PEP (Public Education Policy) Talk: An AASA Podcast

PEP Talk Episode 39: How Do YOU Advocate?

On this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant interviews superintendents from around the country about how they advocate for public education not only for their schools, but also for their communities and families, and asks if they have advice for others looking to get involved.

The featured superintendents are:

• Wendy Birhanzel, superintendent, Harrison School District Two, CO
• Quintin Shepherd, superintendent, Pflugerville Independent School District, TX
• Sharonica Hardin-Bartley, superintendent, University City School District, MO
• Stephanie Burroughs, assistant superintendent, Foxborough Public School District, MA

PEP Talk Episode 38: The K-12 Cases in the Supreme Court

What’s at stake for K-12 schools at the U.S. Supreme Court? Kat Sturdevant interviews Sonja Trainor, executive director of the National School Attorneys Association, to break down the key education cases on the docket and what they could mean for educators, students, and school leaders across the country.

PEP Talk Episode 37: How Medicaid Cuts Will Harm Students & Schools Report

On this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant is joined by Jessie Mandle, National Program Director of the Healthy Schools Campaign, to deep dive the Campaign's new report about how Medicaid cuts will significantly affect schools and students (released in partnership with AASA).

The report, How Medicaid Cuts Will Harm Students & Schools, can be found here.

The resource Jessie mentioned from the Georgetown Center for Children and Families on Medicaid/CHIP Coverage by School Districts, 2019-2023 can be found here.

PEP Talk Episode 36: School Voucher Update 2025

On this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant gets a much anticipated update from Sasha Pudelski, AASA's Director of Advocacy on where the school voucher movement currently stands in the 119th Congress, U.S. Department of Education, and beyond in a new year and a new administration.

PEP Talk Episode 35: The Cost of Divisive Conflict on School Districts and Superintendents

On this episode of PEP Talk: Noelle Ellerson Ng interviews Dr. Rachel S. White, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas at Austin College of Education about a new report from The Superintendent Lab about the cost of divisive conflicts and and how school districts and superintendents are affected.

The Superintendent Lab was founded by Dr. White and her report can be found here. Featured blog post on The Leading Edge Blog about this report can be found here.

PEP Talk Episode 34: The E-Rate Saga

On this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant gets into the weeds on the current saga of the FCC's Universal Service Fund and E-Rate with Jon Bernstein, an education technology and telecommunications lobbyist and president of Bernstein Strategy Group.

You can read EdLiNC's letters to the 5th Circuit Court here and the ruling here.

PEP Talk Episode 33: Education in the 2024 Election

On this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant deep dives the role of education in the 2024 presidential election with Jonathan Voss, partner at Lake Research Partners, a national public opinion and political strategy research firm.

PEP Talk Episode 32: School District Spending of American Rescue Plan Funding Report

On this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant discusses the newest edition of the American Rescue Plan Report with Sasha Pudelski, Director of Advocacy at AASA, just in time for the ESSER obligation deadline.

 

You can check out the full report here.

Check out our blog post on the report here.

PEP Talk Episode 31: The 2024 Title IX Regulations

On this episode of PEP Talk: Kat Sturdevant interviews Holly McIntush, partner at Thompson & Horton LLP and Jackie Gharapour Wernz, partner at ECR Solutions LLC, two powerhouse Title IX experts about the recently released Title IX regulations. They cover everything from the changes since 2020, implementation, and litigations popping up in states.

You can find excellent Title IX resources from AASA here.

You can also check out blog posts written by Jackie Wernz on the "Civil Rights Insights" blog here and here.

You can register for the Thompson & Horton webinar series on Title IX here.

PEP Talk Episode 30: The New Nutrition Regulations

On this episode of PEP Talk, Kat Sturdevant welcomes back Tara Thomas, AASA policy analyst, to discuss the changes and updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the school nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

You can read our companion blog summary here.