Preston Green, J.D., Ed.D.
John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education University of Connecticut
Biography
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
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
Why national charter leaders are very worried about Oklahoma’s religious charter school
Chalkbeat online
2025-04-28
That school and other classical academies, along with the North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools, has filed its own friend-of-the-court brief arguing that if charter schools are found to be government entities, that would expose them to lawsuits and regulations, “sanding off the edges of cultural and pedagogical difference until the schools are virtually indistinguishable from their public-school counterparts.”
“Charter schools have wanted to have it both ways, where they were public for matters that they like, like funding, and private for things that they may not like, for instance, teacher rights,” said Preston Green, a professor of education at the University of Connecticut who has written extensively about charter schools.
How Amy Coney Barrett’s close friendship could affect the future of this major supreme court case
The Guardian online
2025-03-17
Such a ruling, he said, could affect all 46 states with charter school laws. But ripple effects could stretch beyond the classroom.
“The implications for education and society could be profound,” said Preston Green, a University of Connecticut education professor. “It would mean that the government cannot exclude religious groups from any public benefits program.”
As High Court Takes Catholic Charter Case, ‘Stakes Really Couldn’t Be Higher’
The 74 online
2025-01-27
Experts say it’s hard to ignore the strides evangelical Republicans have made at elevating the importance of Christianity in the classroom.
Red states aren’t just passing voucher programs that allow parents to pay tuition at faith-based schools; they’re also incorporating Bible lessons into the curriculum. If the court rules in favor of the school, Preston Green, a University of Connecticut education and law professor, predicts religious organizations would suddenly “clamour” to open faith-based charters.
Supreme Court to Hear Oklahoma Religious Charter School Case
The New York Times print
2025-01-24
For decades, the hybrid nature of charter schools — sharing features of both public schools and private institutions — has made it difficult for courts to determine how different education issues should apply to them, according to Preston Green, a professor at the University of Connecticut who studies educational law.
Still, Mr. Green said he believes St. Isidore’s argument “could be very attractive” to the conservative justices — and that if the court ultimately sides with the charter school, “the implications are potentially huge.”
A Potential Solution To Charter School Religious First Amendment Problems
Forbes online
2025-01-03
s a charter school a state actor or not? If a charter school is a state actor, meaning that it is an arm of the government, then it must abide by the government’s rules, including First Amendment prohibition on religious instruction. If it is not a government actor, but a private business, then the charter school exists in a Constitution-free zone where it may set its own rules, including those that adhere to or promote a certain religion.
In a new article in the Drake Law Review, Preston Green (University of Connecticut) and Suzanne Eckes (University of Wisconsin-Madison) explain the nature of the problem and propose a solution.
Charter Schools Are in Uncharted Political Waters This Election Season
Education Week online
2024-10-11
While charters may have faded somewhat from the political discourse, that doesn’t mean they don’t have the potential to shake up public education, said Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut.
Hackers claim to have published data stolen from Providence Public School Department
Rhode Island Current online
2024-09-25
School districts have become easy and popular targets because many don’t have top of the line systems and enough IT expertise despite their large budgets, said Preston Green III, a professor of urban education, educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut.
“Cybersecurity people have said that school districts are low hanging fruit,” Green said. “They have archaic systems … and they don’t update them and they have money. William ‘The Actor’ Sutton was asked why he robs banks. ‘Because that’s where the money is.’”
Project 2025: What Could It Mean for Education in Georgia?
Capital B News online
2024-08-08
But if Republicans take control of Congress and the White House in November, the Department of Education could disappear under a proposal outlined in the conservative policy blueprint called Project 2025. Vanishing a federal agency would require a battle in Congress and perhaps even the courts. But if the plan succeeded, its impact on vulnerable students and families who rely on funding and civil rights protections from the agency would be stark and obvious.
“It’s just [about] the enforcement of laws, protecting students of color,” said Preston Green, a professor of law and educational leadership at the University of Connecticut and a national expert in school vouchers and school desegregation. “For instance, if there is this sort of disparate impact on students of color, the federal government could become involved. Without that department, you would be removing that level of oversight and protection.”
Enrichment only for the rich? How school segregation continues to divide students by income
USA Today print
2024-05-16
To address these seemingly intractable disparities, Bellwether estimates that states would need to increase allocations to poorer districts in areas with gaps by more than 20% on average. But such vast funding hikes aren’t realistic, Spurrier said. Instead, he and his colleagues propose limits on how much districts can pull from local tax revenue or policies that allow the revenue to be spread more evenly across a metro area. Another solution could be consolidating districts.
“School district lines are an arbitrary thing,” said Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut who studies school funding and segregation. “Other than the politics, there’s nothing that prevents us from redrawing school district lines.”
‘Are We Being Used as a Test Case?’: Oklahoma Justices Question Catholic Charter
The 74 online
2024-04-02
Preston Green, a University of Connecticut education and law professor, called McGinley’s argument a “brilliant framing” that helps the school’s case. He added that if the question eventually reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, he could see the conservative justices siding with the Catholic church.
“It just wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. But he added that the Oklahoma charter case is about more than just religion. It’s also about public education funding. “There’s no real consideration about the impact on the public school system. This could really create some fiscal strain.”
3 Decades In, Charter Schools Continue to Face Legal Challenges
Education Week online
2023-12-12
Preston Green, a professor of education at the University of Connecticut who has written extensively about legal and political issues around charter schools, sees a connection between those efforts and those of charter school advocates.
“For a lot of these states, it is a real push towards the funding of private education by any means necessary, be it charter schools, or vouchers, or both,” Green said. “Charter schools, because of their murkiness, they can be used in a variety of ways.”
Instagram accounts shut down after NYC principal threatens to suspend student followers
Chalkbeat New York online
2023-09-19
Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut, said schools can punish students for speech that disrupts the school’s learning environment or for conduct that occurs on school grounds. But he said suspending kids for following certain Instagram accounts would likely violate their First Amendment rights.
“Mere ‘following’ can’t be sufficient,” he said. “That’s going too far.”
“Betsy DeVos Was a Disaster. I Think Erika Donalds Could Be Worse.”
Mother Jones online
2023-08-10
Preston Green, a University of Connecticut education professor who has studied the school choice movement, believes that Hillsdale may be laying the groundwork to deliver Christian education through publicly funded schools. He pointed to the example of a Catholic school in Oklahoma, which if it opens as planned in 2024 will become the nation’s first religiously affiliated charter school. Green says he expects the Supreme Court to take on the issue of religious charter schools in the near future. “Hillsdale has the infrastructure and the mechanism for delivering religious charters if and when the Supreme Court gives the go-ahead.”
Charter school lost case over skirts rule for girls, but debate over charter autonomy isn’t over
Associated Press online
2023-06-28
The Supreme Court’s denial was a significant win for those who have long held that charter schools are, by their very nature, public institutions. But the debate over whether privately run charter schools can forgo constitutional protections, often in the name of innovation, is far from settled.
“The Supreme Court kicked the can down the road,” said Preston Green, a professor of education and law at the University of Connecticut. “Stay tuned. More to come.”
First religious charter school approved in Oklahoma despite state ban
Chalkbeat online
2023-06-05
If it opens as planned, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would offer students an explicitly religious curriculum based on the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The move sets the stage for a lengthy legal battle that could well reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The ensuing debate could also splinter the charter school movement. And the result could ultimately lead to the growth of religious charter schools around the country.
“Politicians in Oklahoma and some of these other states want this. They see the Supreme Court moving in that direction,” said Preston Green, an education and law professor at the University of Connecticut who has long written about the possibility of religious charter schools. “It has major implications nationwide."
Nation’s First Religious Charter School Could Be Coming to Oklahoma
The New York Times print
2023-04-11
Should the question make its way to the Supreme Court, Preston Green, a professor at the University of Connecticut who studies educational law, believes that the court’s conservative majority would be likely to embrace charter schools as “private actors,” opening the door to religious charters.
“I just can’t see them saying ‘no’ to this, if they get a chance,” he said.
Schools Are Confronting Centuries of Racial Injustice. Will They Offer Reparations?
Education Week online
2023-04-11
Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut, sees the fight for reparations as a long-term effort to shine a light on persistent racial disparities.
In 2021, he and two fellow education scholars, Bruce Baker and Joseph Oluwole, published a playbook for how reparations around K-12 schooling could work. The first step, they argue, would be to undo current school funding policies that exacerbate racial disparities, including state aid that doesn’t sufficiently compensate for low property tax revenue in historically under-resourced Black communities, and funding formulas that fail to target additional aid to students who would most benefit from it.
Virginia Republicans tout school choice bill; Democrats call it a nonstarter
WDBJ 7 tv
2023-01-26
Preston Green, a professor of Education at the University of Connecticut, who is from Virginia and went to UVA and has studied voucher programs extensively, says funding is only part of the problem with this bill.
“When you look very closely at the laws and protections for students from marginalized backgrounds, for instance, many of them leave a lot to be desired. I’m very concerned about the issues they pose for under resourced school districts,” Green said.
Green says the legislation harms students with disabilities because only private schools that receive federal funding are required to follow section 504 and religious schools are not required at all. It’s a law that protects students with disabilities, ensuring schools provide them with appropriate accommodations.
Oklahoma attorney general greenlights religious charter schools
K-12 Dive online
2022-12-12
The opinion follows in the footsteps of the Supreme Court’s landmark cases Carson v. Makin and Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which allowed private institutions to have access to public funding regardless of their religious status or use. It was not unexpected for education and law experts following the issue.
“I wasn’t surprised. Many of us saw this coming,” said Preston Green, professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut. “You could see how the court was gradually setting this possibility up.”
The 2022 Midterms: Why Educators Should Care What Happens
Education Week online
2022-11-07
Over 6,000 state legislative seats in 46 states are up for election this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. A number of states have led the charge in passing bills limiting how schools can approach race, gender identity, and sexuality in the classroom. Seventeen states have passed laws aimed at preventing teachers from discussing what they call divisive concepts like race, gender, and sexuality.
Nearly a third of teachers who have chosen not to address those topics in the classroom worry about professional or legal consequences, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey of teachers.
“Things that public schools focus on, in terms of teaching students about various issues and making sure students are protected, all of those hallmarks of public education are being attacked,” said Preston Green, an education leadership and law professor at the University of Connecticut. “Depending on how the Republicans do, you may see more of it.”
Schoolhouse Showdown
UConn 360 Podcast online
2022-05-04
Preston Green is a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut and the John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education at the Neag School of Education. He’s a nationally recognized expert on school choice, charter schools, and the complex legal landscape of American public education. He’s also a great follow on Twitter, and a fun person to talk to about issues that are at the forefront of American politics. He stops by this week to talk about the Supreme Court, charter schools, the fight over school curricula, and more.
Milwaukee Carmen union drive shows how charter schools straddle public and private sectors
WUWM Milwaukee radio
2022-03-10
Preston Green, an educational policy professor at the University of Connecticut, says there is ongoing legal debate about whether charter schools are public or private institutions.
"Courts have had a very difficult time over the years making these distinctions whether charter schools are public or private because the laws may be different depending on the issue," Green says.
Biden Supreme Court Nominee, Praised for ‘Stellar Civil Rights Record,’ Could Face Conflict on Upcoming Harvard Admissions Case
The 74 online
2022-02-25
But as the first Black woman on the court, Jackson would likely be more attuned to issues of race and gender as reflected in school dress codes or restrictions on Black hairstyles like braids, and she might see “discrimination that maybe another justice might not,” said Preston Green, an education professor at the University of Connecticut.
Jackson would join the court at a time when conservative justices have signaled they’re open to rolling back abortion rights and have already moved in the direction of more religious freedom.
“This court is really undoing a lot of decisions that people have thought were off the table,” Green said.
‘The next frontier’: Supreme Court case could open door to religious charter schools
Chalkbeat online
2022-02-24
Some legal scholars say that raises a new question. If a state can’t keep a private religious school out of its voucher program, can it stop a religious school from participating in its charter school program?
“Charter schools are the next frontier,” Preston Green, an education law professor at the University of Connecticut. Compared to school vouchers, “this could actually be more of a win for religious entities if they can get it.”
In Dress Code Case, Federal Appeals Court to Weigh in on Public Status of Charter Schools
The 74 online
2021-12-07
The outcome of another federal lawsuit, scheduled for oral arguments before the Supreme Court Wednesday, could also back up that argument. In Carson v. Makin, plaintiffs argue that religious schools should be able to participate in school choice programs even if they teach religion.
Preston Green, an education professor at the University of Connecticut, said a Supreme Court opinion in favor of the plaintiffs in Carson would strengthen the case for religious charters.
How Far Will Supreme Court’s Super-Conservative Majority Go to Push Religious Freedom in Public Schools? Maine Choice Case Provides Fresh Test
The 74 online
2021-09-27
In June, the 2nd Circuit ruled that students in Vermont can use public funds at religious schools. So far the state hasn’t appealed the ruling, perhaps waiting for the Supreme Court to weigh in on Carson. And maybe in anticipation of the justices siding with the plaintiffs, Gov. Chris Sununu in neighboring New Hampshire signed legislation in July removing the restriction on religious schools in that state’s tuitioning program.
A decision for the plaintiffs could prompt some states to get out of the voucher business if they can’t place restrictions on curriculum, noted Preston Green, an education professor at the University of Connecticut.
Charter Schools’ Scary Future
The New Republic print
2021-09-10
The Biden Department of Education hasn’t indicated whether it plans to once again ban religiously affiliated charters from participating in the program. Such a prohibition would almost certainly be challenged in court as discriminatory by advocates who have a growing list of legal rulings on their side.
“It’s not a question of if, but when,” said Preston Green, an education and law professor at the University of Connecticut, who first began writing about the possibility of religious charter schools back in 2001. “For religious entities, access to public revenue is tremendously appealing, and now you have the courts basically saying to states, ‘You can’t prevent this.’”
Organizing Mutual Aid Education and School Funding Reparations
Talk Out of School online
2021-02-24
Host Leonie Haimson interviews Dr. Preston Green, professor at the Univ. of Connecticut, who has co-authored a fascinating article that proposes that part of the government’s reparations to Black communities for slavery and ongoing discrimination be made in the form of increasing funding for their underfunded public schools.
A flood of new charters shows how the industry may try to thrive — despite the pandemic
AlterNet online
2020-12-15
"Charters have honed their message to attract Black and Latinx students over the years, particularly with the ploy that charters can provide students with a private school educational experience," Preston Green told me. "It is quite possible that this messaging might also sway suburban parents."
Green, a University of Connecticut professor, is the author of numerous critical studies of charter schools, including one in which he argued that the charter industry's operations resemble the business practices of Enron, the mammoth energy corporation that collapsed under a weight of debt and scandal.
DeVos will let religious groups apply for charter grants, opening up new legal battlefront
Chalkbeat online
2020-10-29
Preston Green, a education law professor at the University of Connecticut who has written extensively about the legal status of charter schools, agrees with the department’s analysis. “I think that legally they’re on strong ground,” he said.
He noted that the Trump administration’s analysis still doesn’t seem to allow for federal money for charter schools run in a religious manner, but said this could be a step in that direction. This “is a further advancement of what they want in the end, which I think is direct funding of religious education,” he said.
Tennessee’s overturned school voucher law goes before appeals court on Wednesday
Chalkbeat Tennessee online
2020-08-04
Others are watching how the economic fallout from the pandemic could affect public school funding, especially as the school choice movement has gained steam under the Trump administration.
“The larger the school choice program, the greater the possible stress on public schooling. This should be of special concern in a pandemic when we know there’s a very good chance that public school funding will be reduced,” said Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut.
Education 101: Don’t Open a New Charter School in the Middle of a Pandemic
Citizen Truth online
2020-06-25
“[These parents and public school advocates] should expect charter schools to drain financial resources from their communities’ public schools,” Preston Green told me in a phone call.
Green, a University of Connecticut professor, is the author of numerous critical studies of charter schools, including one in which he argued that the charter industry’s operations resemble the business practices of Enron, the mammoth energy corporation that collapsed under a weight of debt and scandal.
This Supreme Court case could deliver a win for school choice advocates. What might happen next?
Chalkbeat online
2020-01-21
If it’s discriminatory to prevent families from taking vouchers to religious schools, why shouldn’t students in public schools be able to take their allotment of state funding to a religious school?
“There really is the possibility, however slight, that this case could upend the funding structure for public education,” said Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut.
Articles
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 ConversationPreston 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?
Beware of Educational Blackmail: How Can We Apply Lessons from Environmental Justice to Urban Charter School Growth?
South Carolina Law ReviewPreston Green and Chelsea Connery
2022-04-29
This Article explains how environmental justice principles can be used in litigation and legislation to enable minority families in urban communities to benefit from charter schools while at the same time protecting against the dangers posed to their school systems and children. In Part II, we explain how environmental justice concepts are designed to protect against environmental blackmail, which is the promise of economic benefits made by polluting companies in exchange for extreme risks to the health of workers and communities where toxic sites are located. In Part III, we describe how a similar form of blackmail may be occurring in urban charter schools—a phenomenon we have coined “educational blackmail.” In Part IV, we analyze environmental justice litigation and charter school litigation. We also assess the extent to which plaintiffs can use environmental justice concepts to address the expansion of urban charter schools. Finally, we examine environmental justice laws to determine how urban school districts and students can utilize the charter school statutes and regulations to better protect themselves against harm.
How reparations can be paid through school finance reform
The ConversationPreston Green and Bruce Baker
2021-09-16
White public schools have always gotten more money than Black public schools. These funding disparities go back to the so-called “separate but equal” era – which was enshrined into the nation’s laws by the Supreme Court’s 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.
The disparities have persisted even after Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision that ordered the desegregation of America’s public schools.
School Finance, Race, and Reparations
Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social JusticePreston Green, Bruce D. Baker, and Joseph Oluwole
2021-02-05
In this article we explain why and how school finance reform should be a part of a reparations program for Black Americans. This article proceeds in six parts. Part I explains how Black-white school funding disparities occurred during the separate-but-equal era. Part II discusses how these funding disparities have occurred in the aftermath of the Brown decision. Parts III and IV explore why school desegregation and school finance litigation, respectively, have failed to remedy these gaps. Part V lays out a reparations framework that state legislatures could adopt to provide restitution to schools and taxpayers harmed by state policies creating Black-white racial funding disparities. Part VI discusses the role that the federal government could play in a school finance reparations program
OPINION: Should plaintiffs in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling about school choice be careful what they wish for?
The Hechinger ReportBruce Baker and Preston Green
2020-01-30
When states choose to operate a program that involves public (or publicly governed) financing of private service providers, can the state choose to exclude religious providers?
That’s the question that Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue asks about U.S. schools.
It’s been nearly two decades since the U.S. Supreme Court said government programs that provide vouchers for schooling, including religious schools, do not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment, even where most available options are religious schools.
Are Charter Schools the Second Coming of Enron?: An Examination of the Gatekeepers That Protect against Dangerous Related-Party Transactions in the Charter School Sector
Indian Law JournalPreston C Green, Bruce D Baker, Joseph Oluwole
2017
This article is divided into four parts. Part I describes how Fastow used his management of Enron and the SPEs to obtain illegal profits. Part II discusses why financial sector gatekeepers failed to stop these related-party transactions. Part III shows how charter school officials are benefitting from their control over charter schools and their affiliates in a manner similar to Fastow. Part IV analyzes pertinent statutory and regulatory provisions to identify steps that can be taken to increase the gatekeepers’ ability to protect against harmful related-party transactions.
Non-religion-based State Constitutional Challenges to Educational Voucher and Tax Credit Programs
Peabody Journal of EducationPreston C Green III
2016
This article provides an overview of non-religion-based state constitutional challenges to educational voucher and tax credit/scholarship programs.
School Inequality: Challenges and Solutions: Allen Chair Issue 2016: Charter Schools: Are We Heading Toward a Charter School" Bubble"?: Lessons From the Subprime Mortgage Crisis
University of Richmond Law ReviewPreston C Green III, Bruce D Baker, Joseph O Oluwole, Julie F Mead
2016
Since 1992, forty-three states and the District of Columbia have passed charter school legislation. 1 Charter schools are commonly defined as public schools that are given considerable latitude from state rules and regulations that apply to traditional public schools while being held accountable for student achievement. 2 There are more than 6700 charter schools nationwide, serving nearly three million students, which accounts for 6% of public school enrollment. 3
An Analysis of the New York Charter School Auditing Cases
West's Education Law ReporterPreston C Green, Joseph Oluwole
2015
This article explains how New York’s charter schools have, thus far, relied upon their private characteristics to avoid audits by the state comptroller. In each instance, the charter schools prevailed by demonstrating that they were more “private” than the institutions that the state constitution authorized the comptroller to audit.
Cyber Charter Schools and Students With Dis/abilities: Rebooting the Idea to Address Equity, Access, and Compliance
Equity & Excellence in EducationKathleen M Collins, Preston C Green III, Steven L Nelson, Santosh Madahar
2015
This article takes up the question of equity, access, and cyber charter schools from the perspective of disability studies in education (DSE). DSE positions inclusion and educational access as social justice concerns. In doing so, we assert the importance of making visible the social justice implications of the current laws that impact cyber charter schools and students with disabilities.
