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Dear John,

It's week 266 in our new reality and we are thinking about what the most recent school choice victory in the Lone Star State means for the state of education reform.

The headline in the Wall Street Journal–“School Choice Wins Big in Texas ([link removed]) ”–captures some of the news but the details also matter. Here is what you need to know:

* It is well-funded: “The legislation would create one of the nation’s largest choice programs, funded at $1 billion in the first year. That means some 100,000 students can receive scholarships, which are worth about $10,000, or 85% of public school per-pupil funding. Students can use the funds for private-school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, and other education expenses. Homeschoolers can receive up to $2,000.”
* It is targeted: “Any student in Texas can apply, though the program prioritizes students with disabilities and from lower-income families. House lawmakers also capped spending for students in families above 500% of the poverty level at 20% of program funds.”
* It is part of a larger funding deal: “Nearly all House lawmakers voted for a separate bill that increases public school funding by some $8 billion. That includes teacher pay raises and ‘hold harmless’ provisions that ensure school districts will keep most of their funding from one year to another.”

As the NYTpoints out ([link removed]) , with this win in Texas, “choice laws have now passed in every major Republican state” and these programs serve “over 1 million students nationwide, more than double the number in 2019.” It’s a sweeping change in such a short period of time but the big question is how this shift in the financial options for families changes the educational opportunities available for kids. That’s why measurement matters.

Last fall, we launched our 50-state, 20,000-parent survey ([link removed]) to understand the opportunities that are available to students inside and outside of school, and to create a baseline we can all use to measure the impact of these policies on families. We are going back into the field to replicate this survey early next year to provide a first-ever measure of the change in education opportunity across all 50 states. Combined with an analysis of upcoming 2026 NAEP ([link removed]) and other measures of student learning, we will aim to ground this conversation in the facts, so we can learn from what works and put the spotlight on the outcomes for kids we are all striving to achieve.

Last time ([link removed]) in the New Reality Roundup, we put the spotlight on GeorgiaCAN’s legislative victories this session. This week, we take a look at how TennesseeCAN finished their session with three big wins for charter schools and follow the hot start of the seventh cohort of our National Voices Fellowship.
Best,

Marc Porter Magee, PhD
50CAN Founder and CEO

@marcportermagee ([link removed])

Learn from Tennessee’s progress on charters
After a special session earlier this year that resulted in the creation of the state’s first universal ESA program, TennesseeCAN turned their attention to strengthening the charter sector, resulting in three big wins:

* Charter facilities: TennesseeCAN worked with Governor Bill Lee’s team to secure an increase of $20 million in the budget for charter facilities, the largest one-time allocation ever received for charters across the state.
* Facilities loan fund: TennesseeCAN also secured the inclusion of a revolving loan fund for charter facilities in the budget, with a $5 million initial contribution from the state that will be matched by private equity, creating up to $150 million of borrowing opportunities for charter facilities.
* Alternative avenues for charter approval: TennesseeCAN was joined by Tennesseans for Students Success, SCORE and the Tennessee Charter School Center in support of HB1322, ([link removed]) a bill that empowers the Statewide Charter School Commission to provide new avenues for approval to charter schools in districts that have repeatedly misused their local approval power.

“This ultimately is a course correction,” TennesseeCAN ED Chelsea Crawford tells us. “Charter school operators who want to bring high-quality schools to our communities should have the opportunity to do so through a fair process and a legitimate review of the value they would provide to families. And once approved, they should have the resources and infrastructure to provide an excellent education to their students and to grow over time.”

* The task this week is to get inspired by the wins in Tennessee and explore ways to strengthen the charter sector in your state.

Speak out on education policy

Earlier this month, the seventh cohort of 50CAN’s National Voices fellowship gathered in Washington D.C. for their first in-person gathering, where they undertook media training, discussed the specific policies emerging from our Believe in Better policy agenda and debated a series of readings on the country’s political climate and divisions. Now, they’re off to one of the strongest media starts we’ve seen since the program’s inception, with ten media appearances in the fellows’ first month of activity. Among them:

Anahit Baghshetsyan authored ([link removed][%E2%80%A6]e3b7c92ddb47b2594240705403cf680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1&utm_source=Updates+from+50CAN&utm_campaign=64d34ccc82-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_04_18_07_39&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-64d34ccc82-104932585) Nevada Policy’s report “30 Ways to Improve Nevada Education–Without Spending More,” tackling one of the state’s toughest challenges: boosting chronically low-performing schools without additional funding​. The report compiles 30 evidence-based reforms–from bolstering teacher effectiveness to lifting charter school caps–all aimed at maximizing Nevada’s existing education dollars for better student outcomes​. This agenda argues that strategic reallocations of current resources can deliver big gains, offering lawmakers a blueprint for cost-effective school improvement. The report led to testimony at the statehouse and a radio appeara
nce.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, Randy Smoot lent his voice to a local news story about innovative career pathways for high schoolers. Quoted ([link removed]) in WDTN’s feature “Springfield school gives students career tech options,” Richardson helped spotlight how one Springfield program enables students to earn their diploma and gain real-world technical skills at the same time​, equipping teens with industry credentials before graduation.

In Texas, Amber Okolo-Ebube took to The Dallas Morning News to advocate ([link removed]) for expanded educational opportunity for all. In her commentary “School choice exists in Texas, but it belongs to the privileged,” Okolo-Ebube confronted the inequity in Texas’ school choice landscape​, exploring how affluent families make choices through real estate while others are left behind.

On the national stage, Kym Kent is rethinking ([link removed]) how we measure student progress. In a piece for FEE, “The Power of ‘Do-Overs’ in Unconventional Education Settings,” Kym challenges traditional notions of grade retention and social promotion​. Drawing from her homeschooling experience, she describes embracing academic “do-overs,” allowing students to repeat specific courses without the shame of being held back a full year​. These targeted do-overs strengthen foundational skills and have proven vital for learners in her program​.
* The task this week is to get inspired by the progress of the seventh cohort of National Voices as they continue to make the public case for an education system that opens up doors of opportunity.


This week, 50CAN launched ([link removed]) applications for the second cohort of our national Families Invested in Reforming Education (“FIRE”) Fellowship. Led by National Organizing Manager Steven Quinn, the fellowship is designed to broaden the advocacy knowledge and perfect the skills to make change in their communities. If you’ve got a parent advocate to recommend, please let Steven ([link removed]) know.

DelawareKidsCAN’s Executive Director Britney Mumford has served on the Public Education Funding Commission for the past six months, where the commission has worked to develop recommendations for the state to move to a more equitable funding model. In last week’s State of the State Address by new Governor Matt Meyer, the Governor specifically called out ([link removed]) the good work of the commission and reaffirmed his goal of the passage of a new model this legislative session. The DelawareKidsCAN team is working closely with his advisors throughout the process.

Writing for Fordham, 50CAN Policy Fellow Danyela Egorov argues ([link removed]) that the left should embrace an "education abundance" agenda by removing barriers to opening new schools, or risk falling behind red states in educational innovation.

Bruno Manno outlines ([link removed]) in a new 74 Million op-ed how the Trump administration could expand K–12 public school choice using existing federal programs and guidance–without new legislation–to give families a broader set of options.

Writing in Education Next, Erica Smith Ewing warns ([link removed]) that outdated state laws are over-regulating microschools and even criminalizing innovative parents, and urges policymakers to treat families as partners and modernize laws to support new learning models.

A new study published by EdWorkingPapers examines ([link removed]) the design of more than 300 college affordability programs, revealing broad variation in who qualifies and what is provided, and indicating that many programs strategically restrict generosity to contain costs.


Denise Dixon, the founder of Tread Academy and one of GeorgiaCAN’s parent fellows, was the subject of a national ABC News piece that focused on Democrats who support school choice policies. “For me education is not Democratic, Republican, conservative. Education is a human issue and a human right,” Denise told ([link removed]) ABC, explaining her support for broadening students’ educational options despite her left-leaning personal politics. “There are students who are suffering because they’re in schools that aren’t working for them.”

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