MAKING THE GRADE?

The report argues that private equity firms are increasingly treating the US education sector as a "return-generating machine," leading to tuition hikes in childcare, the defunding of public schools through "school choice" vouchers, and the influence of corporate interests on classroom curricula. It highlights the role of firms like Leeds Equity Partners in owning companies across multiple stages of a child's education and calls for greater regulation and transparency to protect students and educators.

• Private equity firms are aggressively targeting the US education sector, with firms like Leeds Equity Partners seeking to raise $1.8 billion for an education-focused fund targeting "knowledge industries."
• In the childcare sector, private equity ownership is linked to increased costs for families, as firms prioritize profit margins over service quality. For example, KinderCare stated that its profitability depends on the ability to "offset our increased costs through tuition increases."
• The "school choice" movement, supported by the Trump administration and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, promotes vouchers that redirect public funds to private and charter schools, which the report argues effectively defunds public education and harms vulnerable children.
• Private equity-owned curriculum providers may allow corporate interests to influence what students learn. Discovery Education, owned by Clearlake Capital Partners and Francisco Partners, uses content from the American Petroleum Institute (API), which the report notes has a "long history of promoting climate denial."
• Major standardized testing providers have recently transitioned to private equity ownership, including Scantron (acquired by Regent in May 2024) and ACT (acquired by Nexus Capital in April 2024), the latter of which is transitioning from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity.
• Leeds Equity Partners has established a vertical presence across the entire educational lifecycle, owning companies in childcare (Big Blue Marble Academy), private schools (Fusion Education Group), curriculum (95 Percent Group, TouchMath), and assessment (Learnosity).

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2025). MAKING THE GRADE? https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PESP_Report_Making_the_Grade_2025-.pdf

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. MAKING THE GRADE? 2025. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PESP_Report_Making_the_Grade_2025-.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=MAKING THE GRADE? |date=March 2025 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PESP_Report_Making_the_Grade_2025-.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2025making, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{MAKING THE GRADE?}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PESP_Report_Making_the_Grade_2025-.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }