This is the first in a series of posts I’ll be doing on the elections and their aftermath here in the US. This post focuses on what the elections mean for K-12 education in the US.

The 2018 midterms are over. There are a handful election results where the vote tallies were so close that recounts have been triggered, but we know the broad results. There was, in fact, a blue wave. As of today the Democratic party has flipped the House, with a net gain of at least 32 seats; while the Republican party held the senate having gained a net of one seat. Democrats flipped seven governors’ houses as well as some state legislatures.

Now, granted, education was not on the top of voters’ minds when they cast their ballots on November 6th. It was Healthcare, the economy, immigration and gun policy. However, the election results will have an impact on education. What do the results mean for US education policy?

Federal oversight and state level policy

House control means committee chairpersonships for the Democrats and renewed oversight of Secretary Devos’ Department of Education. While no new legislation is likely, the House Committee on Education can call hearings on the implementation of ESSA, which “may focus on issues such as state implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act; in particular, whether states are fulfilling the law’s obligation to hold schools accountable for the success of all students, including subgroups of students such as racial and ethnic minorities, English language learners, students from low-income households, and students with disabilities.” (Source: Brown Center, Brookings Institution)

In states where the Democratic party flipped governor houses and there is unified control of the legislature there may be a push to increase funding for K-12 education and/or revisiting how the ESSA is being implemented; especially the states’ accountability plans. Notable among these is Governor-elect Tony Evers in Wisconsin “the three-term Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction … [who] beat incumbent Gov. Scott Walker (R) with a message of increased investment in education. Even prior to his victory, Evers’ entrance into the race forced Walker to defend his education record, and the race became about who would truly be the better pro-education governor.” (Source: Center for American Progress)

Education and educators on the ballot

An important part of these elections was the number of former teachers, educators and administrators who ran for office. There was perhaps an expectation within the education sector that the high energy protests and walkouts in West Virginia and elsewhere earlier this year, as well as the number of teachers running for office would raise the profile of education and lead to educators as well as education related ballot initiatives winning.

The results were mixed. According to Edweek approximately 170 teachers ran for state-wide office and approximately 40 made it through primaries and went on to win in the general elections. The highest profile were Tony Evers (Governor-elect, Wisconsin) and Jahana Hayes (Congresswoman-elect, Connecticut 5th).

Finally, 11 out of 15 ballot initiatives which proposed a straight increase in state funding for K-12 education passed. This will add $884 million in state revenue to public education in Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico and Rhode Island in 2019-20. Further funds (as yet undisclosed amounts) to come from Montana or in later fiscal years in Maryland and Georgia. Four fund-based ballot initiatives lost in Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah; two of these in states (Colorado and Oklahoma) where earlier in the year there had been celebrated collective action by teachers against insufficient state funding for education.

(Source: Center for American Progress).