Welcome to the Freedom to Learn podcast.

I'm your host, Ginny Gentles.

This season, we're diving into what it means to return education to states, communities, and families.

And we're exploring what becomes possible when education is freed from union dominance and federal control.

Overall, I think this is just a great development.

It is a proof of concept, though.

We do ultimately need Congress if we're going to fully wind down this agency. We need Congress to make these changes durable legislatively for the long haul, but these, we believe,

are great proofs of concept to start that process.

We're in the midst of a rare opportunity to rethink our country's approach to education

governance.

The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit will empower communities, parents, and students, and we hope

listeners are

responding to the Treasury Department's request for comments on the tax credits implementation.

The other opportunity that we regularly explore in the podcast are the plans to return education

to the states. Lindsay Burke, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Programs at the U.S. Department

of Education, returns to freedom to learn today

to discuss the department's origin story, what it does and does not do, and the administration's

plans to streamline federal bureaucracy through rifts, waivers, and bureaucratic consolidation.

Lindsay explains the recently announced interagency agreements that shift programs and staff to four federal agencies.

And she responds to concerns, including how students with disabilities might be impacted.

Lindsay Burke, welcome back to Freedom to Learn.

Hello, Jenny. Thank you for having me.

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