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☆ Vouchers Helping Families Already in Private School, Early Data Show
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Matt Barnum | Alicia A. Caldwell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Arizona became the first state to offer funding for private or home schooling to any family who opts out of public schools. Photo: Olivier Touron/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesWhen Doug Ducey signed an expansive and unprecedented school choice law as Arizona governor last year, he pitched it as a way to help students escape struggling public schools. “Our kids will no longer be locked in underperforming schools,” Ducey said in a statement at the time. “We’re unlocking a whole new world of opportunity for them and their parents.”

Persons: Olivier Touron, Doug Ducey, ” Ducey, ” Organizations: Agence France Locations: Arizona

☆ Oregon Latest State to Scale Back High School Graduation Tests. Others May Follow.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Matt Barnum | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Oregon will pause its proficiency requirement for high-school students to graduate through 2028. Photo: BRIAN HAYES/STATESMAN JOURNAL/USA TODAY NETWORKStudents in Oregon will continue to graduate high school without passing an exam or submitting work samples in core subjects, the result of a recent decision that critics say is watering down standards. Leading up to the state board of education meeting last month in Salem, Ore., where board members voted unanimously in favor of waiving the requirement, comments poured in—nearly all of them critical of the graduation proposal.

Persons: BRIAN HAYES Locations: Oregon, Salem, Ore, —

☆ Conservatives Lose Steam in School Board Races as Liberals Mobilize
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Matt Barnum | Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Democrats celebrated in Central Bucks, outside Philadelphia, after their five-candidate slate swept the race and Republicans lost their majority. Photo: Jason Nark/Associated PressConservative activists seeking to take over school boards around the country saw their momentum slow in this week’s elections after progressive groups organized rival campaigns targeting the normally sleepy local races. Over the past two years, conservative groups such as Moms for Liberty have flipped control of some school boards nationwide by critiquing what they saw as excessive Covid-19 precautions and left-wing teaching about race and gender. Rallying around the banner of parental rights, the groups have called for limits on what is taught in classrooms or offered in libraries and parental notification of students’ gender transitions among other changes.

Persons: Jason Nark Organizations: Republicans, Associated Press Conservative, Liberty Locations: Central Bucks, Philadelphia

Student-led demonstrations have taken place on college campuses across the U.S. since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month. Photo: Chin Hei Leung/Zuma PressRising tensions on campuses related to the Israel-Hamas war have led to widespread calls for colleges to do more to protect Jewish students from bigotry and threats of physical harm. A group of more than 30 Modern Orthodox high schools has joined donors, alumni and law firms in calling on colleges to rein in antisemitism after a rash of protests and antisemitic incidents on campuses that have left many Jewish students deeply unnerved.

Persons: Chin Hei Leung Organizations: Hamas, Zuma Locations: Israel

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