Watching the Astroturf Education Lobbying Group.
When a national organization spends millions to influence local school board elections, endorses candidates across 18 races in a single cycle, and shapes education policy from state capitols to district boardrooms, parents deserve to know who is pulling the strings.
Stand for Children is a national education advocacy organization founded by Jonah Edelman in 1996. What began as a grassroots children's advocacy movement has become one of the most well-funded education lobbying operations in the country, using political donations and lobbying to influence school board elections, push charter school expansion, and shape education policy in states from Colorado to Indiana to Oregon to Oklahoma.
The organization's political action committees have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into school board races, consistently backing candidates who support charter school expansion, teacher evaluation "reform," and corporate-backed education policy. In Colorado alone, Stand for Children made endorsements in 18 races during the 2014 election cycle and spent over $300,000 in the 2019 DPS school board races.
This site aggregated news coverage tracking Stand for Children's activities from publications including Chalkbeat, the Indianapolis Recorder, NewsOK, the Arizona Capitol Times, HeraldNet, and NOLA.com. The original WordPress blog served as a watchdog resource for parents, teachers, and community members trying to understand who was spending money to influence their children's education.
Featured Coverage
Stand for Children makes 2014 endorsements
Chalkbeat Colorado — Stand for Children Colorado endorsed candidates in 18 races across school boards, state legislature, and statewide offices.
"Is Stand for Children buying IPS School Board election?"
Indianapolis Recorder — "The new, more odious player in the IPS race is a group with an innocent name — Stand for Children."
Tactics during Oklahoma campaign undermine education group's mission
NewsOK — How Stand for Children's political tactics in Oklahoma contradicted their stated mission of putting children first.
Stand for Children's Impact on Denver Public Schools
How endorsements, spending, and lobbying contributed to the "reform" majority that closed 48+ neighborhood schools.
The Numbers
Explore the Archive
- About This Site — Why it exists and what it tracks
- Article Archive — Sourced coverage from Chalkbeat, Indianapolis Recorder, NewsOK, and more
- DPS Impact — How Stand for Children shaped the Denver Public Schools board and the closures that followed
- Colorado Endorsements — 18 races in 2014
- Indianapolis Election — "Buying the IPS school board"
