A Podcast about two accidental education advocates, what they've learned and how you can get involved in making your corner of the world a better place, whether you have one minute or one hour.
Renee and Susan discuss what bills made (and didn't make) crossover, and how this represents a full-circle moment in their advocacy journeys. Notes: https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/h636
Show Notes: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-statements-on-autism https://autisticadvocacy.org/2025/04/leading-autism-organizations-release-joint-statement-on-upholding-scientific-integrity-and-supporting-the-autism-community/ https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/euthanasia-program https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2025/04/22/autism-what-to-know https://ejanc.org/2025/04/why-new-school-discipline-executive-order-should-be-ignored/ https://www.jacksonlewis.com/insights/does-employer-disparate-impact-liability-still-exist-latest-eo-pushes-eliminate-it
Renee and Susan talk about why everything in the NC government seems both expensive and poorly run. (Hint: it's the legislature. It's always the legislature).
Susan and Renee welcome a special guest to give us the scoop on SEL: what it means, what it looks like in schools, and why it makes extremists mad.
Susan and Renee talk about party politics (again) and the kind of fight they're looking for in party leaders.
Susan talks about the latest threats to 504 and Renee highlights our Trans kids as well as our school boards actions.
Susan gives a breakdown of the Public School's Forum annual Eggs and Issues Event. Renee gives tips to help us all deal with the overwhelm of bad bills hitting us all at the same time. Show Notes: https://www.ncforum.org/
Renee and Susan discuss what you can do to stay motivated when it comes to advocacy.
Renee and Susan celebrate the holidays with an episode about what's been making them think and bringing them joy recently. Books: Author Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice; and The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs Author Colson Whitehead The Underground Railroad Show: Star Trek Discovery, Severance Check out your Local Library and Indie Bookstores: In Raleigh, check out Quail Ridge Books, Trans Artist: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MadeByMaxDesigns
Susan and Renee review over some ideas for getting started as an Every Day Advocate.
Renee and Susan process the 2024 election.
Renee talks about how a right-wing candidate engineered a controversy at the school board to make herself a free campaign ad.
Renee and Susan discuss a variety of news/issues that have popped up, including the North Carolina legislature's determination to expand vouchers, the recovery from Hurricane Helene, the bad proposed Constitutional amendment on our ballot, and new (and, it turns out) highly orchestrated attacks on our public schools and trans kids. For the show notes: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/us/politics/trump-republican-transgender-ads.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2024/trans-sports-girls-florida-bans/
Susan and Renee discuss what it means when candidates talk about “school safety.”
Renee and Susan talk about the important of judicial races this year.
Susan and Renee discuss the Republican plan for federal education policy.
Susan and Renee look at Oklahoma and Louisiana and discuss the trend of religious instruction in public education as well as the changes in Title IX. https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/we-fact-checked-what-oklahoma-law-says-about-teaching-the-bible-in-schools/ https://nondoc.com/2024/07/22/some-okc-metro-school-districts-spurn-ryan-walters-bible-directive-others-hesitant/ https://abcnews.go.com/US/enforcement-louisianas-ten-commandment-classroom-requirement-put-pause/story?id=112112612#:~:text=Louisiana's%20new%20law%20requiring%20all,legal%20battle%20over%20the%20policy. https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-final-title-ix-regulations-providing-vital-protections-against-sex-discrimination
Renee and Susan discuss two of the most pressing budget items waiting on approval. While there was a little put forth for child care after the recording, the lack of a long term plan remains. https://www.wral.com/story/nc-lawmakers-rushed-dozens-of-bills-over-the-finish-line-what-s-next-for-the-high-profile-efforts-that-failed/21501173/ https://www.wral.com/story/nc-house-lawmakers-pass-67m-in-stopgap-funding-to-stave-off-child-care-cliff/21499071/
Susan and Renee talk about non-profits and the press handling of extremists.
Renee and Susan revisit the ongoing efforts to ban books in school and local libraries.
Susan and Renee discuss how meaningful and important it is when all different kinds of people are involved in advocacy and leadership.
Renee and Susan discuss the final report of this year's Futurama Committee (spoiler alert: there's a lot of "we should think about" and almost no "we should do" in the report). Show notes: Committee report: 86920 (ncleg.gov)
Helpful tips for neurodivergent advocates. Susan talks about her personal experiences as a neurodivergent person in education advocacy and together, Renee and Susan talk about how everyone can do something in the work. Resources: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S5eipnnnSSIHGbUvdTEFqIrWiETFdD_o/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111501771460639390946&rtpof=true&sd=true
Susan and Renee discuss common tropes used around public education.
Susan and Renee sound the alarm (again) over Michele Morrow, the extremist running for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction. Show notes: https://saynotoextremistso.wixsite.com/my-site-1
Renee and Susan review the most recent developments in the Leandro case, why none of it is ok and why we're still hopeful and determined anyway. Show notes: Video of the February 22 rally: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32uHt16uX_8 Roundup of press coverage of the Leandro hearing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C6If03hz7vkVGZqXygZHULAgpzXB_UUxaJlJ8cMgqmg/edit
Susan and Renee talk about what to expect in the upcoming legislative short session, what happened at the most recent meeting of the Futurama Committee, and what's at stake in the primary elections. Show notes: https://www.ncleg.gov/Committees/CommitteeInfo/HouseSelect/218/Documents/17303
Susan and Renee discuss two issues in the news: the return of the Futurama Committee, and the debacle in Durham public schools. Links to the documents considered by the Futurama Commitee: https://ncleg.gov/Committees/CommitteeInfo/HouseSelect/218/Documents/
Susan fills us in on a glimmer of hope for one type of school funding, where the legislature may actually be considering making things better. Article that inspired this episode: https://www.wunc.org/education/2024-01-08/state-education-officials-recommend-changes-to-special-education-funding-services?fbclid=IwAR2cLQMP4vYjHAy9a-vkxz4S6Bv6zWl8QCsKnWRDjSeUAv7a1CQSCx5o7ls Postcard event: https://www.facebook.com/events/775929144577012/?ti=ls And don't forget to vote for us in the Maggy awards! https://www.carymagazine.com/features/vote-now-for-the-maggy-awards/
Renee and Susan talk about what's coming in 2024 and what they think voters should look out for.
Renee and Susan break down the year in education.
Susan and Renee welcome special guest Sarah Montgomery for a discussion of the importance of working in coalition. Resources: www.everychildnc.org
Susan and Renee discuss the importance of local press and provide some tips and how-tos for handling the press and writing Letters to the Editor.
Susan and Renee do a deep dive on the ties between the state lottery and education funding. Show links: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/12/1148167357/lottery-money-state-by-state-mega-millions-powerball https://themissouritimes.com/press-release-floor-leader-john-j-diehl-jr-proposes-putting-state-lottery-back-ballot-calls-games-dishonest-way-fund-public-education/ https://publicschoolsfirstnc.org/resources/fact-sheets/the-facts-on-the-nc-education-lottery/ https://youtu.be/9PK-netuhHA?si=RfoOu5Uw5AV46vkS
Susan and Renee dive into the deep need for school construction bond in NC, and what's happened to previous efforts to pass one. 5 Year School Facilities Needs Report: https://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/news/education/2021/08/31/19852081/2109_BSOP_8_FNS_2020_Report_FINAL_-_2021-08-25_2755693hvsgnrblescr15gd3kacqoz-DMID1-5s26byplt.pdf Every Child webinar: Cracks in the Foundation: Facing NC's Public School Infrastructure Crisis. https://fb.me/e/53rSGIXFP
Susan and Renee break down S49, what it does and doesn't include, and what to look for as schools try to make sense of it all. Links: https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/Senate/PDF/S49v4.pdf https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/school-leaders-want-delay-implementing-parents-bill-of-rights-requirements/ https://www.wunc.org/education/2023-10-04/nc-board-of-education-schools-parents-bill-of-rights-pronouns https://www.wfae.org/education/2023-08-23/cms-response-to-nc-parents-rights-bill-sparks-praise-and-calls-for-defiance
Susan and Renee share five action items to help determine which candidates are untrustworthy. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/09/party-flippers-democrats-becoming-republicans-00110334
Info about accessible voting: Accessible Voting - DRNC (disabilityrightsnc.org) Info about anti-voter bills: 5 Things to Know About This Week in North Carolina Politics (Aug. 28, 2023) - YouTube Voter ID Info: Voter ID — You Can Vote
Susan and Renee celebrate their 50th episode with a discussion of how civility is weaponized to stop discourse and to protect bad actors.
Renee and Susan highlight some education news coming from outside of NC, but that reflect trends we're either seeing here to expect to see soon. Links: Lawsuit aims to halt opening of St. Isidore, a Catholic charter school - The Washington Post PragerU's whitewashing of Frederick Douglass is exactly how you indoctrinate children with falsehoods about Black history - TheGrio
Everyone needs a break once in a while, so Susan and Renee talk about the books, tv shows and podcasts that we use when we want some mental downtime. Books Jesus and John Wayne: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books One Nation Under God: One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945, Revised Edition (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books Worm Loves Worm: Worm Loves Worm (Hardcover) | Quail Ridge Books Birchers: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right (Hardcover) | Quail Ridge Books A Libertarian Walks into A Bear: A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears) (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books Class Mom Class Mom: A Novel (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books Television Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Try for Free (paramountplus.com) Crime Scene Kitchen: Crime Scene Kitchen - Watch on FOX Podcasts Two Sides of the Spectrum on Apple Podcasts Bag Man: A Rachel Maddow podcast from MSNBC Maintenance Phase
Susan and Renee discuss why just showing up can make a big difference.
In Part 4 of our series on privatization, Susan and Renee take on the idea of "competition" and why it can't work when applied to education. Plus, show notes, for once! Contact information for House Members, downloadable in Excel: House Member Information - North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov) Contact Information for Senate Members, downloadable to Excel: Senate Master Directory - North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov) The Book Susan mentions: The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back (Paperback) | Quail Ridge Books
Our series on vouchers continues with an exploration of the very different meaning of “accountability” applied to private schools as opposed to public schools.
In part 2 of our series on vouchers, Renee and Susan discuss why “school choice” really isn't for most families.
Renee and Susan kick off a series of episodes diving into private school vouchers.
Susan and Renee welcome guest Kris Nordstrom to talk about the (very bad) school funding overhaul bill filed by the GOP. Read Kris' report on the bill here: https://www.ncjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Senate-Bill-670-Policy-Brief-4-13-23.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f029d843-21dd-4fab-bb4a-3b514812d240
Susan and Renee discuss the House Budget which has more re-runs than late-night cable.
Renee and Susan provide an overview of the themes emerging at the General Assembly this year.
Renee and Susan talk about the toll that fighting against an endless stream of bad bills can take, and provide tip on how to stay ready to fight.
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