This week’s edition of Whiteboard Notes is cross-published on Edtech Insiders. Edtech Insiders brings together people building, funding, and shaping education technology through media, original research, and events.

It’s been 72 hours since the election, and the education implications are coming into focus.

All in, Democrats flipped five governorships (Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, Texas), and broke four Republican trifectas. Democrats also took the Wisconsin Senate, won a trifecta in Pennsylvania, and broke the Republican supermajority in Florida. Come January, Democrats will control both chambers of Congress.

Of course, while the big races dominate national conversations, Anna and I published a special edition of Notes yesterday, explaining why the most consequential changes in education don’t come from the top of the ticket, but rather, the state chiefs and school boards that change hands further down.

Georgia elected a Democratic state school superintendent for the first time since the 1990s. The conservative North Carolina House turned blue. In Texas, Democrats also won comptroller, the office that runs the state’s new education savings accounts. And in Chicago, voters chose the city’s first fully elected school board, completing a shift away from mayoral control that began with the first board elections in 2024.

Noah Sudow, who leads our higher ed policy team, weighed in as well. At the federal level, he doesn’t expect last year’s loan caps or the Grad PLUS phaseout to be repealed. The new accreditation rules, which we covered last week, will still take effect July 1, 2027. But governors set the tone of higher ed policy through budgets, agency leadership, and board appointments. Noah should know: He served as a top higher ed official the last time Ohio had a Democratic administration, and he stayed on for the first year of that state’s Republican takeover.

Changing statehouses often means new state education leaders. 19 states have their state education leader appointed by the governor and 12 more have their top official elected by the populace; others are appointed by a state board of education. 

Based on this week’s election results, up to 16 states could see new leadership setting policy, guidance, and implementation support across K-12 systems by January. We’ll be tracking priorities and positions ahead of the 2027 legislative session, and in anticipation of governors’ State of the State addresses. 

On November 3, 2026, voters selected new state education chiefs directly, with five more state chief roles to be appointed by newly elected governors. We are also following six additional state chief positions where the governorship did not change parties, but may still be looking for new education leaders.

Below is a breakdown of these races and the significance a new state chief brings to each state. Check out more on the W/A Research Site. 

In these states, the newly elected governor has direct authority to appoint or approve the chief.

A change in the governor's office can mean new leadership at the state education agency even when the party stays the same. We are monitoring potential changes to the state education offices in Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Tennessee, Florida, and Rhode Island. We may also see changes in states where state boards appoint the chief, but those will take longer to develop, whereas governors tend to want the position filled by “their pick” on Day 1 in January.

The way K-12 education is funded is changing. Education Savings Accounts are expanding, new funding mechanisms are emerging, alternative school models are drawing attention, and more families are exploring options outside traditional public schools.

On November 20, EdTech Insiders is bringing together leaders working across education choice, policy, technology, and alternative education models to discuss the evolving school choice movement.

🗓️ Friday, November 20 at Noon ET

On Wednesday, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that her state will participate in the new federal scholarship tax credit beginning in 2027, becoming the third Democratic governor to embrace the program, following Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The announcement comes just a day after elections that could reshape the future of school choice in several states—including participation in the federal tax credit. But the biggest implications may not come until 2028.

Here's why: Under Treasury's regulations, states must submit an initial advance election to participate by January 1, 2027, and then perfect that election by submitting a certified list of scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) to the IRS by February 15. Treasury notes that states can, in effect, opt out by failing to perfect their advance election, but that completed elections cannot be revoked for that calendar year. Outgoing governors can therefore complete both steps before leaving office, securing participation for 2027. Because states must make a new election annually, 2028 provides another opportunity to reconsider participation.

Tuesday's elections put new Democratic governors in charge of six states that have already opted into the federal program: Colorado (Phil Weiser), Georgia (Keisha Lance Bottoms), Iowa (Rob Sand), Nevada (Aaron Ford), Ohio (Amy Acton), and Texas (Gina Hinojosa). Weiser has explicitly said he would opt Colorado out, while Ford has expressed concerns about the program and said he is examining the legality of Nevada's participation. The other governors-elect have not clearly established positions on the federal tax credit, although several, including Sand and Hinojosa, have criticized their states' existing private school choice programs.

Meanwhile, Democratic victories in Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania mean those states will remain under Democratic leadership, though participation decisions are far from settled.

Last month, five Democratic governors wrote to Treasury seeking additional clarification on the regulations released in early October, particularly around how scholarships could support public school students, state oversight, and program costs. New Mexico's announcement, which emphasized opportunities to support public school tutoring, literacy initiatives, and after-school programs, illustrates how those considerations could shape governors' decisions.

The implications extend beyond the federal program. As we noted in our post-election analysis, new Democratic governors will also inherit established state-level school choice programs, including ESAs in Georgia, Iowa, and Texas and Ohio's voucher programs. Once programs are operating and families are enrolled, unwinding them becomes politically and practically challenging. While some governors-elect, including Hinojosa in Texas, have called for repeal, we expect much of the near-term debate to center on funding, accountability, eligibility, and oversight.

The bottom line: The first year of the federal scholarship tax credit will be closely watched, particularly whether it delivers meaningful benefits for public school students. Those early results could play an important role in shaping governors' decisions for 2028 and beyond.

Check out W/A Jobs, which features 3,928 career opportunities from 327 organizations across the education industry. Hiring? For $250/month or $1,000/year, organizations can post an unlimited number of jobs with no per-job fees.

Programming Note: Next Thursday, the W/A team will be in Washington, D.C. for our Post-Election Policy Forum. Whiteboard Notes will return to your inbox on Thursday, November 19!