Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Morgan Polikoff

Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 1h

For context, 87% of school-aged kids are enrolled in public schools in the US.*

(* a statistic we only know because of work the US Dept of ED used to do to collect vital data on our nation's schools)

Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 1h

Those influencing Trump education policy aren't shy about wanting to eradicate public schools.

Asked what % of kids she imagines should be in public schools, Tiffany Justice -- Moms for Liberty cofounder, now with Heritage Foundation -- told @propublica.org

“I hope zero. I hope to get to zero.”

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.

Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...

www.propublica.org

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Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 12h

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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 18h

"We find that both liberal and conservative students prefer institutions with more like-minded peers and, especially, with fewer students from the opposite side of the political spectrum." edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1280

Political Views and College Choices in a Polarized America

We examine the role of students’ political views in shaping college enrollment decisions in the United States. We hypothesize that students derive utility from attending institutions aligned with thei...

edworkingpapers.com

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David Brady @davebrady72.bsky.social · 1d

My colleague & friend Richard Green raises good reason to NOT sign Trump’s compact: “the president “is a person who has not kept agreements for a very long time. If we are going to sell our soul, let’s not sell it to someone who is going to pull the football away.”

www.latimes.com/california/s...

USC faculty members denounce Trump compact that would shift university to the right

The USC Academic Senate held a special meeting to discuss the Trump administration's education compact, which was presented to the school last week.

www.latimes.com

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Andrew Ho @andrewdeanho.bsky.social · 1d

I finally wrote up my advice to PhD applicants in FAQ format. It's only my unofficial, personal perspective for folks interested in working with me at Harvard @harvardeducation.bsky.social. I also plug other measurement programs at @ncme38.bsky.social! andrewho.scholars.harvard.edu/sites/g/file...

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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 1d

Dreamt there was a Broadway Bares: Equity Saves NAEP fundraiser and I wasn’t invited. 😭😭😭

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Brendan Cantwell @cantb.bsky.social · 2d

Trump is invading Illinois and Oregon but probably he’d negotiate with the President of Dartmouth in good faith.

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 2d

We invented graduated drivers licenses for teens. They worked. But we leave 80-year-olds to “see how it goes.” Every family suffers on their own. But this is a shared social problem, not a personal one. We need conditional licenses for older drivers. Daylight. Local. Annual medical check-ins.

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Dan of the Year @downwithdan.bsky.social · 2d

THE RADICAL LEFTISTS HAVE KILLED OUR BUSINESS
[also we got bought out by private equity who shuttered the store and fired everyone]
BUT IT WAS MOSTLY THE RADICAL LEFTISTS
also can we have a federal bailout 🥹

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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 3d

I am once again begging the @nytimes.com to consider using active voice.

New York Times headline: Partisan Language Inserted Into Education Dept. Workers’ Automated Emails

Subhead: The out-of-office responses from the accounts of employees on furlough cast blame for the shutdown on Democrats.

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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 3d

As with USC’s response, this feels intentionally ambiguous! My strong sense is they’ve all decided they’re not playing ball but want to give the administration the impression they’re considering it.

Daniel P. Moriarity @dpmoriarity.bsky.social · 4d

Dartmouth response to the Trump Administration Compact

president.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/10...

Response to the ‘Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education’ | Office of the President

president.dartmouth.edu

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 3d

This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will. It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 4d

Rowan's own college admission story is: he was pre-law at Cornell but didn't like the coursework so he called Penn and they said sure and put him into the Wharton undergrad program.

Maybe that explains why he thinks university admissions are a joke: his was.

web.archive.org/web/20240314...

MR. ROWAN: Everyone in my family, other than my father, was a public interest lawyer. And
I thought I was also going to be a public interest lawyer. I applied to Cornell ILR, which is a
good prelaw program. I was accepted. The coursework arrived. And I finally realized I didn’t
want to be a lawyer. And I ended up calling Penn, sight unseen, and showed up at the Wharton
School at the University of Pennsylvania. And hair down to my shoulders, had no idea what
business was. But it all just made sense.

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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 4d

One thing that comes through awfully clearly in these ICE videos is how many of these goons gravitated toward the job because being able to assault people with impunity is a big thrill for them.

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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 5d

As a survey methodologist who is decidedly meh on Taylor Swift, I agree with both parts of this!!

Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · 5d

this is just to say I have listened to the new Taylor Swift album, and, as with most of her music, I thought it was perfectly fine

to keep this On Brand, a great example of why it's important to measure neutral opinions and nonopinion as components of sentiment

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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 5d

There is absolutely no way USC is going to sign that ridiculous/illegal compact. But I’m sure the (interim) president (who is a lawyer) is extremely annoyed to have been on the list - when he met with faculty earlier this year he said staying out of their crosshairs was one of his top priorities.

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Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham @paulgp.com · 5d

Relative to pre-pandemic trends, fall 2024 enrollment is down 2% in local public schools, up 14% in private schools, and up 45% in home schools. The highest income 20% of districts have lost more public school students than the other 80% combined, with these lower income districts having recovered

Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 5d

See also @joshua-goodman.com & @abbyfrancis.bsky.social’s work using MA admin data: edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1233

(my sense is that there are no perfect data on this, but as @andrewavit.bsky.social says, researchers can sometimes combine sources to get at important questions!)

School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic

The pandemic induced a substantial enrollment shift away from public schools in fall 2020 and a partial return of students in fall 2021, leaving longer-term impacts unclear. We use Massachusetts state...

edworkingpapers.com

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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 5d

"Former state lawmaker Lorena Gonzalez, who spearheaded the law, says she has been disturbed by how it has panned out."

Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 5d

This law so desperately needs reform before it bankrupts school districts and even entire cities. Maybe this important story from the LA Times will help encourage legislators to do something to fix it.

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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 5d

"Two people said they were told to fabricate stories of abuse." www.latimes.com/california/s...

In the biggest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history, some claim they were paid to sue

Seven people told The Times they were paid to sue L.A. County over sex abuse, raising questions about whether some claims that led to a record $4-billion settlement may have been colored by the promis...

www.latimes.com

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Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 5d

I recall the Chief Justice saying there’s an “equal sovereignty” principle in the constitution (which he made up) that rejects categorically singling out states for differential treatment by the federal government.

Peter Sagal @petersagal.bsky.social · 5d

You may have heard my arguments against the Electoral College before. Here’s a new one the Founders never anticipated:

If the President is elected by popular vote, he probably wouldn’t selectively punish entire states for voting against him.

OPB @opb.org · 5d

Oregon is set to lose an additional $400 million in federal grants awarded for climate action and is among more than a dozen Democratic states losing federal funding after the Trump administration terminated nearly $8 billion for those states this week.

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Melissa Ryan @melissaryan.bsky.social · 5d

I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...

ICE Agents Rappel from Helicopter in Overnight Chicago Raid, Dragging Kids from Beds to U-Hauls

Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30, federal agents from different agencies raided an apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, pulling men, women and children — some of them allegedly naked — from ...

people.com

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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 5d

"The Supreme Court has been clear that Congress can set conditions on federal funds so long as the requirements are constitutional, clearly stated, related to the purpose of the program and not unduly coercive. Mr. Trump’s compact fails every part of that test."

Brendan Cantwell @cantb.bsky.social · 5d

Here’s a legal analysis that argues The Compact is extortion

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

www.nytimes.com

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ocasio-cortez.house.gov · 5d

I am sickened by today’s attack in Manchester. Antisemitism is on the rise around the world, and we must do all we can to stomp it out. I am grateful to first responders and congregants who showed incredible bravery, and I am praying for those who were killed.

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Daniel Laurison @daniellaurison.bsky.social · 5d

This is good and right.

(Nobody needs to remind me that other stuff Newsom does is bad, okay?)

Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 5d

IF ANY CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY SIGNS THIS RADICAL AGREEMENT, THEY'LL LOSE BILLIONS IN STATE FUNDING — INCLUDING CAL GRANTS — INSTANTLY.

CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM.

New York Times: "Trump Administration Asks Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Get Funding Preference."

The White House asked nine top universities to pledge support for President Trump’s agenda to help ensure access to research funding.

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