Announcements
Center of the American Experiment released a new video on wind and solar that has received more than 300,000 views.
The Cicero Institute released a national survey showing bipartisan support for policies that balance compassion and accountability in addressing crime, homelessness, and mental health.
The Freedom Foundation noted a significant increase in California public employees opting out of their unions—surpassing previous records.
The Independence Institute noted that Colorado voters approved Propositions LL and MM, which force wealthier residents to subsidize a universal school lunch program.
The John Locke Foundation introduced the 2026 Civitas Partisan Index, a tool designed to assess voter tendencies in North Carolina districts.
In the aftermath of Prop. 50’s passage, Pacific Research Institute highlighted concerns regarding the independent redistricting commission’s future.
People United for Privacy Foundation highlighted how elected officials from both parties have leveraged the IRS and campaign finance laws to punish ideological opponents.
Virginia Institute for Public Policy expressed concerns over HJ6007, which takes aim at changes to Virginia’s redistricting process.
Freedom through the Courts: The Latest Litigation Efforts across the Network
The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Columbus City School District v. State of Ohio, urging the 10th District Court of Appeals to uphold school choice for current and future voucher program participants.
After arguing V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump before the Justices of the Supreme Court, Liberty Justice Center chair Sara Albrecht, co-counsel Neal Katyal, and founder of V.O.S. Selections, Inc. Victor Owen Schwartz issued statements on the steps of the Supreme Court.
The Liberty Justice Center filed Metzger v. City of Monroe on November 5, representing Lisa Metzger in a challenge to city policies that restrict speech at council meetings and allegedly violate her First Amendment rights.
Solutions from the States: This Week’s Policy Briefs
American Experiment highlighted the potential negative impacts of Senator Omar Fateh’s proposed $20 minimum wage for Minneapolis.
In a new paper, The Buckeye Institute outlines policies to address Ohio’s household debt crisis and calls on lawmakers to adopt these free-market policies that will help Ohioans get out of debt.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation raised concerns over school districts joining the state health care plan, citing premium increases and nearly doubled discretionary and healthcare funding.
The ITR Foundation noted funding for Iowa’s county hospitals relies heavily on local property taxes.
The Mackinac Center urged lawmakers to eliminate barriers caused by Michigan’s licensing laws, which hinder rehabilitated residents from re-entering the workforce.
The Mountain States Policy Center issued a report discussing the need for bipartisan support to address waste and fraud in Medicare.
The Pacific Research Institute found that proposed reforms to the Medicare bidding process for durable medical equipment fail to adequately address the system’s fundamental issues.
The Pacific Research Institute emphasized the detrimental effects of a proposed one-time wealth tax on billionaires in California.
The Pelican Institute for Public Policy released a report detailing the economic impact of coastal litigation on Louisiana’s energy sector.
Reason Foundation released its State and Local Government Finance Report, providing detailed data on the revenue, assets, and debt of state, county, municipal, and school district governments nationwide.
Recent findings from the Show-Me Institute underscored the correlation between teacher quality and student reading proficiency in Missouri.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation criticized the top 10% rule as a distortion of meritocracy in college admissions.
Tracking Positive Reforms: Updates from Network Affiliates
Michigan lawmakers have introduced one of the most ambitious occupational-licensing reform packages in the country—more than 50 bills that would repeal unnecessary licenses, simplify education mandates, and make it easier for skilled people to work in the state (Mackinac Center).
Jobs in the Network
Policy Director, Education Choice — ExcelinEd (Remote)
Program Associate — Mercatus Center at George Mason University (Fairfax, VA)
Controller — Pacific Legal Foundation (Remote)
Policy News from the States
Topics:
K-12 Education
AEA Has Shown Alabamians Who They Are: Believe Them
Alabama Policy Institute
Is America’s strongest advocate your local teacher?
American Experiment
Is handwriting the key for cognitive development?
American Experiment
Our Podcast’s 100th Episode! TOP 10 MINNESOTA FAILS
American Experiment
MN school board group: ‘Being neutral is harmful’
American Experiment
Illinois parents, taxpayers shut out when teacher strikes threatened
Illinois Policy Institute
What to know about new IFT head Stacy Davis Gate
Illinois Policy Institute
Scandal, secrecy baggage follows new Illinois Federation of Teachers president
Illinois Policy Institute
McGowan: AI Flunks the Baseball Test
Indiana Policy
The Outstater
Indiana Policy
2025 Handbook on K-12 Policy Issues for Colorado – Independence Institute
Independence Institute
Per-Pupil Spending Tells More of the Story
ITR Foundation
Florida’s Established Approach to Kids’ Online Safety Doesn’t Need Tweaking | Opinion
James Madison Institute
Schools of civic thought make a difference
John Locke Foundation
State Board of Education gets bad legal guidance from the Kansas Department of Education
Kansas Policy Institute
Legislative Audit rips Wisconsin DPI over “material weaknesses” in Financial Reporting
MacIver Institute
Wisconsin Republicans Introduce Anti-grooming Legislation
MacIver Institute
MSPC provides digital safety keynote address at Idaho Department of Education conference
Mountain States Policy Center
CHALKBEAT: Interdistrict Public School Choice Program could expand with bipartisan support amid funding, equity hurdles
New Jersey Policy Institute
Lawmakers hear claims OSSAA applies rules unevenly, denying students…
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
OCPA defends Oklahoma’s anti-racism law before federal appeals court
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Signs of Progress: 2025 Report Cards Show South Carolina Schools on the Rise : Palmetto Promise Institute
Palmetto Promise Institute
MA Teacher Kelley Brown on Founding Documents, U.S. History, & Civics
Pioneer Institute
RGF in National Review: New Mexico’s ‘Free’ Child Care an Attempt to Cover for Past Failures
Rio Grande Foundation
The Long Fight for Educational Freedom with Neal McCluskey and James Shuls
Show-Me Institute
Let’s Expect Better
Show-Me Institute
Are Missouri’s Public Schools Ready for Declining Enrollment?
Show-Me Institute
MOScholars Scholarships Are in High Demand
Show-Me Institute
Missouri Children Deserve Better
Show-Me Institute
Oranges Don’t Grow on a Willow Tree
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Diverting Taxpayer Dollars to Political Non-Profits is Much Worse Than You Think
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Energy and Environment
Xcel proposes massive battery project at Sherco
American Experiment
Commentary & Analysis | Caesar Rodney
Caesar Rodney Institute
Duke plan confirms greater productivity of nuclear, natural gas
John Locke Foundation
ROI-NJ: A blueprint for abundant, affordable energy for New Jersey families | Op-Ed
New Jersey Policy Institute
California’s Great Gasoline Panic of ‘25
Pacific Research Institute
Restricting Capital Investment Is A Losing Energy Strategy
Pacific Research Institute
Why “Eco-Friendly” Isn’t Always as Clear as Ice
Washington Policy Center
New Report Calls for More Freedom and Consumer Choice in Energy Policy to Lower Costs
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Healthcare
HCMC: Refocus the Mission, Reform the Funding – Save Minnesota’s Trauma Lifeline
American Experiment
Live Testimony: Assessing the Damage Done by Obamacare
Foundation for Government Accountability
Congress and the Trump Administration Are Cracking Down on Fraud by Design in Medicaid
Foundation for Government Accountability
Obamacare’s Policy Failures Come To Idaho
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Wisconsin DHS: Weeks or Months for Food Stamp Benefits
MacIver Institute
No, the expiring subsidies aren’t to blame for next year’s premium hikes
Pacific Research Institute
A Cure for the Doctor Shortage? Welcoming International Physicians Could Cut Wait Times in South Carolina : Palmetto Promise Institute
Palmetto Promise Institute
Housing Affordability
Minnesota for Sale: election day update
American Experiment
Allow taller buildings for housing in city’s affordable rentals program
Grassroot Institute
Why does it cost so much to build? We’ve lost an abundance mindset
Mackinac Center
Oregon’s inflation-tied minimum wage offers Oklahoma a warning
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
No need for hysteria over federal cuts to homeless housing
Pacific Research Institute
SCOTUS appears poised to overturn trump tariffs (siding with RGF) – Errors of Enchantment
Rio Grande Foundation
New Mexico’s stagnant population under MLG – Errors of Enchantment
Rio Grande Foundation
Could the latest round of layoff’s be big tech’s “Will the last person leaving Seattle – Turn out the lights” moment?
Washington Policy Center
Jobs and State Economies
The roots of realignment: New York City, 1965
American Experiment
Let household hennery owners sell their produce for extra income
Grassroot Institute
Halloween is over, but spooky creatures still haunt us
Grassroot Institute
Nebraska lost $300 million from tax migration in 2022
Platte Institute
What’s a City to Do?
Show-Me Institute
China, Cartels Make Inroads as U.S. Judges Fumble Cases
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Escape the Partisan & Populist Traps: Why Free Markets and Limited Government Are Your Antidote to Political Frustration
The Pelican Institute for Public Policy
State Budgets
Golden Turkey Nominee: Tim Walz’s $430k whopper legal bill
American Experiment
Golden Turkey Nominee: A $1 million bathroom in Bloomington
American Experiment
Vallas: Legislation buys CTA time to fix itself, but will it?
Illinois Policy Institute
Pritzker vetoes 5th lowest of 16 Democrat-controlled states
Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois, Chicago voters rank high taxes as No. 1 issue
Illinois Policy Institute
Congressional Republicans could cave while winning shutdown impasse
John Locke Foundation
Fetterman claims Democratic ownership of shutdown
John Locke Foundation
Michigan budget deal: two steps forward, one step back
Mackinac Center
With the budget complete, what should lawmakers do next?
Mackinac Center
OCPA urges fraud review of state SNAP benefits
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
New Pioneer Institute Analysis Finds Proposed Massachusetts Income-Tax Cut Unlikely to Cause Major State Revenue Decline
Pioneer Institute
Why CT’s Special Session Must Be Narrow and Focused
Yankee Institute
Other
Jacob Frey fends off challenge from Fateh
American Experiment
CAIR flexes ‘Muslim Political Power’ in MN
American Experiment
A shooting in Dinkytown, student injured
American Experiment
CAIR endorses Fateh, Carter, others
American Experiment
November 2025 Beacon Poll Results
Beacon Center of Tennessee
Oklahoma food-stamp numbers raise fraud concerns
Foundation for Government Accountability
The Outstater
Indiana Policy
Franke: Civic Bargain Book Review
Indiana Policy
Georgia Leaders Should Not Vilify Technology. Social Media and AI Hold Promise.
James Madison Institute
Trump’s favorability takes hit among independents
John Locke Foundation
Atlantic blames Trump for left-wing threats against Trump officials
John Locke Foundation
Activist anti-Trump judge may have violated federal law
John Locke Foundation
Trump’s tactics face challenge against top authoritarians
John Locke Foundation
‘Open primaries’ backers supported Marxist candidate for president
The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Legislators should end judicial deference to state agencies
Mountain States Policy Center
SNAP in Nebraska: Current Rules, Economic Impact, and What’s Next
Platte Institute
Tipping Point NM episode 757: Election Predictions (were we right?), Mamdani Would Love NM, Poverty is a Choice, SNAP Embarrassment and more – Errors of Enchantment
Rio Grande Foundation
Albuquerque election results: our analysis – Errors of Enchantment
Rio Grande Foundation
Preserving the filibuster and ending the federal shutdown – Errors of Enchantment
Rio Grande Foundation
Zohran Mamdani And Nicholas Fuentes Are Pushing The Poison Of Third-World Grievances
Texas Public Policy Foundation
NH’s youngest lawmakers to discuss civility in politics at Civil Discourses kickoff event
The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy
No Energy Crisis Debate? A Last Minute Redistricting Amendment? Virginians Deserved Better Before Today’s Vote
Thomas Jefferson Institute
The Network in the News
In The Spectator, California Policy Center’s Lance Christensen considers how Prop 50 passed in California.
At InsideSources, the Center of the American Experiment’s Mitch Pearlstein points out that ex-offenders perform the same or better than other employees.
In the Courier Journal, the Bluegrass Institute’s Caleb O. Brown notes certificate-of-need laws are overdue for reform in Kentucky.
In the New York Post, FGA’s Hayden Dublois highlights how Democrats are shutting down the government over a tiny weekly price rise—yet resist genuine healthcare reform.
In the Spokesman-Review, the Mountain States Policy Center’s Jason Mercier points out income tax proposals won’t die in Washington State.
In his column for The Detroit News, the Mackinac Center’s Mike Reitz notes Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has failed on her promise to increase transparency in the governor’s office.
In the Washington Examiner, the Pacific Research Institute’s Sally Pipes asserts that no, the expiring subsidies aren’t to blame for next year’s premium hikes.
In The Spokesman-Review, the Washington Policy Center’s John Bernard argues that true government accountability requires objective, transparent data rather than partisan spin—highlighting the new project, America’s Pulse.
In The Hill, SPN’s Ray Nothstine points out that federalism will let New Yorkers learn the hard way.
