In this week’s episode, Tiffany Hoben, a former teacher and administrator, exposes the deep, recurring failures in school governance and accountability revealed in her analysis of West Virginia’s Special Circumstance Reviews of districts and schools. Tiffany highlights the interconnected “braid” of financial mismanagement, inconsistent academic standards, and discipline chaos that cause school systems to break down, and emphasizes the urgent need for both structural reform and the expansion of education freedom opportunities like the state’s Hope Scholarship education savings account program.

Until recently, Tiffany was the Director of Education Partnerships and Strategy at the Cardinal Institute. Last week, the Department of War (Defense) Education Activity announced that Tiffany will serve as Chief Academic Officer for DoWEA, the system that educates 67,000 military-connected children studying in 161 schools around the world.

Special Circumstance Reviews as Diagnostic for Systemic Failure in West Virginia Public Schools: https://cardinalinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/SCR-as-Diagnostic-for-Systemic-Failure-in-West-Virginia-Public-Schools-01-18-26-Final-1.pdf

Department of War Education Activity Announces Tiffany Hoben as Chief Academic Officer: https://www.dodea.edu/news/press-releases/department-war-education-activity-announces-tiffany-hoben-chief-academic

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Graduate student unions are supposed to advocate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions, but according to a new report, “The Radicalism of Graduate Student Unions Affiliated with the Teacher Unions,” some have become tools for foreign political agendas and radical ideologies. DFI senior fellow Jay Greene joins the podcast to discuss his research exposing union radicalism. He details how these graduate labor unions, which are often affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, are obsessed with anti-American, anti-Israel, and pro-communist activism and how university visa practices are fueling this trend. The discussion concludes with practical solutions like imposing visa limits, requiring affidavits against foreign affiliations, and conditioning federal funding to curb foreign-backed activism.

The Radicalism of Graduate Student Unions Affiliated with the Teacher Unions: https://dfipolicy.org/radicalism-of-graduate-student-unions/

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“How should states invest limited education dollars to raise student achievement at scale?” New research from the American Federation for Children asked this question and found that Florida’s school choice investment was 11 times more cost-effective than increasing public school spending. Patrick Graff, Senior Fellow with the American Federation for Children, compared the best research in the competitive effects of school choice programs and the best research in K-12 school spending, both of which were published in top economics journals. He found that Florida's school choice rich policy environment benefited both public and private school students, and the effects of competition created a return on investment MUCH larger than simply spending more on public schools.

School Choice or School Spending? Florida’s 15-Year Experiment Points to the Answer: https://www.educationnext.org/school-choice-or-school-spending-floridas-15-year-experiment-points-to-the-answer/

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Despite the existence of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that has been in place for 50 years, many parents face acrimonious, heartwrenching, and expensive fights to ensure that their children’s unique needs are met. Debra Tisler, founder of Emergent Literacy and an educator with 30 years of experience, joins the podcast to talk about the obstacles that parents face, the hostile and litigious due process regime, and why Congress has not reauthorized the law for over 20 years. Debra suggests opportunities to better serve students and families, including expanding education freedom programs that enable families to find and afford the best education option for their child’s needs without exhausting and costly lawsuits.

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When parents in a small Wisconsin town discovered that male students are allowed to use girls’ bathrooms at their local high school, they didn’t stay silent. This week on Freedom to Learn, Cory Brewer of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) unpacks what’s happening in New Richmond, and why this fight is about far more than one school district.

Cory explains:

• What Title IX actually requires (and what it doesn’t).
• How regulatory “ping pong” between administrations has created confusion for school boards.
• Why some districts claim their “hands are tied” by federal law.
• How parents can respond when schools adopt unwritten policies that affect student privacy.
• The legal and policy reforms that are needed to restore clarity and protect girls’ spaces.

We also discuss the broader constitutional principles at stake and why more families across the country are choosing to speak up.

WILL Releases New Model Policy Protecting Girls Privacy at School

Student Privacy in Restrooms and Locker Rooms

Schoolboardpolicies.org

The RESPECT Title IX Act

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Steven Wilson, author of The Lost Decade: Returning to the Fight for Better Schools in America, joins the podcast for a frank discussion about the entities that forced the “lost decade” in K-12 education on students, families, and school communities. We examine how colleges of education prioritize ideology; how union power and demands constrain district leadership; how the “No Excuses” charter model initially transformed outcomes for low-income students, and why some charter networks abandoned that focus. We explore the rise of anti-racism fervor that engulfed the K-12 sector, and what it will take to return to academic excellence.

There are bright spots, like New York’s Success Academy network. There are hard truths that must be reckoned with. And Steven assures us that there is a healthy path forward.

https://www.stevenfwilson.com/

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Julie Young, founding president of the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), turned a two-page concept paper for a “web school” into the first statewide online public school while battling resistance from districts and unions at every step. During her 17 years at the helm, Julie grew FLVS from a small local pilot serving 77 students in 1997 into a national leader that currently educates over 200,000 Florida students annually. In today’s episode, she reveals how she navigated opposition, won over legislators, secured performance-based funding, created FLVS district franchises, and trained educators, while ensuring students received high-quality online education. Julie also delves into the differences between the emergency “Zoom schools” of the COVID era and well-designed virtual programs.

Julie Young is the co-editor of Virtual Schools, Actual Learning: Digital Education in America and author of the upcoming book Say Yes, How Virtual Became a Reality.

Virtual Schools, Actual Learning, Digital Education in America

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Lindsay Fryer, a former senior staffer on Capitol Hill, joins the podcast to unpack the opportunities and limitations of the current push to "return education to the states." With her pivotal role in the reauthorization that transitioned the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) from NCLB to ESSA, Lindsay offers unique insights into the federal government's influence over education, a domain traditionally managed by state and local authorities. We discuss what the administration can achieve through guidance, waivers (including Iowa’s approved waiver and Indiana’s waiver application), and other actions, and explore the roles governors, state education chiefs, and Congress play in empowering states, communities, and families.

U.S. Department of Education Approves Iowa’s Returning Education to the States Waiver

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