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Policy Memos

Plural Name

Policy Memos

NEPC’s Review Project and Utah’s Voucher Litigation

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

March 10, 2026

back of teacher in front of classroom students

Advancing LCFF Equity and Accountability

Policy Memo

Michelle Renée Valladares, Jonathon Sawyer, and Kevin G. Welner

February 19, 2026

scale of justice on top of open stack of books

What We Need to Know Now to Respond to Right-Wing Attacks on Public Schools: A Research Agenda

Policy Memo

Freedom to Learn Collective, Huriya Jabbar, Danfeng Soto-Vigil Koon, and Joseph J. Ferrare

November 6, 2025

front of U.S. Treasury Department building

Federal Vouchers, Treasury Regulations, and State Flexibility

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

October 7, 2025

How the Practices of Schools of Opportunity Illustrate Recent Research on Learning

Policy Memo

Adam York and Kate Somerville

March 26, 2024

Evaluating Research That Alleges Funding Disparities Between Charter and District Schools

Policy Memo

Mark Weber

September 12, 2023

How Charter Schools Undermine Good Education Policymaking

Policy Memo

Helen F. Ladd

November 10, 2022

The Outsourcing of Discrimination: Another SCOTUS Earthquake?

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

May 12, 2022

Centering Students’ Past and Present to Advance Equity in the Future

Policy Memo

Kate Baca and Michelle Renée Valladares

January 6, 2022

Understanding the Attacks on Critical Race Theory

Policy Memo

Francesca López, Alex Molnar, Royel Johnson, Ashley Patterson, LaWanda Ward, and Kevin K. Kumashiro

September 23, 2021

Charter Schools: Rending or Mending the Nation

Policy Memo

Henry M. Levin

September 9, 2021

gray paper doll cutouts holding hands with one black doll in middle

An Agenda for Restoring Civil Rights in K-12 Federal Education Policy

Policy Memo

Janelle T. Scott, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Elizabeth DeBray, Erica Frankenberg, and Kathryn McDermott

November 24, 2020

From Katrina to COVID-19: How Disaster, Federal Neglect, and the Market Compound Racial Inequities

Policy Memo

Kristen L. Buras

July 28, 2020

Community Research Collaboratives

Policy Memo

Adam York, Siomara Valladares, Michelle Renée Valladares, Jon Snyder, and Matt Garcia

March 24, 2020

Recasting Families and Communities as Co-Designers of Education in Tumultuous Times

Policy Memo

Ann M. Ishimaru, Megan Bang, Michelle Renée Valladares, Charlene Montaño Nolan, Henedina Tavares, Aditi Rajendran, and Katherine Chang

July 16, 2019

How Voucher Advocates Created a Blue-State Loophole to Trump’s Tax Law

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

January 24, 2018

Might the New Gates Education Initiative Close Opportunity Gaps?

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

December 12, 2017

Assessing the Fiscal Impact of Wisconsin's Statewide Voucher Program

Policy Memo

Ellie Bruecker

October 5, 2017

Strong Collaborative Relationships for Strong Community Schools

Policy Memo

Julia Daniel

August 31, 2017

What We Can Learn from the Massachusetts Ballot Question Campaign on Charter School Expansion

Policy Memo

Lawrence Blum

March 14, 2017

Making the Most of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) – Helping States Focus on School Equity, Quality and Climate

Policy Memo

William R. Penuel, Elizabeth J. Meyer, and Michelle Renée Valladares

November 15, 2016

Research-Based Expectations for Implementation of the Community Schools Initiative in New York City

Policy Memo

Julia Daniel, Kevin G. Welner, and Michelle Renée Valladares

June 14, 2016

Lifting All Children Up

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

March 21, 2016

Community Schools as an Effective Strategy for Reform

Policy Memo

Julia Daniel and Jon Snyder

March 8, 2016

NAEPscuses: Making Sense of Excuse-Making from the No-Excuses Contingent

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

October 28, 2015

How to Create and Maintain Civil Society Space

Policy Memo

Alex Molnar and Faith Boninger

September 18, 2015

Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Time to Move Beyond Test-Focused Policies

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner and William J. Mathis

February 12, 2015

Wait, Wait. Don’t Mislead Me! Nine Reasons to Be Skeptical About Charter Waitlist Numbers

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner and Gary Miron

May 5, 2014

Much Ado about Politics (and Much Ignored about Research Evidence)

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

November 6, 2013

Missing the Target? The Parent Trigger as a Strategy for Parental Engagement and School Reform

Policy Memo

Christopher Lubienski, Janelle T. Scott, John Rogers, and Kevin G. Welner

September 5, 2012

How to Calculate the Costs or Savings of Tax Credit Voucher Policies

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

March 17, 2011

Austerity, Subsistence, or Investment: Will Congress and the President Choose to Bail Out Our Children’s Future?

Policy Memo

Frank Adamson, Allison Brown, and Kevin G. Welner

June 4, 2020

Charter Schools, Fair Housing, and Legal Standards: A Call for Equal Treatment

Policy Memo

Lisa Hoag Mieritz

June 18, 2012

The Lesson of the Cupcakes: Fix Schools by Resisting Gimmicks and Heeding Evidence

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner

April 25, 2012

Researchers as Resources: A List of Experts Who Can Speak to the Overall Knowledge Base on Important Education Issues

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner, William J. Mathis, and Alex Molnar

January 23, 2012

Letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Concerning Evaluation of Teachers and Principals

Policy Memo

Kevin G. Welner and Carol C. Burris

July 30, 2011

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