Teacher Unions

Source: Fordham Institute

Date: 5/27/26

A Crowded Table: Teacher Union Strength in 2026

How much influence do teacher unions still wield in today's K-12 education landscape?

 

To answer that question, researchers Melissa Arnold Lyon, Sandy Frost Waldron, and Rebecca Jacobsen analyzed the latest publicly available data and responses from a new survey of K-12 stakeholders in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to produce a comprehensive update to Fordham's 2012 rankings of state teacher union strength.

Research Issues

Source: AEI

Date: 6/1/26

The $30 Billion Question: Why Doesn't the Education Market Reward What Works?

Key Points Education technology is a large and growing market, despite limited evidence of its effectiveness. American education lacks a reliable bridge between research and scale-one that moves proven tools to millions of students and keeps unproven ones out of schools. Successful examples of private philanthropies and governments funding effective tools offer several lessons for improving the education research and development infrastructure, including properly aligning incentives, protecting intellectual property, shoring up the evidence base once a product ships to schools, and making evidence easier for schools to act on.

School Finance and Funding

Source: Common Sense Institute

Date: 6/4/26

Administrative Growth, Student Decline, and Academic Performance in Colorado's Public Schools

At a time when Colorado faces growing budgetary pressure and education remains one of the state's highest funding priorities, the continued expansion of administrative staffing raises important questions about resource allocation. With fewer students enrolled and academic performance declining across most high-school tested categories, districts should be expected to demonstrate whether added administrative capacity is improving student outcomes or diverting resources from more impactful classroom needs.

School Leadership and Management

Source: Brookings Institute

Date: 6/5/26

Local control, national conflict: School boards in the COVID-19 and culture war era

The governance of America's public schools belongs to no single authority. It is shared, negotiated, and contested across many institutions. Yet, the local school board stands apart. School boards are the most accessible of our democratic institutions, offering a forum where residents engage with neighbors they elect to serve. At their best, they draw on local knowledge to meet their community's needs. At their worst, they lack capacity, accountability, and representation, and are prone to conflict and dysfunction. This initiative examines U.S. school boards during a pivotal time in their history: the pandemic and culture-war conflicts of the 2020s.

Review of The Economic Impact from Colorado's Choice to Participate in the "Education Freedom Tax Credit" Provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Source: Common Sense Institute

Reviewed by: Joydeep Roy, Teachers College, Columbia University

The Common Sense Institute recently published a report declaring large potential benefits of the federal education tax-credit voucher program created through President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill. However, the report's claims about the improvements the program would create for Colorado are unlikely to materialize.

Joydeep Roy of Teachers College, Columbia University explains why in his review of The Economic Impact from Colorado's Choice to Participate in the "Education Freedom Tax Credit" Provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

When Black Communities Lose Their Vote, Schools Pay the Price

By: Denise Forte, Word In Black

"The Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais is widely viewed as a voting rights case. Education advocate Denise Forte argues it is also an education issue, warning that reduced Black political representation could weaken communities' influence over school funding, curriculum and access to opportunity."

Will Public Schools Benefit From Federal Vouchers?

By: Peter Greene, Curmudgucation

"What seems clear is that the mechanics of the federal vouchers (like all other vouchers) make it hard for public schools to get a piece of the funding stream. The donors hand money to the Scholarship Granting Organization, and the SGO hands the money to a famnily-- not the school. "

A Crowded Table: Teacher Union Strength in 2026

By: Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. Michael J. Petrilli, Fordham

"How much influence do teacher unions still wield in today's K-12 education landscape? To answer that question, researchers Melissa Arnold Lyon, Sandy Frost Waldron, and Rebecca Jacobsen analyzed the latest publicly available data and responses from a new survey of K-12 stakeholders in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to produce a comprehensive update to Fordham's 2012 rankings of state teacher union strength."

Teachers concerned about the impact of AI on students' critical thinking

By: Mallory Newall, Johnny Sawyer, & Lily Miller Ipsos

"A majority of teachers show concern about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on students' critical thinking skills, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll conducted among current K-12 teachers. About three in four view AI as having bigger implications on K-12 education than past technological changes, and also that teaching responsible use of AI should be part of their school's curriculum. Yet, only about a third say their school has formal guidelines for student use of AI."

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