Jon Sawyer

The Cycle of Disinvestment in Public Schools: How Public-School Criticism Drives Policy and Disinvestment Critiques of public education have intensified, and while some reflect real needs for improvement, many are manufactured crises that portray schools as broadly failing. Centered on claims of underachi...

Just released: The Cycle of Disinvestment in Public Schools: How Public-School Criticism Drives Policy and Disinvestment bit.ly/4rhKWO4

Advancing LCFF Equity and Accountability When California lawmakers enacted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in 2013, they took ambitious steps to advance educational equity. More than a decade later, and amid declining federal suppor...

Just released: New report describes crucial changes that address funding, equity, accountability, and cross-system collaboration to better serve California’s high-needs students. @michellevalladares.bsky.social @jonsawyer.org bit.ly/46cK4m1

On January 8, NEPC published my essay Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle over Educational Goals as its blog post of the day.
nepc.colorado.edu/blog/public-...

S05E04 - School Choice in Rural America: What’s at Stake. An interview with Dr. Preston Green. Podcast Episode · National Rural Education Association Official Podcast · 12/15/2025 · 35m

I recently did a podcast for the Natural Rural Education Association on a law review I co-authored on the creation of "education preserves," which would protect rural school districts from voucher and charter school expansion.

Here is the podcast:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

Opinion: Take note, Gov. Polis: Coloradans have repeatedly said no to school vouchers New federal program is a devil’s bargain and must not override the will of our people.

When voters repeatedly vote down voucher initiatives but their governor invites them in...
Welner & Gebhardt do the easy lifting of explaining why that's not a good thing.

coloradosun.com/2025/12/16/o...

Polis all in on Trump’s tax-credit scholarship while other Dem governors wait and see The program is expected to expand private school choice in states like Colorado that don’t have voucher programs. Polis said not participating would mean leaving millions on the table.

This @chalkbeat article says NC Gov Stein announced his intention to opt into the voucher program. In fact, he vetoed a bill to do so & said he intends to opt in only after Trump's Treasury "issues sound guidance." He's waiting to see if the regs give NC flexibility
www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...

Carol Burris: Another Religious Charter School Applies for Public Funding in Oklahoma, Backed by For-Profit Corporation In this post, Carol Burris reviews the latest challenge to separation of church and state. A religious school has applied for public funding as an online charter school. But that’s not all: t…

My deep dive on the latest attempt to open a religious charter school…with its for-profit operator in the shadows. @dianeravitch.bsky.social @nepc.bsky.social @floridaea.bsky.social dianeravitch.net/2025/12/01/c...

Resources on Screen-Time Reduction, Christian Nationalism Now Available Two NEPC talks, on screen-time reduction and Christian nationalism, are now available online.

Two NEPC talks, on screen-time reduction and Christian nationalism, are now available online. @jonsawyer.org @kevinkumashiro.com bit.ly/4ijOnkn

Could “Education Preserves” Save Schools From Choice Sprawl? So-called “education preserves” would protect rural communities at risk of losing their public schools to school choice sprawl.

So-called “education preserves” would protect rural communities at risk of losing their public schools to school choice sprawl. @drprestongreen.bsky.social @cmsaldana.bsky.social @schoolfinance101.bsky.social bit.ly/48oNmUy

NEPC Talks Education: An Interview With Julie Marsh and James Bridgeforth About School Boards Navigating Unprecedented Political Challenges University of Wisconsin‑Madison Assistant Professor Christopher Saldaña interviews Julie Marsh and James Bridgeforth about the unprecedented challenges facing California school board members and how t...

In this month's NEPC Talks Education podcast, Julie Marsh and James Bridgeforth discuss the unprecedented challenges facing California school board members and how they navigate today's complex political landscape @juliemarsh.bsky.social @cmsaldana.bsky.social bit.ly/3X2Att2

2025 NEPC Fellows Meeting: Christian Nationalism Presentation with Jon Sawyer YouTube video by NEPCVideos

I appreciated the opportunity to discuss the impact of Christian Nationalism on public education at this year’s NEPC Fellows Meeting. Especially grateful for Kevin Kumashiro’s work and insights on this topic. @kevinkumashiro.com

What We Need to Know Now to Respond to Right-Wing Attacks on Public Schools: A Research Agenda Progress toward educational, social, political, and economic equality has always faced backlash—sometimes violent, other times embedded in institutions. Amid economic uncertainty, politicians are agai...

New policy memo from the Freedom to Learn Collective highlights research needs in the wake of fear-based politics and well-funded networks that threaten public schools. bit.ly/43UanMq

Christian Nationalism and Educational Policy in the United States with Dr. Kevin Burke YouTube video by Faithful Politics Podcast

Hosts Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram speak with Dr. Kevin Burke, co-author of the first-of-its-kind NEPC report Christian Nationalism and Educational Policy in the U.S., about how faith is reshaping public schools and what it means for church-state separation. youtu.be/3b0Nx2bazCQ

I do think that there are very few factors pushing on public education as much and as persistently as Christian nationalism, so I appreciated the opportunity to write with Kevin Burke about the issue. I do ALSO appreciate the really great support and editorial work from the NEPC team.

And listen to brief co-author Kevin Burke, on the Faithful Politics (@faithfulpolitics.bsky.social) podcast, discussing Christian Nationalism in education & the brief.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Christian Nationalism and Educational Policy in the United States American public education, though historically rooted in Christian ideals, has long navigated tensions among denominational differences and, in modern times, secularism. The growing influence of Chris...

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

NEPC Review: Wisconsin’s Most Cost-Effective K-12 Program (School Choice Wisconsin, August 2025) Wisconsin’s long-running private school voucher program has drawn decades of research interest, including a recent report from School Choice Wisconsin. The report claims voucher-receiving schools in R...

New NEPC Review: School Choice Wisconsin report’s conclusions about the cost effectiveness of private school vouchers rest on invalid methods and inaccurate data.
@schoolfinance101.bsky.social bit.ly/3LcGsZB

Researchers Question Prioritizing “Patriotic Education” Members of the National Academy of Education drew upon a consensus study to question the Trump administration’s proposal to prioritize the funding of programs that emphasize so-called “patriotic educa...

Members of the National Academy of Education drew upon a consensus study to question the Trump administration’s proposal to prioritize the funding of programs that emphasize so-called “patriotic education.” bit.ly/3LntMPs

It was an honor to interview @dlabaree.bsky.social for this month’s @nepc.bsky.social podcast. I’ve learned so much from Professor Labaree’s writing, and it was a real treat to learn from him through our conversation about recent shifts in education policy. If you have a few mins, give it a listen!

NEPC Talks Education: An Interview With David Labaree About Navigating Education's Competing Goals University of Wisconsin‑Madison Assistant Professor Christopher Saldaña interviews David Labaree about the fundamental tensions shaping American education, and how recent developments in AI and school...

NEPC Talks Education: This month's podcast explores the challenges of navigating education's competing goals, with @cmsaldana.bsky.social and @dlabaree.bsky.social bit.ly/3KUg2vs

Federal Vouchers, Treasury Regulations, and State Flexibility The 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...

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” invites Treasury Department regulations that will leave states vulnerable to federal overreach, diminished protections for students, and steep academic declines tied to voucher expansion. bit.ly/434xcN9

Federal Vouchers, Treasury Regulations, and State Flexibility The 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...

Governors Beware: The Voucher Advocates in DC Are Not Serious About Returning Education to the States

@nepc.bsky.social

nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

“The growing influence of rightist movements, and especially Christian Nationalism, on educational policies and practices threatens all too many of the gains that have been made…”

Read more, and please share this incredible report by @kevinkumashiro.com

www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes

Glad it helped. Thanks @kevinkumashiro.com

“The growing influence of rightist movements, and especially Christian Nationalism, on educational policies and practices threatens all too many of the gains that have been made…”

Read more, and please share this incredible report by @kevinkumashiro.com

www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes

New interactive report from @kevinkumashiro.com follows the threads of Christian Nationalism from the Colonial Era to the present day, explaining how we got to this point and helping us think through how we can move forward. Highly recommended!
www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes

Thrilled about this report. Read through a good portion of it this morning. So needed.

Kind of surreal when your worlds collide. @jonsawyer.org congrats on the reference!

www.kevinkumashiro.com/schooltimes

And he’s doing it to the background music of Chris Tomlin worship songs.

So sorry for what your son is enduring.