Ingraham outlined the Biden administration’s unlawful actions to cancel student loans and defended the Trump administration’s return to enforcing repayment of student loans. “The goal is to help people be free from debt while not pushing that onto those who chose not to go to college,” said Ingraham.

Controversy has reared its head again in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) in California. The district recently convened a special board meeting to deliberate on its Ethnic Studies curriculum and the potential renewal of a contract with Community Responsive Education (CRE). As I reported last month, the State of California previously rejected the draft Ethnic Studies curriculum co-authored by CRE founder and director Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, which was deemed to promote antisemitism and neo-Marxist ideology. Though the district’s multi-stage contract with CRE was canceled in 2023 amidst the controversy, Tintiangco-Cubales’s ideas live on. No wonder many are concerned that PVUSD is considering a renewed contract with CRE. The meeting made it clear that PVUSD was fully aware of the nature of CRE’s philosophy Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham appeared on NTD News on April 8, 2025, to discuss the continued changes to the Department of Education. Dr. Ingraham debated Educate President and former teacher Stacey Schultz on concerns about the transfer of student loans to the Small Business Administration, whether the dismantling of the Department of Education will benefit educators, and how education can be improved nationally.