ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Doug Tuthill
Doug Tuthill, a pivotal leader in educational innovation with over four decades of experience, expanded Step Up For Students from 9,000 to over 500,000 students as its President. Now serving as Chief Vision Officer, he continues to advocate for equitable educational opportunities through customized instruction. Doug's background as a teacher and union leader, combined with his dynamic public policy contributions, drives systemic change in public education.

My background story
Doug Tuthill is a nationally recognized leader in the field of educational innovation and education choice, with a career spanning more than four decades. As the President of Step Up For Students, a Florida nonprofit organization that administers state-approved scholarship programs, Doug has been at the forefront of providing equitable educational opportunities to millions of students. Under his leadership, Step Up For Students grew from serving 9,000 students to over 500,000 and has become the nation’s most impactful scholarship organizations. Doug recently stepped down as the Step Up President to assume the Chief Vision Officer position.
What I did before joining Step Up For Students
Doug began his career as a classroom teacher and teacher union leader, where he developed a deep commitment to improving student outcomes and addressing systemic inequalities. His passion for empowering families and communities through public education led him to become a leader in education reform and advocacy. Throughout his career, Doug has emphasized collaboration, innovation, and data-driven solutions to expand access to high-quality educational options.
What do I do on my day off?
A dynamic speaker and thought leader, Doug is a frequent contributor to national public policy discussions with a focus on public education’s current transition to more customized instruction. A transition Doug refers to as public education’s third era. His work has inspired educators, policymakers, and advocates to reimagine how public education can meet the diverse needs of every student.
Doug holds a master’s degree in education and has served on numerous boards and advisory councils dedicated to increasing equal opportunity in public education. His visionary leadership continues to transform the landscape of public education, helping ensure that all children have the opportunity to thrive.
How to reach out?
Doug can be reached at dtuthill@sufs.org.
01/25/25 | Doug Tuthill
ESAs and transactional friction in public education’s third era
In its third era, public education aspires to expand equal opportunity by helping families and educators provide every student with an effective and efficient customized education through an effective and...
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11/06/24 | Doug Tuthill
Trust but verify is key to scaling parental empowerment and customized instruction in public education
For the past 175 years, U.S. public education has been a government monopoly utilizing a one-size-fits-all approach to educating students. Educators know each student is unique, and many are poorly...
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09/16/24 | Doug Tuthill
Social engineering, ESAs, and the public education market
Governments engage in social engineering when they create policies and programs to influence (i.e., govern) their citizens’ behavior. All governing, including public education, is an act of social engineering. How...
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09/11/24 | Doug Tuthill
Public education is transitioning from its second to third paradigm
Public education is in the early stages of transitioning from its second to third paradigm. In his 1962 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn described an organization’s paradigm...
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08/28/24 | Doug Tuthill
Tribal politics, education choice, and the Constitution
As our country was being formed, states such as Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Virginia adopted state religions that citizens were taxed to fund and expected...
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07/17/24 | Doug Tuthill
Polly Williams’ and Milton Friedman’s approaches to education choice are merging
Milton Friedman first proposed giving families control of their children’s public education dollars in his 1955 essay “The Role of Government in Education.” Friedman argued that the best way to...
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04/15/24 | Doug Tuthill
U.S. public education became more diverse and inclusive in 1925
The Ku Klux Klan helped pass an amendment to the Oregon constitution in 1922 requiring that all students attend Protestant-controlled schools operated by local governments. The primary target of this...
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03/20/23 | Doug Tuthill
podcastED: Step Up For Students President Doug Tuthill talks with New Hampshire education choice pioneer Kate Baker Demers
On this episode, Tuthill interviews Demers, who started the Children’s Scholarship Fund in New Hampshire, and has worked tirelessly as its executive director for the establishment of a tax credit...
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06/21/22 | Doug Tuthill
SUFS president Doug Tuthill on new DeVos book, how the former education secretary exhibits grace under pressure
Former US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released a new book today called Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child. I’ve read...
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01/27/22 | Doug Tuthill
National teacher union leader wants to have a different conversation. Me too.
Editor’s note: This commentary from Step Up For Students president Doug Tuthill explores why education choice advocates are working hard to improve public education. The education news site, The 74,...
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11/10/21 | Doug Tuthill
Word for word: SUFS president on expansion of education choice in Florida
Editor’s note: Step Up For Students president Doug Tuthill appeared last week before the Florida House of Representatives’ Pre-K – 12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee to answer questions about how state...
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04/26/21 | Doug Tuthill
Florida Legislature is normalizing, expanding access to education choice
The Florida House and Senate have sent Gov. Ron DeSantis legislation that will continue normalizing and expanding access to choice in public education. Florida began expanding access to education choice...
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