About this episode

Patricia Levesque joins Ashley Mullins to recap significant education policy changes from the 2026 legislative session.

In our season finale of Statehouse Spotlights , Executive Director Patricia Levesque joins host Ashley Mullins to recap one of the most active education policy years we’ve covered. From math and literacy to phone-free schools, teacher policy, pathways, school choice, accountability and responsible artificial intelligence, state leaders moved big ideas through statehouses across the country.  Hear what made the 2026 legislative session stand out, even in an election year, and how states connected policy priorities into stronger systems for students. Patricia highlights momentum in math and K-8 literacy, the rapid rise of distraction-free learning policies, growing attention to student safety and AI guardrails, and new efforts to support teachers, strengthen pathways and make school choice policies work well for families.  As the season closes, Patricia shares a clear message for state leaders: focus on policy, program and perseverance. Strong laws matter, but so does faithful implementation, and states that improve student outcomes keep building, measuring, adjusting and moving forward. Thanks for joining us this season! We’ll be back with a bonus episode after the…

People in this episode

Host: Ashley Mullins

Guest: Patricia Levesque

Topics covered

• education policy
• legislative changes
• student outcomes
• teacher policy
• school choice
• artificial intelligence
• literacy

Keywords

• education policy
• legislative session
• teacher policy
• school choice
• literacy
• AI
• student safety

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ExcelinEd in Action

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