The Bottom Line

Huge historical legislative victories have occurred over the past four years, advancing school choice in states nationwide. In some states, the wins have entailed the creation of new school choice programs, while in other states, it has involved expanding existing programs to reach more students. Most noteworthy has been the enactment of universal or near-universal school choice in 12 states since 2021. Introduction The public education monopoly isn’t working, and it is failing to fulfill its function to a greater degree than in years and decades past. There is a better way: education freedom, which allows parents to choose the school or other learning avenue that best fits their unique child. A few years ago, widespread school choice was nearly Read More ›

[Editor’s Note: This is Part One of a two-part article. Click to read Part Two: Blacks Need High-Quality Education, Not a DEI Agenda — Part 2.] John Deere, Harley-Davidson, Ford Motor Company, and other major corporations are backtracking on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and returning to hiring based on merit. Make no mistake. A work environment featuring diverse ideas and opinions is highly conducive to success. Similarly, it is important to have a work culture that includes all players on the team. But most often, DEI is focused on prioritizing race and sexual orientation over the applicable criteria of merit. This DEI agenda is problematic. Some people counter that the “E” in DEI implies a commitment to equitable outcomes in addition to equal opportunity. In other Read More ›

As just the latest example of elite universities coddling students, classes were canceled following the election result of Donald Trump’s victory, allowing students time and space to cope. At Harvard University, some professors “canceled their Wednesday classes, made attendance optional, or extended assignment deadlines,” while others offered safe spaces for students. Multiple Princeton University professors canceled classes the day following the election, and one professor told students later that week they could “leave if they could not emotionally handle participating.” According to National Review, Princeton University Health Services provided “Post-Election Listening Circles” for students. Georgetown University created a “Self-Care Suite” where students had the opportunity “to play with Legos, color with crayons, and eat milk and cookies” to deal with the stress of the Presidential election Read More ›

Whether ecstatic or demoralized about the recent election, Americans should all welcome a fresh review of how the federal government carries out its work. For too long, the massive federal bureaucracy has been allowed to grow while becoming less and less efficient in how it spends tax dollars. In fact, it would be an exercise in futility to name any government program in anyone’s lifetime that achieved its intended goals in the time frame predicted and within the budget allocated. This reinforces the principle that the government should be the last option to fix a problem, not the first. Perhaps the most glaring example of government ineffectiveness is the Department of Education (ED). Established near the end of the Carter Read More ›

Earlier this week, nearly 90 people attended a special American Center for Transforming Education event hosted by friends of Discovery Institute, Dr. Gregory and LaFon Jantz, at their home in Woodway, Washington. The evening kicked off with a time of appetizers and lively socializing, followed by an elegant dinner, all generously provided by the hosts. As attendees dined, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and Director of the American Center for Transforming Education, Keri Ingraham, provided highlights and accomplishments that occurred over the past few years. She outlined each of the five aspects of the American Center for Transforming Education’s approach to K-12 education transformation: education freedom, education entrepreneurship, education innovation, parental rights, and public education reform, with accompanying examples of how Read More ›

The state of California passed a law in 2021 requiring all students graduating from high school in the 2029-2030 school year to take at least one semester of ethnic studies. The intent, per the state’s California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, is to encourage cultural understanding of the struggles of equality, equity, justice, racism, ethnicity, and bigotry that have been prevalent throughout the history of America. Even though the state offers a model curriculum, it allows school districts to develop their own curriculum, or they can adopt an existing ethnic studies course. The Independent Institute’s Center for Education Excellence, led by Dr. Williamson Evers, has created the turnkey Comparative Cultures Ethnic Studies curriculum that school boards can evaluate and adopt. It stands in relation to another alternative, Read More ›

In July, just a few days after President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten boasted that the union under her charge was the first to endorse Kamala Harris for president. Weingarten pledged: “The AFT has 1.8 million members—including 450,000 in battleground states. Between now and Election Day, we’re going to give our all to make sure our voices are heard and our members are mobilized. Because when we fight, we win.” No question, Weingarten is a fighter. She fought to keep schools closed, which spanned three school years in some states. However, election night was far from a win for Harris, losing in a landslide to former president Donald Trump, who will Read More ›

There was a massive red wave last Tuesday night across the nation, and Texas was no exception. Texas Governor Greg Abbott took to X last week, once again making his commitment to education freedom known: “Parents know their kids better than anyone, & they want to put them on the best path to success.” He continued, “With last night’s election results, we can provide school choice for every Texan.” Less than 90 minutes later, the governor posted a pledge, “Texas will deliver school choice.” Texas, known for freedom, has been an outlier among historically conservative states when it comes to the rights of dads and moms to have education options for their children outside of the public school system. This is despite only 37% of Read More ›

In case you missed it, October 29 was the American Center for Transforming Education’s Annual Special Day of Giving. But it is not too late for you to contribute to this critical work of advancing education freedom, education entrepreneurship and innovation, protecting parental rights, and reforming public education. Donate Today Education freedom is now a reality for millions of students. Yes, millions!  Consider this: As of 2020, less than 500,000 of the more than 52 million K-12 public school students in the U.S. had access to a school choice program, and zero states had K-12 universal or near-universal education freedom. That was less than 1% of students eligible to exit the public education system unless their parents had thousands of dollars a year for tuition money Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham appeared on this week’s episode of the Humanize Podcast, hosted by Wesley J. Smith. Together, they discuss the importance of education for human dignity and freedom and the problems facing American K-12 education today, including how bureaucracy is impeding student success, the indoctrination happening in the classrooms, the incredible power of teachers unions, the problems of technology, and more. Listen to this important conversation here.