Schools out…forever?

By Larry Sand
03/24/2020
Whether it’s a pandemic, a damn panic, or all the above, the coronavirus has turned us into a nation of homeschoolers. With just about every public school in the country closed at this time, the only way for kids to get an education is at home. Many see this as nothing less than tragic. Writing...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, Andrew Coulson, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Corey DeAngelis, coronavirus, homeschooling, Horace Mann, Kerry McDonald, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Stephen Sawchuk, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The Taxpayer as Bagman

By Larry Sand
10/20/2015
In California, the citizenry pays for the collection of dues for public employee unions. As just about every teacher in California will tell you, union dues are deducted by the local school district from their monthly paycheck just as federal and state withholding taxes are. Then the school district turns the money over to the...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, AFL-CIO, California Teachers Association, Friedrichs, Larry Sand, Prop. 32, Prop. 75, teachers union, union dues, UTLA

Loss of LIFO

By Larry Sand
10/13/2015
If Eli Broad’s charter school plan goes forward, there will be a major shake-up in the ranks of LAUSD teachers. Philanthropist Eli Broad’s ambitious plan to create 260 new charter schools over an eight year period in Los Angeles, enrolling at least 130,000 students, will have major ramifications for many of the city’s 25,600 teachers....

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, Alex Caputo-Pearl, California Charter School Association, California Federation of Teachers, charter school, Eli Broad, Larry Sand, last in first out, LIFO, Rolf Treu, seniority, StudentsFirst, Teach For America, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, UTLA, Vergara case

Safe at Home?

By Larry Sand
08/18/2015
Homeschooling is becoming more popular, but families need to be aware that teachers unions have a penchant for home invasions. According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the number of K-12 children educated at home increased from 1.09 million in 2003 to 1.77 million in 2012, which is 3.4...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, Home School Legal Defense Association, homeschool, homeschooling, Larry Sand, National Education Association, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Permanent Disgrace

By Larry Sand
01/27/2015
My encounters with tenure, aka permanence, aka undue process for teachers. In an article posted recently, Harvard professor and editor-in-chief of Education Next Paul Peterson asks, “Do Teachers Support the Vergara Decision?” More specifically, he discusses tenure, which is on hold in California due to Judge Rolf Treu’s ruling. The tenure statute is the part...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, Dennis Van Roekel, Education Next, Eric Hanushek, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Paul Peterson, permanence, Rolf Treu, teacher jail, teachers union, tenure, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Vergara

Vergara: What Comes Next?

By Larry Sand
01/20/2015
Assuming Judge Treu’s rulings survive the appeals process, what will replace the offending statutes? In last year’s Vergara case, Judge Rolf Treu ruled that the state’s archaic seniority, tenure and dismissal statutes were unconstitutional, adding that the evidence submitted “shocks the conscience.” The judge’s ruling is now being appealed by the state of California, the...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, AB 215, American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, permanence, Randi Weingarten, Rolf Treu, seniority, Students Matter, Teach Plus, teachers union, Vergara

Pull the Plug on LIFO Support

By Larry Sand
03/25/2014
Despite bellyaching from the union crowd, the California education code’s last in/first out (LIFO) statute must be tossed. California’s fiscal problems have taken a toll on the teaching profession in California. And the Golden State’s arbitrary seniority system, whereby staffing decisions are made by time spent on the job, has made things much worse. A...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, California Federation of Teachers, Charter schools, Larry Sand, last in first out, LIFO, Los Angeles Unified School District, RiShawn Biddle, seniority, Students Matter, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Vergara

Homeschool Home Run

By Larry Sand
06/18/2013
An Education News report tells us that homeschooling is thriving. In a recent report, we learn that since 1999, the number of children who are homeschooled has increased by 75 percent. Though homeschooled children represent only 4 percent (about 2 million) of all school-age children nationwide, they are growing seven times faster than the number...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, California Teachers Association, Eric Hanushek, Home School Legal Defense Association, homeschooling, Larry Sand, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Former Union Boss to Become Charter School Operator

By Larry Sand
09/06/2011
Once a rabid anti-reformer, termed out United Teachers of Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy has become a union apostate…maybe. On September 1st, Los Angeles Times writer Howard Blume wrote what at first glance appeared to be satire. He reported that A.J. Duffy is starting his own charter school. For those of you who live a...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, California Teachers Association, Charter schools, Los Angeles Unfied School District, tenure, United Teachers of Los Angeles