The Chicago Tribune: on Education

Eddie Melton: Reduce private school vouchers; increase teacher pay

Merrick Garland: Middle school reinforced my sense of community

Donald Trump: Skeptical of use of affirmative action in college admissions

The action demonstrated anew the administration's deep skepticism of affirmative action in education. Under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department had made legal arguments in support of how colleges use race in admissions.

The Justice Department concluded: that Harvard has failed to explain exactly how it weighs race against other factors in an application; that Harvard uses a "personal rating" that may be biased against Asian Americans; and that "substantial evidence" indicates admissions officers monitor and manipulate the racial makeup of incoming classes, despite court rulings that have found "racial balancing" unconstitutional.

Jeff Sessions: Harvard misuses affirmative action in college admissions

With a legal brief filed in federal court in Boston, the department weighed in on a closely watched lawsuit challenging Harvard's use of race and ethnicity in admissions, alleging that the university is biased against Asian-Americans. The Justice Department's brief argues that that Harvard has failed to show it does not unlawfully discriminate against Asian-Americans.

"No American should be denied admission to school because of their race," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. "As a recipient of taxpayer dollars, Harvard has a responsibility to conduct its admissions policy without racial discrimination by using meaningful admissions criteria that meet lawful requirements."

Joe Walsh: Eliminate teacher tenure & favor teacher accountability

A: I favor accountability for teachers. I favor eliminating teacher tenure and implementing performance pay for teachers. For too long, teachers' unions have managed to get higher pay for teachers, completely divorced from their performance. Our schools should work for our children, not the unions.