Why Hasn’t Trump Already Closed the Department of Education? Why Hasn’t Trump Already Closed the Department of Education?
Maybe because its support for students is popular with Republicans as well as Democrats. And because cutting that funding would blow a big hole in the budgets of red states.
Feb 21, 2025 / Jack Schneider
The Democrats Are Finally Running a Teacher. What Took Them So Long? The Democrats Are Finally Running a Teacher. What Took Them So Long?
After decades of serving as a punching bag for the party’s neoliberals, public schools and the people who work in them are back in fashion.
Sep 3, 2024 / Jennifer C. Berkshire and Jack Schneider
Why "Fund Students, Not Systems" Is a Recipe for Disaster Why "Fund Students, Not Systems" Is a Recipe for Disaster
When the "Race to the Top" becomes winner take all, students are the big losers. And as the stakes grow higher and higher, public education falls further behind.
Jun 18, 2024 / Feature / Jennifer C. Berkshire and Jack Schneider
In Red States, the Bill for School Voucher Bait-and-Switch Is Coming Due In Red States, the Bill for School Voucher Bait-and-Switch Is Coming Due
For GOP lawmakers who view public education as a quasi-socialist project, the gaping hole in state budgets left by subsidizing private school tuition is a feature, not a bug.
Feb 7, 2024 / Jennifer C. Berkshire and Jack Schneider
Moms for Liberty Isn’t Going Anywhere Moms for Liberty Isn’t Going Anywhere
The more bitterness and resentment about public schools the group can generate, the easier it will be to privatize education—a long-standing goal for its deep-pocketed backers.
Dec 15, 2023 / Jennifer C. Berkshire and Jack Schneider
Yes, Prager U Wants to Indoctrinate Your Kids. But That’s Not Really the Point. Yes, Prager U Wants to Indoctrinate Your Kids. But That’s Not Really the Point.
The aim isn’t just to change what gets taught but to transform how we understand ourselves, the public realm, and the common good.
Oct 25, 2023 / Jack Schneider and Jennifer C. Berkshire
Why Is the Republican Party Suddenly Weakening Child Labor Laws? Why Is the Republican Party Suddenly Weakening Child Labor Laws?
Rolling back restrictions on child labor and dismantling public education will make the country far more unequal. For today’s GOP, that’s a feature, not a bug.
Mar 16, 2023 / Jack Schneider and Jennifer C. Berkshire
Robbing From the Poor to Educate the Rich Robbing From the Poor to Educate the Rich
The bait of school vouchers—and the switch to strangling public education.
Feb 13, 2023 / Jack Schneider and Jennifer C. Berkshire
It Isn’t Populist to Defund Rural Schools It Isn’t Populist to Defund Rural Schools
The Republican Party has won rural America by fanning the flames of the culture war. But by taking a match to public schools, it may have finally gone too far.
Sep 20, 2022 / Jennifer C. Berkshire and Jack Schneider
What’s Joe Biden’s Plan for Education? What’s Joe Biden’s Plan for Education?
Rather than forge a new path, so far Biden has simply dusted off the tired playbook employed by centrist administrations from George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama.
Jun 15, 2021 / Jennifer C. Berkshire and Jack Schneider