Preston Green, J.D., Ed.D.

John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education University of Connecticut

  • Storrs CT

Professor focused on charter school regulation and industry oversight.

Contact

University of Connecticut

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Biography

Preston Green is the John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. He is also a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut. At the University of Connecticut, Dr. Green helped develop the UCAPP Law Program, which enables participants to obtain a law degree and school administrator certification at the same time. Dr. Green also developed the School Law Online Graduate Certificate, a 12-credit online program that helps educators, administrators and policy makers understand the legal dimension of K-12 education.

Before coming to the University of Connecticut, he was the Harry Lawrence Batschelet II Chair Professor of Educational Administration at Penn State, where he was also a professor of education and law and the program coordinator of Penn State’s educational leadership program. In addition, Dr. Green was the creator of Penn State’s joint degree program in law and education. Further, he ran the Law and Education Institute at Penn State, a professional development program that teaches, administrators, and attorneys about educational law.

At the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Green was an associate professor of education. He also served as the program coordinator of educational administration and Assistant Dean of Pre-Major Advising Services.

Dr. Green has written five books and numerous articles and book chapters pertaining to educational law. He primarily focuses on the legal and policy issues pertaining to educational access and school choice.

Areas of Expertise

School Choice
Educational Equity
Industry Oversight
Charter School Regulation
Educational Leadership
Educational Policy

Education

Columbia University

Ed.D.

Educational Administration

1995

Columbia University

J.D.

1992

University of Virginia

B.A.

1989

Affiliations

  • American Educational Research Association, Member
  • Education Law Association, Member
  • University Council for Educational Administration, Member

Social

Media

Media Appearances

Amid church closures, Connecticut's parochial schools see growth and expand

Hearst Connecticut Media  print

2025-08-24

Preston Green, professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut, said an evolving national school privatization landscape is a likely driving force as well.

"Covid was a big part of it in that you did have parents that were not pleased about school closures and concerns about learning loss and so on," he said. "Many gravitated toward private schools and charter schools and homeschooling: there's a variety of options."

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New tax credit a boon to private schools. Will Washington opt in?

Seattle Times  print

2025-08-19

State law doesn’t apply because it is a federal program and it isn’t funded by state money, according to Preston Green, an urban education and educational leadership and law professor at the University of Connecticut. Even if state funds were used, three recent Supreme Court cases dating to 2017 ruled that if a state has a private voucher program, it can’t exclude religious schools from that program.

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‘A Day to Exhale’: Supreme Court Deadlocks on Religious Charter Schools — For Now

The 74  online

2025-05-22

The administration, as part of its school choice agenda, has heavily promoted charter schools since January by removing Biden-era regulations and increasing funding. But some experts say states might tweak charter school laws to clarify that charters are public despite being operated by private organizations.

“The fact that it was as close as it was is a signal. This is a chance to make some changes because it’s going to come up again,” said Preston Green, an education and law professor at the University of Connecticut. He has recommended that states amend laws to clarify that board members for charter schools are public officials.

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Articles

Legal experts weigh in on the implications of the 2025 Supreme Court term for K-12 education

Brookings

Robert Kim, Derek Black, Suzanne Eckes, Preston Green III, and Rachel M. Perera

2025-07-15

This term, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond and Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond. These consolidated cases addressed whether the state of Oklahoma would be forced to open the nation’s first religious charter school. The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School would have been funded by taxpayer money but run by two local Catholic churches. However, the Court issued a split 4-4 decision that upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling against the school. Justice Amy Coney Barret recused herself from the case. Her former employer, the University of Notre Dame, runs a law clinic representing the school.

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Split Supreme Court blocks Oklahoma’s Catholic charter school − but future cases could hinge on whether charters are, at their core, public or private

The Conversation

Preston Green III and Suzanne Eckes

2025-05-23

In April 2025, the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether the nation’s first religious charter school could open in Oklahoma. The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would have been funded by taxpayer money but run by a local archdiocese and diocese. Several justices appeared open to the idea during questioning, leading some analysts to predict a win for the school.

They were proved wrong on May 22, 2025, when the court blocked St. Isidore. The one-sentence, unsigned order did not indicate how individual justices had voted, nor why, simply declaring it was a split 4-4 decision that leaves in place the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling against the school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. Her former employer, the University of Notre Dame, runs a law clinic representing the school’s supporters.

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What is a charter school, really? Supreme Court ruling on whether Catholic charter is constitutional will hinge on whether they’re public or private

The Conversation

Preston Green III and Suzanne Eckes

2025-02-27

In April 2025, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether the nation’s first religious charter school can open in Oklahoma. The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would be funded by taxpayer money but run by a local archdiocese and diocese.

The case is often discussed in terms of religion, and a decision in the school’s favor could allow government dollars to directly fund faith-based charter schools nationwide. In part, the justices must decide whether the First Amendment’s prohibition on government establishing religion applies to charter schools. But the answer to that question is part of an even bigger issue: Are charters really public in the first place?

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