Karen R. Effrem, MD, Author at The National Pulse

Analysis

Violent Attack in Fla. School Shows Danger of Obama-Era Discipline Policy

Andrew Pollack — father of Meadow Pollack, one of the seventeen students and staff murdered in the Parkland shooting last February — recently posted a two-part video of a fight…

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Analysis

Parental Rights at Stake in Case of Minn. Mother and Teen “Emancipated” by State

In June 2017, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit of a Minnesota mother, Annmarie Calgaro, whose then 17-year-old son was emancipated from her by a county and several medical clinics…

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Analysis

2018 Midterms Could Have Wide Impact on Education Issues

The 2018 midterm elections are (almost) now in the books. Here is a brief review of the education outcomes relating to Common Core, Congress and FedEd, school funding, and school…

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Analysis

Falling ACT Scores Are Latest Evidence of Common Core’s Failure

ACT, the publisher of one of the two most often used college entrance exams in the nation, recently released a major report, “The Condition of College and Career Readiness –…

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Analysis

New Report Reveals the Twin Dangers of Common Core and School Choice

A thorough new white paper from the Pioneer Institute titled “Common Core, School Choice and Rethinking Standards-Based Reform” expertly discusses the mountain of evidence showing the flaws and failures of…

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Analysis

Congress Deepens the Education Swamp with New Spending Bill

The education swamp-expanding budget process discussed a few weeks ago is now near completion. The table below shows the final levels of difference between this fiscal year and last in…

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Analysis

FBI Warns of Grave Cyber Security Threat to Students from School Tech

Finally! Although the horse may be long out of the barn, the FBI should nevertheless be commended for issuing this warning about the dangers of education technology and cyber security…

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Analysis

New Report Exposes Serious Problems with Charter Schools

About a year ago, I wrote about the stunningly precipitous (but deserved) 13-percentage point drop in support for charter schools nationwide. Although these alternative public schools have gained back a…

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Analysis

Opposition Grows to Flawed Obama-Era School Discipline Policies

The debate over what Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos should do about the Obama-era “Dear Colleague Letter” regarding school discipline, especially in light of recent school shootings, rages on. This…

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Analysis

Pro-Common Core Republicans Suffer Big Losses in 2018 Primaries

Although many factors are involved, an encouraging trend for parents and grassroots activists is emerging in this 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary season. Those candidates listening to parents by opposing Common…

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Analysis

New Report on Parkland School Shooting Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

A heavily redacted report was released in recent days reviewing the Broward County Public Schools’ (BCPS) handling of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter under federal and state special education…

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Analysis

Feds Preparing to Expand Influence over Nation’s Preschools

Last week, Politico’s Morning Education discussed how the Preschool Development Grants started under the Obama administration for four-year-olds were adding thousands of new early childhood slots around the nation. The…

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Analysis

Students’ Privacy Under Serious Threat in Era of School Shootings

As the number of school shootings increase, social media and mental health data are becoming very hot commodities. The federal School Safety Commission talked about how data sharing can be…

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Analysis

Congress Keeps Adding to the Education Swamp with Budget Increases

Although not surprising in an election year, congressional appropriators — who are generally not known for their political courage — are not doing anything to drain the putrid, unconstitutional swamp…

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Analysis

Should Trump Merge the Education and Labor Departments? Grassroots Say No.

The dream of economic central planners as outlined in Mark Tucker’s infamous letter to Hillary Clinton “to remold the entire American system” into “a seamless web that literally extends from…

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Analysis

Bill Gates Education Experiment Fails Again, Taxpayers Foot $300 Million Bill

A new report by the Rand Corporation evaluating yet another Bill Gates education debacle — this time for teacher evaluation — was discussed recently in both Forbes by Rick Hess…

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