Statehouse Spotlights is back. Get ready for the 2026 season.
ExcelinEd in Action Statehouse SpotlightsShow Notes
Welcome to the 2026 season of Statehouse Spotlights! In this trailer, host Ashley Mullins reintroduces the podcast and previews what listeners can expect in the year ahead, including fast-moving legislative updates and in-depth conversations with the leaders shaping K–12 education policy.
Ashley shares how the show will continue to break down complex education issues—from literacy and math to workforce development, digital safety, accountability and school choice—so policymakers, educators and advocates can stay informed and engaged.
This season will feature:
Biweekly 15-minute updates on major bill activity in states nationwide. Alternating deep-dive interviews with lawmakers and education leaders. Expert insights from ExcelinEd in Action’s policy team. Coverage of the decisions and debates shaping students’ futures.
Listeners will also hear from Executive Director Patricia Levesque in the season’s opening episode, where she outlines the key trends, challenges and opportunities to watch in 2026.
At its core, Statehouse Spotlights is about more than legislation—it’s about students, their potential and the champions working every day to expand opportunity. The podcast’s mission remains simple: to keep you informed, energized and ready to take action for better schools and brighter futures.
New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe now and join us for another year of meaningful conversations and timely policy insights.
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More from ExcelinEd in Action Statehouse Spotlights
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.
In this episode of Statehouse Spotlights, host Ashley Mullins shares a mid-June update as legislative sessions begin to wind down across the country. With only a handful of states still in session, meaningful education policy is still moving—from math intervention and charter facilities access in Ohio to major literacy reform in Massachusetts, student safety and AI guidance in North Carolina, and new threats to education choice programs in Pennsylvania.
In this episode of Statehouse Spotlights, host Ashley Mullins heads to Mississippi to examine the state’s next phase of literacy reform: a new effort to strengthen reading instruction and intervention for students in grades 4 through 8. After earning national recognition for its progress in early literacy, Mississippi is now building on that foundation through Senate Bill 2294, which requires evidence-based literacy practices aligned to the science of reading in the middle grades and establishes new supports for students who continue to struggle with reading.
In this episode of Statehouse Spotlights, host Ashley Mullins takes listeners on a cross-country tour of the latest education policy developments as legislative sessions begin winding down and states race to finalize their agendas. From Arizona to Pennsylvania, lawmakers are advancing policies designed to strengthen student outcomes, expand opportunity and better prepare students for success in school and beyond.
In this episode of Statehouse Spotlights, host Ashley Mullins heads to Oklahoma to examine the state’s newly enacted effort to close one of the biggest barriers to public charter school growth: access to facilities financing. Through HB 3372, state leaders created both a revolving loan fund for charter school capital projects and a bond credit enhancement program designed to help qualifying schools secure more affordable financing for buildings and improvements.