# Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) Founded in 2008 by former Florida governor [[Jeb Bush]], ExcelinEd is the Bush-era education-reform institutional vehicle — built on the "Florida model" of education policy that Bush implemented as governor (1999–2007) and then exported to other states through ExcelinEd's policy infrastructure. ## The Florida Model ExcelinEd's institutional DNA is the set of education reforms Bush enacted in Florida, which collectively became a template for red-state education policy: **A-F school grading** — Assigning letter grades to public schools based on standardized test performance and learning gains, making school quality visible to parents and creating competitive pressure on low-performing schools. This model spread to 15+ states through ExcelinEd's technical assistance. **Third-grade reading retention** — Holding back students who cannot read at grade level by the end of third grade, based on the research finding that students who aren't reading proficiently by third grade are significantly less likely to graduate. Controversial among education researchers but adopted by multiple states. **Charter school expansion** — Streamlining charter authorization and creating accountability frameworks for charter operators. **Tuition-tax-credit scholarships** — Florida's Step Up for Students program (originally the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship) provides privately funded scholarships to low-income students using corporate tax credits — a school-choice mechanism that avoids direct public voucher payments and the Establishment Clause issues that attended them (pre-Zelman). ## Position in the Coalition ExcelinEd straddles two factions of the school-choice coalition: the technocratic ed-reform wing (testing, accountability, standards-based reform) and the voucher/ESA wing (parental choice, market competition). Bush's own positioning was more pro-Common Core and more centrist than the populist Trump-era movement — he defended Common Core standards during his 2016 presidential run at significant political cost. ExcelinEd has navigated this tension by maintaining its testing-and-accountability brand while also supporting ESA and voucher expansion, positioning itself as the "both/and" organization in a coalition that has increasingly become "either/or." ## State-Level Infrastructure ExcelinEd's primary function is translating the Florida model into other states' legislative contexts. The organization provides technical assistance to governors, legislators, and state education agencies — drafting bill language, providing fiscal-impact analyses, and connecting state policymakers with Florida practitioners. This makes ExcelinEd a key node in the [[ALEC]]-adjacent state-policy infrastructure, working alongside [[State Policy Network]] affiliates and the [[American Federation for Children]] to advance choice legislation state by state. ## KB Significance ExcelinEd represents the pre-Trump, establishment-Republican approach to education reform — data-driven, accountability-focused, and institutionally oriented. The tension between this approach and the populist movement's emphasis on parental rights, anti-CRT curriculum control, and hostility to testing and standards illustrates the broader fracture within the school-choice coalition between technocratic reformers and culture warriors. ## See Also - [[Jeb Bush]] — Founder; the Florida model's architect - [[School Choice Ecosystem]] — The broader movement - [[ALEC]] — Model-legislation partner for state-level policy export - [[State Policy Network]] — The network of state think tanks ExcelinEd works alongside - [[School Choice]] — The concept