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Rachel M. Perera

@rachelmarisa.bsky.social
2K followers 948 following 557 posts

👩🏽‍💻 Research & write about k-12 ed policy @ Brookings 💖 Stationery, books, coffee, & reality tv 🏆 Once voted best penmanship

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Reposted by Rachel M. Perera
Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
stop treating the culture wars as an exogenous shock. political actors made strategic choices to create and weaponize them. they are not a curious weather condition public schools failed to dress appropriately for.
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Benjamin Riley @benjaminjriley.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Tool of cognitive automation working exactly as intended.
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Department officials also said that laying off half of ED's civil rights staff wouldn't impact civil rights enforcement & we now know that wasn't true. In 2025, ED's OCR resolved 90% of complaints it received by simply dismissing them & resolved only 112 pending civil rights cases (a record low).
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Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
An outstanding, comprehensive rebuke of AI mania in K-12 by @winterjessica.bsky.social that rounds out by highlighting the growing coalition of parents, educators, and other concerned humans that is working fast and hard to tamp it down.
newyorker.com
What Will It Take to Get A.I. Out of Schools?
“I find myself speaking with my kids about A.I. in the same terms that we might discuss a creepy neighbor who lives down the block,” Jessica Winter writes. Read her report on the push for A.I. in educ...
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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Reflecting on #AEFP2026: @dbassok.bsky.social, Michal & I talk about the amazing work the @aefpweb.bsky.social community is doing 💗 Many thanks to the @brookings.edu team, especially Jon Valant, @rachelmarisa.bsky.social & Mike Hansen for helpful feedback. www.brookings.edu/articles/reb...
brookings.edu
Rebuilding IES to amplify the impact of education research on student outcomes | Brookings
Leaders of AEFP discuss the state of education policy research and the future of the Institute of Education Sciences.
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
"How convenient, then, that the things that make us feel better are all conservative staples! Brooks, Inc., may have changed its advertising, but it has not quite abandoned its old politics." BINGO www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
How to Measure the Good Life
In a new book, the conservative pundit Arthur C. Brooks offers tips to “young strivers” on maximizing their daily meaning quotient.
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Katharine Meyer @katharinemeyer.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
These pieces add to our "Why we have and need a Department of Education" project, where we've been examining the role of ED in a time of heightened scrutiny and politicization of the department and federal role in education: www.brookings.edu/collection/w...
brookings.edu
Why we have and need a US Department of Education | Brookings
This series considers what the U.S. Department of Education does to shape education policy and practice in the United States.
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Katharine Meyer @katharinemeyer.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I took a look at how higher ed has been shaped by funding cuts and uncertainty - "A coordinated retreat from college access: What TRIO and GEAR UP cuts reveal" www.brookings.edu/articles/a-c...
brookings.edu
A coordinated retreat from college access: What TRIO and GEAR UP cuts reveal | Brookings
Katharine Meyer discusses how TRIO and GEAR UP programs have been impacted by the first year of the Trump administration.
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Katharine Meyer @katharinemeyer.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Checking in on the Department of Education - a year(ish) into the second Trump administration and ahead of SOTU tomorrow, we looked back at what has happened to ED and what you might expect in the year ahead www.brookings.edu/articles/faq...
brookings.edu
FAQs: Checking in on the Department of Education | Brookings
A year into the second Trump administration, Brown Center scholars offer a check-in on the Department of Education—what has happened and what might lie ahead.
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
In a new Brookings piece, I wrote about how the US Department of Education has turned civil rights enforcement into a tool to promote segregation and discrimination. www.brookings.edu/articles/how...
brookings.edu
How the US Department of Education has turned civil rights enforcement into a discriminatory tool | Brookings
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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
FAQs: Checking in on the Department of Education via @brookings.edu www.brookings.edu/articles/faq...
brookings.edu
FAQs: Checking in on the Department of Education | Brookings
A year into the second Trump administration, Brown Center scholars offer a check-in on the Department of Education—what has happened and what might lie ahead.
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
the idea that early grade suspensions are an effective way to "control" the behavior of 5- 7 year olds is absurd. children's brains are not wired to consider the potential threat of suspension before deciding whether to misbehave, undermining the idea of suspensions as an effective deterrent
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
I wrote about Yglesias “defending liberalism” by joining a right wing moral panic over critical race theory. His vision of liberalism has room for bigots, but no room for scholars concerned about structural racism.
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
this overview by @kedseconomist.com of the Larry Summers of it all is very good. I knew most of this but this tidbit floored me... Ken Arrows, as is in the Ken Arrows who developed what is arguably one of the most racist concepts in economics (statistical discrimination), is Summers' uncle?!!
screenshot that reads: Summers got his undergraduate degree in economics from MIT in 1975, where his Nobel-prize winning uncle Paul Samuelson was on faculty (Samuelson was awarded the prize in 1970).

Summers got his graduate degree in economics from Harvard in 1982, where his other Nobel-prize winning uncle Ken Arrow was on faculty (Samuelson was awarded the prize in 1972 and left Harvard for Stanford before Larry finished his degree).
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
New at Can We Still Govern: The IRS is a key agency and its decline is emblematic of Trump-era mismanagement. @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social & Eliis Chen lay out the questions that Democrats should be asking its new leader. Incredibly informative piece. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/five-quest...
donmoynihan.substack.com
Five Questions for IRS CEO Frank Bisignano
The IRS has a new leader – maybe he can tell us whats happening
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Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
New evidence on how ICE is affecting student learning drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJY…
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Michael W. Kraus @mwkraus.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
We are doing a pilot survey about how prospective PhD students in PSYCHOLOGY make decisions about applying to grad programs. If you are thinking of applying to a program in the future, and have 2-5 minutes to spare, could you take this survey? 🫶 northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
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Ilana Horn @ilanahorn.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
[GIFT LINK] Lots of folks are sharing this incisive commentary from @tressiemcphd.bsky.social on the Nazi tattoo candidate and the Democrats' insistence that we have to tolerate a smidge of racism to appeal to the working class. She, of course takes, that apart. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | A Nazi Tattoo Exposes Democrats’ Greatest Weakness
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
For context, 87% of school-aged kids are enrolled in public schools in the US.* (* a statistic we only know because of work the US Dept of ED used to do to collect vital data on our nation's schools)
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Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Those influencing Trump education policy aren't shy about wanting to eradicate public schools. Asked what % of kids she imagines should be in public schools, Tiffany Justice -- Moms for Liberty cofounder, now with Heritage Foundation -- told @propublica.org “I hope zero. I hope to get to zero.”
propublica.org
These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.
Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...
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ACLU @aclu.org · 29/09/2025
Becky Pepper-Jackson is the only transgender girl in school sports in the entire state of West Virginia. Soon, she'll be at the Supreme Court defending the freedom of all trans kids to be themselves on and off the playing field.
aclu.org
What’s at Stake as the Supreme Court Takes Up Transgender Sports Bans | ACLU
How one West Virginia teenager could shape the future of Title IX and civil rights protections for transgender youth.
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
More evidence that the wealthiest communities accrue the most benefits from universal private school choice programs. www.brookings.edu/articles/uni...
brookings.edu
Universal school choice programs mostly benefit the wealthy unless policymakers act to prevent it | Brookings
Authors analyze six states’ universal school choice programs, showing how income rules shape who benefits most.
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Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
the most important thing to remember when you see eugenicists who don’t believe that autistic people should exist rambling about “the autism epidemic” is not that they’re wrong about the “cause” (although they are absolutely wrong about it); it’s that they are eugenicists
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Vanessa Williamson @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Are you a recent IRS civil servant? I would like to interview you! Details below, including my contact info -- or reach out via Bsky!
Vanessa Williamson, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and at the Tax Policy Center, is leading a research project conducting confidential interviews with recent IRS civil servants. The purpose is to create a historical record of first-hand accounts of changes occurring at the Internal Revenue Service in 2025-2026, to gather insights into what impacts to expect from these changes in the next tax season and in years to come, and to preserve the institutional memory that will support federal tax administration in the future. 

Recent IRS civil servants at all levels and in all areas of work are encouraged to participate. 

If you are interested in participating in an interview or would like to learn more about the project, please contact Vanessa Williamson. (Email: vwilliamson@brookings.edu; Signal: VanessaWilliamson.50)
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 15/09/2025
i have said this before but when “getting rid of race in admissions” for the administration means “you can’t even try to reach out to underrepresented communities and encourage them to apply and if you do it is illegal discrimination against white people” then the actual goal here is segregation
thecrimson.com
Harvard Ends Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program as Trump Targets Race in Admissions | News | The Harvard Crimson
By ending the minority recruitment program in May, Harvard shuttered a more than 50-year-old initiative to encourage minority high school students to apply.
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Victor Cadilla @victorcadilla.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
This is a great resource! @rachelmarisa.bsky.social @brookings.edu
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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
“awful people don’t deserve to be killed, but they don’t deserve to be praised, either” is apparently a thought too complex for the pundit mind
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
🚨Our new @brookings.edu data tool tracking ongoing litigation against the Trump admin's K-12 education agenda is now live! The tracker, to be updated monthly, provides up-to-date info on the status of lawsuits challenging Trump's K-12 related executive actions. www.brookings.edu/articles/tra...
brookings.edu
Tracking lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s K-12 education agenda | Brookings
Education scholars track ongoing litigation resulting from the Trump administration’s executive actions related to K-12 education.
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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
This looks really interesting! Also check out the lawsuit tracker - Lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s K-12 education agenda www.brookings.edu/articles/tra...
brookings.edu
Tracking lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s K-12 education agenda | Brookings
Education scholars track ongoing litigation resulting from the Trump administration’s executive actions related to K-12 education.
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Reposted by Rachel M. Perera
Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
please help us spread the word about this mentorship opportunity for writers of color & share it with anyone you think might be interested!
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Join us for an online @brookings.edu event Mon 9/15 @ 4PM, ET to discuss the state of the Trump administration's K-12 education agenda with education & legal scholars & civil rights attorneys. Submit questions in advance via email or the registration form! www.brookings.edu/events/what-...
brookings.edu
What the Trump administration legally can and can’t do to implement its agenda in public schools | Brookings
Join Brookings for an online discussion on litigation challenging the Trump administration’s executive actions related to K-12 education.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
New, from me: America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism. This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
donmoynihan.substack.com
The authoritarian checklist
It is time to admit that America is no longer a functioning democracy
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David Houston @dmhouston.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Fascinating work by Deven Carlson, @t-h-a-d.bsky.social, James Carter, @rachelmarisa.bsky.social, Vitali Radsky, and Andrew McEachin on both the potential of school choice for the purpose of desegregation and the disappointing reality that most school choice systems tend to exacerbate segregation
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
I cannot stop shouting about how much I loved AUGUST LANE by Regina Black. One of my favorite romances I've read this year. (I've been reading a lot of romance novels this year...)
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Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
I bet that reading Andrea Long Chu on Thomas Chatteron Williams will brighten up my day. www.vulture.com/article/post...
vulture.com
Zero Tolerance
Five years after the George Floyd protests, many liberals blame “wokeness” for stifling open debate. So why can’t they handle being disagreed with?
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Columbia and Brown, by settling, have encouraged this tactic. Authoritarians are emboldened by capitulation, and they won't stop until the cost outweighs the benefits.
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
"Higher education policy in the United States is now being developed through ad hoc deals, a mode of regulation that is not only inimical to the ideal of the university as a site of critical thinking but also corrosive to the democratic order and to law itself." balkin.blogspot.com/2025/07/regu...
balkin.blogspot.com
Balkinization: Regulation by Deal Comes to Higher Ed
A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics
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Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
In this piece I specifically call out academics happy with the policy changes mandated by the administration Government coercion can be used in a number of ways - be careful for what you wish for!
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
I think it’s worth noting this piece generated the most unsubscribes I’ve seen in a while, and the newsletter version had the lowest open rate in many months. These horrors persist in part because too many people go to great pains to avoid them.
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Important piece from @brookings.edu out this AM on what's at stake for the unhoused student population under the president's proposed FY2026 budget. www.brookings.edu/articles/bud...
brookings.edu
Budget cuts threaten federal protections for homeless students | Brookings
Over 1.4 million homeless students rely on federal protections that could disappear under the president’s proposed budget.
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Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Whose fault is it that race and ethnicity are inseparable from socioeconomic status, conservative group?
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Emily Moin @emilymoin.com · 18/07/2025
These are some of the most odious people alive.
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
So-called colorblind policy was used by conservatives (with lots of liberal support) to ensure that the racial make-up of America power barely changed following the Civil Rights Movement. Now, when colorblind policy is used to promote equality they drop the ruse in favor of open segregation.
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Brookings Institution @brookings.edu · 15/07/2025
"At a time when schools are in dire need of more resources and support, the Court has added only more challenges to their plate," says @rachelmarisa.bsky.social. Experts on education law and policy share their reactions to some of the Supreme Court’s decisions this term.
brookings.edu
Legal experts weigh in on the implications of the 2025 Supreme Court term for K-12 education | Brookings
Brookings scholars focusing on education policy explore the legal implications of the Supreme Court's 2025 term.
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Lauren Bauer @laurenhlb.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
I think it's fair to say that Department of Education expenditures are off-track. #ED
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Rachel M. Perera @rachelmarisa.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
It is wild to sign this dissent with "respectfully"
When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it. Two lower courts rose to the occasion, preliminarily enjoining the mass firings while the litigation remains ongoing. Rather than maintain the status quo, however, this Court
now intervenes, lifting the injunction and permitting the Government to proceed with dismantling the Department. That decision is indefensible. It hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out. The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naive, but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave. Unable
to join in this misuse of our emergency docket, I respectfully
dissent.
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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
The president can't close down ED by fiat but Congress and SCOTUS sure can facilitate it
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 14/07/2025
Breaking News: The Supreme Court agreed to allow the Trump administration to proceed with dismantling the Education Department by firing thousands of workers.
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Supreme Court Clears the Way for Trump’s Cuts to the Education Department
Lawyers for the Trump administration had asked the justices to block a lower court order that directed officials to reinstate thousands of fired employees.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 14/07/2025
In an unsigned order (with no explanation at all), the Supreme Court majority in effect overturns the Department of Education Organization Act, a law passed in 1979. Justice Sotomayor writes a long dissent, but doesn't violate the taboo of never attacking the majority for partisanship or corruption.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Here we go again: Over an acerbic dissenting opinion by Justice Sotomayor (joined in full by Justices Kagan and Jackson), #SCOTUS, with no explanation, grants a stay in the Department of Education RIFs case—effectively clearing the way for the Trump administration to dismantle much of the agency:
supremecourt.gov
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