This week marked Teacher Appreciation Week – a time when, in normal years, students may have gifted their beloved instructors with apples or homemade cards of appreciation. But with many schools still locked down thanks to union intransigence, some took their celebratory messages to Twitter. And boy, were they ironic. “We celebrate and thank you,”...
RE: AB 1484 – SUPPORT Dear Assemblymember Kiley: The California Policy Center is pleased to support Assembly Bill 1484 to bring California law into compliance with a recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States and ensure public school employees are freely able to consent or decline union membership. On June 27, 2018,...
In their latest episode of National Review’s Radio Free California Podcast, CPC’s Will Swaim and David Bahnsen discuss a tale of two bills in Sacramento – one aimed at restricting teachers’ rights, and the other at limiting children’s access to education. Of course, it wouldn’t be a complete podcast about California without some talk about...
In a recent Facebook post, one of the many Republican candidates hoping to replace Governor Newsom had this to say: “Californians can’t afford to make ends meet because Gavin Newsom and his allies keep raising taxes. We need to make our state more affordable for our middle class. I spoke to @EvieFordham about lowering the...
Unprecedented federal spending on education is a swindle of epic proportions. As reported by the estimable Just Facts, federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. spent $1.02 trillion on education in 2019. This breaks down to $7,945 for every household in the country. It’s worth noting that these figures do not include land that...
For the first time since its founding, population shifts resulted in California losing a House seat this week, while more free states like Texas and Florida increased their voice in Washington. And is it any wonder? This week alone, we saw union-funded politicians in Sacramento try to gut charter schools with Assembly Bill 1316, and...
Back in 2019, facing a barrage of legislation that threatened to destroy their institutions, advocates for charter schools reached a “compromise” agreement with lawmakers. The results were sweeping changes, expressed in SB 126, AB 1505 and AB 1507, that mingled common sense reforms with measures that have made it harder than ever for charters to...
Listen: Unleash the whackin’ New episode of Radio Free California Podcast is out In their weekly podcast for National Review, California Policy Center President Will Swaim and Board Member David Bahnsen discuss the case Newsom and his allies are building against the recall. Hint: It’s focused more on Republican challenger Caitlyn Jenner than it is...
Students returning to class thanks to parent protests Students in the Desert Sands Unified School District will get to return to school four days a week after parent protests forced the board of education to reconsider a recent decision that would have kept them locked out of the classroom. Last week, the Desert Sands Unified...
By: Thomas Buckley, Guest Contributor The organization’s crisis response has opened a window into how it truly feels about the public it serves On January 1, 2021, 1.4 million Californians woke up with something much worse than a hangover. They found a surprise email from the state’s Employment Development Department telling them that their unemployment...
The mainstreaming of Marxism is meeting resistance from anti-woke warriors, but more people must lose their fear and fight back. Here in California, the woke train rolls merrily along. If AB 101 passes in its current version, a one-semester high school course in ethnic studies will be mandated starting in the 2029–2030 school year. Each...
Supporters of education reform in California have never had a bigger opportunity than they do right now. In the past year, more parents than ever witnessed the selfish overreach of the teachers’ unions, at the same time millions of them experienced creative educational solutions that bypass the traditional public school system. Meanwhile, an activist army...
An article just published in City Journal, “Is Texas’s Affordable Housing Endangered,” describes how housing prices in Texas are becoming unaffordable. The article notes how the average home price in the Austin metropolitan area has doubled in just 10 years. In the Dallas suburbs a decade ago, more than 50 percent of homes sold for...
While the vast majority of California public schools remained off-limits to students this school year, a bright light has flickered in the darkness: charter schools. Mostly outside the iron grasp of unions that have kept traditional public schools shuttered, charter schools acted quickly to educate students throughout the pandemic. Their nimbleness and ability to focus...