This video on the rise of Russ Vought is based on scores of interviews, thousands of pages of emails and dozens of hours of videos and recordings of private briefings given by Vought, most of which have not been previously reported.

Five years of PhD work summarized in about a minute — but a lifetime of preparation!

Five years of PhD work summarized in about a minute — but a lifetime of preparation!

A recent Supreme Court case opened the door to providing LGBTQ+ youth with conversion therapy in public schools, even in states where it’s now statutorily banned. @jonsawyer.org @edweek.org bit.ly/42CN8p6

Website updated around my work on education and religion. More to come. www.jonsawyer.org

“More broadly, the executive branch now exerts unprecedented influence over institutional decision-making.”

New policy brief: The Trump administration’s first year marks a sweeping shift in federal education policy. @derekgottliebphd.com bit.ly/41Lacls

These Catholic preschools want public money with private rules. They're invoking the Free Exercise Clause to demand taxpayer dollars, while invoking the same clause to avoid the anti‑discrimination rules that public schools must comply with. And, yes, this SCOTUS will give them what they want.

Grateful to @edweek.org for including my piece on conversion “therapy” in this morning’s newsletter. The implications are stark. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Conversion therapy is cruel. Everyone should have the right to be whomever they were born to be. I'm so pleased that my former student, Jon Sawyer, has been tackling the issue.

My hunch is that we’ll see more efforts to downplay the severity of these practices, and future litigation. I try to avoid the partisanship of today’s court discourse in this piece, while not compromising the passion I feel. What do you want to know about this topic? www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Honored that the largest news outlet tailored to education published my piece about the Supreme Court’s decision on conversion therapy. I try to avoid the partisanship of today’s court discourse, while not compromising the passion I feel. Let me know what you think. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Honored that the largest news outlet tailored to education published my piece about the Supreme Court’s decision on conversion therapy. I try to avoid the partisanship of today’s court discourse, while not compromising the passion I feel. Let me know what you think. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Why the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Conversion Therapy Matters for Schools (Opinion): A recent case puts religiously motivated speech ahead of the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth.

I am grateful to @edweek.org for publishing my analysis of why the Supreme Court’s decision on the conversion therapy case out of Colorado matters for schools and students. Please share widely. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

This excellent commentary by @jonsawyer.org calls attn to 2 things: (1) the inexcusable harms of conversion "therapy", and (2) SCOTUS's recent wrongheaded decision in Chiles v. Salazar. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

I am grateful to @edweek.org for publishing my analysis of why the Supreme Court’s decision on the conversion therapy case out of Colorado matters for schools and students. Please share widely. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Breaking news: Education policy hypocrisy found to be 100% more tolerable with piano accompaniment. bit.ly/3PK25CL

Ok. This is brilliant by @nepc.bsky.social. Masterfully exposed the hypocrisy at the heart of the federal administration’s educational (and other) propaganda. youtu.be/RU-fFtIsZns

I successfully defended my PhD dissertation today at the University of Colorado Boulder. Sincerely, Dr. Jonathon E. Sawyer

I successfully defended my PhD dissertation today at the University of Colorado Boulder. Sincerely, Dr. Jonathon E. Sawyer

I would actually feel relieved if our leaders displayed a sense of reverence for providence. A truly providential view of history and present circumstances would convey a posture of sobriety and circumspection. What we are witnessing is the antithesis. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/u...

Just released: The Cycle of Disinvestment in Public Schools: How Public-School Criticism Drives Policy and Disinvestment bit.ly/4rhKWO4

Just released: New report describes crucial changes that address funding, equity, accountability, and cross-system collaboration to better serve California’s high-needs students. @michellevalladares.bsky.social @jonsawyer.org bit.ly/46cK4m1

On January 8, NEPC published my essay Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle over Educational Goals as its blog post of the day. nepc.colorado.edu/blog/public-...

I recently did a podcast for the Natural Rural Education Association on a law review I co-authored on the creation of "education preserves," which would protect rural school districts from voucher and charter school expansion. Here is the podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

When voters repeatedly vote down voucher initiatives but their governor invites them in... Welner & Gebhardt do the easy lifting of explaining why that's not a good thing. coloradosun.com/2025/12/16/o...

This @chalkbeat article says NC Gov Stein announced his intention to opt into the voucher program. In fact, he vetoed a bill to do so & said he intends to opt in only after Trump's Treasury "issues sound guidance." He's waiting to see if the regs give NC flexibility www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...

My deep dive on the latest attempt to open a religious charter school…with its for-profit operator in the shadows. @dianeravitch.bsky.social @nepc.bsky.social @floridaea.bsky.social dianeravitch.net/2025/12/01/c...

Two NEPC talks, on screen-time reduction and Christian nationalism, are now available online. @jonsawyer.org @kevinkumashiro.com bit.ly/4ijOnkn

So-called “education preserves” would protect rural communities at risk of losing their public schools to school choice sprawl. @drprestongreen.bsky.social @cmsaldana.bsky.social @schoolfinance101.bsky.social bit.ly/48oNmUy

In this month's NEPC Talks Education podcast, Julie Marsh and James Bridgeforth discuss the unprecedented challenges facing California school board members and how they navigate today's complex political landscape @juliemarsh.bsky.social @cmsaldana.bsky.social bit.ly/3X2Att2

I appreciated the opportunity to discuss the impact of Christian Nationalism on public education at this year’s NEPC Fellows Meeting. Especially grateful for Kevin Kumashiro’s work and insights on this topic. @kevinkumashiro.com

New policy memo from the Freedom to Learn Collective highlights research needs in the wake of fear-based politics and well-funded networks that threaten public schools. bit.ly/43UanMq

Hosts Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram speak with Dr. Kevin Burke, co-author of the first-of-its-kind NEPC report Christian Nationalism and Educational Policy in the U.S., about how faith is reshaping public schools and what it means for church-state separation. youtu.be/3b0Nx2bazCQ

I do think that there are very few factors pushing on public education as much and as persistently as Christian nationalism, so I appreciated the opportunity to write with Kevin Burke about the issue. I do ALSO appreciate the really great support and editorial work from the NEPC team.

And listen to brief co-author Kevin Burke, on the Faithful Politics (@faithfulpolitics.bsky.social) podcast, discussing Christian Nationalism in education & the brief. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

New policy brief warns of growing efforts to reshape schools around White Christian nationalist ideology. @heidihadley.bsky.social bit.ly/4qJ0CKT

New NEPC Review: School Choice Wisconsin report’s conclusions about the cost effectiveness of private school vouchers rest on invalid methods and inaccurate data. @schoolfinance101.bsky.social bit.ly/3LcGsZB

Members of the National Academy of Education drew upon a consensus study to question the Trump administration’s proposal to prioritize the funding of programs that emphasize so-called “patriotic education.” bit.ly/3LntMPs

It was an honor to interview @dlabaree.bsky.social for this month’s @nepc.bsky.social podcast. I’ve learned so much from Professor Labaree’s writing, and it was a real treat to learn from him through our conversation about recent shifts in education policy. If you have a few mins, give it a listen!

NEPC Talks Education: This month's podcast explores the challenges of navigating education's competing goals, with @cmsaldana.bsky.social and @dlabaree.bsky.social bit.ly/3KUg2vs

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” invites Treasury Department regulations that will leave states vulnerable to federal overreach, diminished protections for students, and steep academic declines tied to voucher expansion. bit.ly/434xcN9

Governors Beware: The Voucher Advocates in DC Are Not Serious About Returning Education to the States @nepc.bsky.social nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

“The growing influence of rightist movements, and especially Christian Nationalism, on educational policies and practices threatens all too many of the gains that have been made…” Read more, and please share this incredible report by @kevinkumashiro.com www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes

“The growing influence of rightist movements, and especially Christian Nationalism, on educational policies and practices threatens all too many of the gains that have been made…” Read more, and please share this incredible report by @kevinkumashiro.com www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes

New interactive report from @kevinkumashiro.com follows the threads of Christian Nationalism from the Colonial Era to the present day, explaining how we got to this point and helping us think through how we can move forward. Highly recommended! www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes

Kind of surreal when your worlds collide. @jonsawyer.org congrats on the reference! www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes

Without getting into the fray of justifying the unjustifiable, I want to note that we need serious, thoughtful grappling with how LGBTQ+ identifying young people (whether visible or not) are navigating today’s volatile religiopolitical climate. The scapegoating must stop: the learning must begin.

For those interested in the growth of ESA vouchers and the new federal push for vouchers by Trump and Congressional Republicans, please read this thread about the important new voucher study & the NYT article about that study. reachcentered.org/publications...