ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Doug Tuthill
My background story
What I did before joining Step Up For Students
What do I do on my day off?
How to reach out?
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...
READ MORE
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...
READ MORE
09/04/24 | Doug Tuthill
Education choice helps improve our civic culture
Education choice critics often assert that allowing families to choose the best learning environments for their children undermines our civic culture. They say our democracy is strengthened when children...
READ MORE
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...
READ MORE
08/23/24 | Doug Tuthill
Legendary ed choice advocate Jack Coons celebrates a milestone
Editor’s note: Our friend, John E.Coons, has been a regular contributor over the years to Step Up For Students policy blogs. Shortly after the 2021 release of his latest book,...
READ MORE
08/19/24 | Doug Tuthill
From school districts to education districts
The expanding number of states making flexible spending accounts (ESAs) accessible to their public education students is accelerating the transition from school choice to education choice as families spend their...
READ MORE
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...
READ MORE
07/11/24 | Doug Tuthill
Low-income students benefit when states give all students access to ESAs
In the spring of 2023, the Florida Legislature and governor made ESAs accessible to all K-12 students. (Accessible means the state government provided funding for the number of students it...
READ MORE
04/22/24 | Doug Tuthill
Education Choice and Learning by Doing
After we finished recording an interview about homeschool families using state funds to pay for educational activities at Florida theme parks, a TV reporter told me her most interesting day...
READ MORE
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...
READ MORE
02/06/24 | Doug Tuthill
The transition to the third era of US public education has begun
U.S. public education has had three primary eras. The first era reflected the needs of a sparsely populated rural agrarian society. Most children were homeschooled and literacy focused primarily on...
READ MORE
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...
READ MORE
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...
READ MORE
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,...
READ MORE
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...
READ MORE
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...
READ MORE
03/02/21 | Doug Tuthill
Florida Legislature heads into historic session
The 175-year-old Florida Legislature, which turns 176 on May 26, reconvenes today for its annual 60-day legislative session. The largest global pandemic since 1918 has played havoc with the state’s...
READ MORE
02/17/21 | Doug Tuthill
Further evidence that Florida’s lower-income students will benefit from access to ESAs
There are many important policy improvements in Florida Senate Bill 48, the innovative education choice legislation sponsored by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr. that is receiving so much national attention. But...
READ MORE
01/25/21 | Doug Tuthill
Much to celebrate in Florida as school choice is recognized nationwide
National School Choice Week kicked off Sunday and will continue through this Saturday. This year’s celebration is especially meaningful for Step Up For Students given it coincides with our 20th...
READ MORE
