ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of philanthrocapitalism in education reform. First, it briefly examines key milestones in the history of education legislation in the US. It spotlights efforts by the National Governors Association (NGA) to push for Common Core standards in 2008. The chapter also reveals how a few large foundations (including those of Gates and Walton of Walmart) leveraged major investments in education reform in the 21st century, which has served to influence cash-strapped states and school districts to support their policy agendas. The chapter then briefly explores the movement throughout many states to push untested charter schools. It highlights the case involving K12 Inc., a virtual education company, and the investment banker who helped take it public, along with his longstanding involvements in education reform tied to the nonprofit sector and pro-privatization think tanks. The chapter then provides a brief profile of President Trump’s selection to head the DOE, Betsy Devos, and her long record of political activism supporting for-profit charter schools in Michigan. The chapter concludes by examining how Milton Friedman’s advocacy for school choice during the 1950s coincided with school choice initiatives in the American South intended to preserve racial segregation.
