BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Halo Effect, and Self-Serving Bias, with Hasty Generalization as the most egregious example at 14.6% saturation with 71 hits. Analysis detected 647 faulty-reasoning hits from 485 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 30.5% and a BS Rank of 14% (18,870 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 86.20% of the article peer group.
The governance of America’s public schools belongs to no single authority.
It is shared, negotiated, and contested across many institutions.
Yet, the local school board stands apart.
School boards are the most accessible of our democratic institutions, offering a forum where residents engage with neighbors they elect to serve.
At their best, they draw on local knowledge to meet their community's needs.
At their worst, they lack capacity, accountability, and representation, and are prone to conflict and dysfunction.
This initiative examines U.S. school boards during a pivotal time in their history: the pandemic and culture-war conflicts of the 2020s.
REPORT 1
Local control, national conflict: School boards in the COVID-19 and culture-war era
In the early 2020s, school boards confronted conflicts over the pandemic and a host of issues related to race, gender, and sexuality.
We examine those conflicts from three complementary vantage points: media reports, board member surveys, and election results.
Read the report
REPORT 2
A survey of America’s school board members
We surveyed a nationally representative sample of school board members, asking about their experiences campaigning and serving in office, which issues are most important to them and their constituents, and how they feel about the state of public education.
Read the report
LOOK INSIDE
Chapter 1: Media reporting on school board conflicts
Education
Jon Valant, Ariell Bertrand, Rachel M.
Perera, Nicolas Zerbino
June 5, 2026
Chapter 2: School board members’ views of the COVID-19 and culture-war era
Education
Jon Valant, Ariell Bertrand, Rachel M.
Perera, Nicolas Zerbino
June 5, 2026
Chapter 3: A case study of school board elections in Florida
Education
Jon Valant, Ariell Bertrand, Rachel M.
Perera, Nicolas Zerbino
June 5, 2026
LOOK INSIDE
Main findings from a survey of America’s school board members
Education
Jon Valant, Rachel M.
Perera, Nicolas Zerbino
June 5, 2026
Results tables: A survey of America’s school board members
Education
Rachel M.
Perera, Jon Valant, Nicolas Zerbino
June 5, 2026
WATCH THE EVENT
The past, present, and future of America’s school boards
Education Policy
Past Event
June 08
2026
Monday, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm EDT
Online only
Acknowledgements
The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings is grateful for the support of the Spencer Foundation.
The research reported in this report was made possible by a grant from the Spencer Foundation (#202300189).
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spencer Foundation.
Brookings is committed to quality, independence, and impact in all of its work.
Activities supported by its donors reflect this commitment, and the analysis and recommendations are solely determined by the scholars.
The authors thank Purnima Aggarwal, Kelsey Brown, Rosalia Dalton, Elizabeth Gellman, Gabrielle Harris, Alex Hubbard, Annabelle Kim, Jamie Klinenberg, Emma Mills, Brianna Paliz, Sally Park, Analisa Pines, Ayanna Platt, Estan Rodriguez, Simon Rosenbaum, Brock Schultz, Claire Siegel, Sana Sinha, and Rebecca Wagner for their excellent research support.
Speakers
5speakers22%attributed speech378writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Selected voice
65%flagged-word coverageBrookings
49 attributed words46% of attributed speech80% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.