WHAT WE’RE READING
Vermont passed a law restricting federal school choice scholarships to public school and low-income students. Matthew Stone reports on how the state’s new rules—the first of their kind—put Vermont “on a collision course with the Trump administration,” which is expected to prevent states from placing just this sort of restriction on scholarship-granting organizations.
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Holly Korbey gets us up to speed on the growing trend of integrated math in high school: blending algebra and geometry concepts across multiple years instead of teaching standalone courses. “Some experts say blending algebra and geometry gives more students a shot at learning high-level math later on in high school and college,” she writes, “touting high-achieving European and Asian countries that have taught integrated math for decades.” Still, implementation is tricky, and it’s not clear the approach provides adequate preparation for all students, particularly those continuing into STEM fields.
EXTRA CREDIT:
Rick Hess and Lindsay Fryer, “The Ed. Dept.’s Civil Rights and Special Ed. Offices Are Relocating. Here’s What It Means”
Natalie Wexler, “More Test-Based Accountability? It’s Complicated”
Robert Pondiscio, “The Case for Texas’s New Curriculum — Why Bible Stories Matter for Literacy” (from 2024)
Josh Dunn, “Unitary Executive Theory 101: What it is, what it isn’t, and what it means for education” (from 2025)
Daniel Buck and Anna Low, “The Decline of Teachers Unions (and How to Advance the Trend)”
Darryl Cobb, “Lessons from Charters Where Every Student Graduates, Most of Them With a Plan”
Jeanne Allen, “What Laws Have to Do With It: Thirty Years of Lessons on What Makes Charter Schools Thrive”
Brian Kisida, “Race, Income and Why Some Democrats Have the Luxury of Opposing School Choice”
Michael McShane, “School Choice Programs: The Avocado Toast of State Education Funding”
Jorge Elorza, “Ten Reasons Democrats Should Not Repeal the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit”
Charlie Barone, “Sherrill must get behind tax credits for scholarship donors”
Paul Vallas, “How New Orleans Turned Around Its Failing Schools”
Christine Toribio Pitts, “Three Ways a Dollar Spent on Schools in Oregon Disappears”
Paul E. Peterson, “Beware of Washington D.C.’s Presumptive Mayor, Social Democrat Janeese Lewis George”
Editor's note: This was first published on Mike Petrilli's Substack, SCHOOLED, a twice-weekly free Substack and email newsletter restarting the education-reform conversation.
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Sharp analysis of the week’s biggest K–12 debates
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Curated commentary from across the ed-policy world
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Lively discussion—including reader reactions and pushback
