Betsy Wolf
@betsyjwolf.bsky.social
SWDC Parent, Ed Researcher, Lover of Graphs, #DCStatehood, 🐺 🏃🏻♀️ 🚴♀️. Re-posts != endorsements and posts are my own. https://betsyjwolf.substack.com
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
The partisan divide has grown, too. The wealthiest 100 tended to give more to Republicans than to Democrats before last year. But giving to the GOP spiked in 2024, with *84%* of donations going to back Republicans or conservative PACs.
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The partisan divide has grown, too. The wealthiest 100 tended to give more to Republicans than to Democrats before last year. But giving to the GOP spiked in 2024, with *84%* of donations going to back Republicans or conservative PACs.
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
Within a month, federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations shot at D.C. drivers two separate times.
The incidents highlight significant differences in how local and federal police respond to crime, as well as what systems of accountability exist, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports.
The incidents highlight significant differences in how local and federal police respond to crime, as well as what systems of accountability exist, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports.
When federal agents shoot people in D.C., there are few details – and little accountability
D.C. police officers are held to one standard, federal agents another.
51st.news
November 22, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Within a month, federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations shot at D.C. drivers two separate times.
The incidents highlight significant differences in how local and federal police respond to crime, as well as what systems of accountability exist, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports.
The incidents highlight significant differences in how local and federal police respond to crime, as well as what systems of accountability exist, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports.
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
DC absolutely needs statehood so that the people who live there aren't ruled by goons they never elected. A genuine ongoing scandal and absolute betrayal of the principles of the country.
These 20 House Democrats just joined Republicans in voting to fully repeal DC's police reform laws.
Wiping off the books critical laws on use of force, transparency, and preventing violent cops from getting rehired.
They think that they should have more say over DC police than the people of DC.
Wiping off the books critical laws on use of force, transparency, and preventing violent cops from getting rehired.
They think that they should have more say over DC police than the people of DC.
November 20, 2025 at 3:55 AM
DC absolutely needs statehood so that the people who live there aren't ruled by goons they never elected. A genuine ongoing scandal and absolute betrayal of the principles of the country.
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
The House has passed H.R. 5214, a bill to return DC to cash bail.
Cash bail creates two tiers of justice, one for people with money and one without. DC abolished it more than 30 years ago and crime has dropped precipitously since.
H.R. 5214 is wrong and we will continue to fight its passage.
Cash bail creates two tiers of justice, one for people with money and one without. DC abolished it more than 30 years ago and crime has dropped precipitously since.
H.R. 5214 is wrong and we will continue to fight its passage.
November 20, 2025 at 1:52 AM
The House has passed H.R. 5214, a bill to return DC to cash bail.
Cash bail creates two tiers of justice, one for people with money and one without. DC abolished it more than 30 years ago and crime has dropped precipitously since.
H.R. 5214 is wrong and we will continue to fight its passage.
Cash bail creates two tiers of justice, one for people with money and one without. DC abolished it more than 30 years ago and crime has dropped precipitously since.
H.R. 5214 is wrong and we will continue to fight its passage.
Now that SCOTUS has given the administration a blank check to dismantle agencies required by law without congressional approval, this was the obvious next step.
The Trump administration is accelerating a plan to dismantle the DOE. Here's what's known about plans to move programs to other agencies.
Education Department offloads some work to other agencies as Trump presses for its closure
The U.S. Education Department is handing off some of its biggest grant programs to other federal agencies as the Trump administration accelerates its plan to shut down the department. It represents a ...
www.nbcwashington.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Now that SCOTUS has given the administration a blank check to dismantle agencies required by law without congressional approval, this was the obvious next step.
An official update from the US Department of Education.
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
An official update from the US Department of Education.
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
A federal judge ruled that the First Amendment rights of U.S. Department of Education employees were violated by the Trump administration when their out-of-office emails were replaced with partisan messages.
LEARN MORE: buff.ly/WO2A2Oy
LEARN MORE: buff.ly/WO2A2Oy
November 10, 2025 at 9:39 PM
A federal judge ruled that the First Amendment rights of U.S. Department of Education employees were violated by the Trump administration when their out-of-office emails were replaced with partisan messages.
LEARN MORE: buff.ly/WO2A2Oy
LEARN MORE: buff.ly/WO2A2Oy
DC could do this with its equitable access lottery preference but most schools choose not to: reserve up to 15% open seats for SNAP/TANF eligible.
We propose a feasible, cheap, and effective reform to school admissions:
priority in school admissions for pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), up to 15% of seats per school.
We also modelled two other reforms but the FSM Quota reform was best: very effective and very targeted.
3/9
priority in school admissions for pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), up to 15% of seats per school.
We also modelled two other reforms but the FSM Quota reform was best: very effective and very targeted.
3/9
November 6, 2025 at 2:27 PM
DC could do this with its equitable access lottery preference but most schools choose not to: reserve up to 15% open seats for SNAP/TANF eligible.
We’ve set up school choice as a zero sum game, making it even harder for public schools to survive. It doesn’t have to be this way.
With his school just 61 percent full, this Florida principal has become something of a salesman for public education, and is frank about about the hustle required: “Customer service is key.”
hechingerreport.org/universal-vo... @laurapappano.bsky.social
hechingerreport.org/universal-vo... @laurapappano.bsky.social
Universal vouchers have public schools worried about market share
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As principal of Hartsfield Elementary School in the Leon County School District, John Olson is not just the lead educator, but in this era of fast-expanding school choice, also its...
hechingerreport.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:47 PM
We’ve set up school choice as a zero sum game, making it even harder for public schools to survive. It doesn’t have to be this way.
When you actually want to be on the jury... wtop.com/local/2025/1...
Jury selection begins for DC man charged with throwing sandwich at federal agent - WTOP News
Jury selection begins Monday in the federal trial of a D.C. man charged with throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in August, during the early days of the law enforcement surge.
wtop.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:59 PM
When you actually want to be on the jury... wtop.com/local/2025/1...
This was the right decision.
NEWS: Amidst uncertainty over the possible lapsing of federal funds for SNAP and WIC food benefits this weekend because of the shutdown, @mayorbowser.dc.gov says she will use local funds to ensure that the 153,000 residents who rely on the programs don't lose benefits.
October 31, 2025 at 1:43 AM
This was the right decision.
This is really bad.
“This is the most critical element for reviewing the job performance of someone who serves under the elected President,” reads this requirement.
An HHS employee passed along the new criteria, a jarring piece of Trump's ongoing efforts to politicize the civil service:
An HHS employee passed along the new criteria, a jarring piece of Trump's ongoing efforts to politicize the civil service:
October 28, 2025 at 3:31 AM
This is really bad.
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
BREAKING: A Department of Homeland Security officer shot at an unarmed black man during a traffic stop in DC, and the DC police officer said he was told by superiors not to mention the shooting in his incident report. 1/ www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Lawyers allege cover-up after fed shoots at man during D.C. traffic stop
Neither D.C. police nor the Department of Homeland Security have explained why the Homeland Security agent fired his weapon.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:33 AM
BREAKING: A Department of Homeland Security officer shot at an unarmed black man during a traffic stop in DC, and the DC police officer said he was told by superiors not to mention the shooting in his incident report. 1/ www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
To be clear, #project2025 seeks to eliminate income restrictions for vouchers.
Brookings: Universal school choice programs mostly benefit the wealthy unless policymakers act to prevent it.
#Truth www.brookings.edu/articles/uni...
#Truth www.brookings.edu/articles/uni...
Universal school choice programs mostly benefit the wealthy unless policymakers act to prevent it | Brookings
Authors analyze six states’ universal school choice programs, showing how income rules shape who benefits most.
www.brookings.edu
October 21, 2025 at 7:49 PM
To be clear, #project2025 seeks to eliminate income restrictions for vouchers.
This is death from a thousand paper cuts. It would be too easy to say everything has a cost so we can’t implement anything differently.
Bonds' bill would also require that a fiscal impact statement (a possible price tag, essentially) for every proposed initiative be published earlier in the process. Currently, it's not required until after the elections board has already signed off on the proposed language.
October 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
This is death from a thousand paper cuts. It would be too easy to say everything has a cost so we can’t implement anything differently.
A key point in this article is whether OMB will allow agencies to have funds and whether legislation by Congress will be respected. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Trump Gutted IES. Skepticism of Its Renewal Abounds.
The Education Department recently requested ideas on how to “modernize” the data collection and education research funding agency, and it sought to hire for a few positions.
www.insidehighered.com
October 21, 2025 at 2:41 PM
A key point in this article is whether OMB will allow agencies to have funds and whether legislation by Congress will be respected. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
I would like to think that Democrats have learned their lesson that writing stern letters about mass layoffs isn’t going to cut it.
Trump admin going after special education with a hatchet in the dark of night seems like an issue the Dems could run with
October 11, 2025 at 10:37 PM
I would like to think that Democrats have learned their lesson that writing stern letters about mass layoffs isn’t going to cut it.
For my practitioner friends, people who managed Title I funds (among others) were laid off today.
October 10, 2025 at 11:52 PM
For my practitioner friends, people who managed Title I funds (among others) were laid off today.
Another 466 employees being laid off from the Department of Education. Remember this was the plan all along: Traumatize the federal workforce. Dismantle ED. Break the institutions.
October 10, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Another 466 employees being laid off from the Department of Education. Remember this was the plan all along: Traumatize the federal workforce. Dismantle ED. Break the institutions.
More RIFs including a lot at ED. I want to reiterate: layoffs could happen at any time under this Administration. There is no guarantee that caving on the budget will get us anything other than loss of healthcare for many people.
October 10, 2025 at 9:42 PM
More RIFs including a lot at ED. I want to reiterate: layoffs could happen at any time under this Administration. There is no guarantee that caving on the budget will get us anything other than loss of healthcare for many people.
This is a great expose on segregation academies in my home state and an explanation of how vouchers are likely to increase inequity.
After the Brown v. Board decision, white people across the South opened hundreds of private schools.
70+ years later, most of the ones still open in Alabama’s Black Belt remain overwhelmingly white.
In this town, one school keeps kids divided.
(Published May 2024)
70+ years later, most of the ones still open in Alabama’s Black Belt remain overwhelmingly white.
In this town, one school keeps kids divided.
(Published May 2024)
Segregation Academies Still Operate Across the South. One Town Grapples With Its Divided Schools.
Seventy years after Brown v. Board, Black and white residents, in Camden, Alabama, say they would like to see their children schooled together. But after so long apart, they aren’t sure how to make it...
www.propublica.org
October 3, 2025 at 12:18 AM
This is a great expose on segregation academies in my home state and an explanation of how vouchers are likely to increase inequity.
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
DCPS reneged on its promise to help hundreds of international teachers secure a green card. Many may now be forced to leave the country. Read the full story from @maustermuhle.bsky.social 51st.news/dc-green-car...
DCPS promised them green cards. Now, these international teachers have nowhere to turn
More than 200 teachers may soon have to leave the country because of what they say are broken promises from the city's school system.
51st.news
October 2, 2025 at 7:15 PM
DCPS reneged on its promise to help hundreds of international teachers secure a green card. Many may now be forced to leave the country. Read the full story from @maustermuhle.bsky.social 51st.news/dc-green-car...
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
NEW! Dept of Education workers say their OOO replies were forcibly changed to blame Democrats for shutdown. When employees changed their responses back to the more neutral language, it changed yet again to the partisan response.
@wired.com @leahfeiger.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/govern...
@wired.com @leahfeiger.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/govern...
Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown
Some employees at the Department of Education changed their responses back to the more neutral language, only to have it changed yet again to the partisan response, multiple sources tell WIRED.
www.wired.com
October 2, 2025 at 5:48 PM
NEW! Dept of Education workers say their OOO replies were forcibly changed to blame Democrats for shutdown. When employees changed their responses back to the more neutral language, it changed yet again to the partisan response.
@wired.com @leahfeiger.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/govern...
@wired.com @leahfeiger.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/govern...
Reposted by Betsy Wolf
NEW—US Department of Education sent out standard Out of Office language to employees on Wednesday in light of shutdown. Later yesterday, workers tell me they found someone had updated their auto-responses without consent to a new one blaming Democrats.
Version of original on left, updated on right:
Version of original on left, updated on right:
October 2, 2025 at 1:46 PM
NEW—US Department of Education sent out standard Out of Office language to employees on Wednesday in light of shutdown. Later yesterday, workers tell me they found someone had updated their auto-responses without consent to a new one blaming Democrats.
Version of original on left, updated on right:
Version of original on left, updated on right: