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California Policy Center Files Amicus Brief Defending Free Speech Rights of Students and Teachers in California Schools

California Policy Center Files Amicus Brief Defending Free Speech Rights of Students and Teachers in California Schools

San Francisco — California Policy Center filed an amicus curiae brief Monday in support of the First Amendment rights of a California first grader who was punished by her school after she drew a picture containing the words “Black Lives Mater [sic]… any life.” The school principal disciplined the student by depriving her of recess for...

By California Policy Center

Elon Musk: Newsom signing AB 1955 “Final Straw”

Elon Musk: Newsom signing AB 1955 “Final Straw”

By now you likely know that Elon Musk has said he’s packing up every last desk, rivet gun, engineering table and family picture and moving every one of his jobs out of California. The reason: Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature Monday on Assembly Bill 1955, the bill by Assemblyman Chris Ward (D-San Diego) written to invalidate parental...

By California Policy Center

CLEO Director Mari Barke Testifies before Congress

CLEO Director Mari Barke Testifies before Congress

On June 4, 2024, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing on “The Consequences of Biden’s Border Chaos for K-12 Schools.” Mari Barke, Director of CPC’s California Local Elected Officials, testified before the Subcommittee on the impact of illegal immigration on California’s K-12...

By California Policy Center

Governing by Hope Instead of Fear

Governing by Hope Instead of Fear

A liberal program must also be a responsible program, a reasonable, rational, realistic program. We must know how much it will cost and where the money is coming from. Benefits must be measured against burdens. A program which pampers the people or threatens our solvency is as irresponsible as the one which ignores a vital...

By Edward Ring

California’s Deficit: Bring Your Alibis

California’s Deficit: Bring Your Alibis

Governor Gavin Newsom helped create — and is now faced with — the biggest budget deficit in Golden State history. In the summer of 2022, California governor Gavin Newsom, apparently high on the smell of cash, announced that California had just smashed through the state-budget equivalent of the first four-minute mile: a one-year surplus of $100...

By Will Swaim

Parent advocates strike back

Parent advocates strike back

It’s easy to understand why California’s public schools are seeing a mass exodus of students and families. The once-Golden State continues to have some of the worst student math and reading scores in the nation. Yet schools chief Tony Thurmond and Gov. Gavin Newsom seem more concerned about bogus “book bans” and helping kids secretly change their gender at...

By California Policy Center

Attorney and Child Advocate Julie Hamill Joins California Policy Center

Attorney and Child Advocate Julie Hamill Joins California Policy Center

California Policy Center (CPC) is thrilled to announce that Los Angeles attorney and child advocate Julie Hamill has joined CPC as the organization’s first full-time attorney. Hamill has come on board to build CPC’s justice center focused on dismantling government barriers to freedom and prosperity in California. “Julie is a top-notch attorney who has been...

By California Policy Center

Celebrate National School Choice Week at CPC’s Parent Union School Choice Fairs

Celebrate National School Choice Week at CPC’s Parent Union School Choice Fairs

Celebrate National School Choice Week at CPC Parent Union school choice fairs. CPC Parent Union is teaming up with National School Choice Week to host two school choice fairs in Southern California. Join us from 10am-2pm on Saturday, January 20th, 2024 at Vista Charter Middle School in Los Angeles and Saturday, January 27, 2024, at...

By California Policy Center

The Free Speech Case against L.A. County Hosted by CLEO

The Free Speech Case against L.A. County Hosted by CLEO

Please join us for a special virtual event, The Free Speech Case against L.A. County, on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 from 12:00-1:00pm. Our special guest is attorney and Palos Verdes School Board trustee Julie Hamill, founder of the Alliance of Los Angeles County Parents. Julie represents the Alliance in their ongoing lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for its campaign...

By California Policy Center

The Remedy to a Misinformed Populace Is to Inform Them

The Remedy to a Misinformed Populace Is to Inform Them

During an otherwise quiet September morning some years ago, I received a curious call from then-California Gov. Jerry Brown’s legislative team. We had just finished the legislative session, and this junior staffer was deciding on whether to recommend the governor sign or veto a bill sitting on his desk. I knew the drill after working...

By Lance Christensen

The Newsom-DeSantis debate was over before it started

The Newsom-DeSantis debate was over before it started

The Thursday night debate between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida’s Ron DeSantis was over before the Klieg lights went up. The facts of California’s decline are evident to everyone but the most disingenuous. As the old saying goes, “Facts is facts,” and on the facts, DeSantis had the debate won by Wednesday.  All that...

By Will Swaim

Education Exodus

Education Exodus

Parents are abandoning schools in large numbers, but teachers are not. School reopening time is almost upon us, and large numbers of parents have opted out of government-run schools. Over the past two school years, k-12 enrollment has declined by nearly 3%, or about 1.3 million students nationwide, according to a recent study by the American...

By Larry Sand