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In July, Sarah Fields, a podcaster and the president of a conservative , posted a short thread on X about self-proclaimed school choice 鈥渆vangelist鈥� Corey DeAngelis. 

After expressing opposition to the pro-voucher movement he embodied, she added, 鈥淪ide note 鈥� Corey A. DeAngelis, the face of school choice, was a model that catered to the gay community鈥� and included a black-and-white photo of what appeared to be a shirtless DeAngelis in a suggestive pose. 

At the time, the revelation didn鈥檛 cause a stir or interfere with DeAngelis鈥檚 hectic schedule as a leading lobbyist for 鈥渇unding students, not systems.鈥� He his book, 鈥淭he Parent Revolution,鈥� which earned from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. And and other conservative outlets continued to feature him and that schools focus too much on the 鈥淟GBT鈥檚 as opposed to the ABC’s.鈥�

But that abruptly ended Friday when , a far-right fringe account on Substack, reported that DeAngelis had a gay adult film career under the pseudonym 鈥淪eth Rose鈥� and appeared in a 2015 film set in a college. The Betsy DeVos-backed American Federation for Children, where DeAngelis has been a senior fellow pushing school choice bills since 2021, quickly erased him from its website. 

鈥淲e have placed the employee on leave as we investigate this matter further,鈥� a spokeswoman for the pro-school choice group said.

Has anyone heard from Corey DeAngelis in the last few days? He normally tweets at me incessantly- he鈥檚 been very silent. Hope he鈥檚 ok.

鈥� Randi Weingarten 馃嚭馃嚫馃挭馃徔馃懇鈥嶐煄擆煙ｐ煂答煡� (@rweingarten)

Known for aggressive online rhetoric aimed at school districts, unions, and particularly American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, DeAngelis has been uncharacteristically silent on social media since the news broke and didn鈥檛 return texts or a phone call from 麻豆精品. His on Thursday referenced a video of Vice President Kamala Harris talking about children being 鈥渙f the community.鈥�

鈥淭hey think they own your kids,鈥� he wrote.

Online and in person, DeAngelis has been an avid culture warrior and perhaps the most visible face of a brand of school choice that paints traditional districts as failing institutions that are forcing left-wing ideas on students. 鈥淪chool choice defeats the woke mind virus,鈥� he commented in response to from House Speaker Mike Johnson featuring a 鈥渓esson plan鈥� parody that included 鈥渄rag queen story hours鈥� and transgender students鈥� participation in school sports.聽

He frequently browbeat Democratic opponents to and trolled them when they blocked him.

But the news of DeAngelis鈥檚 alleged past ultimately came not from his many critics on the left, but rather has its origins in an intra-MAGA dispute involving right-wing Texas groups that trade in conspiracy theories and oppose Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 plan for school vouchers.

The Texas Freedom Coalition, which is run by Fields, calls itself a network of 鈥減atriots鈥� who opposed COVID lockdowns. They view vouchers as another form of government overreach.

Fields gave Current Revolt, a far-right site that has , credit for digging into gay porn sites to find the film and other photos. But she told 麻豆精品, 鈥淢y post is what caused several people to start asking questions about his past.鈥�

A screenshot of what appeared to be a policy expert for DeAngelis with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization raised red flags for her and other conservative parents who view talk of 鈥済lobal鈥� partnerships as a threat to U.S. independence. One of UNESCO鈥檚 is 鈥渋nclusive and equitable quality education.鈥�

鈥淪chool choice isn’t merely a lucrative scam; it’s a cunning ploy to enable government oversight of all educational avenues through a web of regulations and accountability tied to public funding,鈥� Fields wrote in her July post about DeAngelis. 

DeAngelis any connections to the U.N. group.

Mary Lowe, a conservative activist who split from Moms for Liberty 鈥� another 鈥� over the issue of school choice, was also skeptical. She said she never understood why conservatives flocked toward DeAngelis after in 2020, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 vote for Trump 鈥� and I鈥檓 not a Republican.鈥�

But Gov. Greg Abbott and pro-voucher advocates like the Texas Public Policy Foundation 鈥� who have for years to pass a school choice law 鈥� embraced DeAngelis鈥檚 take-no-prisoners style of advocacy. Following other states with similar laws, they want Texas to give parents roughly $10,000 a year to spend on private school tuition or homeschooling. At Republican lawmakers鈥� invitation, he testified before the Texas House education committee on the topic of 鈥減arent empowerment鈥� in 2022, despite the fact that he was single with no children at the time.

鈥淥ur moms鈥� intuition was like 鈥楾here is something missing to this story,鈥欌�� said Lowe, who founded a new group, Families Engaged for Effective Education, after leaving Moms for Liberty. 鈥楾here is something not right here.鈥� 鈥�

DeAngelis a 鈥渟lick salesman鈥� for the school choice movement.

It wasn鈥檛 until last week, however, that news linking DeAngelis to porn films spread like wildfire on social media.

Immediate reaction to the graphic images spread on porn-related websites and among who saw the scoop as 鈥溾�� for one of their bitterest foes. , an Oklahoma City attorney, asked how Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and state Superintendent Ryan Walters 鈥渨ho are so anxious to privatize Oklahoma public education never vetted Corey DeAngelis?鈥� DeAngelis supported their campaigns in 2022, and Walters similarly accuses public schools of spreading 鈥渨oke gender ideology鈥� in schools and frequently posts examples of what he considers left-wing indoctrination.

The school choice grifters at the American Federation for Children deleted Corey DeAngelis off their site馃珷

鈥� Jess Piper (@piper4missouri)

The Hoover Institution, a Stanford University think tank where DeAngelis has been a visiting fellow for the past year, no longer lists him as an expert, but retains his articles on the site. There have been no changes to his profiles on the sites of two libertarian organizations where he鈥檚 been a contributor, the and the .

On his Eduwonk blog, Andy Rotherham, co-founder of Bellwether, a think tank, 鈥渁 little grace鈥� toward someone he described as a 鈥渄eeply troubled person.鈥� But he argued that , which include about drag shows and Pride festivals, are 鈥済oing to be hard for his allies to defend.鈥�

Other school choice advocates were already pointing fingers back at traditional public schools.

鈥淲hat’s better? A person with a sinful past trying to do a virtuous thing?鈥� , a conservative Latino broadcaster and political analyst asked on X. 鈥淥r those claiming virtue, like defenders of gov-ed’s debauchery, who knowingly push evil today?鈥� 

But others said the episode serves as a warning to education activists who place too much faith in one polarizing individual to carry their message.

鈥淥ftentimes these character traits go hand in hand. Being a very outstanding speaker and charismatic leader 鈥� comes with a degree of narcissism,鈥� Morgan Polikoff, a University of Southern California education professor, who is gay, told 麻豆精品. 鈥淭he feeling that you’re above reproach can lead to questionable judgment.鈥�

Disclosure: Corey DeAngelis wrote several opinion pieces for 麻豆精品 between 2018 and 2023. The Hoover Institution, where DeAngelis served as a visiting fellow until this month, provides financial support to 麻豆精品. Andy Rotherham sits on 麻豆精品鈥檚 board of directors.

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