Decades of fraud, waste and abuse in the charter-school sector, but very little awareness of this has broken through. The vast majority of people in the U.S. have little or no idea of what's happening. In fact, among state legislators, what portion really know?

The ways that many charters shape their enrollment should be big news. (And it's not just kids seen as behavioral problems. See www.tcpress.com/school%E2%80...) Excellent work from @newskag.bsky.social. @wagma.bsky.social @carolburris.bsky.social www.inquirer.com/education/ph...

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...

New NEPC Talks Education podcast: Jarvis Givens highlights the experiences of Black and Native Americans in the origin story of American education @cmsaldana.bsky.social bit.ly/4afqzft

Yup. Or heavily stratifying opportunities (which is the equivalent of excluding children).

Opinion: Take note, Gov. Polis: Coloradans have repeatedly said no to school vouchers coloradosun.com/2025/12/16/o...

“Meta’s use of algorithms in core operations conceals the extent to which it profits from business decisions that prioritize engagement over protecting the psychological health of young people.” @nepc.bsky.social progressive.org/public-schoo...

New NEPC Review: Despite strong research evidence that increased school funding improves student outcomes, this @brookings.edu report relies on simplistic statewide comparisons that obscure the true effects of investment in education. @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social bit.ly/3MDO3Rv

This has been true for well over a decade. nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

Making the Grade 2025: In an Uncertain Federal Policy Landscape, States Must Prioritize Fair School Funding edlawcenter.org/making-the-g...

A recent essay proposes using “responsible innovation” to design the AI-enabled edtech of the future. bit.ly/4iLtheX

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...

New @nccsa.bsky.social report points to “a culture of alienation and control” as part of a critique of a policy brief that found academic gains for New Orleans students as a result of charter conversions. bit.ly/48t4pDL

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

Exclusionary discipline and untreated learning disabilities started a student down a path that ended with robbery, murder and death row, a new investigation suggests. bit.ly/4oGhd0H

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

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...

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

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

Read the whole thing. I’d add that to the extent this IS an opportunity for public school districts, it’s an opportunity for the best locally resourced—especially through existing 501c3 foundations they already draw from—to make new cash selling services. Not an option for many poorer districts.

Former EdSec @arneduncan.bsky.social is wrong. Govs likely won't be able to "ensur[e] that the students with the greatest needs are prioritized" by Trump's SGO/voucher program. wapo.st/3LkhIP7. Welner explains why: nepc.colorado.edu/publication/.... @joshcowenmi.bsky.social @carolburris.bsky.social

The Trump administration has said that will not fund the nation’s largest federal food assistance program after Oct. 31, unless the government shutdown is resolved. bit.ly/4908Bgt

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

Don't export the NOLA approach to other districts. @carolburris.bsky.social explains why the sales pitches are built on quicksand.

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

New NEPC Review: @bellwetherorg.bsky.social report takes a balanced yet overly simplistic approach to evaluating the use of artificial intelligence in schools. @tmphilip.bsky.social bit.ly/42Qa5WE

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

K12 Inc, now rebranded as "Stride", continues to be a darling of investors. But this new story from @palan57.bsky.social about a lawsuit in NM suggests that the company continues to engage in the sorts of ed malpractice and cheating that made the rebranding necessary. www.forbes.com/sites/peterg...

This couldn't be true! The administration has told us that it's firmly against "unlawful proxy discrimination" (unless it favors white people, perhaps?) (www.justice.gov/ag/media/140...) Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

Layoff notes sent to ED staff official emails, which admin said can't be checked during shutdown. Admin now says it's okay to check, just to see if laid off. But they won't check cuz they don't trust the admin. ('Sorry, you checked email, so you're fired for cause.') www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

Opinion | Trump's mass firings strike a hammer blow against Americans with disabilities www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Inside a New Bible-Infused Texas English Curriculum www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

New NEPC Review: National Governors Association report relies on faulty assumptions, undermining its call for schools to prioritize economic outcomes. bit.ly/4nToslx

Yikes! I hadn't read Brooks' column until now. What a stale collection of 2-decade-old talking points (plus enough misleading statements to make Trump blush, if that were possible)! Mr. Brooks, it's simple: Kids learn when they have rich opportunities to learn. No, it won't help to bring back NCLB.

Celebrating well-loved scholar David Berliner bit.ly/3WwjwXw

Education Secretary Linda McMahon says she's leading the department's "final mission" to shut down. But @megomatz.bsky.social and I found it's more than that: Political appointees from ultraconservative groups are in power at ED now, and they hope to dismantle public schools.

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

Student data isn’t safe. Ed tech companies collect + monetize it without real oversight. #StudentPrivacy @nepc.bsky.social greatlakescenter.org/docs/Policy_...

Yes! More importantly, the report is misleading. As the review says, "simple comparisons of privatization programs’ expenditures and public school spending do nothing to inform a comparative analysis of each sector’s cost, especially when differences in student populations and outcomes are omitted."

A new study examined how the pandemic impacted college access for different student groups. bit.ly/4gPtoF8

New NEPC Review: @futureedgu.bsky.social report offers sound descriptions of universal voucher programs across 10 states. bit.ly/4nVjOD1

David Berliner passed away yesterday morning. He was incredibly kind, smart & funny, w/a deep sense of what’s right. Last month, facing his illness, he told me he really wanted people to read his personal essays abt schls & democracy - a new book that's reviewed here: edrev.asu.edu/index.php/ER...

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

Edtech platforms "are not neutral 'tools' but complex ecosystems shaped by technical architectures, commercial imperatives, and political-economic interests." Excellent new policy brief on edtech platforms from @nepc.bsky.social and @philnichols.bsky.social

New policy brief: Educators should reassess the hidden impacts of ed tech ecosystems on teaching, learning, and student data. bit.ly/46C2JXT

The Partnership for the Future of Learning just released a two-year blueprint for strengthening public education and fighting back against attacks. bit.ly/425VRR3

This month's NEPC Talks Education podcast is out! Kevin Welner and Robert Kim discuss the recent dramatic shifts in K-12 federal education policy with @cmsaldana.bsky.social. @edlawcenter.bsky.social bit.ly/469Iba6