Two recent national surveys underscore this point and provide sobering data.

A poll of conducted in June by Atomik Research and commissioned by Agency Inc. makes the stakes clear: 65% of parents say they would vote outside their party over education, and 62% said education influenced their vote in the most recent statewide election. Parents are not only paying attention, they are prepared to make education their ballot-box priority.

This sentiment is bipartisan. The same survey found that 67% of Democrats, 67% of Republicans and 70% of independents would cross party lines based on a candidate鈥檚 education stance. At a moment when the nation’s politics feels hopelessly polarized, education is one of the rare issues with the power to realign coalitions.

But what parents are demanding is not more of the same. A July by Brilliant Corners, commissioned by The Freedom to Choose Schools, found that 71% of respondents rated U.S. public schools as fair or poor, and more than half said they were dissatisfied with their 2024 ballot choices. These voters, too often treated as afterthoughts, are sending a message: Give us elected leaders who prioritize our children鈥檚 education, or we will vote for candidates who do.

The data is clear about what worries families most. According to the same poll, 68% said political interference in schools is a bigger threat to quality education than funding gaps or teacher shortages. Black voters in particular are alarmed: 81% cited efforts to erase Black history and bans on diversity, equity and inclusion as major obstacles to a good education.

Parents are not standing still. They are moving their children to new schools, trying homeschooling or seeking tutoring and enrichment to supplement what their schools cannot provide. According to , nearly 1 in 4 parents have switched school types in recent years. This poll, as well as the one commissioned by Agency, reveal that  almost 60% of parents have considered or started homeschooling within the past five years.

At the same time, according to the EdChoice/Morning Consult poll, the appetite for real options is overwhelming: 74% of parents support education savings accounts, 67% favor charter schools and 69% believe in open enrollment across school districts. Families are not asking for one solution; they are demanding the ability to choose what works best for their children.

What does this mean for political leaders? The lesson is simple: Parents are loyal to their kids, not to parties. If neither major party fully represents families鈥� priorities today, the one that presents a bold plan will win their trust and their votes.

There is also a warning embedded in this data. When asked what they would do if the education system doesn鈥檛 improve, Black and Latino parents said their most likely action was not to opt out of public schools, but to vote for candidates who prioritize school reform and equity. In other words, the door is wide open for bold leaders who put forward credible, family-centered education plans.

So far, too many elected officials have focused on the wrong things. Parents are telling us they want schools that are safe, academically strong and respectful of their children鈥檚 identities and histories. They want leaders who expand educational options.

The politics of education are shifting. Parents are frustrated, mobilized and ready to act. The question now is whether political leaders will listen.

If they do, they will find parents ready to support them at the ballot box. 

鈥淲e want our mayor to actually have an understanding of what the school is trying to accomplish every day and what the challenges are,鈥� union President Michael Mulgrew said. 鈥淭hat is the best way for them to make decisions.鈥�

in the nation’s largest school district would have to spend at least seven periods in a school assisting teachers with lessons and classroom management. Mulgrew said candidates will also visit classrooms with special education students and English learners.

The union has invited mayoral candidates to classrooms before, but this is the first time it has been mandatory.

Invitations were sent out March 7. City Comptroller Brad Lander, former Assembly Member Michael Blake, Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, Teach for America founder Whitney Tilson and Curtis Sliwa told 蜜桃影视 they are willing to participate. All are Democrats except for Sliwa, who is running as a Republican. Democratic City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams will also participate, according to .

Mayor Eric Adams, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats, and Independent Jim Walden did not respond to a request for comment. 

UFT represents nearly 200,000 members, including teachers, paraprofessionals and counselors. In previous elections its endorsement has been , partly due to the union鈥檚 size and because a large percentage of members vote, Mulgrew said. 

A spokesman for the American Federation of Teachers, which used a in the 2020 presidential election, said it is not aware of any other local union requiring candidates to spend a full day in a school. An online search found no large city union making this an endorsement requirement.

Several candidates have public school ties. Myrie is the son of a special education teacher and UFT member. Lander is the son of a guidance counselor. 

The union will work with the New York State Education Department to schedule school visits in April.

Few New York City schools have more at stake in President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 second term than those in the Internationals Network for Public Schools.

The nonprofit network helps operate 17 public schools across the five boroughs that cater exclusively to newly arrived immigrant students, serving as a national model for educating newcomers.

Over two decades, the network has weathered shifting immigration patterns and policies and played a central role in educating many of the who have enrolled in city schools since summer 2022.

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Now, as Trump lays the groundwork for a and state and local officials scramble to respond, the network is watching closely and making its own preparations.

and prohibit non-city law enforcement from entering school buildings except under specific circumstances, and city officials are training district superintendents, principals, and NYPD school safety agents on those protocols, people familiar with the plans said.

But fears and lingering questions remain pervasive.

Trump is likely to roll back a longstanding internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, policy against making arrests at 鈥渟ensitive locations鈥� like schools, , though it wasn鈥檛 immediately clear how that would affect the city鈥檚 local provisions restricting federal agents from schools. Mayor Eric Adams, who , told reporters after the meeting he鈥檚 looking into increasing the ability of local law enforcement to work with ICE to 鈥済o after those individuals who are repeatedly committing crimes in our city.鈥� Adams said 鈥渓aw-abiding鈥� immigrants should continue to use public services including education.

And even if immigration enforcement doesn鈥檛 take place at schools, the , who may face deportation cases themselves or see family members expelled from the country. The fear and uncertainty can also have their own corrosive effects by and exacerbating attendance and enrollment challenges, educators said.

New York City鈥檚 Education Department officials reiterated its commitment in recent weeks to keeping schools safe zones from immigration enforcement.

鈥淥ur schools are safe harbors for our children and they will remain so,鈥� Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said at a recent meeting of the Panel for Educational Policy.

Leaders at the Internationals Network are trying to address families鈥� concerns while reining in some of the waves of fear they see gripping their communities.

鈥淥ur job is to keep hope alive for these students,鈥� said Claire Sylvan, the founder and senior strategic director of the Internationals Network and a former teacher. 鈥淚鈥檓 not saying that things are going to be easy, but I鈥檓 saying that these are our children, and we are dedicated to ensuring that they are safe, welcome, and come to school.鈥�

Chalkbeat spoke to Sylvan and Lara Evangelista, the network鈥檚 director and a former international school principal and deputy superintendent, about how they鈥檙e approaching the coming years, lessons they鈥檝e learned, and what other educators can draw from their experiences.

The interview was edited for length and clarity.

Can you lay out what protections exist and some basics that schools and families should know?

Claire Sylvan: On the national level, there鈥檚 Plyler, which is a that says any student who鈥檚 eligible for K-12 education has a legal right to attend school at no cost, like any other resident.

There鈥檚 also, to date, protections around .

New York City Public Schools . They have already re-issued it with an incredibly strong email to all 1,600 principals. They followed up with training of superintendents. They鈥檝e been incredibly collaborative with us and other immigrant organizations in terms of thinking through, 鈥榃hat do you need to do on the ground?鈥� They鈥檙e not only training the school personnel but the school safety agents, who technically are supervised by the Police Department.

They鈥檝e been open to all of our conversations, and they鈥檙e providing contacts to schools in terms of community-based organizations. Our starting point is that schools need to be warm, welcoming, and supportive environments, and that鈥檚 still our priority, because that has to come first for students to learn. New York City has provided a framework that we can do that well within.

How do you balance being realistic about real concerns without overly causing fear that would keep people away from schools altogether?

Lara Evangelista: We鈥檙e realistic with families. We鈥檙e not hiding information. But we鈥檙e also sharing with them that there are policies that we will uphold that New York City has put in place to protect you.

Our community-based organizations support families with making sure their documents are in order, if they have something that鈥檚 expired, that they update it, that they understand what their rights are, that, if needed, they have accompaniment plans for their children if families are separated for some reason. We want to give them those tools to prepare them.

But we鈥檙e balancing, like you said. We don鈥檛 want to just feed into fear. We want to be realistic, but also continue to create supportive places for them. Because we want to take care of our young people emotionally. It鈥檚 how we鈥檝e been set up from the beginning, so we鈥檙e really leaning into that to support our students and our families through this.

How does talking about an 鈥榓ccompaniment plan鈥� go with families?

LE: One of my first cases when I was a principal was I had a young person call us and say, 鈥楳y parents were picked up selling clothes. What do I do? I have siblings.鈥橝nd so we learned then that we needed to make sure our families were prepared.

We don鈥檛 take that on ourselves, but through legal partnerships and so on, we run workshops and let families know that like this is something they should have in place so that if people are separated, if the major earners in the family are gone and the children are left, what happens?

How much of what you鈥檙e doing now, or what you鈥檝e done since the election, is standard procedure for you, and how much is different?

LE: We鈥檝e always done this. I was a principal a long time. And we had situations in the Obama administration where families were just deported, and we had to manage that.

We鈥檙e lucky in that we have relationships with partners that we can lean into for these kinds of supports. We鈥檝e always had legal screenings for families so that they can understand how to manage their paperwork. A legal organization will come and meet with families and students and, if they choose, can talk to them about their immigration situation.

CS: Some schools choose to do that on an open school night. You talk to your kid鈥檚 teacher, but you also go down the hall and have this conversation.

Can you talk about what you both saw during the first Trump administration and any lessons that you are taking from that and applying now?

LE: In the beginning, I remember some parents were afraid to come to a parent workshop, Open School Night, a parent teacher conference, because they were worried something would happen.

We had to really spend a lot of time communicating with families about our role, what the policies were, why they were going to be safe in our buildings, and really build relationships with families so that they did feel safe.

But I think the other thing was just how incredibly resilient our families and students were during that time. While we did have some students who dropped out or were discouraged, the vast majority of them, they just kept going. They were like, 鈥楲ook, I鈥檓 here. I have dreams. This is what I want for me and my family.鈥� They continued to pursue those dreams in spite of all that, so that was really inspiring for us as educators.

At this point, what is your biggest fear? And on the flip side, are there things that you鈥檙e doing now that you feel most hopeful about? What would you like to see happen that might ease some of those concerns?

CS: I can鈥檛 tell you how many individuals and people have approached us as an organization or our schools or our leaders and said: 鈥淗ow can we help?鈥� There is a community of people who care about our students.

LE: It鈥檚 really, really hard to predict what might happen. There鈥檚 a lot out there, and we don鈥檛 want to be in a situation where we鈥檙e just sharing all of this information that may or may not happen. We know what the situation is now, we know how to prepare from our work in the past, and that鈥檚 what we operate under. I don鈥檛 worry about students disappearing and not coming to school. There鈥檚 lots of rhetoric out there about what might happen in terms of deportation, but I try not to live in that space because our students do give us so much hope.

CS: I don鈥檛 have a crystal ball, but I know we have to keep our eye on the ball, and it鈥檚 going to move around the soccer field an awful lot.

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But across the country, when it comes to education, voters rejected those policies loudly and firmly. As the founder of Red Wine & Blue, a community of over 600,000 diverse suburban women, I hear from women all the time who don鈥檛 want right-wing extremist groups coming into their school districts to impose their vision of so-called parents鈥� rights. The vast majority of moms believe in America’s public schools, want to work with their children’s teachers to make education better and are sick of a vocal minority wasting time and resources on culture war chaos. 

But I don鈥檛 just say this because it鈥檚 what I see in my group chats and hear in conversations at the bus stop. Of the common-sense candidates 鈥� those standing up to attacks on history lessons about race and age-appropriate sex ed 鈥� who were supported by my organization in school board races across the country, 69% won. And in some states, that figure is even higher: 78% of our 45 candidates won in 15 Michigan school districts, and 86% of our 14 candidates won in six Virginia districts 鈥� an especially gratifying result given that Virginia became ground zero for the uproar over so-called Critical Race Theory in 2021.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Mo Green, a Democrat and former superintendent of Guilford County Schools, won the statewide race for superintendent of public instruction over homeschooler Michele Morrow. Morrow was a Republican Moms for Liberty candidate who has described public schools as 鈥溾�� and urged people not to send their children to them; called for the ; and demanded military intervention to keep then-President Donald Trump in power on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump may have won the presidential race in North Carolina, but Morrow鈥檚 slogan, 鈥淢ake America鈥檚 Schools Great Again,鈥� clearly didn鈥檛 resonate with the majority of voters who want to build up their public schools, not tear them down.

It鈥檚 true that different parents and families have different values and concerns 鈥� and that’s okay. If there’s a book you don’t want your kids to read, then don鈥檛 let them read it. I believe in providing students with accurate, age-appropriate sex education, but I also believe in allowing parents to opt their kids out if they alone want to have those conversations. But I don’t think one parent should be able to take those opportunities away from everyone else’s kids. American public schools should be, at their core, places where all students should feel supported and safe. And while extremists have come in from outside communities to gain power, divide and control people, most voters want none of it. 

If you zoom out and examine other election results, you see similar trends. Republicans spent at least on political ads attacking the trans community 鈥� including trans children who attend public schools 鈥� on issues ranging from sports to health care. But there is no evidence that these ads swayed voters at the ballot box. In fact, an found that a majority of likely voters (including a plurality of Independents, by a 23-point margin) thought they were “meanspirited and out of hand.” Likewise, a of voters in eight Senate battleground states found that those who saw the ads found them “intensely off-putting” and that they failed to impact candidate support. 

In four states 鈥� including three that voted for Trump 鈥� voters rejected Republican priorities for education. Ballot measures to expand voucher programs, which shift money from public to private schools, failed in Colorado, Kentucky, Nebraska. In Florida (the home of Moms for Liberty), voters defeated a state constitutional amendment to make school board elections partisan.

MAGA politicians will ignore these rejections at their own peril. Many parents remain concerned about their students and the state of the public schools. And when I sit down and talk to them, we almost always realize that we have far more in common than what separates us. We don鈥檛 want a loud minority telling us how to raise our children. We don鈥檛 want books about Anne Frank or Martin Luther King Jr. to be banned. We certainly don鈥檛 want kids to be bullied just because of who they are. It’s time to tune out the claims of MAGA mandates and get to work with teachers and administrators for the good of all students.

WASHINGTON 鈥� During Donald Trump鈥檚 first term as president, he was reluctant to speak boldly about school choice.

That鈥檚 according to Kellyanne Conway, an aide to the president back then, and one of his former campaign managers. 鈥淗e would say 鈥楢ren鈥檛 we the ones who say it [education] is local? Why would the president of the United States bigfoot all that?鈥欌��

Expect that reticence to be a thing of the past, Conway told the audience  devoted to promoting the benefits of school choice 鈥� from  in the style of programs in West Virginia and Arizona to charter schools and . On the campaign trail, Trump already has been vocal about his embrace of parental choice. 鈥淲e want federal education dollars to follow the student, rather than propping up a bloated and radical bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.,鈥�  at a rally in Wisconsin last month.

(To be sure, Trump did  near the end of his first term offering states the opportunity to use federal money to create school choice programs. When I looked into it a few years ago, I couldn鈥檛 find any state that had taken him up on the offer.)

Conway urged participants at the post-Election Day gathering to speak a certain way in their advocacy to lawmakers going forward. 鈥淟ead with solutions not problems. The problems can be the second part of the sentence, or maybe the second paragraph.鈥� The panelists 鈥� including the founder of a group of charter schools for students with autism in Arizona, the leader of a private school for boys in Alabama and the head of a foundation that supports microschools 鈥� were all winners of , fueled by  and run by the Center for Education Reform.

She also urged the crowd not to make school choice about teachers unions, 鈥渨hich is fun to do, especially this week but it doesn鈥檛 educate another child.鈥� (The National Education Association, the nation鈥檚 largest labor union, generally has opposed private school vouchers and has been celebrating the . 鈥淭he decisive defeat of vouchers on the ballot across multiple states speaks loudly and clearly: The public knows vouchers harm students and does not want them in any form,鈥� NEA President Becky Pringle said in a statement.) 

Lawmakers who need convincing aren鈥檛 holding out just because of union pressure, Conway said. In Texas, for instance, rural lawmakers worried about the effect of vouchers on their schools  or torpedoed plans in that state that would allow parents to use public money for private school tuition. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott helped elect enough new members in place of those rural holdouts, however, that .

The school choice event at the Ronald Reagan Building in D.C. was notable for the range of people it featured, including parents and pastors, people who are white, Black and Latino, and several Democrats, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams of Pennsylvania. Some of the speakers told stories about opening their own charter schools and private schools. They urged the president-elect to take action on choice, including allowing  for children in low-income families to follow those kids to private schools or other settings outside public schools.

In Congress, with Republicans taking hold of the Senate and expected to retain control of the House, lawmakers already have proposed legislation that has, until now, mostly been a nonstarter. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is likely to become chair of the committee that oversees education in his chamber, introduced  this session that would give families and corporations tax credits if they contribute to groups that give scholarships to students to attend private or parochial schools. It would target students whose families earn no more than 300 percent of the area median gross income. Cassidy鈥檚 wife, Laura, runs a charter school for children with dyslexia in Baton Rouge.

鈥淚 think that there鈥檚 going to be a real opportunity to promote innovation in school choice,鈥� Cassidy said. 鈥淭here is great promise in this administration, and I am looking forward to working with them.鈥�

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You can鈥檛 tell them the economy is great when they鈥檙e paying $4 for a dozen eggs.

You can鈥檛 tell them the job market is strong when they can鈥檛 find work.

And you can鈥檛 tell them their assigned public schools are delivering for their kids when they can plainly see outcomes that don鈥檛 align with those promises.

For years, families have been told that the one-size-fits-all public education system would prepare their children for the future. But more and more parents, particularly in historically underserved communities, are demanding options. They鈥檙e recognizing that choice empowers them to find the right educational fit for their child 鈥� a fit that meets individual needs, talents and goals and that鈥檚 responsive to their cultural values and expectations.

As election results poured in last week, NBC political commentator Chuck Todd specifically for record Republican gains among Latino voters.

These families 鈥� like all families 鈥� want a voice in their children鈥檚 education. They want to feel their tax dollars are funding schools that prioritize quality and accountability. In a diverse state like Florida, and in states across the nation, parents from every background are expressing this desire for choice.

School choice opponents have somehow convinced themselves that its purpose is to undermine the traditional public school system.

Trust me, that was the furthest thing from my mind when I set out to reform Florida鈥檚 education system as a first-term governor 25 years ago.

We wanted to make sure families had options if they needed them. No parent should be forced to keep their child in a school that isn鈥檛 serving them well. School choice is about opening doors, not closing them. It鈥檚 about opportunity, accountability and the recognition that one model doesn鈥檛 work for every student. It鈥檚 about a rising tide of achievement that lifts all boats. 

And we didn鈥檛 just focus on school choice: We implemented a strong school system and early literacy reforms that propelled Florida鈥檚 schools forward. While other states debated reforms, we took action to ensure students would gain essential skills in reading, setting them up for lifelong learning success. Today, these reforms serve as a model for other states.

As school choice has become more accessible, Florida’s public schools also have improved. Greater competition has raised the bar across the board, proving that giving families choices strengthens 鈥� not weakens 鈥� the educational system.

According to a recent by the American Enterprise Institute, Florida is 鈥渢he single best state in which to be a low-income public school student.鈥�

Florida also recently was the third-most diverse state in the nation, with 1 out of 5 residents born in a foreign country and only 36% born in the state. Diversity is our strength, and our education policies reflect our commitment to each child, regardless of their background or zip code.

We鈥檝e built an education landscape for everyone because we believe everyone deserves access to quality schools. School choice doesn鈥檛 divide communities; it strengthens them by respecting families’ unique needs and aspirations for their children. This movement isn鈥檛 about ideology. It鈥檚 about progress and ensuring that all children, in every neighborhood, have access to an education that meets their needs.

Policymakers should take the lessons from this election and recognize that families are sending a clear message: They want the freedom to choose an education that works for their child. 

For those who continue to stand against school choice, it鈥檚 time to listen. Families have rejected one-size-fits-all solutions, and they don鈥檛 want you to tell them what you think is best for them. They want the opportunity to find the right educational path for their kids, and it鈥檚 up to policymakers to continue to break down barriers that stand in their way. 

Charter-backed upstart failed in the Nov. 5 elections to unseat , the longtime LAUSD educator and policymaker who won the election and will begin his third and final term on the LA Unified board in January. 

Chang conceded in a message to supporters that he wasn鈥檛 going to be able to overcome 厂肠丑尘别谤别濒蝉辞苍鈥檚 4 percentage point lead. 

Chang, a math teacher at James Madison Middle School in North Hollywood, who previously helped found charter schools in LA, trailed behind Schmerelson with 48% of the vote, while Schmerelson garnered  52%.

The contest between the two men had the potential to tip the district鈥檚 school board away from a 4-3 majority of union-backed members, and impact the board鈥檚 handling of several facing LAUSD, including restrictions on charter schools鈥� use of buildings, which Chang said he鈥檇 move to reverse if elected. 

victory is part of a successful election season for many teachers . 

The outspoken former teacher and principal has sided closely with local unions on issues of space and resources for charter schools. His win could mean more headwinds for the nation鈥檚 largest charter school sector here moving forward. 

厂肠丑尘别谤别濒蝉辞苍鈥檚 campaign didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment.

Two other LA Unified school board races being decided by voters this year were not as close.

For District 1 in South LA, board admin defeated with 71% of the vote, versus 29% for Al-Alim, whom the in the primary over anti-semitic social media. 

For LAUSD Board District 5, which covers parts of Northeast and Southeast LA, union-backed led with 61% of the vote, versus 39% held by Ortiz.

Meanwhile, a majority of LA voters voiced their approval of a to repair and upgrade aging school buildings. 

As of Friday, voters cast 68% of ballots in favor of , which was backed by members of the LAUSD board, district superintendent Alberto Carvalho, the teachers union and local construction groups.  

Measure US would be LAUSD鈥檚 largest ever school facilities bond, and would be paid for with property tax increases. It requires a 55% majority in order to pass. 

The Los Angeles County Clerk is still counting votes and is providing daily. 

As of Friday the clerk had recorded more than 3.7 million votes in all the elections held November 5, with roughly 35% of eligible voters still uncounted.

When Donald Trump told Elon Musk one of his first acts as president would be to 鈥渃lose the Department of Education, move education back to the states,鈥� he was invoking a GOP promise that goes back to President Ronald Reagan and the department鈥檚 founding.

Yet through multiple Republican administrations, including Trump鈥檚 first term, the U.S. Department of Education has persisted.

That hasn鈥檛 stopped Democrats from sounding the alarm that Trump鈥檚 views epitomize the GOP鈥檚 bad intentions for public schools. The fact that the Republican Party鈥檚 platform , as does the , has only .

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鈥淲e are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools,鈥� Vice President Kamala Harris said to thunderous applause in her speech at the Democratic National Convention, where she placed the department alongside prized institutions and programs like Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act.

The department has become a 鈥渒ind of trophy鈥� in a larger debate about the meaning of public education, said Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

In fact, he said, 鈥淭he Department of Education actually has very little to do with that debate. Abolishing it doesn鈥檛 advance school choice and keeping it doesn鈥檛 do much for traditional district schools. But it鈥檚 become a symbol of which side you鈥檙e on in that debate.鈥�

So, what exactly does the U.S. Department of Education do? Why do so many conservatives want to see it go away? Why has it survived? And what would it take for that to actually happen?

The U.S. Department of Education: a brief history

The federal government spent money on education and developed education policies . But the U.S. Department of Education didn鈥檛 become a stand-alone agency until 1980, when it split off from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

President Jimmy Carter advocated for the creation of the department to fulfill a campaign promise to the National Education Association. Congress passed the Department of Education Organization Act in 1979. Some Democrats and the American Federation of Teachers opposed the idea, due to fears about and concerns that it would cater to the NEA鈥檚 interests.

Reagan, Carter鈥檚 successor, campaigned on abolishing the brand-new department. But Reagan鈥檚 first education secretary, Terrel Bell, commissioned the landmark report 鈥淎 Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,鈥� warning that America was losing its competitive edge. It advocated for a strong federal role to ensure students received a high-quality education.

鈥淚f the federal government is coming out with a report that shows all the things that need to be fixed and at the same time, we鈥檙e backing out of it, those are not compatible positions,鈥� said Michael Feuer, dean of George Washington University鈥檚 Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

The U.S. Department of Education does a lot of things, and . Its biggest K-12 programs by dollar amount . Some of its most high-profile and controversial work involves enforcing civil rights protections. The department also plays a major role in distributing financial aid for higher education.

The department is . Before the infusion of pandemic relief dollars, the federal government only covered about 8% of K-12 educational costs. In recent years, it鈥檚 been closer to 11%. But isn鈥檛 necessarily easy.

Why do conservatives want to end the Department of Education?

Some of the dislike is purely ideological.

For conservatives, less government is better. Education is not mentioned directly in the U.S. Constitution. And a new department overseeing functions that remain mostly the purview of local government is low-hanging fruit.

Under Democratic administrations, the department has also sided with more progressive approaches to education and to civil rights enforcement.

The Obama administration, for example, told schools that if they suspended or expelled Black students at much higher rates than other groups, that could be a sign they were . Critics said the rules pushed schools to adopt laxer disciplinary policies that made schools less safe. . (The Biden administration has not reinstated them.)

More recently, the Biden administration issued Title IX rules that provide greater and more explicit protections for LGBTQ students 鈥� .

Jonathan Butcher, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said states have been a source of innovation, like charter schools and educational savings accounts. The federal department not only distracts states from efforts to improve education but creates unnecessary bureaucracy.

All the while, achievement gaps based on race and poverty haven鈥檛 gone away, Butcher noted, though .

鈥淲e have ample evidence that it is not serving its purpose,鈥� Butcher said of the department. Abolishing it, he added, is 鈥渃onsistent with both the interest in smaller government and the interest in doing what鈥檚 right for kids.鈥�

What does Trump say about abolishing the Department of Education?

In his , the social media platform previously known as Twitter, Trump said the U.S. had a 鈥渉orrible鈥� education ranking at the bottom of developed countries while spending the most.

It鈥檚 not totally clear what sources Trump was using. On , the U.S. ranked sixth in reading, 10th in science, and 26th in math among 81 countries. show , especially . The U.S. does spend , including many that score better on key measures.

Trump said some states won鈥檛 do well, but many would do a better job on their own while spending less money.

鈥淥f the 50, I would bet that 35 would do great, and 15 of them or 20 of them would be as good as Norway,鈥� Trump told Musk. 鈥淵ou know Norway is considered great.鈥�

He said the federal government could provide 鈥渁 little monitor. You want to make sure they are teaching English, as an example. Give us a little English, right?鈥�

Trump鈥檚 campaign did not respond to a request to elaborate on the candidate鈥檚 plans.

How would abolishing the Department of Education work?

Abolishing a federal department would require an act of Congress, just as creating one does. It likely would also , which the idea doesn鈥檛 have.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, has to abolish the department 鈥� but the bill has failed to gain traction.

Despite that, Massie said his proposals were serious. 鈥淒amn right I want to terminate the Department of Education,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淧ublic education in America has gone downhill ever since this bureaucracy was created.鈥�

The Heritage Foundation鈥檚 Project 2025, widely seen as a blueprint for a future Trump administration 鈥� 鈥� lays out a much more detailed plan that considers necessary steps from Congress and the executive branch.

For example, the plan says civil rights enforcement should move to the Department of Justice, educational data collection to the U.S. Census Bureau, and support for Native American students to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Butcher acknowledged that BIA schools don鈥檛 have a good track record. But he argued that the agency was better positioned to work on improving educational outcomes.

Meanwhile, Project 2025 says Title I funding for high-poverty schools should be turned into vouchers and then phased out over time, while money from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act should be given directly to parents.

On a podcast earlier this year, Lindsey Burke, the Heritage Foundation鈥檚 director of the Center for Education Policy and author of Project 2025鈥檚 education chapter, of simply abolishing the department.

But she said the executive branch could take certain actions on its own, such as ending student loan forgiveness programs and not enforcing the new Title IX rules.

Ending the Education Department now 鈥榩art of the conversation鈥�

Hess, of the American Enterprise Institute, said he doesn鈥檛 oppose eliminating the department, but the idea has become a kind of 鈥渂oogie man or quick fix鈥� that鈥檚 become a on the federal role in education.

鈥淪o much of the culture war that reached a boil during the pandemic focused on schools and colleges, which made the department more contested terrain and made education more contested terrain,鈥� he said.

He鈥檚 skeptical that a future Trump administration would get any closer to eliminating the department than the first one did. And a could make it even harder to make dramatic changes via executive order, Hess said.

Feuer, of George Washington University, thinks the department has made positive contributions, despite some flaws, and wants to see it stick around. An unfriendly administration could dramatically cut funding or eliminate programs without eliminating the department. That鈥檚 the wrong debate to have when , he said.

鈥淚f we now take this really important moment and get everyone fighting about maintaining the department, instead of keeping our eyes on the kids and the teachers and doing some good work, that would be a really unfortunate distraction,鈥� he said.

Butcher acknowledged that it鈥檚 鈥渁 big, ambitious idea,鈥� but said it鈥檚 also a serious one. Past efforts, he said, lacked willpower and an advocate who prioritized it.

He was encouraged when every candidate in Republican presidential primary debates last year (except Trump, who did not participate) said they .

鈥淲e have made it a part of the conversation,鈥� Butcher said.

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鈥淭his is the most conservative legislature in history. We will continue to deliver a conservative agenda that will protect liberty and promote prosperity,鈥� Senate President wrote on X. 鈥淲ith our expanded majority we will make sure our communities are safe and that our kids have the best educational opportunities possible.鈥�

The swing state鈥檚 legislative prospects garnered the and a flood of campaign spending, with nearly being spent to elect lawmakers across both parties in 13 races. Democrats focused most energy in five close races in suburban Tucson and Phoenix that could have shifted the Republicans鈥� previous two-vote majorities. 

Now with the control of both houses, the Republican party can act on their promise to grow the Empowerment Scholarship voucher program, which sends tax dollars to private schools and reimburses families for homeschooling expenses. 

Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has ESA growth, stating when she took office it 鈥渨ould likely bankrupt the state.鈥� Arizona is considered an unofficial beacon for school choice, the first in the nation to offer families anything resembling a voucher in 2011.

The ESA program, expanded to all families under Republican leadership past its original design to support kids with disabilities or in underperforming schools, was last year. 

The state鈥檚 schools chief has said it鈥檚 impossible to credit the program, which most recently cost the state about $718 million to support 78,000 students, as causing deficits in the state budget, pointing to an overall surplus in the Department of Education because of declines in projected charter spending. 

Whether or not the state鈥檚 budget will be further strained by Republicans鈥� legislative agenda to expand the program, in its current iteration, it鈥檚 also been criticized for lack of accountability. Parents were able, for example, to reimburse $800 driving lessons in luxury vehicles, golf merchandise, and visits to . 

鈥淲hile you may think this may not be a good use of that family’s ESA funding, at the end of the day, they get a fixed amount of money, and if that’s how they’re going to choose to use it, that’s their prerogative,鈥� ESA director John Ward . 

Today, the nearly 80,000 families enrolled in the program receive about $7,500 for their childrens鈥� educational expenses. According to the , the vast majority of funding went to schools that specialize in serving kids with disabilities, particularly autism, and private, religious schools. 

Roughly are students with disabilities, a higher proportion than the average in traditional public schools statewide. 

A revealed low-income families are using the program far less frequently than families in wealthier enclaves. For families living in poverty, the location of private schools and financial responsibility of taking on additional transportation, research, and meals costs makes 鈥渟chool choice鈥� an unrealized promise. 

Incumbents Tom McMillin and Nikki Snyder held onto their seats on the Michigan Board of Education in Tuesday鈥檚 election. They are the only Republican members of the board.

It was another good down-ballot result for Michigan Republicans, who rode to flip the state House and almost every seat on the boards of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and the Wayne State University.

McMillin and Snyder defeated Democratic challengers Theodore Jones and former state Rep. Adam Zemke for seats on Michigan鈥檚 Board of Education and will serve eight-year terms on the board that is tasked with overseeing the educational system across the state and recommending changes to lawmakers.

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Snyder has served a single term on the board. She is a former nurse who has previously had unsuccessful runs for U.S. Senate and Congress. She the Michigan Advance along the campaign trail that she is focused on school safety, improving literacy in schools and providing eligible students with appropriate special education resources.

Snyder received the most votes of any education board candidate at nearly 2.5 million votes or 24.48% of the vote, according to unofficial election results.

McMillin also has served one term on the Michigan Board of Education, having been elected alongside fellow incumbent Snyder in 2016. Previously, McMillin served as a state legislator representing Oakland County and has served in local government and as an Oakland County Commissioner, among other roles.

McMillin secured about 24% of the vote, beating out Democratic challengers by more than 60,000 votes apiece.

Jones is a former teacher, school social worker and has worked in administration for Detroit public schools. His campaign centered around increasing investments into Michigan schools to help students recover from learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to allocate resources to retain good teachers.

Zemke, was previously a state lawmaker representing Ann Arbor who served on education-related committees. He has been a part of education-focused groups like the and was previously the president of . He the Michigan Advance during his campaign that he鈥檇 like to better bridge the board with lawmakers and other stakeholders and implement meaningful change while serving on the board.

鈥淒oomed.鈥� 鈥淏affled.鈥� 鈥淪cared.鈥� 鈥淗appy.鈥� 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care.鈥� 鈥淲e are so cooked.鈥�

Those were the reactions to the presidential election result that students scrawled on a white board Wednesday morning inside Joshua Ferguson鈥檚 11th grade government class at Ypsilanti Community High School in Michigan.

Before he knew that former President Donald Trump had won a second term, Ferguson thought he would do a lesson on disinformation in politics. Instead, he gave students room to talk. The most important piece of this lesson, he said, was for his students to feel safe and heard.

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鈥淚 think that鈥檚 my job as a teacher,鈥� he said.

Educators across the country awakened Wednesday to the , then headed into school buildings where students were feeling everything from elation to shock to despair. Some had carefully scripted lesson plans at the ready. Others, like Ferguson, scrapped what they prepared and simply listened.

For civics and social studies teachers who had been monitoring the 2024 presidential election, Wednesday presented both a pedagogical challenge 鈥� and opportunity. Chalkbeat reporters fanned out to schools across the country to see how teachers approached this monumental day.

This story was reported by Caroline Bauman, Gabrielle Birkner, Hannah Dellinger, Jessie Gomez, Dale Mezzacappa, Amelia Pak-Harvey, Carly Sitrin, and Alex Zimmerman.

鈥榃hy do people keep voting for Trump?鈥�

Ahead of his 7:30 a.m. social studies class Wednesday, teacher John Winters had prepared a worksheet to spur conversation.

鈥淎s you know, [fill in the blank] has been elected as the next U.S. President,鈥� the sheet read. 鈥淧lease share your thoughts, feelings, concerns, questions, etc.鈥�

His students at Philadelphia鈥檚 Murrell Dobbins Career & Technical Education High School didn鈥檛 need much prompting.

鈥淗e IS a convicted felon and should鈥檝e never been allowed to run ever again,鈥� wrote one student.

People 鈥渄on鈥檛 want to see a girl/woman be the president,鈥� wrote another.

鈥淲hy do people keep voting for Trump? Especially people that he doesn鈥檛 even like and is racist towards?鈥� still another wrote.

The responses conveyed dismay and fear among some at the 800-student technical school, which is 89% Black and located in the city鈥檚 lowest income ZIP code.

At the end of the class, one junior held back to talk to Winters. Anxiety, even fear, was written all over his face as he struggled for words.

He asked a series of questions, like how many bills a president could pass and how an impeached president could be elected again. Winters answered but sensed there was something larger the boy wanted to know.

鈥淚 was born here, but I鈥檓 scared for my parents,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e from Haiti. It鈥檚 bad there right now.鈥�

Winters reminded him that strongly Democratic Philadelphia has been a sanctuary city, meaning it doesn鈥檛 always cooperate with the federal government in enforcing immigration law. He told the young man to clarify with his parents their status. But then, reluctantly, he added: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 lie, it鈥檚 a concerning situation.鈥�

The boy put his head down, and slowly walked to his next class.

A rightward shift, especially among boys

At The Global Learning Collaborative, a high school situated in the deep-blue Upper West Side of Manhattan, students reacted to Trump鈥檚 victory with a mix of fear, ambivalence 鈥� and support.

More than 70% of the school鈥檚 students are Latino, and many expressed alarm over Trump鈥檚 anti-immigrant rhetoric. But there was still a sizable number of students who supported the Republican candidate during a mock election held during a Wednesday morning assembly: 136 students voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, while 70 supported Trump.

Junior Alix Torres said she has undocumented relatives and worries about his promise to .

鈥淚 woke up kind of angry this morning,鈥� Torres said, noting that she helped persuade some family members to vote for Harris. 鈥淚 hope he hears the public and chooses to not go through with that. We built this country.鈥�

Others at The Global Learning Collaborative said they supported Trump or didn鈥檛 have a firm opinion of him; nearly all were under 10 years old during his first presidency.

Senior Sara Otero, who is 18, voted for the first time on Tuesday, casting a ballot for the former president. A devout Christian, Otero said she believed Trump would preserve religious liberty, though she hadn鈥檛 followed the election closely.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 as educated as I wish I was on the whole thing,鈥� she said.

Harris decisively won New York City, but . Civics teacher Martin Gloster said he has seen a rightward shift in political attitudes in his classroom.

鈥淚 think teenage boys are really attracted to that strongman presence,鈥� he said.

Gloster said he has struggled with teaching contemporary politics, including the presidential debate in which Trump Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs. In a class that discussed the debate, one student had faced an arduous journey emigrating from Guatemala, while others were more sympathetic to Trump.

鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult because obviously I play it down the middle 鈥� Trump is just a different thing,鈥� Gloster said. 鈥淚鈥檓 learning on the fly. I don鈥檛 have all the answers.鈥�

Taking lessons from Gore鈥檚 2000 concession speech

When Reid Stuart arrived for his first class on Wednesday, he had three goals for students: Give space to process this huge political moment, impart tools to 鈥� and watch Al Gore鈥檚 concession speech from 2000.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredible speech, by a Tennessean, after a tense moment that calls for unity,鈥� said Stuart, who teaches at Crosstown High School, a diverse public charter school in Memphis, Tennessee. 鈥淚t feels relevant.鈥�

His students in AP Human Geography settled into class, some joking with each other about the election and others speaking somberly.

Before watching , Stuart asked: What did his students expect from a conceding presidential candidate?

鈥淭o show respect to the other candidate.鈥� 鈥淭o show respect for the system.鈥� 鈥淭o actually concede,鈥� students chimed in.

Stuart then asked, 鈥淚f you are Al Gore, how are you feeling?鈥�

鈥淐heated.鈥� 鈥淢ad.鈥� 鈥淯naccepting of loss.鈥� 鈥淏itter.鈥�

Gore, a Democrat, gave his speech more than a month after the 2000 Election Day and after .

Stuart asked his students what they thought of Gore鈥檚 delivery and message.

鈥淚 think he was being sarcastic,鈥� said one student. 鈥淟ike you could tell he didn鈥檛 really believe what he was saying, and felt like he should have won, but he still called for unity and respect.鈥�

As other students in the room nodded in agreement, Stuart said: 鈥淭his is a hallmark of a free and fair election, that the person who lost, can get up there and offer a unifying message, even if he is bitter. Right?鈥�

He noted that later Wednesday. 鈥淚 encourage you to watch it,鈥� he told students. 鈥淪ee if she has the same message of unification and moving forward, even though you can guarantee she is feeling deeply about the loss.鈥�

An election that turned on grocery prices and utility bills

Philadelphia social studies teacher Charlie McGeehan prepared for every election outcome 鈥� but, he admitted to his students Wednesday morning, 鈥渢his is not what I expected.鈥�

When he went to bed Tuesday night before midnight, McGeehan had anticipated explaining to the juniors and seniors in his classes about how long vote counting can take. About how we might not know the outcome of the election for several days. About the role deep-blue Philadelphia would play in deciding the election.

By the time he woke on Wednesday, that plan was moot. So, he figured, let鈥檚 just give the students 鈥� many of whom had spent long hours working the polls the day prior 鈥� space to decompress.

Together, they combed through the election results guided by students鈥� questions like 鈥淗ow was the polling yesterday so surprising?鈥� 鈥淲hich state did the race ultimately come down to?鈥� and 鈥淒oes Kamala Harris have any path to winning at all?鈥�

To that last question, McGeehan was straightforward: 鈥淣o, she doesn鈥檛.鈥�

Many of McGeehan鈥檚 students at the Academy at Palumbo are first- or second-generation Americans or immigrants. On notecards, students laid out their more personal fears, ones they didn鈥檛 necessarily want to share with the class.

鈥淎s a woman and a child of an immigrant, I鈥檓 honestly scared鈥� read one. 鈥淚 saw a post saying how Trump pledged to launch mass deportation鈥� which makes me feel like not researching more because of how much more sick stuff I might read,鈥� said another.

One said 鈥淚 feel great because Trump鈥檚 [positions] align with what I want. Especially with the issues of censorship, grocery prices, and utility bills.鈥�

鈥楰ind of a very depressing day鈥�

Nehemiah Legrand tried to eat dinner Tuesday but couldn鈥檛 finish. She was glued to her phone. She was up until 3 a.m.

The 13-year-old student at Enlace Academy, a pre-K-8 school in the International Marketplace area of Indianapolis, is an American citizen by birth whose parents are legally living in the country. The family fled Haiti after her older brother was kidnapped in 2020 amid the country鈥檚 political turmoil.

Still, Trump鈥檚 campaign rhetoric around immigration scared Nehemiah 鈥� and made her fear that her family would be deported.

鈥淚 just feel like today 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 feel normal,鈥� she said, sitting in the school鈥檚 hallway on Wednesday, looking out the window at the rain. 鈥淧eople are not talkative or none of that. It鈥檚 very, very strange. It鈥檚 kind of a very depressing day. Because everyone just doesn鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen next, and you can tell everyone is stressed.鈥�

The presidential election has over her and her classmates at the school, where many students come from Latin America and Haiti. At this school, students have to grow up fast. Many carry trauma from their immigration to the United States, said lead social worker Hailey Butchart.

Now, students like Nehemiah are preparing for what the next four years with Trump 鈥� whose platform includes deploying 鈥渢he largest deportation operation in American history鈥� 鈥� will mean for them.

鈥淎 lot of the students I speak with have had a family member that has been deported, and they live with that fear as well,鈥� Butchart said.

The power of social media in elections

On the morning after Election Day, Zy鈥橝sia Weathers rolled over in bed to grab her phone on a nearby nightstand and scrolled through TikTok.

But instead of seeing videos of makeup reviews or the latest trends, Zy鈥橝sia鈥檚 feed was filled with women and girls crying about the outcome of Tuesday鈥檚 election and the potential impact on female reproductive rights.

鈥淧eople were even saying, like, very vague things, like, just thinking the worst of the worst,鈥� added Zy鈥橝sia, 17, a senior at KIPP Newark Collegiate Academy.

Throughout the school day Wednesday, Zy鈥橝sia and her peers talked about other videos they saw, like people celebrating former president Donald Trump鈥檚 reelection and others questioning what his victory would mean for the nation.

Zy鈥橝sia is also the president of her school鈥檚 Student Government Association, and on Wednesday, the group met to discuss the presidential outcomes. Yanibel Feliz, the advisor of the group, walked students through an exercise to discuss the election process, the outcome, and the effect of social media.

Some students said they were shocked about Trump鈥檚 victory because they had seen much support for Harris on social media.

鈥淪ometimes, social media might paint a picture of how elections will go,鈥� said Trinity Douglas, a junior at the school, during class. 鈥淏ut it has a big effect on our generation.鈥�

鈥業鈥檓 afraid what will happen to my family鈥�

The icebreaker in Joel Snyder鈥檚 government classes on Wednesday was to respond to the prompt: 鈥淚 am feeling 鈥� because 鈥︹��

The responses were wide-ranging and included students who were enthusiastic about the election outcome and those who were disappointed the U.S. would not, after all, elect a woman as president.

In the few minutes they were given, students took pencil to paper and wrote that they were 鈥渟hocked鈥� to hear how well Trump did with Latinos, 鈥渇urious鈥� at what they saw as sexism in the results, and 鈥渃oncerned鈥� that America had once again elected a man whose flaws and felony convictions are, by now, well known.

Some answers hit closer to home. 鈥淚 am feeling uneasy,鈥� one student wrote, 鈥渂ecause I鈥檓 afraid what will happen to my family who are undocumented.鈥�

Standing at the front of his class at 脕nimo Pat Brown Charter High School in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood of South Los Angeles, the teacher reminded his students that whether or not they are U.S. citizens, they have 鈥渢he duty to be the protectors of democracy and of each other.鈥� Snyder teaches about 140 students across five government classes, including one AP course. Of the roughly 600 students enrolled at 脕nimo Pat Brown, almost all of them are Hispanic 鈥� their families hailing from Mexico, Guatemala, and elsewhere in Latin America.

Snyder also asked his students to write down one issue that they care about and how they think Trump鈥檚 election might impact it. The students chose abortion rights, the economy, constitutional norms, and, again and again, immigration. They shared their fears of mass deportations and stories of family members who had waited years for green cards they may never get.

鈥淢y main concern is how, even despite being a citizen, I still won鈥檛 be protected because my parents are immigrants,鈥� Natalie, 17, a student in Snyder鈥檚 AP U.S. Government and Politics class, told Chalkbeat.

This was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

The outcome was widely expected in a deep blue state where the last Republican governor left office in 1993. Meyer for the Democratic nomination in a three-way primary decided Sept. 10. 

Education analysts have watched the race for two reasons. The new governor will be under pressure to lead the state鈥檚 General Assembly into acting on a quarter-century of recommendations from task forces and commissions on reforming Delaware鈥檚 Jim Crow-era school funding system. 

Created decades ago to ensure affluent, white communities would continue to get a disproportionate share of education dollars, the finance formula sends more money to districts that already enjoy bigger budgets thanks to higher property taxes. As Delaware鈥檚 population has diversified, the inequities have deepened. Near-unanimity about the scope of the problem has not translated to the political will to boost state funding.

In 2020, Carney settled a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of the Delaware NAACP and a coalition called Delawareans for Educational Opportunity, in part by agreeing to commission an American Institutes for Research study to determine exactly how underfunded Delaware鈥檚 schools are. 

Earlier this year, the researchers reported that  would cost $500 million to $1 billion. After the report鈥檚 release, lawmakers created a planning commission to figure out how to raise revenue and right inequities, with an eye toward releasing recommendations in October 2025 for a new funding system to take effect in 2027. Not everyone is convinced the timeline is not simply another instance of kicking the can down the road. 

Now, policy wonks are watching to see whether Meyer鈥檚 long experience in K-12 education will translate to political urgency. The governor-elect started his career as a Teach for America corps member at a Wilmington charter school, where virtually all students were impoverished and the inequitable distribution of resources left teachers to struggle. 

During the campaign, Meyer released a detailed, 18-page education platform that included specific proposals for reforming both the state funding system and county-level taxes.

鈥淔unding cannot change overnight but must increase with urgency,鈥� the plan noted, pledging to 鈥淏etter align our state鈥檚 funding system with the AIR report鈥檚 recommendation of an additional increase of $3,400 to $6,400 per pupil.鈥�

The measure, which does not eliminate the administration of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam, but rather its role as a graduation requirement, passed with of voters in support and 41% opposed, with 96% of votes reported as of Wednesday afternoon. The 鈥測es鈥� vote was particularly strong in western Massachusetts, while towns and cities in the greater Boston area were more likely to vote against it, according to reporting from . In Weston, one of the state鈥檚 wealthiest communities, 2 in 3 voters cast ballots in opposition, according to the Globe. 

Students still must meet the state鈥檚 course requirements of gym and American history and civics, along with locally determined measures, set by the some 300 school districts. 

When asked about next steps at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Maura Healey, who was a of the measure, said 鈥淭he Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be out with guidance shortly on that 鈥� But the voters spoke on that question. And I don鈥檛 know what will come as of just yet.鈥�

In response to a question about her willingness to entertain bills that would overturn the measure, Healey said, 鈥淚鈥檒l review anything that comes to my desk, but I鈥檓 not going to engage in hypotheticals.鈥� 

Those who wanted to keep the requirement and see the ballot measure defeated 鈥� including Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler and the National Parents Union 鈥� argued that the MCAS is a high-quality assessment that is necessary to hold schools accountable, communicate progress with students and their parents, and establish consistent academic expectations statewide.

Those in favor of the ballot measure 鈥� backed by the statewide 鈥� argued that the testing requirement narrowed curriculum, forcing teachers to 鈥渢each to the test.鈥� Each year, more than 700 students 鈥� including many English language learners and students with disabilities 鈥� are unable to graduate because they didn鈥檛 pass the MCAS or because they didn鈥檛 meet local district requirements.

Historically, approximately 70,000 10th graders sat for at least one of the three MCAS exams each year. Based on state policies, students had to earn a passing score on all three exams to earn a diploma. Those who didn鈥檛 could try again at least four times and some students were able to participate in an appeal process or an alternative pathway. Ultimately, the vast majority of students 鈥� about 99% 鈥� met the requirements.

鈥淲ith this election victory, voters have welcomed a new era in our public schools,鈥� said Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy in a following the announcement that voters approved Question 2. 鈥淭his is the beginning of more holistic and thorough assessments of student work.鈥� 

Leading the charge on the ballot measure, the union poured $7.7 million into its campaign as of Oct. 1 and opponents spent $1.2 million, according to reporting from the .

John Schneider, the chair of , a coalition opposed to the ballot measure, said in a statement that, 鈥淓liminating the graduation requirement without a replacement is reckless. The passage of Question 2 opens the door to greater inequity; our coalition intends to ensure that door does not stay open.鈥�

This point was echoed by the president of the , Keri Rodrigues, in an interview with 蜜桃影视 Wednesday afternoon.

鈥淚 think it’s a strong signal about what we’ve been warning about: that we’re going to watch the inequities in Massachusetts kind of just go wider and wider and wider鈥� as more affluent districts largely maintain high standards and others lower theirs.

Rodrigues said she and other advocates will immediately begin calling for legislation that implements new statewide graduation requirements based on , a state-recommended program of study, which includes the successful completion of four credits of English, math and a lab-based science, along with a number of other requirements.

James Peyser, former state education secretary, is similarly concerned about the new lack of regulation. 鈥淲e had [a graduation standard],鈥� he told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淚 think it was working well, and I鈥檓 disappointed that the ballot question passed because it replaces something 鈥� something that’s working 鈥� with nothing. But we need to fill that void as quickly as possible.鈥�

Olympic track and field star Allyson Felix is helping moms vote in this election.

Felix, who has been an outspoken advocate for parents, is partnering with the nonpartisan organization Chamber of Mothers to raise awareness for child care support available to parents voting in North Carolina, New York and Los Angeles this election cycle. This summer, Felix secured the first Olympic child care center.

In North Carolina, Felix and Chamber of Mothers are promoting a program through the nonprofit Politisit that will of child care for parents heading to the polls. Parents just have to fill out a with information on what care they will need and how much it will cost. In western North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene caused massive destruction at the end of September, Politisit will reimburse up to a full day of care.

In Los Angeles, Brella, a child care center known for its flexible hours, will be offering for kids 3 months to 6 years of age. Similarly, in New York City and Westchester, will offer up to a full day of free care to caregivers who are voting.

, a marketplace for parents to find flexible child care in California, and , a platform for parents to find babysitters in New York, are also each donating $10,000 in child care services that parents can access by signing up through Politisit.

 is now also available for caregivers who want to book free care though Politisit and its partners. It includes additional free spots in Southern California, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, New York, Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

鈥淭his election, you don’t have to choose between voting and motherhood,鈥� Felix said in a statement. 鈥淭his election, you can do both.鈥�

Caregivers, and especially single mothers, are one of the in the country. Many say they feel 鈥渄efeated or that their vote doesn鈥檛 make a difference,鈥� said Erin Erenberg, the CEO and founder of Chamber of Mothers. Others cite the challenges of standing in potentially long lines with kids or not being able to secure care as barriers that have kept them from the ballot box.

But this election cycle, when candidates have spoken about caregiving more than ever, efforts have ramped up to help parents take part in a consequential election.

This story was originally published by .

While Americans of voting age struggle to navigate the political landscape, educators, parents and community leaders must also attend to the needs of the next generation. Today鈥檚 K-12 students will be tomorrow鈥檚 voters, legislators and civic leaders, and teachers play an essential role in helping them develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to fulfill their civic responsibilities.

The role of social studies teachers in fostering civic learning is obvious, but educators in all subjects can contribute to building a more informed and responsible citizenry. Science teachers, for instance, can help students about climate change, vaccines, even Vitamin C. Math teachers can provide strategies for the accurate interpretation of statistics or charts. From the earliest grades, teachers are responsible for helping students learn to interact constructively with their peers, be open to ideas that might differ from their own and apply a critical lens to information they receive. This all directly relates to civic learning and engagement.

At the same time, educators face challenges associated with cultivating responsible citizens, including the increasing politicization of school curricula. In a recent Education Week of principals, nearly a third cited the political, controversial nature of civics as a barrier to teaching it. In Wisconsin, educators increasing political pressures and restrictions on teaching about elections. Moreover, opportunities for high-quality civic learning are deeply , with young people in marginalized communities lacking access to experiences that promote civic readiness. These disparities almost certainly contribute to differences in performance on of civic learning. 

Our team at the American Institutes for Research wanted to understand educators鈥� opinions about schools鈥� responsibilities for supporting students’ civic learning and the conditions that might influence their teaching in this area. In late 2022, when schools were confronting ongoing challenges such as COVID-19, systemic racism and the role of social media, we a nationally representative sample of K-12 public school teachers in all subject areas about their views on civics education. 

More than 80% of respondents said it was very important or essential for schools to help students develop civics-related knowledge, skills and attitudes, including a commitment to democracy and an ability to engage effectively in civic life. For the most part, these data

points were consistent across subjects, grade levels and geographical locations, even on complicated topics such as the lasting impact of slavery.

These results indicate that most teachers are committed to fostering civics learning. They

also point to several actions that policymakers and education leaders could take to

help advance schools鈥� civics goals:

• Offer better professional learning. Although 84% of teachers said they feel it is very important or essential for schools to promote a commitment to democracy, only half reported being very or extremely confident in their ability to teach this topic. Sixty percent of respondents agreed that they needed more professional learning in this area.
  
• Provide guidance on navigating restrictions on civics-related instruction. About 30% of respondents said they had received directives from district or school leadership to limit discussions about political or social issues. By comparison, 70% cited pressure to show progress on standardized tests in other subjects as a significant barrier to teaching civics.
  
• Communicate more clearly about state standards. Academic standards can communicate states鈥� goals and encourage instruction aligned with those goals 鈥� but only if teachers are aware of them. Although has standards related to civics, 47% of surveyed teachers reported not knowing whether their own states had them. State and district leaders should help teachers of all subjects understand and implement standards related to civic learning.

The results from our survey make it clear that teachers nationwide believe schools should foster students鈥� civic development, but that they need additional support to do this effectively. It is in the interest of all Americans to help ensure that educators have the resources, guidance and autonomy they will need to fulfill this critical responsibility. Our findings add to a growing body of research that suggests a need for standards, assessment systems, professional learning and instructional guidance that help teachers of all grade levels and subjects integrate civic content into their instruction in ways that are nonpartisan and grounded in evidence. 

Misinformation and disinformation will continue to threaten political and civic engagement, but by supporting teachers today, policymakers and education leaders can help them ensure that tomorrow鈥檚 voters can handle it.

A moderate from an elite world versus a MAGA-backed veteran. 

An attorney general versus a lieutenant governor. An ardent supporter of public education versus a skeptic who called educators 鈥溾�� and wants to strip schools of federal funding. 

North Carolina鈥檚 governor race, dubbed the its final moments. But in the aftermath of several scandals and increasing political fanfare, the swing state known for nail-biting election days is almost certain to elect Democrat Josh Stein over Republican nominee Mark Robinson.

In late September, as polls were already showing a slight lead for Stein, reported Robinson called himself a 鈥淏lack Nazi鈥� and posted 鈥渟lavery is not bad鈥� anonymously on a porn site. Once his cheerleader, former President Donald Trump has since gone silent about Robinson and has not been seen with him in public, even while campaigning in North Carolina. In recent weeks, Robinson has taken to of Trump.

鈥淭he expectation is with everything dragging Robinson down, Stein should have a good night,鈥� said Michael Bitzer, North Carolina elections expert and politics chair at Catawba College. 

But beyond the controversy that鈥檚 encircled Robinson 鈥� who has kept education debates centered on eradicating the presence of 鈥減olitics鈥� and 鈥渋ndoctrination鈥� in schools, and 鈥� educators and students across the state told 蜜桃影视 their top concerns are school safety and mental health, teacher pay and recruitment, and school funding. 

Their worries reach beyond the gubernatorial race, as the future of who will determine state education policy is in limbo. The state superintendent race is , with Democrat and former large district superintendent Mo Green holding a tiny lead over far-right candidate and homeschooling advocate, , who praised 鈥減atriots鈥� outside the White House during the January 6 insurrection.

But whether the next governor is Stein or Robinson, the state leader will also appoint individuals for , subject to confirmation by the assembly. At least in March 2025, and five of Cooper鈥檚 picks have yet to be confirmed. The agency is in charge of policy, including credentialing criteria and what textbooks get used statewide. 

鈥淓lection day has got everybody a little nervous in the education world in North Carolina,鈥� said Patrick Greene, president of the statewide school leader association and principal of Greene Central High School in Snow Hill, a town just over an hour鈥檚 drive southeast of Raleigh. 

鈥淚 think a lot of us are trying to get people to understand that the implications for this race go beyond party lines,鈥� Greene said. 鈥淲e need to do a better job of being advocates for people outside of the [education] world to understand how these policies directly affect them, their children, their communities.鈥� 

There鈥檚 a strong chance North Carolina鈥檚 next governor will also in the state legislature, where lawmakers have repeatedly overridden current Governor Roy Cooper鈥檚 vetos to push through of laws including a 12-week abortion ban, restrictions on sports and medical treatments for transgender youth, and limitations on classroom discussions about gender 鈥� moves condemned by the . 

鈥淭hose of us who are boots on the ground need progress. We would love for the General Assembly and whichever gubernatorial candidate and state superintendent candidate wins to find some common ground 鈥� let’s get some stuff done,鈥� Greene said, advocating for , teacher prep expansion and 鈥渁ll the things we want to do to make schools as good as they can be, rather than more and more rhetoric each time and blaming each other.鈥� 

Stein鈥檚 top priority as governor, according to , is to improve public education. He has also supported to address the youth mental health crisis, and wants to expand support and access to community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The two education issues Robinson and Stein have some alignment on are raising teacher pay and expanding career and technical education. The question of how to afford educating the state鈥檚 most vulnerable populations, however, is another matter.

鈥榃e need more than we鈥檙e getting鈥�

Both Robinson and superintendent candidate Morrow have pushed to expand school vouchers, which would send more public funds to private schools. Governor Cooper called the effort the .鈥�

Educators are also anxiously tracking the state supreme court as it wades into a , in which parents argued the state formula denied quality education to their impoverished, often rural areas. 

Today, the state where more residents live in rural areas ranks , more than $4,000 below average.听

The vast majority of North Carolina children are educated in public schools, with a little over . Similar trends held true in Arizona, another swing state where a recent revealed low income families were not accessing the voucher programs marketed to them.

鈥淸Families] have options and they’re still choosing us,鈥� said Greene.

Further worrying education advocates, for the states鈥檚 schools. 鈥淚f I had my way about it, they鈥檇 send the check and I鈥檇 say, 鈥極h, no, you can have it. I don鈥檛 want your money. Your money comes with too many rotten obligations. We don鈥檛 want it.鈥欌��

Last school year, North Carolina received more than , which went predominantly to low-income schools, students with disabilities, career and technical education, and health programs like nutrition, mental health care and substance abuse support. 

鈥淭hat’s scary in the world of the people who legally are bound to provide that. We don’t know where the resources would come from,鈥� Greene added. 鈥淨uite honestly, we need more than we’re getting, I think like a lot of states that are predominantly rural.鈥� 

Legacies of 鈥榟ateful rhetoric鈥� 

Following in Trump鈥檚 footsteps, Robinson originally appealed to voters with a compelling personal story. He grew up a poor child in Greensboro, had faced multiple bankruptcies, and was a furniture-maker-turned lieutenant-governor in his first political bid after brief virality for a speech . 

Despite threats to preserving quality education for poor students, those with disabilities and LGBTQ youth, North Carolina students interviewed by 蜜桃影视 are eager to vote and share optimism for the future.

鈥淲ith all of this really extremist speech, I get to see firsthand how students my age are two things: either unmotivated to vote or talk about politics at all, or they’re really motivated because they’re frustrated and angry,鈥� said Tai Stephan, 18, a first year student at the University of North Carolina and child of educators. 鈥淭hey’re educating themselves, they’re voting, they’re talking about things and to anyone that’s unmotivated.鈥� 

Voting for the first time, Stephan said he is supporting candidates promoting equality and safety. His campus is one of several universities acting , including ending 59 staff positions. People 鈥渟o beyond angry鈥� are acting to change the policy they believe to be unjust, hosting teach-ins, speeches and considering lawsuits, risking possible disciplinary action. 

鈥淭hey’re so frustrated that it goes beyond their educational prestige. It’s really scary to see a lot of groups at risk for losing the oasis they have in within schools鈥� It shows that a lot of minority students are being attacked via legislation and where our country is moving if we don’t get out and vote.鈥�   

For Evan Keith, 18 and a senior at Forest Hills High School in the southern, central North Carolina town of Marshville, it鈥檚 been difficult to see his peers feel discouraged by politics, with many thinking 鈥渆ven if we vote for a certain person, not a lot will change.鈥�

At a time when educators and students are also fueling charges to curb the prevalence of school shootings, a Stein governorship feels like a safer choice.

鈥淚 hope that our governor, whoever it is, will really push to make safety a top priority, and mental health, as [they] really do affect everything: grades, performances on tests, and job confidence with our employers,鈥� said Keith, also a first time voter this November. 

While it remains to be seen how Hurricane Helene recovery, early voting has yielded a. 

Education advocates are urging voters to to 鈥渄o their homework and find the person that’s gonna help kids the most,鈥� said Greene. 鈥淎nd if they don’t know, talk to somebody who works in education, because usually we’re happy to tell you.鈥�

Policy experts note that public opinion about a particular topic is deeply shaped by at the time. These frameworks are frequently contested through implicit and explicit messages that go out through media, as well as topical debates in the political arena. The political scientist Deborah Stone puts it this way: 鈥淚deas are at the center of all political conflict. Policymaking, in turn, is a constant struggle over the criteria for classification; the boundaries of categories, and the definition of ideals that guide the way people behave.鈥�

A classic example . When nuclear power was primarily seen as a new source of cheap energy, it drew a great deal of support. When it became seen as an environmental danger 鈥� influenced by real-life accidents like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, as well as fictional media portrayals 鈥� public support cratered. Today, some environmentalists are trying to intentionally insert a third frame whereby nuclear power is seen as in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change; they face an uphill battle.

Or take a question closer to child care鈥檚 wheelhouse: public schools. While schools inarguably serve a child care function (sorry, ), that is not generally seen as their primary purpose. Instead, schools are defined by their educational impact. Whether that education is at successful careers, civic engagement, personal self-actualization or something else certainly remains contested, but the overarching frame of schools = education is set.

When it comes to child care, America seems to be experiencing what psychologist William James described as the first moments of an infant鈥檚 life: a 鈥渂looming, buzzing confusion.鈥� Particularly in an era when child care is finally getting widespread attention instead of being relegated to a component of welfare, we have yet to answer the questions: what is child care and who is it for? In many cases, we have yet to even ask those questions.

Is child care primarily a work support for parents? Is it child development that helps kids with early learning and growth? Is it a way to reduce family stress and increase family functioning? Is it social infrastructure that connects parents, a la libraries and parks? Is it intended to promote gender equity? Who counts as a valid child care provider? Is the goal to have a minimum level of adequate child care that keeps costs low or to have abundant, first-rate child care settings with well-compensated educators? Heck, we can鈥檛 even agree on definitions: is child care policy about ages birth to 5? Birth to 8? Birth to 13? Birth to 18?

You鈥檙e probably thinking that child care is not just one thing, and that much of the above list is not mutually exclusive. You鈥檇 of course be correct. But 鈥榥ot just one thing鈥� doesn鈥檛 obviate the need, again, for a primary frame. Right now, we鈥檙e not even trying to hash out what that primary frame is, and so we often end up talking past one another.

Comments regarding child care made by Vance and Kamala Harris in recent months illustrate this societal confusion.

In an August Face the Nation , Vance responded to questions about his opposition to  universal child care proposals: 鈥渨hat I’ve opposed is one model of child care. We, of course, want to give everybody access to child care. But look, in my family, I grew up in a poor family where the child care was my grandparents, and a lot of these child care proposals do nothing for grandparents. If you look at some of these proposals, they do nothing for stay-at-home moms or stay-at-home dads. I want us to have a child care policy that’s good for all families, not just a particular model of family, and that’s what I’ve said.鈥�

Harris, meanwhile, the following during an appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists: 鈥渢he state of affairs in our country that working people often have to decide to either be able to work or be able to afford childcare 鈥� they can鈥檛 afford childcare and actually do the work that they want to do because it鈥檚 too expensive, and it doesn鈥檛 actually level out in terms of the expense versus the income. My plan is that no family 鈥� no working family should pay more than 7 percent of their income in childcare, because I know that when you talk about the return on that investment, allowing people to work, allowing people to pursue their dreams in terms of how they want to work, where they want to work, benefits us all. It strengthens the entire economy.鈥�

As you can see, these are not two sides of a coin. This isn鈥檛, 鈥業 think public schools should get more money, you think we should universalize school vouchers鈥� or 鈥業 think there should be a single-payer health care system, you think we should deregulate health care and let the market work it out鈥�. This is one side emphasizing child care as a form of broad-based family support and one side emphasizing child care as a way to strengthen parents鈥� preferred attachment to the labor force. (I do want to emphasize that actions speak louder than words: Vance skipped a Senate vote where his GOP colleagues a bipartisan House-passed expansion of the Child Tax Credit, whereas Harris is second-in-command of an administration that proposed , including child care, in American history 鈥� one that was, again, blocked by Republicans.)
Partially because of child care鈥檚 history, it has been subject to markedly less philosophical scrutiny than other issue areas. Frequently, we hear advocacy groups wanting debate moderators or journalists about their plans for child care. That鈥檚 fine as far as it goes (the recent Vice Presidential debate was on care issues) but I think we鈥檇 get a lot further if we first asked political candidates: Why do you think child care is important? What is your vision for an ideal child care system? I think we鈥檇 get a lot further, in fact, if we first asked ourselves those questions.

The country鈥檚 largest union, boasting more than 3 million members, is traditionally one of the biggest supporters of Democrats, lending both the power of its various political action committees鈥� purses for advertising and mailings, and its strength in numbers for boots-on-the-ground get-out-the-vote operations.

鈥淎cross the country, most of us want the same thing 鈥� strong public schools where every student, no matter their race, place, or background can grow into their full brilliance,鈥� said NEA President Becky Pringle in a statement to 蜜桃影视. 鈥淓ducators know that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are tireless champions for students and educators, who will work to support strong public schools, expand school-based mental health services, ensure no student is hungry, and lower costs for middle-class families.鈥� 

鈥淎s some of the most trusted people in every community, NEA members are knocking on doors, making phone calls, and talking to their communities about voting for Harris and Walz, along with pro-public education candidates up and down the ballot,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are using their educator voices because they know that the future of our public schools and our students will be shaped by what happens in this election.鈥�

Among the top 20 PACs based on contributions to Democratic candidates, total fundraising, total spent, and total spent in independent expenditures and communication costs, the NEA鈥檚 PACs place 11th, according to OpenSecrets, the non-partisan organization that tracks money in politics. It donated $3 million directly to the Harris campaign. 

The vast majority of the union super PAC鈥檚 expenditures 鈥� $6.9 million total this election cycle 鈥� went to other super PACs supporting Democrats. As of Oct. 8, the NEA Advocacy Fund had given $2.5 million to Future Forward USA Action, the pro-Harris super PAC and the biggest in American politics. It also doled out $1.5 million each to the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC in an effort to maintain Democrats鈥� razor-thin majority in the Senate and pick up seats to gain a majority in the House.

So far, NEA鈥檚 super PAC has spent $430,000 on media, including things like online, TV and radio ads, and mailings, and another $100,000 on campaign expenses.

It鈥檚 also on targeted federal election candidates, including $150,000 on Rep. John Mannion, a Democrat from New York, $130,000 on Raquel Teran, a Democrat running in Arizona鈥檚 3rd congressional district, and $35,000 on incumbent Sen. John Tester, a Democrat from Montana who鈥檚 in a tough reelection bid.

In Ohio, where Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown is in a dead heat against Republican Bernie Moreno, a separate NEA super PAC, Educators for Ohio, has raised $1.7 million. 

Earlier this month, the NEA teamed up with the American Federation of Teachers, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 鈥� the nation鈥檚 largest public service unions 鈥� in a coordinated, multi-state voter outreach initiative across battleground states.

鈥淭his joint action represents a significant escalation of labor’s political engagement, with the unions pooling resources and mobilizing their combined membership of several million workers and includes people of all backgrounds working across the public service 鈥� as nurses, child care providers, sanitation workers, first responders, teachers, education support professionals and higher education workers, among others,鈥� the announcement of the effort reads.

Notably, labor unions play an outsized role in many of the election鈥檚 most crucial swing states: 21% of votes cast in Michigan in the 2020 presidential election were from union households, representing approximately one-fifth of the electorate, according to the union. The same is true for Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where union households accounted for 18% and 13% of votes cast, respectively.

When I was growing up, a question like this would have been deflected with, 鈥淚鈥檒l tell you when you鈥檙e older.鈥� But with the internet at nearly every child鈥檚 fingertips, vague answers won鈥檛 suffice anymore. Kids are curious, and if their parents don鈥檛 provide answers, a query to Alexa or a Google search will.

I explained the basics of pregnancy, which she already understood, and described abortion as a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. We discussed the spectrum of beliefs on when, if ever, abortion is acceptable, and compared the laws in our home state of New York with those in Mississippi, where abortion access has been severely restricted. This led to a discussion of federalism, which I broke down in terms she could grasp: how states can set different laws based on local political opinions and lawmakers.

My goal wasn鈥檛 to push my own views, but to give her the tools to think critically about the issue. Like so many other moments in parenting, this conversation wasn鈥檛 about giving her the 鈥渞ight鈥� answer 鈥� it was about guiding her to ask questions and take a broad look at things.

Talking about abortion, or any political topic, is daunting. But with at least , and with the presidential and vice presidential candidates being asked about the issue in multiple forums, kids will inevitably encounter these terms and concepts.

In today鈥檚 polarized climate, parents often feel ill-equipped to navigate these weighty subjects with their children, so . But these discussions are too important to avoid. The responsibility of raising informed, engaged citizens falls on the family. 

Parents shape how their children perceive politics. While schools might cover civics basics, conversations at home are where kids truly start to understand and navigate the wider world around them. It鈥檚 where they learn that politics isn鈥檛 just something shown on TV or happening in Washington, D.C. 鈥� it affects their lives and futures. And parents get only four 鈥� or fewer 鈥� presidential elections to focus on how high-stakes political discussions ought to look before their kids reach voting age.

Here are three strategies for making political discussions with kids more meaningful during election season:

First, recognize your role. Children look to their parents to make sense of the world, politics included. Families are their first teachers 鈥� not because they have all the answers, but because they can model the importance of coming together to explore questions about government and politics. If kids see their parents avoiding political topics because they鈥檙e uncomfortable, they鈥檒l likely shy away from them too. But by approaching these subjects with curiosity, children will learn to question, debate and seek out different perspectives. These skills will serve them not only in their civic engagement, but in all areas of life. 

Second, restrain your negativity. It鈥檚 easy for parents, or anyone, to slip into negativity, especially when discussing politicians they don鈥檛 like. But constantly disparaging politics or government can shrink children鈥檚 desire to engage with civic life. If all they hear is how broken the system is, why get involved? Instead, model productive political discourse 鈥� teaching them to disagree respectfully and value different perspectives.

Third, humanize government. Don鈥檛 let politics become an abstract thing: Introduce your kids to the people who represent them, whether it鈥檚 by attending a local event or writing a letter to an elected official. Show them that politicians are accessible and that their work has a direct impact on their constituents’ lives. These interactions help kids see government not as a distant, faceless entity, but as real people working (or sometimes failing) to solve problems. 

It is the job of parents to help kids understand politics is part of life. Navigating these conversations is necessary for raising children prepared to shape a better political climate. So, when your child asks, 鈥淲hat is an abortion?鈥� or 鈥淲hy are you voting?鈥� 鈥� don鈥檛 brush it off. Don鈥檛 assume they鈥檙e too young. Welcome the conversation. It might be challenging, but it鈥檚 a necessary step in raising the next generation of engaged citizens. They are the ones who will inherit American democracy; make sure they鈥檙e prepared to lead it toward a brighter future.

As the presidential election inches closer, Ohio social studies and government teachers are using this as an opportunity to engage their students in civics education.

The Ohio Capital Journal talked to three current teachers 鈥� elementary, middle and high school 鈥� about how they are incorporating the presidential election into their curriculum.

鈥淭his is just another opportunity that only comes around once every four years,鈥� Westerville South High School Government Teacher Kelley Stocker said. 鈥淭he most rewarding part is knowing that I am helping to create a citizenry that understands how our country works.鈥�

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She typically tries to find current events that tie into what they are learning about in her class to help give real life examples to her students at the suburban high school just north of Columbus.

鈥淵ou have to help them understand how government touches their lives and the real world applications,鈥� said Stocker, who is in her 11th year teaching. 鈥淚 just want them to start to understand why this stuff matters. I always tell them, you know, you can be anything you want to be in (her classroom), except apathetic or ignorant.鈥�

Stocker rearranged her curriculum this semester to cover elections, campaigns, political parties and the First Amendment in a unit called 鈥渢he role of the people.鈥� Before she starts the unit, she sends letters home to the families to let them know she plans on covering the election in class and encourages parents to reach out if they have any questions.

One activity she has her students do is make a .

鈥淚t鈥檚 like doing the (March Madness) brackets,鈥� she said.

When talking politics in the classroom, Stocker has one boundary with her students 鈥� they can talk about issues, not people.

鈥淵ou can say, I don鈥檛 agree with this position, not I don鈥檛 like these people,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 try to separate issues from people.鈥�

Government is a high school graduation requirement in Ohio and Cleveland Teachers Union President Shari Obrenski previously taught high school government and history for more than 20 years.

鈥淚 always enjoyed seeing students at the beginning of an election cycle who have absolutely no interest in what鈥檚 going on that by the time we get to the presidential election, or a big election of some sort, be able to talk about platforms, be able to analyze commercials, be excited about the process and interested in how it was going to turn out,鈥� she said.

Obrenski fondly looks back on her time in the classroom teaching the political process.

鈥淲e would talk about campaign commercials and the techniques that are used in campaign advertising, and having them take a look at different platforms from different political parties, having them analyze their own viewpoints, to see kind of where they line up ideologically with different political parties,鈥� she said.

Some of Obrenski鈥檚 former students have reached back out to her and said they vote because of what they learned in her class.

鈥淚t reinforces that the work is important and reinforces that civic education is important,鈥� Obrenski said.

James Lautzenheiser, an eighth grade history teacher at Crestview Middle School in Van Wert County in Northwest Ohio, said he views teaching how government works as an introduction to citizenship for his middle schoolers.

鈥淚 really like helping kids distinguish between what they think history and government is, and helping them kind of figure out some things for themselves,鈥� Lautzenheiser, who has been a teacher for 15 years, said.

Even though Angel Dyer Sanchez鈥檚 fifth grade students aren鈥檛 old enough to vote, she hopes what they talk about in class will lead to conversations about voting at the dinner table. The elementary school teacher in Columbus City Schools encourages her students to think for themselves when it comes to which candidate they want to win.

鈥淒on鈥檛 just vote because it鈥檚 who your parents or grandparents are voting for,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou should have your own opinion. 鈥� You should know who you鈥檙e voting for and what they stand for.鈥�

Voting

Stocker keeps voter registration forms, stamps and envelopes in her classroom, so students can come to her if they are ready to register to vote.

鈥淭he only thing they have to do by themselves is we have a mail drop box across the street, and they just have to walk it over,鈥� Stocker said.

In a similar vein, Obrenski helped eligible students register to vote and would teach a unit on voting and the country鈥檚 evolution of voting rights.

鈥淪tudents are often really surprised to know that it鈥檚 only been 100 years since women have had the right to vote,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 inconceivable to them that that鈥檚 possible.鈥�

Sanchez, who is her 20th year of teaching, gives lessons about voting and the three branches of government while encouraging her students to go to the voting polls with their parents.

鈥淚 just want to instill in them early that it is a right, and they need to make sure they take advantage of that right,鈥� Sanchez said.

Lautzenheiser鈥檚 students are excited about the idea of voting.  

鈥淎 lot of them have already expressed that it鈥檚 frustrating that their parents don鈥檛 always vote,鈥� he said.

Only 32% of Ohio鈥檚 18-year-olds are registered to vote as of May, according to the , a nonpartisan organization trying to increase voter registration.

鈥淲hen you look at the types of issues that are on the ballot with the candidates that we have on the ballot, young people are often more impacted by these decisions than other age groups, so it鈥檚 so important for them to see value in the process and to try to get them to go to the polls,鈥� Obrenski said.

Teaching about the election doesn鈥檛 end once the votes are counted. Stocker plans on analyzing the outcome with her class to see how accurate the polls were.

鈥淚f they weren鈥檛 accurate how can we maybe explain that?鈥� she said.

Teaching students media literacy goes hand-in-hand with teaching about the election.

鈥淥ne of my personal goals is that I want them to be able to read the news and understand it,鈥� Stocker said. 鈥淚鈥檓 teaching them all of the things that they need and the tools that they need to be able to think critically about the news, what they read, what they hear, and to be able to understand it.鈥�

Sanchez said she teaches her fifth graders how to identify if a news outlet is a trustworthy site.

鈥淗alf the battle is, are you sure you鈥檙e getting truthful information?鈥� she said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on and .

The first night of the Democratic National Convention, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz鈥檚 lieutenant governor strode onto the stage to help kick things off. To Minnesotans, Peggy Flanagan has been a constant presence during Walz鈥檚 two terms as governor. But to many delegates in attendance 鈥� and people watching the event from around the world 鈥� hers was a new face.听

鈥淢y name in the Ojibwe language is Gizhiiwewidamoonkwe, or in English, Speaks with a Clear and Loud Voice Woman,鈥� . 鈥淚’m a member of the White Earth Nation and my family is the Wolf Clan. And the role of our clan is to ensure that we never leave anyone behind.鈥�

If Kamala Harris is elected president in November, Flanagan will assume Walz鈥檚 office, making her the first Indigenous woman governor in U.S. history. Since her DNC appearance, headlines in national news outlets have dubbed her Walz鈥檚 鈥渦nderstudy,鈥� a rising party star 鈥渨aiting in the wings鈥� for her turn. 

The actual story is much more interesting. In a rise marked by serendipity, two pivotal moments stand out. The first took place in 2002, when, as a new University of Minnesota graduate, Flanagan was walking past Sen. Paul Wellstone鈥檚 campaign headquarters and decided to stop in. She was 22 and eager to help him win a third term. 

It didn鈥檛 happen. The senator was killed in a plane crash 12 days shy of what seemed certain re-election 鈥� a tragedy that served as prelude to the second defining moment. Wellstone鈥檚 death galvanized a generation of progressive political activists who created an organization, Wellstone Action, dedicated to teaching ordinary people the fundamentals of running a grassroots campaign. 

Flanagan 鈥� who had used the Wellstone formula to become the youngest person ever elected to the Minneapolis School Board 鈥� was working for the candidate incubator in 2005 when a small-town high school teacher and football coach named Tim Walz turned up at one of its boot camps. He was considering a run for Congress as a Democrat in a deep-red southern Minnesota district. . They as each rose through the political ranks. 

As lieutenant governor, Flanagan has been a driving force behind many of the policies now being showcased as the middle-class wins Walz brings to the presidential ticket. Advocacy for kids, vulnerable families and early childhood education have topped her agenda at each stage of her political career. 

The universal free school lunches, child tax credit and paid family and sick leave that Harris and Walz are campaigning on? Good retail politics, certainly 鈥� and also an outgrowth of Flanagan鈥檚 childhood experience knowing that her friends were watching as she handed the lunch ladies the issued to kids who got free food. 

鈥淯niversal school meals is one of the most important things that I’ve ever worked on in my entire career 鈥� removing that shame and that stigma is a powerful tool to make sure that kids are eating right,鈥� Flanagan says. 鈥淎necdotally, we have heard attendance is up. 鈥� And instead of asking if kids have enough money in their account, we are asking, 鈥楧o you want chicken and rice or do you want pizza?鈥� 鈥�

A literal political pedigree

Flanagan grew up at political strategy meetings. Her grandmother, mother and aunts were Irish social-justice Catholics who worked alongside the late Hubert Humphrey in Democratic politics for decades. When Humphrey ran for president in 1968, Flanagan鈥檚 mother, Patricia, moved to Washington, D.C., to work on his campaign.

鈥淚 grew up in a family where women just did the work,鈥� Flanagan says. 鈥淚 didn’t know anything different, right? My grandmother was absolutely the matriarch and was involved in party politics before it was, you know, polite for women to do that work.鈥�

She did not realize that organizing was an activity with a name until she was older and doing it herself, Flanagan continues. 鈥淚t was just like, well, you see a need, and then you bring people together and try to work together to solve the problem.鈥�

Pat Flanagan was a single parent, getting by thanks to Medicaid, a Section 8 housing voucher, food stamps, state child care assistance, free- and reduced-price school lunches and the Minnesota Family Investment Program 鈥� the household subsidy that replaced welfare. She used the benefits to move herself and her daughter to a middle-class suburb of Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, that had good schools and stable neighborhoods. 

Eventually, Pat became a phlebotomist, but struggle shaped Peggy Flanagan鈥檚 views. She has also referred to herself on several occasions, without elaborating, as a 鈥� of domestic violence.鈥� She speaks passionately about her mother鈥檚 insistence that when food was scarce. Somehow, she says frequently, Pat Flanagan always found enough resources to meet her daughter鈥檚 needs.  

If the women in Flanagan鈥檚 life taught her to build coalitions, her father nurtured her sense of resolve. Marvin Manypenny spent to recoup lands swindled from , one of the homes of Minnesota鈥檚 largest indigenous group, the Anishinaabe, who were dubbed Ojibwe by colonists. In 1986, Manypenny sued the U.S. government in a case that chronicled more than a century of betrayed promises by federal officials to respect Native lands. In 1991, an appeals court , ruling that it did not have jurisdiction to decide the claims. 

Manypenny was a frequent fixture at protests and active in tribal politics, but not a consistent voter himself until his daughter鈥檚 name appeared on a statewide ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018. 

鈥淢y dad oftentimes would say, 鈥楳y girl, I want to burn down the system, and you want to get into the system and change it from the inside out,鈥� 鈥� Flanagan when he died in 2020. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a pretty good summary of how my dad operated and how I operate.鈥�

When Flanagan walked into Wellstone鈥檚 campaign office, it was with her maternal lineage鈥檚 coalition-building skills and her father鈥檚 spine. Wellstone鈥檚 organizers put her to work mobilizing the urban Native American community. 

A political science professor at Carleton College, located an hour south of the Twin Cities, Wellstone ran a then-unorthodox, bare-bones campaign for U.S. Senate in 1990, ousting two-term Republican Rudy Boschwitz, the owner of a chain of lumber stores. 

Accompanied by an army of door-knockers 鈥� many of them his students 鈥� Wellstone rode an old green school bus around the state, giving stump speeches from a platform on the back. He could afford to air only one TV ad one time, but his grainy, low-budget 鈥淟ooking for Rudy鈥� 鈥� in which he went seeking his rival to set up a debate 鈥� became a news story itself. 

Flanagan was an early linchpin of Wellstone Action鈥檚 grassroots training efforts. A campaign policy aide and longtime friend of the senator鈥檚, Pam Costain traveled the country with Flanagan for several years, teaching people about what they called the Wellstone triangle. Even in her 20s, Costain says, Flanagan had experience with all three legs.

鈥淵ou cannot do electoral politics without an appreciation for what it takes to build grassroots involvement,鈥� she explains. 鈥淎nd you can鈥檛 do [community organizing] work if you’re not willing to contend for power 鈥� because then you’re just always going to be the agitator and not the decision-maker.鈥�

Out of college, Flanagan was employed by the Division of Indian Work, a Twin Cities nonprofit service provider, helping to build relationships between the school system and Native families. She had been encouraged by a longtime Minneapolis School Board member to run for a seat in the 2004 election, but begged off.听听听听听

鈥淚 was like, you know, I’m 23. I don’t have any kids in the district,鈥� Flanagan recalls. 鈥淚 don’t think I’m the one. But I will help you find somebody.鈥�

Not long after that conversation, at a meeting where American Indian Movement founder Clyde Bellecourt was speaking, she raised her hand and told the crowd that if anyone wanted to run for school board, she would help. 鈥淔olks in the room were like, my girl, why don’t you do it?鈥澨�

As she drove home from the meeting, Flanagan passed Wellstone鈥檚 former campaign office, where she had stopped to volunteer. She pulled over and decided to run.听

鈥淚 didn’t think we’re going to win,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淏ut at the very least, the issues that are happening in the urban Native community 鈥� will be brought forward. It turned out that a number of people in Minneapolis shared those concerns.鈥澨�

鈥業t wasn鈥檛 a small thing鈥�听

Flanagan was not the first Native person to serve on the board, but her presence made the district鈥檚 ongoing failure to serve its Indigenous students harder to ignore. In the 1970s, Indigenous dropout rates in Minneapolis schools hovered around 80%, fueled by decades of official indifference to the continued legacy of American Indian boarding schools that stripped Native children of their languages and cultures. Mistrust of government-operated schools is still high.听

Bullying and a near-total lack of Native teachers or curriculum fueled truancy rates, sometimes leading to court-ordered removals of Native children from their families. Before its closure in 2008, a free, private alternative school operated by the American Indian Movement graduated more Indigenous students than Minneapolis Public Schools combined.

Flanagan had graduated from high school in St. Louis Park, a suburb located just west of Minneapolis, but she understood what it was like not to see herself represented in the classroom.听听听

鈥淲hen I got to the University of Minnesota, I had for the very first time a teacher who looked like me 鈥� in my intro to American Indian Studies class,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t changed everything. Learning accurate history, knowing that there is a teacher who will absolutely understand who you are and where you come from.鈥澨�

On the school board 鈥� where she served alongside Costain, who had also sought and won a seat 鈥� Flanagan was instrumental in the negotiation of , long in coming, between urban tribal leaders and the district. The first of its kind in the country, it required the school system to create specialized programs aimed at engaging mistrustful families, preserving Native languages and strengthening cultural identity.听

Now the head of the Minneapolis Foundation, R.T. Rybak was in the first of three terms as mayor of Minneapolis when the pact was signed. 鈥淚t wasn’t a small thing to negotiate an agreement between a public school system and Native leaders, because it starts with an extraordinary amount of historical inequity,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat was a very significant achievement.鈥�

American Indian students were guaranteed placement at three schools designated 鈥渂est practices鈥� sites. Educators would be required to interview for positions 鈥� a departure from the strict seniority-based placement system then required by the teachers union contract 鈥� and would have to agree to undertake ongoing, specialized training and observation. To ensure continuity, they were also supposed to be protected from being bumped from their positions during layoff.

At the time, 38% of Minneapolis Public Schools Native students graduated, more than two-thirds of them from alternative schools not operated by the district. The number of Indigenous students graduating from district schools has ticked up slightly in the intervening two decades, but partly because of a change in the way state officials define American Indian. In 2023, 42% graduated, with 14% dropping out and the fate of another 20% unknown.听

Almost half of Minneapolis鈥檚 Native graduates enroll in some postsecondary education within 16 months. But in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, none had earned one year鈥檚 worth of credits within two years. Since 2021, the percentage of Minneapolis Indigenous students reading at grade level has fallen from 22% to 19%, while math proficiency has hovered between 10% and 13%.听听

The agreement between the district and Native leaders , but there is no evidence the staffing exceptions were codified in the teacher contract. Last May, the district鈥檚 American Indian Parent Advisory Committee notified the school board that it considers the schools out of compliance with regarding its obligations to Native students.听

Flanagan鈥檚 elected term on the board ended in 2009, but the following year she was appointed to replace Costain, who had resigned to take over the district鈥檚 nonprofit education partner. At , the board heard on the district鈥檚 racial and ethnic achievement gaps, complete with an estimate that at the incremental pace of change taking place, it would take decades for Minneapolis students to to their peers statewide.

Flanagan had an emotional reaction to the lack of meaningful progress. 鈥淲e know what works for kids. And we鈥檝e just got to be courageous enough to do it, to ask for it, to demand it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f white kids were failing in this district 鈥� at the rate that children of color and Native students are failing, people would be on fire. They would be storming the Capitol, they would be burning that place down.鈥�

In 2013, Marian Wright Edelman, then president of the Children鈥檚 Defense Fund, tapped Flanagan to head its Minnesota branch. During her time with the organization, she spearheaded a successful effort to get lawmakers to raise the state鈥檚 minimum wage 鈥� then $6.15, more than a dollar an hour less than the federal minimum 鈥� and index it to inflation. For large employers, it is now $10.85.

A few months later, Minneapolis鈥檚 new mayor-elect, Betsy Hodges, asked Flanagan to head her 鈥淐radle to K Cabinet,鈥� an effort to in the city.听

鈥淧eggy understood very clearly that one of the challenges of working with prenatal to 3-year-olds is you cannot help and support them without helping and supporting their parents,鈥� says Hodges. 鈥淎nd lots of people love to support young people but do not love to support young people’s parents. When they’re in school, it’s a little easier to heed that reality. But when it’s prenatal to 3, it’s not. So what are the supports parents need to be really effective?鈥�

Flanagan made it clear up front that families鈥� opportunities to shape the cabinet鈥檚 strategies needed to be meaningful. 鈥淲e wanted to have enough parents as part of the group that they didn’t feel like they were being tokenized,鈥� Hodges recalls. 鈥淲e made sure to arrange meetings for times that they would be able to be there. We made sure to have child care. We did our best to set it up in a way where we could get their feedback in a way that didn’t feel dismissive or condescending.鈥�

The pull of public office听

But electoral politics still tugged. In 2015, Flanagan won a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, serving a handful of suburbs on Minneapolis鈥檚 western boundary, including the one where she grew up. She served until 2019, authoring bills in support of early childhood education and a range of benefits for families. She sponsored just one K-12 education measure, to fund diversity, equity and inclusion training for educators in her home district.听

In 2017, Walz called Flanagan and asked her to run for lieutenant governor. (In Minnesota, the governor and the No. 2 are elected as a ticket.) For many of her predecessors, the job has been a one-way trip to obscurity, but since their inaugurations, Walz and Flanagan have typically been seen together.听

鈥淓very major decision she is there from the beginning and helps me see about them differently and think about them differently,鈥� . 鈥淵ou have a 55-year-old rural white guy who was in the Army [National Guard] and coached football, and you have a 39-year-old Indigenous woman who lived in St. Louis Park. That brings a wealth of [ways] to approach these issues.鈥�

Flanagan has an office in the same Capitol suite as the governor. The White Earth flag hangs in the hall alongside the Stars and Stripes and a new state flag adopted last spring, replacing one that was offensive to Native Minnesotans.听听

Privately, some Republicans have groused that they believe Flanagan pushed Walz to the left politically. Whether that is true is debatable, but her policy priorities have been front and center in the six years since they took office.

One of her first accomplishments as the state鈥檚 second-highest executive was securing the first increase in decades to the Minnesota Family Investment Program, the cash assistance program for low-income families her mother depended on when she was a child. In 2019, lawmakers increased the payments by $100 a month.听

Flanagan also played a key role in ensuring Native history and culture are included in new state social studies standards. Topics differ by grade level and include Indigenous people鈥檚 relationships to land and water, the current state of treaties and American Indian perspectives on the doctrine of Manifest Destiny.

A Flanagan administration鈥檚 priorities听

This year鈥檚 appearance was not Flanagan鈥檚 first DNC speech. In 2016, she took to the stage to read a letter to her daughter Siobhan, then 3. She was still in the state House, and only the second Native woman to address the convention.听

The following year, she told the Minneapolis Native newspaper The Circle that she would run for the House of Representatives seat occupied by Keith Ellison if he did not stand for re-election. She ended up on Walz鈥檚 ticket instead.听

Many of the political wins the governor and lieutenant governor have enjoyed in recent years were possible because Democrats controlled both branches of the state legislature and the executive branch 鈥斕齜y a very slim margin. That could change if Republicans gain control of either the Minnesota House or Senate.

If Flanagan becomes governor, state Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson would like to see more emphasis on closing achievement gaps.听

鈥淲hile Walz and Flanagan both have experience in the education system, their priorities too often focused on satisfying political interests instead of ensuring kids were getting the education they deserved,” he says. 鈥淥nce a leader in education, Minnesota now lags Mississippi in some areas despite years of historic funding increases.鈥�

Flanagan says her priorities will remain the same if Harris and Walz are elected and she becomes governor. High on her list is addressing chronic absenteeism: 鈥淎ttendance matters, especially in the post-pandemic world that we live in.鈥�

She also hopes to promote career and technical education, invest more state aid in kindergarten readiness and continue diversifying the state鈥檚 teacher corps, which has historically been more than 90% white.听听听

Flanagan says her daughter attends the same school system she did but is having a wholly different experience. 鈥淭here are over 40 Native kids in her school,鈥� and Ojibwe language is taught to fourth- and fifth-graders, she says. 鈥淪he can fully show up as her Indigenous self in the classroom and know that she will be valued for who she is, that there will be a curiosity about her identity and culture that is demonstrated in a supportive way.鈥澨�

The change, she adds, benefits all kids. 鈥淚 am hopeful that we are in a place, not only in talking about the history of Native people and ensuring we have Indigenous education for all, but also acknowledging Native people are contemporary people who still exist and who live all across the state,鈥� she says. 鈥淓verybody benefits from learning the full, rich history of our state.鈥�

This quarter-century of broad agreement notwithstanding, Delaware鈥檚 next governor will inherit the problem, a rising price tag for the fix and, critics complain, no clear political roadmap. 

Six candidates are running. Democrats Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long; Matt Meyer, county executive of New Castle, the state鈥檚 largest county; and Collin 翱鈥横补谤补, World Wildlife Federation CEO and a former Delaware environmental official, will face Republicans Mike Ramone, who is minority leader of the state House of Representatives; retired 9/11 first responder Jerry Price; and businessman Bobby Williamson.

The state鈥檚 last Republican governor left office in 1993, and this year鈥檚 polls again strongly favor Democrats. The current contest, then, will likely be decided by the Sept. 10 primary, in which Hall-Long and Meyer are the front-runners. 

Whoever wins, a recent court case and subsequent legislation commit them to take action. In 2020, outgoing Gov. John Carney settled a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of the Delaware NAACP and a coalition called Delawareans for Educational Opportunity, in part by agreeing to a small boost in aid for a mushrooming population of disadvantaged students.

The settlement also required the state to commission an American Institutes for Research study to determine exactly how underfunded Delaware鈥檚 schools are. Earlier this year, the researchers reported that would cost $500 million to $1 billion.

鈥淎n alarmingly clear and negative relationship exists between the percentage of low-income students served by schools and the outcomes they achieve for students,鈥� the report declared.

After the report鈥檚 release, lawmakers created a planning commission to figure out how to raise revenue and right inequities, with an eye toward releasing recommendations in October 2025 for a new funding system to take effect in 2027. 

鈥淭he time has come for us to stop kicking this can down the road and start working on real systemic reforms,鈥� state Sen. Laura Sturgeon, one of the Democrats leading the charge. 

But others are decrying the appointment of yet one more panel to study what they say is a well-understood problem. ACLU of Delaware Legal Director isn鈥檛 convinced that the 2027 timeline 鈥� seven years after his organization鈥檚 suit was settled and almost a decade after it was filed 鈥� does not, in fact, just create more delay. 

Reports by a succession of commissions packed with a Who鈥檚 Who of Delaware education advocates, philanthropies and state and local officials were released in , , 2007, , 2015, 2017 and 2021. The only real difference in the new American Institutes for Research report, released this past March, was the price tag. 

A central issue identified over and over: With a few, narrow exceptions, Delaware does not include financial supplements to offset the cost of services needed by children with disabilities, those from impoverished households or English learners. Its unusual 鈥渦nit-based鈥� funding formula is actually set up to send more money to wealthy school systems than to impoverished ones.

The state tallies the number of teachers a district employs, their years of seniority and other credentials and then sends money to pay for enough educators 鈥� at a salary level corresponding to their presumed qualifications 鈥� to reach a staff-to-student ratio, or 鈥渦nit,鈥� spelled out in the law. The staffing ratios apply statewide, but school systems with higher salaries receive more money for each unit.   

Because this means wealthy districts automatically receive more money, those with the most property tax revenue have been able to hire and retain the most sought-after teachers, while struggling, property-poor school systems have no way of competing for faculty or offsetting the costs of poverty. 

All three Democratic candidates and two of the Republicans recently attended an education forum moderated by Marcus Wright, who serves on the board of Seaford School District, an impoverished school system in the southern part of the state. Wright came away concerned about the lack of a plan for moving the reform forward.

鈥淚 thought that there were very broad ideas, but not a roadmap or a game plan,鈥� he says. 鈥淚’ll just say that I expected more.鈥�

Four of the six candidates agree the school finance formula needs fixing, with calling for a 鈥渂ipartisan approach鈥� to the overhaul. The two candidates that do not mention the reform are GOPers Price, who favors and career education, and Williamson, who calls for 鈥溾�� vouchers.

The platforms of all three Democrats tick lots of boxes on educator wish lists, with perhaps the most traditional. Funding reform is near the end of her published roster of priorities, which is topped by expanded early childhood education, universal free school meals, spending on student mental health, higher pay for teachers and smaller class sizes. 

Carney, who is term-limited, left Hall-Long with a mixed record. Under the settlement with the ACLU, he immediately increased supplemental funding for the state鈥檚 most vulnerable students by an amount starting at $25 million in a year in 2020, rising to $60 million annually starting in 2025. It鈥檚 a start, critics concede, but a pittance compared to the $500 million to 1$ billion called for in the AIR report. 

Hall-Long鈥檚 candidacy has been dogged by 鈥� including complaints about payments she may have made to her husband, who has served as her campaign treasurer since she entered electoral politics in 2016.  

Her , , is a former math teacher who in 2016 was elected New Castle county executive. New Castle is Delaware鈥檚 deep-blue northernmost county, home to 60% of the state鈥檚 population, 57% of its voters and the city of Wilmington, where school funding inequities are perhaps the largest. 

Meyer started as a Teach for America corps member at an all-boys charter school in Wilmington, where almost every student was impoverished. The 鈥� in part because of the uneven playing field Delaware鈥檚 various commissions have noted. It closed years after Meyer left. 

As county executive, Meyer was also a defendant in the ACLU suit, which challenged decades of delays in updating the property valuations used to finance local school aid in Delaware鈥檚 three counties. His is the most detailed of all the candidates’, including specifics on reforming both the state funding system and county-level taxes.

鈥淔unding cannot change overnight but must increase with urgency,鈥� the document asserts, pledging to 鈥淏etter align our state鈥檚 funding system with the AIR report鈥檚 recommendation of an additional increase of $3,400 to $6,400 per pupil.鈥�

Because of the inequities with county and property development taxes, some districts are able to send four times as much funding to schools as their neighbors. Any new state aid formula must account for this, Meyer says in his plan.

The third Democrat, , is a former Delaware secretary of natural resources and environmental control. His education platform commits to fully implementing the recommendations in the AIR report, suggesting that one way to fix the system would be to leave the basic 鈥減er-unit鈥� calculation alone and add more funding for challenged students. 

So how will the next governor achieve his or her vision? At the time the state settled the ACLU suit, proponents of the agreement said they thought shifts in state demographics and the composition of the General Assembly might help cement the political will to raise taxes and change the way the money is distributed. One of these shifts is the rapid demographic change in Delaware鈥檚 student population. 

For decades, inadequate and inequitable funding was a problem of the state鈥檚 blue, urban districts. But more recently, education gaps in Sussex 鈥� the state鈥檚 southernmost, red-leaning county 鈥� have widened as the area鈥檚 large poultry processing industry has drawn an influx of Spanish-speaking migrants. Advocates had hoped the shift would drive home the notion that inadequate school resources are not just an urban problem. 

Simultaneously, the 2018 election of a wave of younger, more diverse, left-leaning lawmakers 鈥� among them several people of color who sought elected office to advocate for equity in education 鈥� was supposed to buoy efforts to reform the system. In 2021, spearheaded by the new lawmakers, a bipartisan swath of the General Assembly passed a resolution committing to overhaul the funding formula. This year, some of the same legislative leaders sponsored the bill that . 

The sponsor and co-sponsor of the 2024 legislation, Sturgeon and state Sen. Elizabeth Lockman, declined to be interviewed for this story; Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha did not return emails requesting comment, though he did speak at length for a 2021 74 Million piece on the urgency the pandemic鈥檚 academic losses would supposedly lend to efforts to reform the funding system. 

Some are optimistic the new effort will succeed. Zahava Stadler, project director of New America鈥檚 Education Funding Equity Initiative and an expert on Delaware鈥檚 school funding system, says she understands advocates鈥� concerns but is less skeptical than some that the commission announced in July will come up with meaningful reforms. 

鈥淛ust because the AIR report made specific recommendations doesn鈥檛 mean the political system won鈥檛 have to hash them out,鈥� she says. 鈥淪ometimes these reports sit on a shelf and go nowhere, and sometimes they get results.鈥�

Some of the wonkier shifts are already underway, she notes. Property values for local tax purposes, until recently frozen at 1970s and 鈥�80s levels, are now being reassessed every five years 鈥� a significant change, if not a widely understood one. That will raise revenue, she explains, but the state needs to follow up with a system for more equitably redistributing this money so tax-poor districts aren鈥檛 locked out of the gains.

For his part, Bensing, the ACLU director, worries that a general agreement that the system needs fixing without new specifics means more delays. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not politically convenient for our elected leaders to tell voters they are going to increase taxes,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut that is the right thing to do.鈥�

He wonders whether a new court challenge would add a fresh sense of urgency 鈥� or give recalcitrant elected officials the political cover of a legal threat or edict to blame for changes to the tax system.

Wright has more confidence that in the long run there will be change, but decries the impact of the incremental pace on students. 

鈥淗ow can we compete? How can we fill out classrooms with teachers, with paraprofessionals, with all the people it takes to run a school district?鈥� he asks. 鈥淥ur kids don鈥檛 deserve any less than any other kids.鈥�

The Child Tax Credit isn鈥檛 a subject you鈥檇 expect to receive much attention in the middle of a heated presidential campaign.

Somewhat technocratic in nature, invisible to a large share of the electorate, the benefit was established in 1997 to provide relief to parents while their kids were young. Its reach is impressive, granting to roughly 40 million American households, but it鈥檚 hardly the kind of policy that grows in prominence in the months before Election Day.

If that鈥檚 true, however, no one told Washington.

Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have declared their intentions to expand the credit if elected. Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance has openly mused about lifting its value , a commitment that would cost trillions over the next decade. And the U.S. House of Representatives a much more modest extension on a bipartisan basis in January, only to see its progress halted by Republicans in the Senate. 

At the heart of the issue are debates reaching back to the credit鈥檚 origins about who should be its primary beneficiaries: middle-class households or those with little or no income. 

Progressives have long sought to use the CTC as a weapon against inequality; their efforts culminated in 2021 with a temporary expansion that massively cut child poverty for a year, then expired to the disappointment of activists. But conservatives, both in , have feared that increasing the credit鈥檚 size and decoupling it from work requirements could transform it into a cash welfare program of the kind nearly 30 years ago. 

Both parties鈥� long-standing positions are headed toward a harsh deadline, however. Next year, a host of provisions from Trump鈥檚 signature 2017 tax cut will expire, among them a measure that boosted the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to its present $2,000. Already weakened by inflation, the benefit would be cut in half if nothing is done. With 2025 coming into ever-sharper focus, Republicans and Democrats have both put forward ideas to stabilize the CTC 鈥� the only question is whether either party will hold enough power to enact its vision.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat advocating for a more powerful CTC, said in a statement to 蜜桃影视 that he was glad to hear of Harris鈥檚 recent proposal .

鈥淔or six shining months in 2021, we finally treated children in poverty like they were our children, not someone else鈥檚,鈥� Bennett said. 鈥淚 think that should be our model going into 2025.鈥�

But Robert Greenstein, president emeritus of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a veteran of past poverty debates, said he believed that the most probable outcome of this year鈥檚 elections would be a divided federal government, likely necessitating a bipartisan consensus on the credit鈥檚 future. 

The Senate鈥檚 to act on legislation already passed in the House suggested that any move to alter or expand it would have to be tied to other tax cuts favored by the GOP, he added.

鈥淭hey didn’t want to have this negotiated on its own,鈥� Greenstein said. 鈥淭hey want it as part of the negotiations for the extension of the 2017 tax bill, which will occur next year.”

A debate on entitlement

From relatively small beginnings, the Child Tax Credit has grown significantly more generous over time. It was worth just $400 per child in 1997, increasing to $500 the next year. That number leapt to $1,000 per child in the 2001 Bush tax cuts, then to $2,000 in 2017鈥檚 Trump-led law. 

The CTC has simultaneously become accessible to many more people. Initially conceived as a 鈥渘on-refundable鈥� credit (i.e., one that could only be claimed by people who paid a certain amount of federal taxes) it later became 鈥減artially refundable,鈥� such that lower-earning families could collect a portion of it. After 2021, they could receive a credit equal to 15 percent of their earnings over $10,000, a threshold that was lowered successively to $3,000, and finally to $2,500 in 2017. 

Although many of those changes occurred under Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Trump, conservatives remained leery of backing their way into a new, welfare-like 鈥渃hild allowance.鈥�

鈥淔or most of the ’90s and 2000s, you had Democrats who preferred a fully refundable tax credit where what you got didn’t depend on having taxable income,鈥� said Scott Winship, a researcher on family policy for the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 鈥淩epublicans were more focused on giving middle-class families a tax cut and having an earnings requirement.鈥� 

But after their victory in the 2020 elections, Democrats acted almost immediately to transform the CTC into ,supercharging its annual value to $3,600 for children under six and $3,000 for those aged six to 17 and allowing the poorest households to receive its full amount.

The expansion only ran through the end of the year, but many within the Democratic Party have for restoring it, pointing to a national child poverty rate from 9.7 percent in 2020 to 5.2 percent in 2021. While only a few years have passed since the policy was enacted, indicates that the jumbo-sized CTC allowed poor families to spend more in ways that are likely helpful to child development. Its effects were especially large in high-poverty states in the Midwest and Sun Belt, found. 

Yet some of the big-ticket bids to transform the program into a much larger entitlement strike some observers as unworkable. In a recent interview, Vance said he would favor a $5,000 credit per child, which the nonprofit estimated as much as $300 billion annually. Greenstein dismissed the notion as 鈥渨ildly expensive.鈥� 鈥� particularly given that the Ohio senator specified that all American families, including both the poor and the ultra-rich, should be considered eligible recipients.

“Somehow I find it hard to imagine that we’ll have a tax bill next year with a net cost of $3 or $4 trillion over 10 years,鈥� he said. 鈥淪omewhere along the line, fiscal concerns will limit the magnitude.鈥� 

A 鈥榥o-brainer鈥�?

Any further developments on the Child Tax Credit will hinge on the outcome of the upcoming elections.

Trump his running mate鈥檚 proposal, noting that it was during his administration that the CTC grew to its current size. Meanwhile, in her first major address on policy, Harris counter-offered of her own, with parents of newborns receiving $6,000. 

Notably, a bipartisan bill to expand the credit already made it through the House of Representatives this year, . Co-sponsored by the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the legislation would significantly lower the income threshold to receive the CTC鈥檚 full value, above the poverty line. 

Despite its towering margin in the House, as being far less effective than the 2021 expansion by Democratic Rep. Rose DeLauro, a longtime advocate of making the credit more generous. Winship and his colleagues at AEI, on the other hand, argued that the expansion could disincentivize low-income parents from , or even .

Winship said he was 鈥渁 little nervous鈥� that weakening employment requirements could hurt families鈥� chances of escaping poverty 鈥� in the same way, he argued, as the less conditional cash welfare programs of the 1970s and 鈥�80s did.

鈥淭hose programs have work disincentives for the parents, but they also have savings disincentives, marriage disincentives, disincentives for parents against investing in their skills,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hose are the sorts of behaviors that promote upward mobility, and we worry that you’re not actually doing kids a favor in the long run by giving their parents cash without conditions.”

But Keri Rodrigues, the head of the , said the Republicans failed American children when they blocked the deal from passage in the Senate. Rodrigues of her organization, which advocates for families and schools, to gather support for the compromise legislation. They saw some success 鈥� three Republicans voted in favor, including conservative Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley 鈥� but returned home discouraged in the face of a GOP-led filibuster.

Rodrigues called the CTC expansion a 鈥渘o-brainer,鈥� adding that families already squeezed by inflation couldn鈥檛 afford to see the benefit fade as well.

“It transcends geography, demographics, political party,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is something everyone agrees needs to happen.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the affiliation of Keri Rodrigues.

On an evening that had already seen appearances by Bill Clinton, Oprah and a lengthy speakers鈥� list of Democratic Party officeholders, Walz was preceded in Chicago by 15 former members of the Mankato West High School Scarlets, the football team to a Minnesota state title in 1999. Wider and grayer than in their playing days, the two lines of jersey-clad supporters walked onstage to the strains of the Mankato West fight song.

The miniature pep rally was another biographical touch in the Democrats鈥� efforts to introduce the electorate to Walz, an obscure figure outside of party circles just a few weeks ago. The campaign has leaned heavily on the governor鈥檚 years of experience as a teacher and coach, including numerous testimonials from former pupils and . If elected, he would become the first vice president in over 60 years to have previously worked as a K鈥�12 teacher.

In a 16-minute address, Walz credited his students with inspiring him to make his first run for Congress in 2006, a longshot bid that saw him unseat a six-term incumbent. 

鈥淭here I was, a 40-something high school teacher with little kids, zero political experience and no money, running in a deep-red district,鈥� he remembered. 鈥淏ut you know what? Never underestimate a public-school teacher.鈥�

Yet, like most of the convention thus far, the speech ran short on details related to education policy. Walz made little mention of his six-year governing record in Minnesota, where he signed sweeping school funding legislation in 2023 but also for the length of pandemic-related school closures. While delivering a passing shot at Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance for attending Yale Law School, he didn鈥檛 refer to the wave of laws passed in red states that allow public funding to flow to private school tuition. 

Instead, in keeping with attacks launched by speakers through the first three days of the convention, Walz jabbed at Republicans for seeking to review and remove controversial materials from school libraries. As governor, he signed laws both to provide universal school lunches to students and based on ideology 鈥� a combination he trumpeted with one of the night鈥檚 biggest applause lines.

鈥淲hile other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours,鈥� he said to cheers.

Echoing the Democrats鈥� longstanding commitments to gun safety legislation, Walz further pledged to fight for children鈥檚 鈥渇reedom to go to school without being shot dead in the hall.鈥� Despite his respect for the Second Amendment as a hunter and Army National Guard veteran, he added, 鈥渙ur first responsibility is to keep our kids safe.鈥�

With audience members waving signs reading 鈥淐oach Walz,鈥� the nominee brought the remarks to a close by returning to the theme of teamwork and the beginnings of his leadership on the gridiron.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the fourth quarter. We鈥檙e down a field goal, but we鈥檙e on offense and we鈥檝e got the ball. We鈥檙e driving down the field. And boy, do we have the right team.鈥�

Tampon Tim? Try Teflon Tim.

In the days since Vice President Kamala Harris tapped him as her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz 鈥� a popular former rural high school social studies teacher/football coach-turned-politician 鈥� has emerged, on education matters, as a master needle-threader. 

To wit: In 2023, with Democrats in charge of all three branches of state government, Walz signed an avalanche of education legislation. From free school meals for all kids to science-backed literacy instruction to a historic $2.2 billion boost to school funding, there was seemingly something for everyone in the sheaf of bills that crossed Walz鈥檚 desk. 

But in the weeks leading up to the 2024 legislative session, the organization representing many of the state鈥檚 largest districts put out its policy agenda, topped with a polite request for the Democratic 鈥渢rifecta鈥�: . 

Districts were scrambling to pay for new, nationally admired programs extending paid family and medical leave and sick time to all workers, as well as unemployment benefits for hourly, seasonal school employees. 

Lawmakers had set aside a woefully inadequate amount of money to fulfill their promise to reimburse districts for adopting vetted reading curricula. And the list of potentially costly things school administrators were legally required to bargain over with teacher unions 鈥� ranging from how e-learning days would be decided to what training for classroom aides would include 鈥� swelled.

Most of this, however, was invisible to voters, who enjoyed a steady stream of photos depicting the governor, surrounded by gleeful schoolchildren, affixing his John Hancock to a measure mandating free breakfast and lunch for all. 

How nice of the Trump camp to help publicize Gov. Tim Walz’s compassionate and common-sense policy of providing free menstrual products to students in Minnesota public schools! Let’s do this everywhere.

鈥� Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton)

And yes, Walz did sign legislation 鈥� purposefully written in gender-neutral language 鈥� to provide in-school period products to any student who menstruates. A well-tested law gives Minnesota students the right to use the school facilities where they are most comfortable, so tampons and pads should be available in all restrooms, the student activists menstrual products bill insisted.  

Here are eight things to know about Walz鈥檚 record on education: 

1. In Congress 鈥� But Kept His Teaching License

Minnesota Professional Educator License and Standards Board file No. 365457, Timothy James Walz鈥檚 license to teach secondary school social studies, is currently inactive. It鈥檚 a telling document nonetheless.

Walz started his teaching career alongside Gwen Whipple, whom he would later marry, with a one-year stint in China. The Walzes taught in western Nebraska 鈥� where he insisted on as something other than an isolated event unlikely to be repeated 鈥� before moving to his wife’s Minnesota hometown, Mankato. There, he was a popular teacher who helped coach the high school football team to its first-ever state championship. 

In 2005, he participated in a boot camp run by Wellstone Action, a grass-roots candidate recruiting and training organization established by intimates of the late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, another educator-turned-politician. The following year, Walz took a leave of absence from teaching to run for Congress 鈥� a longshot in the state鈥檚 conservative 1^st Congressional District. 

His win notwithstanding, Walz renewed his teaching license on June 23, 2008, a year and a half after he was sworn in for his first term in the House. He was re-elected three times before he let it lapse. 

2. 鈥業 Am Labor鈥�

After six terms in Congress, Walz won Minnesota鈥檚 governorship in 2018, in part by appealing to public-sector unions 鈥� huge funders of the state鈥檚 Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidates: 鈥淚 am labor, I stand with labor and as governor, I will keep Minnesota a labor state.鈥� He appointed Mary Cathryn Ricker, then vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, as his first education commissioner. 

In September 2020, Walz convened an education working group not with Ricker, but with his wife and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Flanagan is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and another Wellstone Action alum who got her start in electoral politics by becoming the youngest person ever elected to the Minneapolis School Board. 

Five months later, Ricker鈥檚 office released a report capping the efforts of a school finance working group and a strategic plan titled 鈥淥ne Minnesota.鈥� A few days later, the governor released his own 鈥淒ue North Education Plan.鈥� 

Both documents called for sweeping changes in racial equity in schools, more diverse educators and classroom materials, and new academic standards covering a host of topics, including the rarely taught history of Minnesota鈥檚 American Indian tribes. There was, however, no roadmap for effecting the called-for change. The last progress report on Due North鈥檚 implementation is dated April 2022.    

At the time the Due North plan was released, Walz was struggling to reverse course on COVID-related school closures and get kids back in classrooms. Though his administration put educators at the front of the line for vaccination, and Walz repeatedly signaled to local education officials that it was time to reopen schools for all kids, closures persisted 鈥� fueled in some places by teachers union resistance to returning to classrooms. 

In March 2021, with school district leaders in Minneapolis and several other communities showing few signs of bucking their unions by reopening, Walz ordered all schools statewide to provide some in-person learning. 

A few days later, Ricker , saying she missed being a classroom teacher. (She would go on to head the union-aligned Shanker Institute.) To replace her, Walz tapped an assistant state Education Department commissioner who had come from his home school district, Mankato. 

3. ‘I Am Labor,’ But 鈥� 

When Walz first tapped Ricker, Minnesota proponents of education reform feared that the administration would seek to curtail school choice, to roll back standardized assessments and to deliver on the state teachers union鈥檚 long wish list. Minnesota had been the first state in the nation to enact a charter school law, in 1991.

Walz and his statehouse partisans have taken nibbles, last spring introducing legislation to push back the statutory deadline for making public the results of annual statewide reading, math and science tests from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1. Advocates were quick to complain that this would obscure the degree to which children of color were not bouncing back from COVID learning losses but were, in fact, falling further behind. The push failed.

The administration has not taken up calls for lawmakers to step into a nearly decade-old school desegregation suit that would likely place major constraints on charter schools and inter-district open enrollment. The plaintiffs have not found Democrats willing to consider the wholesale rewrite of state integration laws that they have pitched as a possible settlement to the suit. 

Potentially most notable, over the last three years Minnesota lawmakers have moved to rectify a wrinkle in the state school funding system that Democrats had long resisted touching. With state aid for students in special education lagging badly behind costs, school districts have been forced to use rising portions of their general budgets to cover the shortfall. For decades, offsetting this 鈥渃ross subsidy鈥� was seen as politically inexpedient by both parties. 

In 2023, Democratic legislators proposed to close this gap. Walz countered with less than half that amount, despite having campaigned on the issue. In the end, the governor and lawmakers compromised, with more cash directed to new benefits for school employees and a plan to increase the amount of state aid directed at the special education shortfall to 50% of the cost over the next three years. 

4. A Scandal That Might 鈥� or Might Not 鈥� Stick

In June, Minnesota鈥檚 legislative auditor released on the Department of Education鈥檚 role in one of the country鈥檚 largest pandemic aid-related scandals. The nonprofit child nutrition organization Feeding Our Future had engaged in fraud that drained at least $250 million in COVID relief funding that was supposed to be used to distribute food to needy kids outside of schools.

Whether the scandal will taint Walz鈥檚 candidacy remains to be seen. His name does not appear in the audit, which says the department鈥檚 lack of oversight over Feeding our Future preceded his administration. The department has refuted the report. 

However, most of are Somali, and supporters of former President Donald Trump have begun to pepper attacks on Walz鈥檚 military record with allusions to Somalia. 

鈥淭im Walz has finally told everybody he hasn鈥檛 been to Iraq,鈥� the chair of the Montana GOP proclaimed at a Trump rally days after the governor was tapped. 鈥淏ut he wanted you all to know that he has been to Minneapolis. He has some Black Hawk Down problems there.鈥� 

Montana GOP Chair: Tim Walz has finally told everybody he hasn鈥檛 been in Iraq鈥� but he wanted you all to know that he has been to Minneapolis. He has some Black Hawk Down problems there

鈥� Acyn (@Acyn)

When COVID forced the closure of schools and day care centers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture loosened its rules for distributing free meals for children. The number of kids supposedly being fed by a network of distribution sites overseen by two Minnesota nonprofits mushroomed, continuing to rise by tens of thousands well after the pandemic was under control. 

Very little of the federal funding was spent on meals, the FBI and auditor eventually found. The U.S. attorney general began indicting participants in the scheme in September 2022. The first seven defendants out of 70 charged went on trial in May. 

The director of the state Education Department鈥檚 nutrition division testified that in spring 2021, as the number of invoices submitted for reimbursement swelled 鈥� 鈥淚 had never seen payments of that magnitude before,鈥� 鈥� she contacted the USDA and the FBI and then stopped the payments pending documentation from Feeding Our Future and another nonprofit meal provider.

Feeding Our Future鈥檚 two founders are white, but most of the defendants are Somali. In April 2021, the group went to court, arguing that the department was engaging in racial discrimination. A judge ruled that the department did not have the authority to stop paying the nonprofits. Claims continued to rise.      

No one associated with the , Partners in Nutrition, was charged. The state dropped the group from the program. 

Near the end of the six-week Feeding Our Future trial, the judge was forced to sequester the jury when a juror鈥檚 family notified officials that a woman had dropped a bag containing $120,000 on the juror鈥檚 front stoop, along with a promise of more if the defendants were acquitted. 

Five of the seven have now been convicted, and the mastermind of the bribery scheme pleaded guilty. Forty-four more of those indicted in the future, though the initial convictions could spark some to seek pleas.  

5. The Politics of Policing

In the wake of George Floyd鈥檚 murder by a Minneapolis police officer, which touched off days of riots involving both peaceful protesters and outside instigators, Walz called a special session of the legislature to take up police reform. Among other things, lawmakers banned the use of chokeholds. 

In 2023, after years of lobbying by advocates for children of color, Walz signed legislation barring police officers stationed in schools from using prone restraints 鈥� a maneuver that stops short of a chokehold but nonetheless is dangerous to students. Saying the new law would make it impossible for their officers to work in schools, numerous law enforcement agencies threatened to sever their contracts with districts. 

Public opinion on police reform is divided in Minnesota, with many people who live outside of the Twin Cities strongly opposed. Throughout his governorship, Walz has walked the urban-rural divide very carefully. In 2024, one of the first debates taken up by the administration and lawmakers was the rollback of the 2023 prone-restraint law 鈥� a proposition critics charged was directly tied to maintaining statewide Democratic voter support in an election year. 

鈥嬧�婸rone restraints are now legal again, though advocates say work on a model policy for police in schools called for as part of a political compromise is going poorly. 

6. The First Lady鈥檚 Own Education Record

Little known even in her home state, Gwen Walz is a major proponent of providing higher education to prisoners. She features prominently in a 2019 documentary, “College Behind Bars.” The four-hour deep dive on Bard College鈥檚 Bard Prison Initiative aired on PBS.  

“It is incredibly expensive, both financially and emotionally, to have people in prison,” newspaper in advance of the program鈥檚 debut. “And I think very much about victims, and I think the best way I can support victims is by trying to ensure that there aren’t more of them.”  

7. St. Paul Public Schools鈥檚 First Family 

The governor鈥檚 younger child, Gus Walz, attends St. Paul Public Schools鈥檚 Central Senior High. Located within walking distance of the governor鈥檚 mansion, the school is integrated: almost 45% of the student body is white, with 27% Black and 10% Asian.

Central鈥檚 academic outcomes are illustrative of Minnesota鈥檚 nation-leading racial disparities, with 13% of all students passing the 2023 state math assessment and 36% reading. Among white students, however, passage rates were 20% and 55%, compared with 3% and 10% for Black children. 

Asian students 鈥� who in St. Paul tend to be Vietnamese, Hmong and of other Southeast Asian origins 鈥� scored poorly as well, with 15% passing the math test and 37% reading. 

The Walzes鈥� older child, Hope, has featured prominently in the governor鈥檚 cheeky social media campaigns, among other things cajoling her dad onto daredevil state fair rides. Gus has not been as visible.

My daughter, Hope, tricked me into doing the most extreme ride at the Minnesota State Fair.

鈥� Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz)

Shortly after Harris announced Walz as her running mate, the family that Gus has a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD and anxiety. The Walzes were careful to avoid describing their son鈥檚 disabilities as deficits, telling the magazine that, 鈥淲鈥媓at became so immediately clear to us was that Gus鈥� condition is not a setback 鈥� it鈥檚 his secret power.”  

Gus Walz will turn 18 in October. 

8. The Football Coach and the Gay Kids

About the presence of tampons in restrooms: In Minnesota, long-settled law allows students to use the restroom they are most comfortable with. Some schools are doing away with gendered facilities altogether, creating single-stall bathrooms for all kids.

In March 2023, Walz issued an executive order declaring the state a sanctuary for transgender individuals, protecting the right to gender-affirming medical care and shielding patients, parents and care providers from efforts by officials in other states to obtain health care records or punish those involved. The legislature 鈥� which boasts a sizable, multiracial 鈥淨ueer Caucus鈥� 鈥� quickly enshrined the protections in law. 

Over the last few years, as 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay鈥� laws and bans on sports participation and medical care for gender nonconforming youth have swept statehouses, LGBTQ families have 鈥� asking on Facebook and other sites for help in finding affirming school systems and providers with room for new patients.

Walz has repeatedly said he realized early he was uniquely positioned to act on behalf of LGBTQ youth. In 1999, with the brutal murder of gay Wyoming student Matthew Shepard still in the headlines, Walz volunteered to help a handful of students organize the first gay-straight alliance at Mankato West, the rural high school where he taught social studies.

It was a risky move for a teacher at the time. But a member of the National Guard, a hunter and a popular football coach, Walz said, provided impeccable cultural credentials in his conservative southern Minnesota community. The half-dozen students who formed that first GSA went on when he made his first congressional bid in 2006.听

Correction: The June report about the Minnesota Department of Education was released by the state’s legislative auditor.