Introduction - The Network for Public Education’s Report on Astroturf Parent Groups

Oct 15, 2026

The text outlines how political interests exploit crises to reshape education policy, highlighting the Covid-era rise of right-wing “parent” groups and the rapid shift toward culture-war themes such as masking, vaccines, critical race theory, LGBT issues, and book banning. It distinguishes neoliberal and conservative education reformers, describing shared objectives to weaken teachers unions and enable school privatization funded by wealthy backers. It also proposes “tells” and tests for identifying Astroturf networks, including funding sources, growth patterns, donor inference, key vendors, and “creation stories,” noting associated media amplification.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Political exploitation and the rise of parent groups

Neoliberal vs. conservative education reform goals

Dark money networks and funding opacity

Tests for identifying Astroturf groups and key tells

Maurice T. Cunningham, Ph.D., J.D., is author of Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization. He retired in 2021 as associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. His work has been distributed through the Independent Media Institute and has appeared in the Boston Globe, Alternet, Tampa Bay Times, The Daily Progress (VA), Idaho Education News, New Hampshire Bulletin, The Detroit Free Press, and The Portland Press-Herald (ME), and at Diane Ravitch’s Blog, [dianeravitch.net](dianeravitch.net). His Twitter handle is @MassPolProfMo and he [blogs at MassPoliticsProfs.org. He](blogs at MassPoliticsProfs.org. He) can be reached at [maurice.cunningham153@gmail.com](maurice.cunningham153@gmail.com). The Network for Public Education is an advocacy group whose mission is to preserve, promote, improve and strengthen public schools for current and future generations of students. No outside organization contributed to, reviewed, or influenced the findings ofthis report. Introduction Political interests use crises to turn politics and policy their way. This has happened during the Covid pandemic as right-wing “parent” groups came out of nowhere to protest health measures such as masking and vaccine requirements in schools, then moved on to Critical Race Theory, then LGBT issues, book banning, and an endless stream of other ginned up culture war issues. In truth, the Right has been massing its forces for years to undermine public education, but the sudden proliferation of “parents” and “moms” groups has signaled a new and more virulent turn—witness the victory of Glenn Youngkin as governor of Virginia. Parents, educators, administrators, and school boards face a barrage of new parent groups in their communities, insisting that curriculum, policies, and practices match their beliefs regardless of community norms. This report will lay bare some of the most prominent conservative and neoliberal groups and suggest clues by which those who cherish public schools can identify and expose the phonies hiding under the guise of parent power. There is a worthwhile distinction to be made between neoliberal and conservative education reformers who use parents as a front. Neoliberal groups have been around longer. They include groups like Stand for Children, The City Fund, and Democrats for Education Reform, which serve as bundlers of donations to neoliberal Democratic candidates who support charter schools. These and similar groups masquerade as representing parents of color, but behind the scenes, the real power is held by billionaire funders. As I show in Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization, they also exist to siphon off Democratic constituencies—the “inside job”as Democrats for Education Reform puts it.1 Conservative groups have exploded since 2021 and include operations like Parents Defending Education (PDE) and Moms for Liberty (M4L). They draw on white backlash politics and resentment. What neoliberal and conservative groups have in common is shared goals: to undermine teachers unions, protect their wealthy donors from having to contribute their fair share in taxes to strengthen public schools, and provide profit opportunities through school privatization. This is why you’ll find Charles Koch behind both neoliberal and conservative education reform organizations and Rupert Murdoch donating to Democrats for Education Reform. The Vela Education 3 Fund, a joint venture of the Charles Koch Institute and the Walton Family Foundation, donated $700,000 to the neoliberal National Parents Union. Nicole Neily, president of the conservative Parents Defending Education, is a veteran Koch operative who has held numerous positions within the Koch network.2 Murdoch has donated to neoliberal privatization groups Students First and the related organizations Education Reform Now and Democrats for Education Reform, including at least $1,000,000 to Education Reform Now.3 Education pri

FAQs

What does the introduction claim about how education politics used crises?

It argues that political interests leverage crises to advance agendas, citing the Covid pandemic and subsequent shifts through multiple culture-war issues in schools.

How are neoliberal and conservative education reformers described differently?

Neoliberal groups are said to have existed longer and are linked to donation bundling for charter-school supporting candidates, while conservative groups surged since 2021 and draw on backlash politics.

What “tells” does the report propose to identify Astroturf parent groups?

It suggests using tests focused on growth pace, identifying funders and amounts, inferring funding through allied organizations, mapping key vendors, and analyzing “creation stories” plus related media coverage.

Oct 15, 2026

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