Dan Lips
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Articles by Dan Lips
A Grand Bargain to Reform the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Shifting from Due Process to Education Choice
The landmark 1975 law now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was established to ensure that children with special needs have the opportunity to attend public school and receive a free appropriate public education. However, recent investigations suggest that some school districts effectively ration scarce special education services through litigation, creating a two-tiered system that advantages families with greater resources.
Congress can make real progress on preventing fraud in the lame duck
Getty Images Signage displays the US national debt total at a bus stop in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. Total US public debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, and has now surged by a third in less than five years, as US lawmakers continue to shrug off calls to contend with historically wide fiscal deficits. Photographer: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images The fiscal year has closed, and the federal government’s annual budget deficit totaled $2 trillion in 2026.
Congress can make real progress on preventing fraud in the lame duck
With the federal government's annual deficit reaching $2 trillion in 2026, three bipartisan House-passed anti-fraud bills are currently awaiting Senate action during the lame duck session. The fiscal year has closed, and the federal government’s annual budget deficit totaled $2 trillion in 2026. To put this otherwise incomprehensible sum into perspective: Washington spent roughly $15,000 per household more than it collected in revenue over the past 12 months.
Congress can make real progress on preventing fraud in the lame duck
The fiscal year has closed, and the federal government's annual budget deficit totaled $2 trillion in 2026. To put this otherwise incomprehensible sum into perspective: Washington spent roughly $15,000 per household more than it collected in revenue over the past 12 months. The $2 trillion deficit isn't the result of a national emergency or temporary circumstance. It's the nation's current fiscal program. Washington is expected to average $2.4 trillion in annual deficits over the next ten years.
More states should use this tool to prevent fraud
More states should use this tool to prevent fraud “Do Not Pay” is reducing improper payments, but adoption remains limited. June 22, 2026 at 5:05 p.m. EDT12 minutes ago
More States Should Use This Tool to Prevent Fraud
“Do Not Pay” is reducing improper payments, but adoption remains limited. / Economy, Finance, and Budgets, States and Cities, Politics and Law, Technology and Innovation / Eye on the News / Economy, Finance, and Budgets, States and Cities, Politics and Law, Technology and Innovation Following the fraud scandal in Minnesota, President Donald Trump created a national task force to prevent fraud in government programs.
States can help all parents save for education expenses through 529 accounts
Originally conceived to help families pay the costs of college, 529 savings accounts (529s) have evolved to cover many education-related expenses at the primary and secondary levels. 529 plans are tax-advantaged savings accounts that allow families to invest after-tax dollars for future education expenses, with earnings growing tax-free and withdrawals exempt from federal taxes when used for qualified education costs.
D.C. should participate in the federal scholarship tax credit program
In 2027, students across the country may have access to better opportunities to learn, including scholarships to attend new schools and grants to pursue tutoring, summer school, and extracurricular enrichment opportunities. But access depends on whether their community is eligible to receive funding through the new federal scholarship tax credit established under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025.
IDEA at 50: It’s time to fulfill its original promise
Fifty years ago, Congress enacted the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a landmark law to ensure children with disabilities had equal access to public education. To mark this anniversary, Congress should pass a grand compromise: fully funding special education—as originally promised—while requiring states to offer parents education savings accounts (ESAs) to choose alternative schooling options. This reform would achieve bipartisan goals and benefit seven million children.
A New Strategy to Promote Innovation in Education
Secretary Linda McMahon is working to fulfill President Trump’s March executive order to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education (DoE). Last week, the department announced six interagency agreements to transfer major programs and responsibilities to other federal agencies, including the Labor, HHS, and the State Department. The move follows a similar transfer of federal workforce programs to Labor over the summer.
Microschools: A New Education Option
As more employers consider creating company microschools to support their workers’ families, some clear, simple federal measures can help. Meanwhile, as federal officials work toward implementing the federal tax credit scholarship program passed earlier this year, many in the education world have turned their focus to ensuring that families will have sufficient schooling options to utilize the new program. Some additional modest policy measures can make an important difference.
Congress should make special education choice a legislative priority Original
Despite a well-intentioned federal law that provides baseline rights for parents of special needs children across all states, a stark divide has emerged in education opportunities for children with disabilities, based on whether they live in states with school choice. Students with disabilities in choice states have significantly more options than their peers in non-choice states. Congress needs to update the law to expand choice nationwide for students with disabilities.
Opinion | The 529 Education Revolution Is Here
Your browser does not support HTML5 video. A quiet revolution is under way in education policy. On the heels of the rapid spread of education savings accounts at the state level, Congress has made federal policy far more favorable for all types of education: foundational, postsecondary, workforce development and lifelong learning. By expanding 529 accounts significantly, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act created a new template for education supporting students and parental choice.
America’s war on government waste deserves bipartisan support
The writer is a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and a former policy director with the Senate Homeland Security...
Congress should reform the Government Accountability Office, not gut it
In their latest effort to cut perceived government waste, House Republicans have proposed slashing the Government Accountability Office’s annual budget by nearly 50 percent. It’s the latest political challenge in 2025 for the congressional watchdog agency, which has historically enjoyed strong bipartisan support. But rather than cutting GAO, lawmakers should modernize the agency to better serve Congress.
Opinion - Congress should reform the Government Accountability Office, not gut it
In their latest effort to cut perceived government waste, House Republicans have proposed slashing the Government Accountability Office’s annual budget by nearly 50 percent. It’s the latest political challenge in 2025 for the congressional watchdog agency, which has historically enjoyed strong bipartisan support. But rather than cutting GAO, lawmakers should modernize the agency to better serve Congress.
Rand Paul Has A Golden Opportunity To Cut Federal Waste Original
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has drawn President Trump’s ire by criticizing the House reconciliation package’s $5 trillion increase to the federal government’s debt limit. The president argued Paul has not provided “practical or constructive ideas” for reducing spending. Paul should counter that accusation by offering a legislative proposal for cutting government waste. During his three terms in office, Paul has consistently opposed unnecessary government spending.
The one-two punch working parents need for educational choice
This month, House Republicans advanced legislation that has the potential to dramatically expand education options for American families. The House Ways and Means Committee has approved a bill that would establish a $5 billion tax credit to create education scholarships and expand the allowable uses of funds saved in 529 accounts, giving families more options to pay for education costs.
Public Schools Robbed Children of Learning and Earnings. They Should Pay Kids Back
A national effort to compensate Americans affected by prolonged pandemic-era public school closures and other education policy failures is long overdue. Source link
Public Schools Robbed Children of Learning and Earnings. They Should Pay Kids Back | National Review
President Trump should protect foster children’s federal benefits - FREOPP
Credit First Lady Melania Trump for spotlighting the nation’s foster care system at the president’s recent address to Congress by hosting a foster parent and a former foster youth. President Trump highlighted her guests and the First Lady’s leadership of a scholarship fund for college-ready foster youth. Together, they brought overdue attention to the hundreds of thousands of children living in the child welfare system in the United States.
The Best Way for DOGE to Cut Government Waste
As part of a goal to trim $1 trillion in deficit spending from the budget, Elon Musk has called for slashing $4 billion in government spending per day. The new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could achieve much of these savings—and potentially more—if it addresses problems already identified by existing government watchdogs to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
Congress Should Answer the American Education Crisis Revealed by NAEP
National test scores released last week once again confirmed that American children are struggling in the classroom. The National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed that 33 percent of 8th grade students and 40 percent of 4th graders scored “below basic” in reading. National Center for Education Statistics Commissioner Peggy G.
Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice By Dan Lips Imagine you just bought a $1.3 million home in Santa Barbara, California. Your beautiful new neighborhood is a short drive to the Pacific Ocean. The local public schools must also be great, right? Guess again. At nearby Santa Barbara High, only 12 percent of high school students meet college preparedness requirements for English and only 51 percent passed the California Standards Test for English.
Why 2025 Should Be a Year of Freedom and Progress in Education
2024 closed with more news about widespread problems in American education. An international test of students’ science and math achievement revealed sharp declines in 4th and 8th grade students’ test scores since 2019. Another international test showed adults’ literacy and numeracy scores dropped the last test in 2017. Twenty-eight percent of American adults achieved the lowest score in literacy.
Ohio Is Using AI to Cut Red Tape. DOGE Should, Too
In 2024, the Federal Register eclipsed 96,000 pages—the highest count in history. This record may prove short-lived, as the incoming Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency are poised to slash red tape. For inspiration, the president-elect and his new commission should look to the Buckeye State’s innovative rule-cutting program. The Ohio legislature passed a law in 2022 requiring government agencies to reduce regulations by 30 percent within three years.
Ten Ways to Expand Opportunity in Education in 2025
Earlier this month, a majority of lower-income Americans voted for President-elect Trump. With a new Republican-controlled Congress, the Overton window may soon be open for many of the policies that the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP) has been developing and recommending to improve the lives of Americans living on the bottom half of the socioeconomic ladder.
What a Trump-Musk Government Efficiency Department should do in its first 100 days Original
After campaigning with Elon Musk to establish a Department of Government Efficiency, President-elect Donald Trump now has a national mandate to disrupt the federal bureaucracy, achieve substantial taxpayer savings, and make the government more accountable to the American people. After spending $950 billion on interest on the national debt this year, immediate action to achieve cost savings must be a top priority in 2025.
Improving Access to Child Care and Preschool by Expanding Parental Options
Many American parents are struggling to afford child care. The average cost of child care in the United States is more than $10,000 per child. In recent years, costs have risen faster than inflation. Government regulations drive up the cost of child care. While there is a public interest in ensuring children’s safety and well-being, many regulations, such as mandated teacher-to-child ratios, increase costs with little or no benefit for children.
Helping Foster Youth Achieve Independence in Adulthood
Former foster youth are more likely than their peers to succumb to poor life outcomes from homelessness to incarceration to being the victim of trafficking. Each year, an estimated 23,000 youth age out of foster care without a permanent family.
The U.S. Should Secure Federally Funded Research
By Dan Lips, NSI CTC Senior Fellow For at least five years, Congress has warned that the Chinese Communist Party is stealing cutting edge research to bolster Beijing’s military and technology programs. With recent revelations that research funded by the Pentagon and Intelligence Community is being stolen, Congress and the White House must take action to strengthen the security of the federal research enterprise.
What the Presidential Candidates Haven’t Said about K-12 Education
Neither candidate was asked a question about education in Tuesday’s presidential debate. And while both candidates have provided few details about their respective education agendas, they are offering very different visions. Former President Trump has called for closing the Department of Education, universal school choice, and strengthening parental rights. Vice President Harris has issued few policy recommendations focused on K-12 education.
Congress should strengthen its research service’s ability to collect data Original
The legislative calendar of the 118th Congress is closing, and the opportunity to enact bipartisan legislation is narrowing as November approaches. But one area of potential common ground is to strengthen Congress’s ability to access data and analyze information from federal agencies, a move that should help all lawmakers next year. This year, a bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers, led by Rep.
What could a Trump-Musk government efficiency commission solve? Original
In his recent conversation with former President Donald Trump, Elon Musk proposed the idea of a government efficiency commission focused on ensuring that taxpayer dollars are “spent in a good way.” Trump liked the idea and welcomed Musk’s help. One can only imagine what ideas the man who has pioneered private space travel, electric vehicles and satellite internet communications would bring to government reform.
What could a Trump-Musk government efficiency commission solve?
World News 8 hours ago Police raid Andrew Tate's home in Romania as new allegations emerge involving minors Associated Press - By STEPHEN McGRATH and ANDREEA ALEXANDRU • 8h BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Masked police officers in Romania carried out fresh raids early Wednesday at the home of divisive internet influencer Andrew Tate, who is awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
Saving Accountability and Transparency in Public Education
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: Saving Accountability and Transparency in Public Education By Dan Lips Last week, conservatives on Capitol Hill introduced a plan to give states the choice to opt out of many of the federal mandates created by No Child Left Behind. States opting out would be free to use federal funding as they see fit if they maintain transparency through state-level testing and reporting information to the public.
Venezuela's Education Lesson
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: Venezuela's Education Lesson By Dan Lips Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has used the power of the state to nationalize the oil industry, squash the independent news media, and control the electoral process. Seizing control of the country's public and private schools is next on his agenda. Chavez recently announced plans for a new "Bolivarian" curriculum for all of Venezuela's schools.
Federal and State Transparency Reforms to Expose Malign Foreign Influence-Part II
By Dan Lips, NSI CTC Fellow This piece is the second of a two-part series exploring how federal and state efforts to reform transparency rules to expose malign foreign influence in policy discussions. The first article, published on April 24, examined federal reforms. This article examines state efforts. While Congress works to strengthen foreign representation and lobbying rules, state lawmakers are also considering legislation to increase transparency and curb malign foreign influence.
Federal and State Transparency Reforms to Expose Malign Foreign Influence-Part I
By Dan Lips, NSI CTC Fellow This piece is the first a two-part series that will explore how the Federal and state governments are working to reform transparency rules to expose malign foreign influence in policy discussions. In this first piece, I will examine the Federal efforts to reform transparency rules. In the second, I will examine the state efforts to reform transparency rules.
First Draft: NCLB Reauthorization Bill Introduced in Senate
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: First Draft: NCLB Reauthorization Bill Introduced in Senate By Dan Lips and Evan Feinberg Last week Republican Senators Judd Gregg (NH) and Richard Burr (NC) introduced the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2007" the first full reauthorization bill proposed in the 110th Congress. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings applauded the move. For conservatives hoping to restore federalism in education, however, the proposal offers little to celebrate.
The Right's School-Reform Agenda
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: The Right's School-Reform Agenda It's more than vouchers -- and you shouldn't underestimate vouchers. print this page By Dan Lips Sorry, Jonah: Your latest column on education merits a failing grade. In "True School Scandal," Goldberg laments the Right's current approach to the school-reform debate. He criticizes those who label President-Elect Obama a hypocrite for choosing a private school for his children while at the same time opposing vouchers.
Strong Support for School Choice in Washington, D.C.
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: Strong Support for School Choice in Washington, D.C. By Dan Lips and Lindsey Burke Seven members of the D.C. City Council recently wrote a letter to Secretary Arne Duncan and Mayor Adrian Fenty asking them to overturn their decision to withdraw Opportunity Scholarships from 216 children. "We believe we simply cannot turn our backs on these families because doing so will deny their children the quality education they deserve," wrote a majority of the Council.
Why is US funding research to help China win the AI arms race?
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Why is US funding research to help China win the AI arms race? Original
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! In the latest example of foreign adversaries exploiting vulnerabilities in the American research enterprise, House Republicans are investigating how federal research funds were paid to an artificial intelligence expert at UCLA with ties to the Chinese government.
Missouri is the latest state working to protect foster children’s benefits
Every year, roughly 20,000 American young people age out of foster care, too often facing uncertain futures and the risk of ending up on the streets. But many of these former foster youth have unknowingly had tens of thousands of dollars stolen from them by government agencies before they turned 18. As many as 80,000 foster children are owed Social Security benefits stemming from a parent’s death or a disability.
Congress can improve school finance transparency Original
As state legislative sessions open across the country, lawmakers are considering bills giving parents greater control over their children’s share of public school spending, following historic progress last year. But teachers unions and other opponents of education choice programs will likely leverage public misunderstanding about public school finances to oppose giving parents options beyond their children’s assigned public school.
The Higher Ed Bill-A Bad Deal for Taxpayers
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: The Higher Ed Bill-A Bad Deal for Taxpayers print this page By Dan Lips and Lindsey Burke Congress is expected to vote this week on the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008 (COAA)-a massive expansion of government, which includes the creation of dozens of new federal programs and, if the conference report reflects the House-passed figures, $169 billion in new federal spending over the next five years.
Congress needs to assert authority over government regulations
It’s now effectively illegal to manufacture or sell incandescent light bulbs in the United States, thanks to a Biden administration regulation setting minimum efficiency standards that went into effect in August. The change is just one illuminating example of how government regulations dictate how Americans live. PVC pipes could be next. But more rules are coming, whether the American people or their representatives in Congress like it or not.
Why School Choice in Utah Scares the Big Teachers' Union
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: Why School Choice in Utah Scares the Big Teachers' Union By Dan Lips Next month, voters in Utah will go to the polls to decide whether to give parents the opportunity to choose the best school for their children. The National Education Association is pouring resources into the state to defeat the initiative.
Del. Norton's $18 Million Mistake
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: Del. Norton's $18 Million Mistake By Dan Lips How much funding for the education of students is District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton willing to lose to prove a political point? At least $18 million, apparently. Del. Norton is using her voice in Congress to try to end the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, a federally-funded program that currently helps more than 1,900 disadvantaged kids attend private schools in the District.
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