Independent Women's Forum

Teachers are incentivized in education to stay in the profession longer through the step-and-lane salary schedule, which gives a raise each year for experience, regardless of professional performance. This creates a system in which individuals are not accountable for proving they are providing student learning. Teacher pay is not linked to student test scores or student growth; rather, it is based on time in the profession. High-achieving individuals enter the profession and find that their hard work and professional results are not rewarded. They often leave the system to pursue a career opportunity in which their job performance is recognized with financial compensation. It’s time the system was flipped so that high performance by educators is incentivized and rewarded. The status Read More ›

There was a mass exodus from district public schools during the prolonged school closures when parents had a front-row seat in their child’s classroom through the remote Zoom sessions. They witnessed the infiltration of radical political agendas and the lack of quality academic instruction. When schools were unresponsive to their concerns, parents who could exit the system for alternative education avenues for their children did so. But it wasn’t just families who left district public schools. Teachers have also found the door. According to a new report from Independent Women, titled “Give Teachers a Break: Cutting Red Tape to Unleash the Potential of America’s Great Teachers,” an astonishing 16% of teachers “left their schools between 2020 and 2022.” Additionally, the Read More ›

On Thursday, President Trump announced from the East Room in the White House, “We are going to be returning education very simply back to the states where it belongs. And this is a very popular thing to do, but much more importantly, it is a common sense thing to do, and it is going to work. Absolutely, it is going to work.” “Today we take a very historic action that was 45 years in the making… I will sign an executive order to begin eliminating the Federal Department of Education once and for all.” Continuing, the president said, “Everyone knows it is right. And we have to get our children educated.” Since taking office, 50% of the positions at the department have Read More ›

On March 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. Keri D. Ingraham attended the signing as a guest of the President. Afterward, she appeared on Newsmax National Report to discuss the executive order. Keri responded to the “fearmongering” reactions to the executive order, spoke of the need of education returning to the states, and addressed the importance of school choice for all students.

President Trump is fulfilling his campaign promises and delivering results for the American people. When it comes to the U.S. Department of Education, it is no different. Whether dramatically reducing, dismantling, or completely eliminating the department, the president will be good to his word, and work towards that end is already underway. While just 50 days in office thus far, the president has assembled a team that will get rid of the massive federal bureaucracy that is not improving education for children. Keep in mind that the U.S. Department of Education was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter to pay back the largest teachers union, the National Education Association, for their help in getting him elected. It’s time to eliminate the Read More ›

Today, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act into law, bringing the total to 15 states with universal (or near-universal) school choice! Last week, Idaho Governor Brad Little ushered in school choice for families statewide. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee brought education freedom to Tennesseans a few weeks ago. Last year, Alabama and Louisiana got the job done. The year prior, 2023, included Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and North Carolina enacting universal school choice in their states. All of these wins were built upon the courageous, bold, and forward-thinking leadership of West Virginia Senator Patricia Puertas Rucker and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who led the way in 2021 and 2022, helping advance universal school choice Read More ›

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 ›