Michael Petrilli

1 month ago | educationnext.org | Michael Petrilli

Trump administration officials announced on Tuesday evening that it is laying off 1,300 employees at the U.S. Department of Education. This is on top of nearly 600 people who had already taken early retirement or buyouts, as well as another 60 probationary employees who had already been fired. This would bring the Department’s headcount down from about 4,100 to about 2,200, a whopping reduction.

2 months ago | forbes.com | Michael Petrilli

Eli Hager and his colleagues at ProPublica have published some eyebrow-raising articles lately about Arizona’s universal education savings account (ESA) program. Most recently, Hager dug into its testing and accountability requirements—or lack thereof. When it comes to the public’s ability—and that of policymakers—to know whether Arizona’s program, or the schools and other vendors that it’s funding, are effective, there’s zilch, nada, nothing. Yet Arizona turns out to be something of an outlier.

2 months ago | educationnext.org | Michael Petrilli

The Supreme Court agreed last Friday afternoon to hear a landmark religious charter schools case out of Oklahoma, and it’s a much bigger deal than you might imagine. Many of the headlines refer to whether states “can” or “may” allow religious charter schools. But that’s not the question at all; not a single state has enacted legislation allowing religious charter schools (and the Court does not like to deal in hypotheticals).

Dec 9, 2024 | forbes.com | Michael Petrilli

2024 was another big year for “direct admissions” to universities—for better and for worse. Since its invention in Idaho almost a decade ago, direct admissions has spread to university systems in nine states, including four new entrants in 2024—Texas, Wisconsin, Utah, and South Dakota.

Nov 27, 2024 | educationnext.org | Michael Petrilli

In announcing his nomination of wrestling magnate and former Small Business Administration director Linda McMahon as the next secretary of education, President Trump promised yet again to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.