Pioneer Study: Every Student Succeeds Act Not Meeting Needs of All Students

The most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act makes some progress toward fulfilling the mandate that public school districts provide wide-ranging academic and educational supports to students who attend nonpublic schools, but there is more to be done.

Cara and Gerard on Their Time with The Learning Curve

This week on The Learning Curve, Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson close out their time as long-time cohosts of the podcast by sharing highlights and memories from over the last several years. They reflect upon the state of education reform, the growth of school choice, parental empowerment, the impact of the Great Books, and the wisdom of many well-known and influential guests.

Baking Young Minds: Scientific Concerns for Cannabis on Kids

Joe Selvaggi talks with professor of psychiatry Dr. Ryan Sultan about the findings of his recently released study on the effects of cannabis on the mental health of American adolescents. Dr. Sultan’s work shows a substantial correlation between cannabis use and negative mental health outcomes.

Sebastian Corbat Brings Us Healthy Foods ‘From the South’

Immigrants move for many reasons, and sometimes it can be a matter of life or death if they don’t uproot. Sebastian Corbat came to the U.S. for life-saving treatment, and post-op therapy gave him both a new lease on life and a business idea: We should all have access to healthy, organic and tasty foods.

Study: Update Finds Boston Public Schools Making Slow, Uneven Progress

The Boston Public Schools (BPS) are experiencing some positive change but have a long way to go to streamline critical processes, improve school accountability, and create a realistic, school-centered budget, according to a new study from Pioneer Institute.

Becket Fund’s Eric Rassbach on Religious Liberty & American Schooling

Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty discusses school choice and religious freedom, competing legal philosophies and views of the U.S. Constitution, and why issues pertaining to religion and schools remain so divisive at the K-12 level.

Curing Medicaid’s Cold: Unwinding Pandemic Expansion Before Federal Funds End

Joe Selvaggi talks with healthcare policy expert Dr. Brian Blase about Medicaid expansion during the COVID-19 healthcare emergency and how states can efficiently reexamine eligibility criteria so as to protect the vulnerable before federal support expires.

PRI’s Lance Izumi on Charter Schools & School Choice

Lance Izumi of the Pacific Research Institute discusses K-12 education reform, declining test scores, COVID-related learning loss, and the growth of education bureaucracy. He reflects on charter schools, school choice, and how U.S. history and civics should be taught.

Senate Tax Package Misses the Mark on Competitiveness

The Senate tax package, S.2397, is heavy on provisions that reduce the tax burden for certain taxpayers, thereby helping those that qualify for the expanded credits and deductions. The bill, however, is light on provisions that will improve the Commonwealth’s competitiveness.

Climate Change Reset: Catastrophic Consensus Cools As New Models Emerge

Joe Selvaggi talks with climate expert Dr. Judith Curry about the insights contained in her newly released book, Climate Uncertainty and Risk: Rethinking our Response, in which she tracks the evolution of climate science from model development, to political weapon, to an emerging view that the best response to a changing climate is to build resiliency.

Remove roadblocks for charter schools

Worcester, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, and other Gateway Cities in Massachusetts have large waiting lists for charter schools plus room to expand under state caps. What's needed are ways to curb obstructionist behavior that is blocking that expansion.

Study: Immigrant Entrepreneurs Benefit N.E. Economy, Despite Facing Obstacles to Growth

BOSTON – Immigrants in Massachusetts and New England are more likely to be self-employed, but the businesses they own tend to be in different industries than those owned by the U.S. born, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

McGill Prof. Marc Raboy on Guglielmo Marconi & Global Communications

This week on The Learning Curve, McGill University Professor Marc Raboy, author of Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World, explores how twentieth-century Italian communications pioneer Guglielmo Marconi made his world-changing discoveries.

Dodging Debt Default: Who Won Congressional Cage Match Compromise

Joe Selvaggi talks with CATO Institute budget expert Chris Edwards about the details of the newly passed Fiscal Responsibility Act, which avoids crossing the debt ceiling in exchange for slowing spending growth.

Donald Graham on The Washington Post, Media, and Educating Immigrants

This week on The Learning Curve, Donald Graham, Chairman of Graham Holdings Company, discusses the history of The Washington Post, his views on changing media in America, and his work in higher education reform and philanthropy on behalf of immigrant youth.

Tilting Offshore Windmills: Speaking Truth to Ratepayers

Joe Selvaggi talks with energy economist Dr. Jonathan Lesser about the chasm between the promises and realities of offshore wind projects, including the likely increased costs passed to electricity consumers and taxpayers.

Columbia Law’s Philip Hamburger on Church, State, & School Choice

This week on The Learning Curve, noted constitutional law professor Philip Hamburger of Columbia Law School discusses the legal basis for private and religious school choice, and how American constitutionalism supports parental choice in education.

Picking Patients’ Pockets: Exposing Insurance Schemes Targeting Orphan Diseases

Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s senior Health Care Fellows Dr. Bill Smith and Dr. Robert Popovian about their white paper "Out-of-Pocket Pirates: Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and the Confiscation of Out-of-Pocket Assistance Programs." This episode explores what consumers and regulators can do to ensure those with rare diseases are not left without assistance.

Webinar: Focusing on Massachusetts’ Model Vocational-Technical Schools

Pioneer Institute and First Things Magazine recently hosted an hour-long webinar examining the successes of vocational-technical schools, how education in the trades is faring nationwide, and the prospects for today’s high school graduates as they seek careers and additional training beyond the secondary level.

AEI’s Dr. Diana Schaub on the Founders, Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, & Civics

This week on The Learning Curve, Loyola University Maryland professor and AEI senior fellow Dr. Diana Schaub explores the legacies, speeches, and writings of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, and how knowledge of U.S. history and primary sources can debunk revisionist approaches to teaching history and civics.

Erec Smith on the Rhetoric of Anti-racist Activism

Joe Selvaggi talks with York College of Pennsylvania Associate Professor Eric Smith about the disempowering effects of modern anti-racism movement and the challenges for thought leaders who espouse more constructive narratives.

Study: Net Out-Migration of Wealth from Massachusetts Nearly Quintupled from 2012-2021

IRS data reveals that net out-migration from Massachusetts is accelerating rapidly and is greatest among affluent residents who pay the most in state taxes, according to a Pioneer Institute analysis. Between 2019 and 2021, Massachusetts rose from ninth to fourth among all states in net out-migration of wealth, behind only California, New York, and Illinois.

Benjamin F. Jones Shows How Immigrants Are a Boon for the U.S.

Prof. Benjamin F. Jones, former economic advisor in the U.S. Treasury and a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, analyzes data that show immigrants are far more likely to start a business in the U.S. and are innovating at higher rates, benefiting the nation.

Morehouse’s Prof. Marisela Martinez-Cola on Pre-Brown Cases for Educational Equality

This week on The Learning Curve, Morehouse College's Dr. Marisela Martinez-Cola, JD, discusses her book The Bricks before Brown: The Chinese American, Native American, and Mexican Americans' Struggle for Educational Equality, and the long struggle for equal opportunity in American education.

Bank of Big Brother: Exploring a National Digital Currency Future

Joe Selvaggi talks with financial privacy and digital currency expert Nicholas Anthony of CATO Institute Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives about the potential benefits and risks were the U.S. to adopt a national digital currency.

Marquette’s Dr. Howard Fuller on School Choice, Charter Schools, and Race

This week on The Learning Curve, Dr. Howard Fuller, Founder/Director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning (ITL) at Marquette University, discusses education reform, school choice, charter public schools, race, and the ongoing struggle to provide educational opportunity to all children in America.

Transparency, Please! MBTA Resists Disclosure of Arbitration Award

Joe Selvaggi talks with attorney for Pioneer Public Interest Law Center (PPILC) John La Liberte, about the work he did to successfully gain access to the MBTA retirement fund’s arbitration agreement after a seven-month legal struggle.

Study Finds Massachusetts Workforce Has Become More Female, Older, More Diverse

The Massachusetts labor force has transformed in recent decades, with some of the biggest changes being the advancement of women, workers getting older and more diverse, and a divergence in labor force participation rates based on levels of educational achievement, according to “At a Glance: The Massachusetts Labor Force,” a white paper written by Pioneer's Economic Research Associate Aidan Enright.

New IRS Data Shows Out-Migration Worsening, Underscoring the Need for Massachusetts Leaders to Focus on State’s Competitiveness

Massachusetts’ net loss of adjusted gross income (AGI) to other states grew from $2.5 billion in 2020 to $4.3 billion in 2021, according to recently released IRS data. Over 67 percent of the loss was to Florida and New Hampshire, both states with no income tax.

Poll Finds Charter Schools Widely and Broadly Popular in Massachusetts

More than six years after the failure of a statewide ballot initiative that would have increased the number of charter public schools in Massachusetts, a poll shows that 62 percent either strongly or somewhat favor them, with only 16 percent opposed.