Education On The Line

Advancing Education Success Initiative

Education On The Line (formerly titled Sparking Equity) is a podcast focusing on the mounting political, financial, legal and ideological threats to public education.  It will provide strategies to help education leaders and decisionmakers traverse the current perilous education landscape.  Join media innovator and veteran education journalist Louis Freedberg as he interviews school leaders about how they are coping with attacks on public schools emanating from Washington D.C.  -- while staying focused on how to ensure that all students succeed.  The advisor for the podcast (and occasional guest host) is Pedro Noguera, Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education.  Sign up at link below so we can keep you posted on future episodes to help inform your decisionmaking.  https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/gVZTFcZ

  1. APR 28

    Should Democratic States Opt Into Trump's Stealth School Voucher Plan?

    Here’s a question that Democratic governors across the country will have to wrestle with in the months ahead: should they opt into President Trump’s upcoming federal tax credit scholarship program, or hold the line against what will be the first federally funded private school voucher scheme? Because of the sweeping nature of the plan, this is a follow up to an earlier episode of Education on the Line examining on the issue.  The program, approved by Congress as part of the  One Big Beautiful Bill, allows every taxpayer to "donate" up to $1,700 to scholarship-granting organizations -- and then get the entire amount refunded to them in the form of a tax credit on their federal income taxes.  The scholarship organizations then dole out the money to parents with children enrolled in private and religious schools to cover tuition and other educational costs. Some funds could be used to cover some expenses like computers and extra tutoring not currently covered by taxpayers..  Most Republican governors already have already "opted in."   In our latest episode, we go inside the debate as it’s playing out in Illinois, where two prominent Democrats are publicly at odds. State Comptroller Susana Mendoza says it’s a no-brainer: Illinois taxpayers fund the program either way, and opting out just means that money flows to children in other states. Meanwhile, Gov. Jay Pritzker seems inclined to reject it. In April, The Chicago public school board voted unanimously to oppose it.   Louis Freedberg interviews Comptroller Mendoza and Cassie Creswell of Illinois Families for Public Schools, who see the issue differently, as do dozens of other advocacy organizations. Cresswell says participating in the program would further expand a private school ecosystem the state can’t control, at exactly the moment public schools are already under severe financial and other pressures. We talk with both Mendoza and Cresswell to understand the issues for and against. Their debate offers insights into how the issue could play out in other states. Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.

    26 min

  2. APR 6

    As costs rise, and enrollments dip, can school districts meet teacher demands?

    School districts across California and the nation are caught in a financial vise.  Enrollments are falling, federal COVID relief funds have been depleted, and costs keep rising. Meanwhile, growing numbers of teacher's can't even  afford to live in the districts  where they work. That’s especially the case in high cost states like California where teachers and other staff are walking off the job in record numbers   So how do you give teachers the raises that almost everyone agrees they need without triggering deep cuts or even risking   insolvency? And is it even possible? In this episode, we explore that question with three guests who are grappling with it from very different vantage points. Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, breaks down the structural forces squeezing district budgets and makes the case that many districts have staffing levels out of alignment with their shrinking enrollments — a reckoning that's now unavoidable. Darin Brawley, superintendent of Compton Unified, has managed a district with five labor unions over 14 years without a strike, and explains how radical transparency about the budget has helped kept his district out of crisis. And Carrie Hahnel a board member at Alameda Unified and a senior associate partner at Bellwether, describes how her district recently navigated a threatened strike and reached a three-year contract — and what trade-offs came with it. The conversation is honest about how hard these choices are.  The challenge is whether districts and unions can make these trade-offs —together.  Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.

    36 min

  3. MAR 18

    The Push to Keep Undocumented Students Out Of School: Will It Succeed?

    The Supreme Court's landmark 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision established that every child in America has the right to a public education, regardless of immigration status. For 43 years, that ruling has kept schoolhouse doors open to undocumented children. Now it's under serious attack.    In this episode of Education on the Line, Louis Freedberg talks with two guests on the front lines of protecting Plyler at a national and state level. Tom Saenz is president and general counsel of MALDEF, which argued the original Plyler case before the Supreme Court. Lisa Sherman Luna is executive director TIRRC Votes, the political arm of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.  The Tennessee General Assembly, controlled by a Republican supermajority, is attempting to pass legislation designed to keep documented children out of school. It is one of a half dozen states trying to do the same thing.  The Heritage Foundation, author of the controversial Project 2025, recently launched a campaign to encourage states to challenge Plyler. Saenz believes that despite these efforts, the Plyler decision is secure. Sherman Luna says that organizing along the lines of the so-far successful Education for All Tennessee campaign will be needed.  Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.

    36 min

  4. MAR 3

    Inside Trump's Stealth School Voucher Program: What's At Stake

    The sweeping federal tax credit scholarship program which President Trump was able to shoehorn into his so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" will go into effect in less than a year. It has the potential to divert billions of federal tax dollars to private and religious school tuition, with negligible oversight and accountability.  Right now the Trump Administration is drawing up a blueprint for implementing this hugely ambitious "school choice" program which an estimated 90 percent of families in the United States will qualify for.  When the proposed regulations are issued in in advance of the Jan. 1 implementation date, education leaders and advocates must be prepared to respond them.   One big question is whether Democratically controlled  states should participate in the tax credit program - at the moment it appears that almost all won't -- or whether they  can figure out ways public schools could benefit from it in a meaningful way.  To shed light on key unresolved issues like these, host Louis Freedberg talks with Jon Valant, director of the Brookings Brown Center on Education Policy, and Jessica Levin, litigation director of the Education Law Center.  Both are leading experts on what's at stake.  Anyone who cares about the future of public education will learn from their insights and observations.  Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.

    42 min

  5. FEB 12

    Trump vs. Education: What Happened, What Didn't, and What to Expect in 2026

    What happens when frenetic policymaking by the Trump Administration collides with the guardrails of courts, campuses, and public opinion? We sit down with leading conservative commentator Frederick Hess, director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, and long-time higher education expert Stephen Brint, professor of sociology and public policy at the University of California at Riverside, to unpack a year that in which the federal government asserted unprecedented power over both private and public education institutions at all levels.  From executive orders and DOJ referrals to high-stakes investigations, we discuss what changed, what stalled, and, most importantly, what to expect in 2026.   Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.

    29 min

  6. JAN 27

    How School Leaders Can Navigate The Culture Wars And Build Community Trust

    During the first year of President Trump's latest term in the White House, much of his admiinistration's focus been national in scope, especially on its  push to dismantle or eradicate entirely the U.S. Dept. of Education. What, however, is happening at the local level?  In this episode, we look at the extent to which political pressures on local school districts have continued, and, more importantly, how school leaders can successfully traverse them.  This will be especially important during this election year when school board election battles will take center stage at a local level.  Host Louis Freedberg interviews two prominent education leaders who offer their guidance based on years of experience in the education trenches.  Carl Cohn is  the esteemed former superintendent of the Long Beach and San Diego Unified School Districts, and co-chair of the Collaborative for Political Leadership in the Superintendency.   Wesley Smith is superintendent of the Newport-Mesa School District in California's Orange County, and former head of the Association of California School Administrators.  Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.

    32 min

  7. 12/10/2025

    How The Dept. of Education Can Be Saved from Trump Assaults

    Cut staff at the U.S. Education Dept. in half, and send programs they were overseeing to multiple other departments -- what could that  possibly go wrong for students and schools?  To examine what is at stake, veteran education journalist Louis Freedberg sits down with Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, both of whom are at the forefront of efforts to save the Dept. of Education from extinction by the Trump administration.   Democracy Forward is now in court on behalf of the AFT and numerous other labor organizations and school districts.  Both Perryman and Weingarten argue that, far from being ineffective, lawsuits against the Trump Administration, especially when it comes to education, have been far more effective than is generally believed. But, they say, it will also take a multi-pronged effort around the nation to put pressure on elected representatives to save programs and funding that they say disproportionately benefit children and schools in "red" states.  If you care about federal funding for schools, the fate of special education, and having a federal government that supports schools instead of attacking them, you’ll find a clear roadmap of what’s happening, why it matters, and what can be done.   Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.

    36 min

  8. 11/18/2025

    Making Sense Of Test Scores in the Trump Era -- Without The Politics

    Educators are barraged with a range of test scores from K-12 schools that are often confusing and seem to conflict with each other.   Some show students improving. Others show the opposite.   Listen to Linda Darling-Hammond and Pedro Noguera, two of the nation's premier education scholars and advocates, make the case for why we need tests --- not as weapons to label and stigmatize students and schools, but as tools to improve learning.    Darling-Hammond, founder and Chief Knowledge Officer of the Learning Policy Institute, and chair of the California State Board of Education, points to latest test results showing improvements in California, as well as in districts who are beating the odds like Los Angeles and Compton Unified. An overemphasis on tests, she says, has meant less emphasis on higher-level thinking in our schools.  Noguera, Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, argues that we should pay more attention to learning itself and how to get kids engaged and motivated.  Sign up here so we can keep you posted on future podcasts on how education leaders are responding to the mounting threats against public schools In the United States.

    38 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Education On The Line (formerly titled Sparking Equity) is a podcast focusing on the mounting political, financial, legal and ideological threats to public education.  It will provide strategies to help education leaders and decisionmakers traverse the current perilous education landscape.  Join media innovator and veteran education journalist Louis Freedberg as he interviews school leaders about how they are coping with attacks on public schools emanating from Washington D.C.  -- while staying focused on how to ensure that all students succeed.  The advisor for the podcast (and occasional guest host) is Pedro Noguera, Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education.  Sign up at link below so we can keep you posted on future episodes to help inform your decisionmaking.  https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/gVZTFcZ

Information

  • Creator
    Advancing Education Success Initiative
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Education On The Line
  • Show Website
    Education On The Line

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