by Laura McKenna
The Atlantic
November 21, 2016
Many eyes have been on Trump Tower as the president-elect and his transition team have started to select key cabinet positions. Effectively shutting down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan during these deliberations, the team is making decisions that will shape wide-ranging policies, on everything from immigration to trade, in the coming years.
For people like myself who are closely monitoring what the future will look like for schools, the locus of attention is not on Trump Tower, but on the state capitals, which have the greatest power over America’s classrooms. Like the upheaval that happened with the national election, the states had somewhat of their own shake up this November, with Republicans winning a record number of legislative spots—and a historic high for governorships—in what some have described as a “bloodbath.”
Beginning in January 2017, Republicans will control two-thirds of the state legislative chambers, an all-time high. The GOP will control both legislative chambers in 32 states, another all-time high; the same is true for Democrats in just 13 states. Republicans will hold 33 governorships for the first time in 94 years. And 25 states have a Republican trifecta with control of the executive branch and both legislative chambers.
These new state-level Republican leaders will certainly make major decisions about America’s schools in the next few years. Experts predict more school-choice legislation, greater conflict over education funding, and increased challenges to teacher-tenure laws. While Republicans are not a monolithic block—their priorities will vary from state to state—the country can expect to see certain trends unfold over the next few years.
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Trump’s secretary of education—as of Sunday, the former D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee and the Center for Education Reform director Jeanne Allen are reportedly being considered—as well as Pence and Trump himself, will shape schools by using their platform with the national media to reach the country. But the less flashy occupants of the country’s state capitals will have the biggest impact on schools; and with their sweep in November’s elections, Americans can expect some major shifts in policy.
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