From Midterm Wins to Weathering a Mounting Storm: Policymakers Must Put Families, Not Politics, at the Center of 2023 Legislative Agendas

With the 2022 midterm elections behind us and 2023 state legislative sessions ahead, policymakers must shift their time and attention from winning reelection to addressing the perfect storm brewing in education. Three significant challenges paint a grim picture for students and public schools unless policymakers step in to help: catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic impacts on learning, declining enrollment, and looming fiscal cliffs. This brief offers ideas for state leaders as they address the interrelated educational challenges facing schools right now. The brief highlights Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona. These states, ranging from blue to red to purple, provide lessons that can be instructive for policymakers in almost any state. Each state demands different policy solutions, but all should aim to put family empowerment, not politics, at the center of their legislative agendas.