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Podcast

National School Choice Week: Why “school choice” matters—and where ESAs fit | Episode 1003 of The Education Gadfly Show

Shelby Doyle Michael J. Petrilli Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.
1.28.2026
 

This week on The Education Gadfly Show, we’re marking National School Choice Week with a conversation with Shelby Doyle of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation. We talk about why the movement emphasizes school choice rather than educational choice—and whether the growing focus on education savings accounts is a good development for the movement.

Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern breaks down new evidence on how disability identification varies by student family income, raising important questions about equity, access to services, and how schools classify and support students.

Recommended content: 

  • National School Choice Week 2026 —National School Choice Awareness Foundation
  • Education savings accounts: Boffo or bonkers? | Episode 1002 of The Education Gadfly Show
  • Educational choice is giving new hope to Catholic schools —Mike McShane for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
  • School-based disability identification varies by student family income —Nicholas Ainsworth, Christopher Cleveland, Leah R. Clark, Jacob Hibel, Quentin Brummet, Andrew Saultz, Emily Penner, Michelle Spiegel, Paul Yoo, Juan Camilo Cristancho, Paul Hanselman, and Andrew Penner, EdWorking Papers (2026)
  • Minorities Are disproportionately underrepresented in special education —Morgan, Paul L.; Farkas, George; Hillemeier, Marianne M.; Mattison, Richard; Maczuga, Steve; Li, Hui; Cook, Michael, Educational Researcher (2015)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show in 2026? We would love to hear them. Send them to [email protected]

Policy Priority:
School Choice
Shelby Doyle Headshot

Shelby Doyle is the senior vice president of policy and national partnerships for the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, where she oversees the foundation’s two year-round school choice navigation programs: Navigate School Choice and Conoce tus Opciones Escolares. In 2024, she founded the Navigate School Choice Network, a coalition of more than 30 state-based organizations that provide support and guidance to…

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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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