Thirty years into the great charter experiment, the question of just how public these schools are remains unresolved. We’re joined by Wagma Mommandi and Kevin Welner, author of a new book on how charter schools control access and shape enrollment. Mommandi, a former Washington DC public school teacher, and Welner, who directs the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, make the case that charter advocates and policy makers have consistently tilted the rules that govern charter schools towards privateness. That has major implications for equity as we move towards a system where schools choose students.

And in our In the Weeds segment for Patreon subscribers, we discuss a hot new charter school trend and a very old cause: patriotic education and the dream of reengineering youngsters to be little conservatives. Subscribe on Patreon to join the fun. https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast