American Issues Project, January 29, 2009

Editor's note: AIP's weekly feature is back. If you have suggestions for education news that should be included in this weekly update, please post a comment to the post below or send us a message via Twitter (@AmericanIssues).

From court rulings to overspending, the week was ripe with liberal agenda victories.

• Liberals in Congress have managed to remove parents even more from their children’s educations. On January 27, the Heritage Foundation reports that the proposed stimulus plan includes $142 billion towards education, but it insures that not even a penny of the money goes towards school choice policies. By limiting parents’ decisions to send their children to acceptable schools, the big hand of government is once again sweeping into Americans’ lives.
  
  
• Also from Heritage, don't miss “Ten Reasons Why the ‘Economic Stimulus’ Should Not Include Education Spending” by Dan Lips, a senior policy analyst.
  
  
• On January 26, Matt Ladner, vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute, explained in a Goldwater’s daily email how Arizona State University survived with a smaller budget in 2006 and why it can continue to educate co-eds despite the $150 million proposed budget cut for 2009. Ladner voiced his opinion in response to ASU’s President Michael Crow’s comments that the University would be “on the path to resemble a Third World country” if the budget cut passed.
  
  
• Some schools across the country are trying to make a difference in their performance, but are they doing enough? On January 27, Lance T. Izumi of the Pacific Research Institute explained in an article, “Reform, Not Report Cards, Will Cure Schools,” that while report cards citing important statistics about the success of students at a particular school or school district are crucial for parents to know, schools must take this one step further and actually enact changes.
  
  
• On January 22, a federal judge in Illinois ruled that a required moment of silence is unconstitutional in public schools. The ruling was handed down after Democrat Kimberly Lightford, a state senator from Chicago, sponsored legislation which obliged students to participate in a moment of silence as a part of their daily routine.
  
  
• On a positive note, Young American’s Foundation announced the “2008-2009 Top Ten Conservative Colleges” in January. For the fifth time, YAF congratulates these fine universities on striving to offer an alternative to the liberal-leaning colleges and universities across the country. From the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo., to St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Penn., YAF offers something for every young conservative seeking a higher education.