Education Reform | California Policy Center

Release-time: The revolving door between Santa Ana classrooms and union activities

In early 2015, Santa Ana school officials quietly signed a deal with union leaders that allowed teachers to leave the classroom in order to lobby for higher pay “on a full-time basis with no loss of pay, seniority, sick leave or benefits.” The so-called “release-time” agreement, drafted in November 2014 and signed on January 5, 2015,...

By Mark Bucher

Go to Bad Schools, Go to Prison: The Union’s Dirty Secret

LFor those of us old enough to remember its beginnings, the United Negro College Fund’s iconic “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” campaign is still haunting. It began in 1972 with TV images of black students shut out of classrooms, and ended with an almost undeniable appeal: donate to UNCF so that black...

By R. Claire Friend

The Literacy Crisis

Our illiteracy rate is alarming, but the ed establishment doesn’t seem to be concerned. The biggest problem in the country today? Some may say that it’s healthcare, while others will insist that it’s the economy. A third group maintains that it’s ISIS. While a good a case can be made for any of the above,...

By Larry Sand

School Choice, Uber and Accountability

Betsy DeVos’ ridesharing analogy is spot on, but draws Randi’s wrath. At the Brookings Institution last week, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos gave a talk in which she drew parallels between school choice and the ascendancy of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft. “Just as the traditional taxi systems revolted against ridesharing, so too does the...

By Larry Sand

San Francisco Unified Driving Parents Away from Traditional Public Schools

As we approach Tax Day, when millions of taxpayers deal with our convoluted tax laws, many San Francisco parents have more than taxes on their minds. This is the time of year when the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) mails out the school assignment letters to anxious parents awaiting the results of the government...

By Aubrey Freedman

Tenure Tremors in California

Though better than the current law, a new tenure bill doesn’t go nearly far enough. As things stand, k-12 public school teachers in California are essentially guaranteed lifetime employment if they can get through their first two years on the job. This puts a lot of pressure on principals, as they must decide by March...

By Larry Sand

Tax-Free Teachers?

California school districts lay off teachers…then two legislators move to fix the “teacher shortage problem.” In a surreal political moment, California State Senators Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) and Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) have introduced the “Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017” which offers a novel incentive for teachers to remain in the profession. Senate Bill...

By Larry Sand

Union to blame for teacher layoffs in Santa Ana

Confronting a financial disaster they helped create, Santa Ana teachers union leaders did Tuesday what they’ve done for years: They blamed someone else. In a newsletter they sent to all Santa Ana teachers, union leaders blamed me for the declining enrollment in the district’s schools. In short, they say my work to provide parents with...

By Cecilia Iglesias

Women’s March Madness

International Women’s Day showed us what radical women are really about. March 8th saw many International Women’s Day (IWD) events that showcased elitist women’s anger and victimology. Typical was American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten who spoke at the “Women Workers Rising” rally outside the Department of Labor headquarters in Washington D.C. Among other...

By Larry Sand

Course Correction Time for Teachers Unions?

Unlikely elsewhere, but in California, just fuggedaboutit. As I wrote recently, the teachers unions had a bad week in early February. Anti-forced unionism lawsuits, the emergence of yet another right-to-work state and the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary all combined to make for a miserable few days in Unionland. But unlike waking from...

By Larry Sand

Trump Undoes Obama’s Transgender Bathroom Guidelines

…and teacher union command central is furious. Last week, the Trump administration rightfully withdrew former President Obama’s guidelines regarding bathroom usage, which had called on schools nationwide to let transgender students choose “Boys” or “Girls,” depending on how they perceived themselves and not the old-fashioned way: by body parts. Additionally, Obama had threatened to remove...

By Larry Sand

Beyond DeVos

Editor’s Note: The confirmation of Betsy DeVos was not supported by everyone committed to improving public education, and in particular, not even to everyone committed to breaking the grip of the teachers union on public education. Rishawn Biddle is someone who vehemently opposed DeVos, but is equally vehement in his condemnation of the corruption and...

By RiShawn Biddle

The Wrong March

Despite America’s veer to the right in the recent election, Gramsci’s “long march through the institutions” goes on unimpeded. Antonio Gramsci, an early 20th Century Marxist, believed that it was most effective to spread revolutionary ideology slowly and incrementally. By doing it gradually, he thought that enough people would eventually be won over to Marxist...

By Larry Sand

The Unions’ Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

Which meant it was a very good week for the rest of us. Last week, labor unions took a series of body blows. First, it was announced Monday that Missouri had become the 28th right-to-work state. The Show-Me State showed the unions that worker freedom now takes precedence over their forced dues racket. Not only that, but...

By Larry Sand