Freedom to Learn

By Ginny Gentles

Season 2 of the Freedom to Learn podcast makes the urgent case for returning education to states, communities, and families. In Washington, President Trump is challenging partisan teacher unions an

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FAQs about Freedom to Learn:

How many episodes does Freedom to Learn have?

The podcast currently has 82 episodes available.

Freedom to Learn episodes:

January 08, 2026Jackie Guglielmo on Tax Credit Scholarships, Scholarship Granting Organizations, & Supercharging Education Freedom Nationwide
In the first Freedom to Learn episode of 2026, Jackie Guglielmo, Vice President of Services at ACE Scholarships, explains how the federal scholarship tax credit (FSTC) will “supercharge” education freedom across the country. Jackie describes how scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) and tax credit scholarship programs work, and shares how families' lives have been changed by access to the right educational environment. We delve into the details of the federal scholarship tax credit – what it is, how it works, the opt-in process for governors, key questions facing the Treasury Department as rulemaking begins, and how experienced organizations like ACE are preparing to scale responsibly while prioritizing the needs of low-income students.

Federal Tax Credit for Scholarships
DFER Data Projects Potential $24 Billion Boost for Students

🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
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30min
December 18, 2025Darla Romfo on Putting Kids First, Building a Scholarship Granting Network, & Engaging in Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Rulemaking
In our final Freedom to Learn episode of the year, Darla Romfo, President and CEO of the Children’s Scholarship Fund, joins the podcast to trace the origins of the nation’s most influential privately-funded school choice efforts. Darla recounts how CSF’s founders, Ted Forstmann and John Walton, sparked a national movement by empowering low-income families with educational choice, shifting the policy conversation to focus on expanding opportunities for individual children. She also details the potential impact of the newly-enacted Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, describes its bipartisan support, and explains what effective implementation will require from governors, donors, and scholarship-granting organizations.
🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
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33min
December 11, 2025Lindsey Burke on Returning Education to the States through Interagency Agreements, RIFs, & Bureaucratic Consolidation
Lindsey Burke returns to Freedom to Learn to discuss the Trump administration’s plans to “return education to the states.” Lindsey, who serves as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Programs at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), discusses the Department’s origin story, what it does and does not do, and the pernicious impact of top-down federal influence. She details the administration’s plans to streamline federal bureaucracy, including recently announced inter-agency agreements that shift programs and staff from ED to four federal agencies, and addresses concerns about the impact on students with disabilities.
🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
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26min
December 04, 2025Neal McCluskey & James Shuls on Fighting for the Freedom to Learn: Examining the Nation’s Centuries-Old School Choice Movement
Neal McCluskey and James Shuls join the podcast to discuss their new book, which has a fantastic title: Fighting for the Freedom to Learn: Examining America’s Centuries-Old School Choice Movement. We talk about the true origins of educational freedom, tackle the pernicious myths around school choice and segregation, and touch on the pivotal figures and organizations that have shaped education systems and options in America. From the early days of diverse schooling options (ever heard of dame schools??) to the modern push for educational pluralism, this episode challenges conventional narratives and celebrates the fight for the freedom to learn.
🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
...more
42min
November 27, 2025Re-Release: Senator Ted Cruz on School Choice, the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC), & 529 Plan Expansion
This week on Freedom to Learn, we’re re-releasing a fan favorite: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. He takes us behind the scenes of how the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit became law—and why he’s fought for school choice for decades. We are grateful this Thanksgiving for all our school choice champions and allies!
🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
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22min
November 20, 2025Lauren May on Expanding School Choice, Unbundling Education, & Empowering Parents in Florida
Lauren May, Director of Advocacy at Step Up for Students – the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization (SGO) – joins the podcast this week to dispel education freedom myths, explain how Florida became a national leader in educational choice, and discuss what to expect from the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit. Lauren shares her journey from educator to advocate and describes the evolution of Florida’s school choice landscape, from small scholarship programs launched 25 years ago to universal education savings accounts (ESAs) and other programs serving more than 500,000 students today.
Florida Scholarship Data
Why Catholic Schools Are Growing in Florida: Five Things to Know
Florida’s à la carte learning boom: A special report

🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
...more
34min
November 13, 2025Andy Smarick on an AI Moratorium, Innovation’s Seductive Promises, & Edu-Fads that Harm Students
Will AI revolutionize education or steal students’ opportunity and ability to learn? Andy Smarick, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, worries that AI is a threat to learning, and we’re just letting students outsource their education to AI tools rather than develop essential skills and knowledge. We discuss the education world’s long history of embracing the latest fad, whether it’s whole language instruction, open classrooms, ubiquitous screens, and now AI, and we dig into Andy’s call for a two-year moratorium on AI in both K-12 and higher education.

It’s Time for a Moratorium on AI in Schools
The 4 Crises of American Education: Serious people need to take this seriously
White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools
Preserving a Critical National Asset: America’s Disadvantaged Students and the Crisis in Faith-based Urban Schools

🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
...more
39min
November 06, 2025Erika Sanzi on How Districts Defy Federal Law, Fail Families & Evade Consequences
Erika Sanzi joins the podcast to discuss the urgent need for states and school districts to undertake “legal housekeeping” and stop violating federal laws. She shares examples of school board policies that hide information from parents, discriminate based on race and sex, and prove that indoctrination in schools is pervasive, and not just limited to certain areas. Erika shares her journey as a teacher, school board member, and parent, and her role in the parental rights movement. Erika is Senior Director of Communications at Defending Education.

Defending Education's IndoctriNation Map: https://defendinged.org/map/
🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
...more
31min
October 30, 2025Jorge Elorza on Supporting the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, School Choice, & Education Abundance
Jorge Elorza, former mayor of Providence, RI, and current leader of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), is dislodging the “sticky” forces of the K–12 status quo, including the powerful teachers unions. He joins the podcast to discuss the policies and politics of DFER’s education abundance agenda. Jorge also explains how the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit can empower families and why all governors should opt in so students in their states can benefit.

DFER’s National Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (ECCA) Polling
A Democratic Framework for An Abundance Education Agenda

🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
...more
34min
October 23, 2025Brian Jodice on the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, Polling, & Myths
“Americans of all parties and backgrounds overwhelmingly support school choice – and will vote accordingly.” Brian Jodice, National Press Secretary for the American Federation for Children (AFC), joins the podcast to share the polling that backs up his organization’s proclamation. We discuss the growing support for school choice across the United States and the importance of state participation in the newly introduced Federal Scholarship Tax Credit. Brian also addresses common myths surrounding education freedom and shares personal stories from North Carolina's school choice journey.

National School Choice Survey: September 2025
AFC Fellows

🔗 Links & Resources:
Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org
💡 Stay Connected:
Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!
📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at [email protected].
🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!
...more
33min

FAQs about Freedom to Learn:

How many episodes does Freedom to Learn have?

The podcast currently has 82 episodes available.

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