Sunday, November 8, 2026

ICYMI: Blue Wave Edition (11/8)

Honestly, I didn't believe it was going to happen, but here we are. Now let's see what it means for education. In the meantime, there's plenty to read this week.

EdChoice is Over

Stephen Dyer explains why Ohio's big fat voucher program, already ruled unconstitutional in lower courts, is likely to be in big trouble now.

Anger over GOP education agenda helped fuel Democratic sweeps in Texas, advocates say

NBC news notices one of the major issues in Texas was the GOP's education plans. Give a shout to Jennifer Berkshire, who has been saying this all along.

Supreme Court Leaning Yes on Publicly Financed Discrimination Against 4-Year-Olds

I've been covering this story over at Forbes.com and I suspect people aren't paying nearly enough attention to this case which could decide that not only should taxpayers fund religious schools, but those schools should be exempt from anti-discrimination laws. Madiba Dennie sums up the day of oral arguments, and it's not looking great.

The Catholic Church Has Taken “Do Unto Others” in the Wrong Direction

Education Adam Laats provides some historical perspective to the case. 

Dear American Parent: You’re Welcome!

Jen Jennings, in the New York Times, with a fairly awesome Alexandra Petri-esque take of life for parents under school voucher "freedom."

Should You Outsource Your Child’s Birthday Party to AI?

John Warner's take on that disastrously clueless Marissa Mayer interview. Should you use AI to do the hard, hard work of humaning? Maybe not?
You know how sometimes you don't really want to watch a movie, but you watch the "Everything Wrong With..." so you have an idea of what was going on (and why you are wise not to watch the actual thing)? That's kind of where I am with Sold A Story. Trevor Aleo and Nick Covington continue their conversations in response to the latest episode.


You can also podcast your way to a better understanding of Direct Instruction with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider, who cover it over at Have You Heard.


Nancy Bailey takes a look at Direct Instruction and what it overlooks.

Parents Sue Google Over A.I. Safety Risks on School Chromebooks

Another lawsuit over an AI-linked suicide plan. Natasha Singer covers it for the New York Times.

A Letter to Governor Hinojosa: Fixing Texas School Finance

Bruce Baker continues to be on a tear. This time the school finance expert offers advice to the new Texas governor on what to fix about school financing.


Audrey Watters shares a talk she recently delivered-- and it's not about AI, exactly:
Indeed, for all the handwringing about the cognitive dependencies that “AI” might elicit -- now or in the future -- I'd argue that education has already acquiesced an incredible amount of intellectual and pedagogical and operational and political ground to technologies that have cultivated precisely that: a dependency.
A quaint tale of the destruction of Florida’s public schools & what you can do about it

Maybe you don't think of turning to Bruce Baker for witty and whimsical Seussian fables of education, but here it is. "The Whittler" explains how Florida raced to the bottom.

What the Blue Blowout Means for Federal Education

Rick Hess shows what the blue wave might mean from the reformster side of education.

Washington Loves Baby Photo Ops, but Its Budget Tells Another Story

Bruce Lesley takes a look at how little money DC puts where its mouth noises about The Children issue forth.

Blue Wave and Education Reform: Texas Edition

The privatization crowd is sad that Texas "ambitious ed reform" laboratory could take a hit. Paul Thomas brings the data to show that Texas wasn't doing all that well. 

How Will Tuesday’s Midterm Election Shape Public Education Policy?

Jan Resseger takes us through some of the post-election commentary about whatever is going to happen next.

NYC Parent Accuses Son’s Elementary And Middle Schools Of Negligent Grade Inflation — But The Data Suggests Otherwise

Gary Rubinstein has been seeing that NY Post story about the mom complaining that her son can't do math despite his good grades. Gary has his doubts, so he looks at some numbers.

Questions to ask your principals and School Leadership Teams about privacy, AI, ed tech use and screens

This post from Class Size Matters may be intended for NYC families, but it fits anywhere. Great questions to ask your administration the next time they're launching the Next Big Tech Thing

3 Habits Students Can Develop to Find Credible Online Resources

You've probably heard these before, but they're worth revisiting with students. Or at least the students who are looking past the AI summary at the top of their results. Michael Yell at Edutopia.

EIGHTH REPORT: You Can’t See Everything at Alpha

Ben Riley is still cranking out reports on Alpha Schools; this one looks at the organization chart. Who's really in charge of what?

I’m Shocked, Shocked! A Reformed Lobbyist on Whisper Campaigns

Fascinating look at how our tech overlords manage campaigns against their critics (e.g. Jonathan Haidt)

At Forbes.com, I looked at that Supreme Court case threatening yet more bricks in the church state wall. 

I know this seems like it must be a joke, but trust me-- after a minute or two you are going to forget you're listening a bunch of harmonicas. And I do love Rhapsody in Blue.

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