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Two veteran Democratic education advocates announced a new public school think tank and action fund this week aimed at making inroads in four Southern states. But the outfit may face an uphill battle in states like Alabama and Tennessee, where Republican supermajorities have backed privatization efforts in recent years.
The Center for Strong Public Schools Action fund will back center-left candidates in Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Tennessee, in addition to investing at the legislative policy level with its think tank arm. Former Georgia state lawmaker Alisha Thomas Searcy and Texas education advocate Garry Jones co-founded the group.
Searcy said last week they narrowed their focus to four states where “both the threats to undermine public education and the opportunities to strengthen it are greatest.”
The initiative comes as Democrats have struggled to define their education policy agenda after the erosion of what had been a bipartisan consensus around public school choice and rigorous school accountability policies. Republicans have leveraged parental frustration with COVID-related school closures and conservative backlash to more inclusive curriculum to advance private school choice policies. At the same time, Democratic politicians have backed away from education reform and charter schools.