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Podcast

#963: All about the Educational Choice for Children Act, with Jim Blew

Jim Blew Michael J. Petrilli Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. David Griffith, Ph.D.
4.2.2025
 

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jim Blew, co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, joins Mike and David to talk about his work on the Educational Choice for Children Act—a federal proposal that could expand educational options for families through school vouchers. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study on how expanding broadband access for Chicago families during the pandemic benefitted high achieving students but hurt their lower-performing peers.

Recommended content:

  • Children’s Tuition Fund,  Federal Tax Credit: What You Need to Know About the Educational Choice for Children Act (2025).
  • Michael J. Petrilli, “Education reform in red versus blue states,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (January 9, 2025).
  • Dale Chu, “Education at an inflection point,” PPI (March 20, 2025).
  • Jared N. Schachner, Julia A. Gwynne, Nicole P. Marwell, Elaine Allensworth, and Marisa de la Torre, Heterogeneous Effects of Closing the Digital Divide During COVID-19 on Student Engagement and Achievement, Annenberg Institute at Brown University (2025)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at [email protected].

Policy Priority:
School Choice
Topics:
Governance
Jim Blew

Jim Blew is a co-founder of DFI—a DC-based tax-exempt nonprofit that promotes education freedom, civil rights, and a limited federal role in education and workforce development. He is also president of DFI Action, a separate entity that focuses on federal lobbying.

Jim served as U.S. assistant secretary for policy and budget under Betsy DeVos. Prior to his federal service, he worked in…

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President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Michael J. Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, executive editor of Education Next, editor in chief of the Education Gadfly Weekly, host of the…

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Amber Northern is senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where she supervises the Institute’s robust research portfolio and…

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David Griffith is the National Research Director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where he manages or authors reports on various subjects including charter schools, …

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