Neoliberalism and Special Interest Groups in K–12 Education: A Case Study of State-Level Policy Development

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Discourse Analyses of Market-Based Education Reforms

Abstract

State-level education reform is driven by budgets and is often framed as a move toward neoliberal policies that fundamentally alter public education. The past decades have resulted in changes that increasingly model business sector practices and move education to private markets. This case study seeks to understand how special interest groups influence state-level K-12 policy through support or resistance. Three-hundred-fifty-eight pieces of written testimony and 16 interviews with key policy actors were analyzed. Findings align with public choice theorem that majority voter opinion outweighs evidence-based policymaking. In this case, one elected official was able to subvert governance norms to achieve neoliberal policy preferences. However, public perception of local control and constitutional rights may guard against further erosion of state-funded education.

Author

• Katie Lynn Allen, McRel International