Massachusetts’s High School Exit Exam, the MCAS, Is On the Ballot

A ballot measure would do away with the requirement that high schoolers pass a test to graduate. Opponents say it could water down academics for struggling students.

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Chicago’s Mayor Is Following a Teachers’ Union Playbook

In Chicago, the mayor and the teachers’ union are tightly connected. The relationship has ushered in generous spending and led to political turmoil.

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Donald Trump Wants to Shut Down the Department of Education. Can He?

Donald Trump has argued he would use the department to further his priorities — or close it. But the agency has relatively limited power, and any plan to shutter it would face major hurdles.

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Voters to Reject Private School Vouchers in Colorado, Nebraska and Kentucky

The results were part of a wave of ballot measure outcomes that teachers’ unions had sought. Nevertheless, private-school choice is growing nationwide.

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Professors Worry Their Power Is Shrinking at Universities

Faculty members are used to sharing power with presidents and trustees to run universities. But some presidents and lawmakers have made moves to reduce their say.

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Linda McMahon, Trump’s Education Secretary Pick, Has a Short Résumé Related to Schools

Linda McMahon is known for her many years in the wrestling world. Though her education experience is more limited than previous secretaries, she has embraced both conservative and bipartisan ideas.

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Florida Tries a Subtler Way to Curb Progressive Ideology: Cut Sociology

Conservatives in Florida have moved from explosive politics to subtler tactics to uproot liberal “indoctrination” in higher education by removing subjects like sociology from core requirements.

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Appeals Court Again Blocks U.S. From Cutting Texas Border Wire Along Rio Grande

The injunction is the second time that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has sided with Texas in a yearlong dispute over barbed wire around the city of Eagle Pass.

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Republicans Built an Ecosystem of Influencers. Some Democrats Want One, Too.

Democrats were badly outflanked online in the election, and progressive influencers are now trying to create networks to be a left-wing answer to Turning Point USA.

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Donald Trump Jr. Emerges as a Loyal Enforcer

His siblings have long retreated from the inner circle, but the president-elect’s eldest son has made a name for himself as the person who can best assess loyalty to the Trump political brand.

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