Foundation for Excellence in Education

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Foundation for Excellence in Education
Foundation for Excellence in Education logo.png
Basic facts
Location:Tallahassee, Florida
Type:501(c)(3)
Top official:Patricia Levesque
Founder(s):Jeb Bush
Year founded:2008
Employees:Under 50[1]
Website:Official website

The Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates on and researches education policy. The organization maintains an office in Tallahassee, Florida.[2][3] The group has a sister 501(c)(4) organization, ExcelinEd in Action, that lobbies in state legislatures.[4]

Background

The Foundation for Excellence in Education was founded in 2008 by Jeb Bush.[5]

As of August 2025, the foundation's website said its goal is to support "state leaders in transforming education to unlock opportunity and lifelong success for each and every child."[2]

Leadership

As of August 2025, Patricia Levesque was the chief executive officer for the Foundation for Excellence in Education.[2]

As of August 2025, the following individuals were members of the foundation's board of directors:[2]

Work and activities

Legislative and policy work

The organization advocates for a range of education policies, including areas supported by Bush when he served as governor of Florida between 1999 and 2007.[6]

The foundation has a policy playbook, centering on eight policy areas. They include "providing high-quality public, private and non-traditional schooling options for all families," improving childhood literacy, and creating "objective school accountability systems (to) increase student performance and spur school improvement."[7]

In addition to publishing research on education policy, the group maintains a blog, publishes a podcast, Policy Changes Lives, and hosts an annual National Summit on Education.[8][9]

ExcelinEd in Action

ExcelinEd in Action is the foundation's 501(c)(4) sister organization. As of August 2025, the group said it "works with state lawmakers, partners and advocates to champion student-centered education policies" by lobbying on bills and testifying in front of lawmakers.[10] Between 2015 and 2025, ExcelinEd in Action has worked in 38 states and Puerto Rico.[10] In 2024, the group said it worked to pass 110 bills supporting their policy priorities in 25 states, as well as working to protect existing laws the group favored in seven states.[11]

As of August 2025, the group said it focused on advocating for the following policies:[10]

“
  • Embrace higher standards and accountability.
  • Prioritize early literacy and numeracy with teacher training, high-quality instructional materials and intervention programs.
  • Strengthen educator recruitment and retention in schools.
  • Create high-quality education-to-workforce pathways for students aligned to higher-paid, in-demand jobs.
  • Empower parents and families with public and private school choice opportunities.
  • Improve infrastructure and expand resources to close the digital divide.

[12]

”

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.

Finances

The following is a breakdown of the revenues and expenses for the Foundation for Excellence in Education from 2019-2022, according to documents submitted to the Internal Revenue Service.

Annual revenue and expenses for the Foundation for Excellence in Education, 2019–2022,
Tax Year Total Revenue Total Expenses
2022[13] $21,897,954 $9,570,0,691
2021[13] $8,286,056 $9,037,387
2020[14] $12,913,883 $8,082,585
2019[14] $9,812,104 $9,230,317

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Foundation + for + Excellence + in + Education"

Foundation for Excellence in Education News Feed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ LinkedIn, "Foundation for Excellence in Education," accessed March 16, 2015
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "About," accessed August 15, 2025
  3. ↑ Foundation for Excellence in Education, "Get involved," accessed August 15, 2025
  4. ↑ Education Next , "How Jeb Bush’s ExcelinEd Is Tackling the Next 5 Years," accessed August 15, 2025
  5. ↑ Reuters , "Jeb Bush, With Cash And Clout, Pushes Contentious School Reforms," November 27, 2012
  6. ↑ Washington Post , "Jeb Bush education foundation played leading role in mixing politics, policy," January 6, 2015
  7. ↑ ExcelinEd , "Policy Playbook," accessed August 15, 2025
  8. ↑ Acast , "Policy Changes Lives," accessed August 15, 2025
  9. ↑ ExcelinEd , "National Summit on Education," accessed August 15, 2025
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 ExcelinEd in Action , "What We Do," accessed August 15, 2025
  11. ↑ [ExcelinEd_LegReport_2024 ExcelinEd in Action , "2024 Legislative Impact Report," accessed August 15, 2025]
  12. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 [https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/260615175_202212_990_2023120122051942.pdf Internal Revenue Service , "Foundation for Excellence in Education 2022 990 Form" accessed August 15, 2025
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Internal Revenue Service , "Foundation for Excellence in Education 2022 990 Form," accessed August 15, 2025
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