National Education Policy Center

National Education Policy Center

@nepc.bsky.social

NEPC is a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education. Find us at nepc.colorado.edu.

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National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

In our new NEPC Talks Education podcast episode, Bethy Leonardi & Zander Nowell speak with the mother of a transgender child & Professor Scott Skinner-Thompson about two Colorado ballot initiatives targeting transgender youth. bit.ly/4BxEngE

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Talks Education: An Interview With the Mother of a Transgender Child and Professor Scott Skinner-Thompson About the Human Impact of Anti-Trans Ballot InitiativesUniversity of Colorado Boulder Associate Professor and Co-Director of A Queer Endeavor Bethy Leonardi, along with PhD Candidate Zander Nowell, speak with a Colorado mother of a 12-year-old transgender...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

Virtual school enrollment keeps rising, three years after pandemic remote learning ended, despite research showing K-12 students generally learn more in person. bit.ly/4yA9khc

nepc.colorado.eduRemote Instruction Interferes With Learning. So Why Is It Expanding?Three years after the remote learning necessitated by the pandemic ended, the number of students enrolled in virtual schools continues to grow—despite a strong body of research suggesting that K12 stu...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

New NEPC policy brief reviews research linking non-academic screen use in schools to lower academic performance and examines emerging evidence on whether restrictions improve student outcomes. @mitchprinstein.bsky.social bit.ly/4yYlEJ9

nepc.colorado.eduCell Phone Policies in Schools: A Science and Policy Update on the Effects of Students’ Non-Academic Screen UseA new policy brief reviews research on non-academic screen use in schools and the emerging evidence on policies that restrict it. The authors find that such use during class is associated with lower a...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

Easy prediction 1 yr ago: "the U.S. Treasury Department ... is likely to deny states the promised flexibility" for the SGO vouchers. While [voucher advocates want D govs] to participate, they don’t want to give them the flexibility permitted by the law itself." nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

nepc.colorado.eduFederal Vouchers, Treasury Regulations, and State FlexibilityThe 2025 Reconciliation Act, or “One Big Beautiful Bill,” creates a federal school choice program offering tax credits for donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations that fund private-school tuit...
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National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

Easy prediction 1 yr ago: "the U.S. Treasury Department ... is likely to deny states the promised flexibility" for the SGO vouchers. While [voucher advocates want D govs] to participate, they don’t want to give them the flexibility permitted by the law itself." nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

nepc.colorado.eduFederal Vouchers, Treasury Regulations, and State FlexibilityThe 2025 Reconciliation Act, or “One Big Beautiful Bill,” creates a federal school choice program offering tax credits for donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations that fund private-school tuit...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

Michele Moses & Amy Farley join incoming hosts Bethy Leonardi & Zander Nowell for a new season of the NEPC Talks Education podcast. This series explores ed policy through a human lens—starting with a critical look at the pushback against DEI. Listen here: bit.ly/4hpG2gg

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Talks Education: An Interview With Michele Moses and Amy Farley About the Pushback Against DEIUniversity of Colorado Boulder Associate Professor and Co-Director of A Queer Endeavor Bethy Leonardi, along with PhD Candidate Zander Nowell, speak with MIchele Moses and Amy Farley about the nationa...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

Hey state legislators: Now might be the time to wake up to the one-two punch SCOTUS is ready to throw at you. Charter schools will never be the same. nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

nepc.colorado.eduAvoiding the Supreme Court’s Religious Charter-School Trap: Governance Change for the New Legal EraForty-six states and the District of Columbia permit charter schools to open, and 33 states plus D.C. allow independently governed charter schools that the Supreme Court may soon declare to be non-sta...
Josh Cowen@joshcowenmi.bsky.social

I wrote about this—and the effort proposed by three public school experts to create a safe harbor out of it—in a newsletter last month. Bottom line: move charters to district management @nepc.bsky.social @network4pubed.bsky.social www.wsj.com/opinion/ben-...

wsj.comOpinion | Another Try for Religious Charter SchoolsThe Supreme Court split 4-4, so a Jewish school is trying again.
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

A new analysis finds that multilingual learners with disabilities are more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college if they attend school with a lot of other students who have this dual classification. bit.ly/4Aw01Bf

nepc.colorado.eduWhere are Multilingual Learners With Disabilities Most Likely to Thrive?A new analysis finds that multilingual learners with disabilities are more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college if they attend school with a lot of other students who have this du...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

New NEPC Review: Heritage Foundation report offers false and misleading claims that Head Start fails children and taxpayers. bit.ly/4xUE4Kj

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Review: From Washington, DC, to the States: Rethinking Head Start (Heritage Foundation, June 2026)A Heritage Foundation report proposes to end Head Start, concluding that the program does not improve school readiness or produce lasting benefits, spends more per child than alternatives, fails to pr...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

NEPC Fellows who have spent their careers studying the subject have been raising serious concerns about recent efforts to characterize and criticize DEI on campus. @drshaunharper.bsky.social @professorjvh.bsky.social bit.ly/4xN8rCk

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Experts Push Back Against Atlantic Author’s Attacks on DEINEPC Fellows who have spent their careers studying the subject have been raising serious concerns about recent efforts to characterize and criticize DEI on campus.
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

Even as efforts to limit curricula addressing gender, race, and sexual orientation made the rounds, 7 states were approving efforts to expand how students learn about the world around them. bit.ly/3T0mrto

nepc.colorado.eduAs 21 States Restricted Curriculum, Seven Expanded It. Here’s Why.Even as efforts to limit curricula addressing gender, race, and sexual orientation made the rounds, seven states were approving efforts to expand how students learn about the world around them.
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

American teachers already spend more time working than do their peers in other nations. A new framework calls for education policies to address this reality. @jackschneider.bsky.social @shankerinst.bsky.social bit.ly/4xD2QhJ

nepc.colorado.eduTime: The Understudied X Factor That Stalls Ed Policy ReformsAmerican teachers already spend more time working than do their peers in other nations. A new framework calls for education policies to address this reality.
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

New NEPC Review: NCTQ’s teacher-prep evaluation relies on outdated research and flawed methodology while advancing a narrow, de-professionalizing vision of reading instruction. bit.ly/4g9poiV

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Review: Decoding Progress in Reading Preparation (National Council on Teacher Quality, June 2026)A new report from NCTQ evaluates how well university-based teacher education programs prepare candidates to teach reading and calls for stronger alignment with its preferred approach to reading instru...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

A new study finds that LGBTQ+ students are more likely than cisgender peers to aspire to earn 4-year degrees, even as they are significantly more likely to face bullying and discrimination in high school that they fear will follow them to college campuses. bit.ly/3TVkO0b

nepc.colorado.eduEven Here, LGBTQ+ Youth Face BullyingA new study finds that LGBTQ+ students are more likely than cisgender peers to aspire to earn four-year degrees, even as they are significantly more likely to face bullying and discrimination in high ...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

August 18th webinar on fostering student belonging and deeper learning is the second installment of a free webinar series that aims to harness research results to improve student engagement. bit.ly/4x2UjUM

nepc.colorado.eduSave the Date: Harnessing Research to Improve Student EngagementAugust 18th webinar on fostering student belonging and deeper learning is the second installment of a free webinar series that aims to harness research results to improve student engagement.
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

New NEPC Review: @crpe.bsky.social report overemphasizes perceived divides in mathematics instruction while overlooking the nuanced teaching practices to support student learning. bit.ly/4vRz7A6

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Review: Navigating the Math Wars: A Practical Guide to the Divides and Debates Influencing Math Instruction (Center on Reinventing Public Education, April 2026)As policymakers and educators seek to improve student achievement, engagement, and equity, a new report analyzes contemporary disputes about effective mathematics instruction. Although it concludes th...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

New NEPC Review uses Progressive Policy Institute report as starting point to try to better understand the impact of literacy reforms and other factors that may have influenced the state’s NAEP 4th-grade reading scores. bit.ly/3REhohD

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Review: Inside the Mississippi Marathon (Progressive Policy Institute, April 2026)A report from the Progressive Policy Institute presents an insider account of how Mississippi’s K–3 education system evolved over roughly two decades. This review focuses on the report’s description o...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

New policy brief from Kevin Welner, Carol Burris and @drprestongreen.bsky.social outlines legal risks for states and offers a path for them to preserve charter schools’ public accountability and civil rights protections. bit.ly/4u5Q751

nepc.colorado.eduAvoiding the Supreme Court’s Religious Charter-School Trap: Governance Change for the New Legal EraForty-six states and the District of Columbia permit charter schools to open, and 33 states plus D.C. allow independently governed charter schools that the Supreme Court may soon declare to be non-sta...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

New NEPC Review: Common Sense Institute Colorado report’s projected economic gains and private school enrollment increases are overstated and unsupported by evidence. bit.ly/4nIHKKT

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Review: The Economic Impact from Colorado’s Choice to Participate in the “Education Freedom Tax Credit” Provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Common Sense Institute Colorado, March 2026)As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in July 2025, the federal government created a nationwide tax credit for donations to scholarship-granting organizations that fund K–12 educational exp...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

This month's NEPC Talks Education podcast is here! @cmsaldana.bsky.social speaks with @susanna-loeb.bsky.social about the Stanford SCALE Initiative project bit.ly/49U7azu

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Talks Education: An Interview With Susanna Loeb About the Stanford SCALE Initiative ProjectUniversity of Wisconsin‑Madison Assistant Professor Christopher Saldaña speaks with Susanna Loeb about the the recent release of Getting Down to Facts 3, a Stanford SCALE Initiative project that bring...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

New NEPC Review: WILL’s report identifies real problems but misreads their causes, and offers overly simplistic policy solutions. bit.ly/3R68vNh

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Review: Beyond Race: What Really Drives Wisconsin’s Achievement Gap (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, March 2026)A WILL report examines Wisconsin’s extreme Black-White achievement gap in ELA/reading and argues that poverty, disability, and family instability, misrepresented as factors separate from systemic raci...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

Devastating education news can come from far outside school policy: "Hungry children, canceled benefits: Arizona’s food stamp cuts are a warning for America." SNAP cuts will likely impact kids' academic (and life) success more than any outcomes of the "Reading Wars." www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

nbcnews.comThe families going hungry because of Trump’s food stamp cutsUnder President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” food stamp applicants are fighting to prove eligibility and facing questions about birthday gifts sent over Zelle. A crisis in Arizona offers a wa...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

My spouse tells me I’d better not spend our household money on beer. My brother owes me a hundred bucks, I tell him to just give me fifty bucks and two cases of beer. Will my spouse say to me, “That’s okay, because you didn’t actually buy beer with the money you were supposed to collect.” Nope...

Advocates for Public Education Policy@a4pep.bsky.social

curmudgucation.substack.com/p/co-polis-s... @npeaction.bsky.social @nepc.bsky.social @edlawcenter.bsky.social @honesty4ohioed.bsky.social @neatoday.bsky.social @coloradotimesrecorder.com @coloradonewsline.com @pfpsorg.bsky.social @publiced412.bsky.social @carolburris.bsky.social

curmudgucation.substack.comCO: Polis Says Legal Discrimination Is Okee DokeeWhat does it take to a nominally Democratic, openly gay governor to vote for taxpayer-funded discrimination?
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

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

nepc.colorado.eduConversion Therapy for LGBTQ+ Youth: Why It Matters for SchoolsA recent Supreme Court case opened the door to providing LGBTQ+ youth with conversion therapy in public schools, even in states where it’s now statutorily banned.
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

A high school student sued her state for a better education. Hear from Luisa Sanchez, plaintiff in Kentucky Student Voice Team v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, & civic ed expert Michael Rebell in this month's NEPC Talks Education podcast. @cmsaldana.bsky.social @kystuvoiceteam.bsky.social bit.ly/4ctHkV1

nepc.colorado.eduNEPC Talks Education: An Interview With Michael Rebell and Luisa Sanchez About the Systemic Deficiencies in Kentucky’s Education SystemUniversity of Wisconsin‑Madison Assistant Professor Christopher Saldaña speaks with Michael Rebell and Luisa Sanchez about the history of school finance adequacy litigation, highlighting how young adv...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

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

nepc.colorado.eduStudying the First Year of Trump’s Second Term: The Renewed Importance of Participatory GovernanceThe first year of Trump's second administration has marked a sharp departure from six decades of federal education policy. This policy brief examines how the administration has expanded executive auth...
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

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

Wajahat Ali@wajali.bsky.social

You wanna guess how this will go? www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/u...

nytimes.comJustices to Hear Case on Catholic Preschools That Reject Children of Gay Parents
National Education Policy Center
@nepc.bsky.social

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

edweek.orgWhy the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Conversion Therapy Matters for Schools (Opinion)A recent case puts religiously motivated speech ahead of the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth.
Dr. Jon Sawyer@jonsawyer.org

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

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