Commentary: Four Things People Can Do to Change the Culture in 2024

People Praying

Maybe I am on a new year high, but as I consider the West’s cultural renewal, I sense an optimism in the air I haven’t felt for years.

In 2023, we saw a growing public awareness about the dangers and futility of transgender surgery. Alongside that, many woke up to the hypocrisy of the climate alarmists. And building on the success of Roe v. Wade’s demise, many states have now passed heartbeat bills, providing robust protections for many of the nation’s unborn. Surprisingly, pollsters even picked up on a decline in support for same-sex relationships.

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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Signs Most Expansive School Choice Program in Nation

Governor Doug Ducey (R) said Thursday Arizona is now the “top state for school choice” and the “first state in the nation to offer all families” school choice options.

Ducey signed into law House Bill 2853, which allows all K-12 students in Arizona to be eligible for scholarship funds so they may access the education setting that best fits their needs.

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Biden Education Department ‘Declares War’ on Charter Schools as School Choice Becomes Overwhelmingly Popular in America

As more families and teachers flee government schools, the Biden administration – bound to the teachers unions – has now “declared war” on charter schools, as Robert Maranto, editor of the Journal of School Choice, wrote at National Review Monday.

The Biden education department is now on a path to sabotage the federal grant program that funds charter schools, public schools that are privately managed, with its proposal of new rules that appear to actually deter applicants from seeking grants.

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Corey DeAngelis: More School Choice Creates Greater Incentive for Teachers’ Unions to Push Student-Focused Policies

Corey DeAngelis of the American Federation for Children

In an interview with The Star News Network, nationally known school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis said teachers’ unions would be incentivized to push for more student-focused policies in public schools if school funding followed the child and more states adopted school choice programs.

DeAngelis, the national director of research at the American Federation for Children, is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a senior fellow at the Reason Foundation.

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Georgia Senate Ed Committee Passes School Choice Bill, Three of Four Dems Opposed Sent Their Children to Private Schools

The Georgia Senate Education Committee approved a bill that would create education savings accounts for children across the state and, ultimately, fund students over government school systems.

The Georgia Educational Freedom Act (SB601) passed out of committee by a vote of 6-4, but, as the Daily Caller reported Wednesday, three of the four Democrats on the committee who voted down the bill sent their children to private schools.

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Georgia House Speaker Kills School Choice Bill in Anger over Choice Advocacy Group’s Mailer

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and his Republican colleagues in the State House pulled a bill that would have expanded school choice for Georgia families, reportedly in anger over a mailer sent by a national pro-school choice organization intended to pressure lawmakers into voting in favor of the bill.

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Commentary: If Everyone is Behind, then No One is Behind

In early September, researchers Corey DeAngelis and Christos Makridis released the results of a study they spearheaded, which found that “school districts in places with stronger teachers’ unions are much less likely to offer full-time, in-person instruction this fall.” The authors stress that the results are remarkably consistent after controlling for differences in demographics, including age, race, population, political affiliation, household income, COVID-19 cases, deaths per capita, et al.

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