Josh Starr

Very glad to see Chief Tom Manger is an analyst and commentator on #MSNOW. He’s a great leader and a good egg. A very reasonable and thoughtful guy who I enjoyed working with.

Texas L.G.B.T.Q. Teenagers and Families Navigate a Public School Clampdown

Yet our LGBTQIA+ students have the highest teen suicide rates
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

43 MCPS families opted out of books largely centered around LGBTQ+, cultural diversity, social justice MCPS approved 58 requests to opt out of specific books and readings from 43 families, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling.

43 families, out of 160,000+ kids. Because most people are silent but reasonable and the fringes dominate the discourse bethesdamagazine.com/2025/10/02/4... #choosecommonground

It’s time to fire #fickell #badgers

Opinion | How to Rethink A.I.

Yet another argument for why we need to teach kids how to think #AILiteracy www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/o...

Why Federal Money Is a ‘Lifeline’ for This Republican School District

Why Federal Money Is a ‘Lifeline’ for This Republican School District www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u... Combine this with Medicaid cuts that will hurt the working poor and we'll see more and more stories of how kids are being hurt, all by design.

40 states could lose federal funds for sex ed if they keep gender identity in curriculum The Health and Human Services Department told 40 states to remove references to gender identity from their federally funded sex education programs. When California refused to comply, the agency termin...

www.chalkbeat.org/2025/08/26/t...

A.I.-Driven Education: Founded in Texas and Coming to a School Near You

Why frame this as either/or. Embrace the potential of #AI, teach kids #AIliteracy, and integrate it effectively. Kids should read novels, debate ideas, wrestle with complex problems, and test hypotheses. We should be discussing how to find #commonground www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/u...

Opinion | The ‘Boy Crisis’ Is Overblown

As I've been known to say, at best, the data help you ask better questions www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o... @jessgrose.bsky.social @richardreeves.bsky.social

In Virginia, the Attack on University Presidents Widens

This has been happening to k-12 superintendents of schools for years www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/u...

Opinion | I Teach Creative Writing. This Is What A.I. Is Doing to Students.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/o.... This is a must read for educators who understand the need for #AI literacy. Lots of great questions and, as with all great writing, no easy answers @meghanor.bsky.social

Trump's Cuts to Schools Will Hit Hard. But Leaders Need More Than Just Money (Opinion) The federal funding chaos highlights a perennial dynamic in public schools.

"Yes, schools need more funds and stability, but they also need a long-term coherent strategy to ensure resources are allocated according to vision and need." —@joshstarr.bsky.social‬ in his article for @edweekopinion.bsky.social‬ https://bit.ly/4kBSoQs

Trump's Cuts to Schools Will Hit Hard. But Leaders Need More Than Just Money (Opinion) The federal funding chaos highlights a perennial dynamic in public schools.

The federal funding chaos highlights a perennial dynamic in public schools, writes former public school superintendent @joshstarr.bsky.social‬. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Trump's Cuts to Schools Will Hit Hard. But Leaders Need More Than Just Money (Opinion) The federal funding chaos highlights a perennial dynamic in public schools.

My latest re: #Trump shenanigans re: #federal #education #funding www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Trump budget proposal would give states more power over a lot less money President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts nearly $6 billion from K-12 education. Unlikely to become law, the proposal offers insight into plans to give states more control over federal funds. Just...

www.chalkbeat.org/2025/05/03/t...

Judges block Trump administration efforts to end DEI initiatives in schools At least 16 states have said they won’t sign a certification that they are in compliance with the Trump Education Department’s contested interpretation of civil rights law. A looming standoff has been...

www.chalkbeat.org/2025/04/24/t...

College Tours and the Happiness of Pursuit Can a small liberal arts college help young people thrive on their own terms in an increasingly complex world?

joshuapstarr.substack.com/p/college-to...

Conservative justices seem to favor LGBTQ+ book opt-out option The U.S. Supreme Court seemed to favor an argument Tuesday that parents with religious objections should be allowed to opt out of lessons in Montgomery County public elementary schools that involve st...

bethesdamagazine.com/2025/04/22/s... local media matters

Federal judge in Maryland preparing to rule on Trump administration’s DEI letter for schools Department of Education says teachers are making Trump administration's DEI missive into ‘something that it’s not.’

bethesdamagazine.com/2025/04/21/f...

How Education Leaders Should Respond to the Anti-DEI Crowd (Opinion) Decades of essential equity-based work is under threat in our schools today, warns Joshua P. Starr.

"Regardless of politics, all our students need to be engaged and supported in learning environments with high standards and high-quality curriculum." —@joshstarr.bsky.social in his op-ed for @edweek.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4iM2n5D

Schools reform plan trimmed after threats of major cuts State lawmakers approve delay in some programs and funding in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.

Pendulums swing...and FWITW, collaborative time, or PLC's are key to school improvement. Shame they're on the chopping block bethesdamagazine.com/2025/04/08/b...

The "Success Sequence" and Happiness There’s an article in today's Chalkbeat about a Tennessee bill requiring that public schools teach the “success sequence.” Under this law, schools would have to teach students that success in life hin...

The "Success Sequence" and happiness open.substack.com/pub/joshuaps...

Public Schools as a Public Good Life, liberty, and the happiness of pursuit

I'm continuing my SubStack ruminations on the happiness of pursuit...LMK what you think open.substack.com/pub/joshuaps...

How Education Leaders Should Respond to the Anti-DEI Crowd (Opinion) Decades of essential equity-based work is under threat in our schools today, warns Joshua P. Starr.

Given what was just announced re: continuing efforts to dismantle #DEI, I thought I'd re-post my latest piece for EdWeek www.edweek.org/leadership/o...

Trump Administration Threatens to Withhold Funds From Public Schools State education officials will be required to verify that they have eliminated all programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion that the administration deems unlawful, according to a new memo...

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/u...

‘COVID is over.’ Schools are out of time to spend pandemic aid, Linda McMahon says. The extensions states and schools received from the Biden administration to spend the COVID relief set a bad precedent, a U.S. Department of Education spokeswoman said. But one state school superinten...

www.chalkbeat.org/2025/03/31/l...

How Education Leaders Should Respond to the Anti-DEI Crowd (Opinion) Decades of essential equity-based work is under threat in our schools today, warns Joshua P. Starr.

My latest piece for @edweekopinion.bsky.social www.edweek.org/leadership/o...

Indiana lawmakers want teachers to teach ‘math, science and reading,’ not ‘empathy and emotional regulation’ Amendments to a sweeping deregulation bill also try to clarify what schools can charge fees for after Indiana’s push to end curriculum fees for families.

www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2025...

10 ways American schools have changed, 5 years after COVID closures School boards are political war zones, technology is everywhere, and school feels optional. One student said the pandemic's fallout left kids “without the tools to cope.”

www.chalkbeat.org/2025/03/18/h...

The Happiness of Pursuit: What our Young People need to Embrace an Increasingly Complex and Dangerous World on their own terms.

Or, why we should bring back dodgeball….