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Opinion: Trinity won't let me write about Amendment 2. Here's why I'm against it.

Opinion: Trinity won't let me write about Amendment 2. Here's why I'm against it.

I’m a “private school kid.” I went to St. Francis of Assisi for first through eighth grades, and I am now a senior at Trinity High School. I will always be indebted to those schools for providing me with fantastic educations and experiences in the most formative years of my life. But to say I am disappointed with Trinity’s stance on Amendment 2 — a Kentucky ballot measure that would allow public tax funding to be used for private schools — would be an understatement.

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A Conversation with ELC Senior Fellow Josh Cowen, Author of The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers (October 2024):
Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools and Joshua Cowen Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools and Joshua Cowen

A Conversation with ELC Senior Fellow Josh Cowen, Author of The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers (October 2024):

This PFPS webinar features Dr. Josh Cowen, Education Law Center Senior Fellow and professor of education policy at Michigan State University, in conversation with Maria Bautista of the NYU Metro Center about his new book, The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold Vouchers. The book provides a deep-dive investigation into education privatization covering a range of topics, including the origins of private school vouchers and the network of billionaire conservatives who have converged around the issue. It also highlights how vouchers are failing students and exacerbating income inequality, arguing that the advancement of privatization policies is an assault on public education as a defining American institution.

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The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual
Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools

The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual

PFPS is excited to welcome back authors Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider to the PFPS webinar series. Ms. Berkshire and Dr. Schneider will discuss their new book, "The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual," with Jasmine Bolton, Policy Director at the Partnership for the Future of Learning.

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No Vouchers! Public Funds Are For Public Schools!
Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools

No Vouchers! Public Funds Are For Public Schools!

Experts including Professor Josh Cowen, ELC Senior Fellow and author of The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers, and Jessica Levin, ELC Litigation Director and Director of Public Funds Public Schools, discuss the implications of Donald Trump's presidency on public schools and voucher programs.

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How to Fight Vouchers in 2025: A Toolkit for Advocates
Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools

How to Fight Vouchers in 2025: A Toolkit for Advocates

This PFPS webinar featured ELC Senior Fellow Josh Cowen, Nicole Fuller from the National Coalition for Public Education, and speakers from PFPS/ELC who shared information, resources, tools, and tips to help advocates prepare for crucial state and federal legislative fights over private school voucher programs in 2025.

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Anti-Voucher Victories in 2024: A Conversation with Education Advocates from MS, NJ, ID, TX and TN
Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Public Funds Public Schools

Anti-Voucher Victories in 2024: A Conversation with Education Advocates from MS, NJ, ID, TX and TN

Although private school voucher programs continue to spread across the country, many states have remained voucher-free or held off significant expansions. In this webinar experienced advocates discussed the work of their organizations and numerous allies to oppose voucher legislation. They offered insight, strategies, and tips for others working against school privatization in their states, with plenty of time for Q&A.

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Education Policy in the South: 2024 Legislative Spotlight
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Education Policy in the South: 2024 Legislative Spotlight

This webinar provides a high-level overview of education policy and news from the 2024 southern legislative sessions, highlighting regional trends, and reviewing SEF’s policy recommendations. Partners, lawmakers, and other stakeholders are encouraged to attend and share widely across their networks.

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Two Visions of a Populist Education System

Two Visions of a Populist Education System

When pundits describe the current political zeitgeist as a drift toward “populism,” they’re generally trying to convince you that something very bad is going on. But it’s important to understand that populism, a term that basically means the will of the people, can swing both ways. Nowhere is this more obvious than in education policy and politics

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Secret recording shows pressure on Republican lawmakers to vote for school vouchers
Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Phil Williams Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Phil Williams

Secret recording shows pressure on Republican lawmakers to vote for school vouchers

Another secret recording obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates reveals how Tennessee lawmakers are facing pressure to send your tax dollars to the state's private schools.

In the recording, the lead lobbyist for a well-financed group lobbying for school vouchers warns a reluctant lawmaker that his job could be at stake if he doesn't vote the way she wants him to vote.

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Indiana's Choice: A new documentary about education in Indiana
Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Indiana Coalition for Public Education Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Indiana Coalition for Public Education

Indiana's Choice: A new documentary about education in Indiana

School choice has had troubling consequences for the Indiana K-12 public school system. Indiana’s Choice brings forward the voices of teachers, students, administrators, and parents to examine how school choice enables segregation of students and discrimination against students, families, and school employees.

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As a Tennessee rural educator, I fear that school voucher expansion will hurt our children

As a Tennessee rural educator, I fear that school voucher expansion will hurt our children

The National Rural Education Association (NREA) advocates for equitable educational opportunities for the nearly 9 million students attending rural public schools across America. Tennessee has over 600,000 students in rural districts that are the backbone of our communities. But now our rural schools face an existential threat from school vouchers.

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School choice seems like a quick fix, but does more harm than good for families in the U.S.
Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Cyrus Driver and Mary Gonzalez Personal Narratives Blogs Webinars Cyrus Driver and Mary Gonzalez

School choice seems like a quick fix, but does more harm than good for families in the U.S.

Right now, a lot of people claim to have the answer to solving the problem of equity in our education system. It seems that equity in education is a value many of us share, regardless of political leaning. There are a number of roads that people think will take us there, but not all roads are clear on the reality that education is a public good and a key ingredient in a healthy democracy.

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Let’s listen to what parents, not politicians, really want from their public schools

Let’s listen to what parents, not politicians, really want from their public schools

As a school board member in Arizona, I hear the concerns, hopes and frustrations that parents and citizens have about our public schools. The things that families worry about? School safety, shrinking budgets, student achievement and the accessibility of programs.

These are the issues that unite our students and families in our public schools and the kinds of problems that they want addressed. And these are the issues that I really want to work on with other policymakers who, regardless of political affiliation, care about similar things.

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‘Government Schools’ or Public Schools? Trump, DeVos, and the Language of School Choice

‘Government Schools’ or Public Schools? Trump, DeVos, and the Language of School Choice

President Donald Trump didn’t coin the phrase “government schools.” But he gave it a big stage and a broader public audience during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, when he used it to urge Congress to back a bill that would provide $5 billion in tax credits to support scholarships for private school admission, tutoring, and other educational services.

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