HAVE AMERICA'S SCHOOLS ever faced greater uncertainty? As this issue of Education Next goes to press, local officials are wrestling with whether and how to resume in-person instruction amid rising Covid-19 case counts, the start of flu season, and the threat of a second viral wave. Educational institutions are remaking themselves in response to the racial reckoning that followed the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis Police in May. Even the U.S. Supreme Court, whose rulings shape policy on affirmative action, government funding for religious schools, and more, is in transition, following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.
Meanwhile, the results of the November 2020 national elections could fundamentally alter the direction of federal education policy. While most eyes are understandably fixed on the campaign for the White House, many important education issues will hinge on which party ends up with a majority in the Senate. Unified Democratic control in Washington could mean the end of the filibuster--and with that change, a radical shift in what's possible politically. A major increase in federal spending on K-12 schools, long considered beyond the realm...