Jejune in April

By Larry Sand
04/07/2015
NEA rolls out its plan for what to do in case its worst nightmare – worker freedom – comes to pass. Last July, the California Teachers Association released “Not if, but when: Living in a world without Fair Share,” a 23-page PowerPoint presentation unearthed by Mike Antonucci. The document revealed that teacher union honchos in...

TAGS: American Legislative Exchange Council, California Teachers Association, fair share, Heritage Foundation, James Sherk, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, National Labor Relations Act, Paul Kersey, Right to Work, teachers union

Unions Continue Their Long March into the Classroom

By Larry Sand
03/24/2015
Labor union indoctrination is seeping into our schools before our very eyes. Teacher union intrusion into the lives of children is not new. Via anti-child work rules like tenure and seniority, unions have been making their influence felt for years. Additionally, as labor expert Kevin Dayton points out, they have been angling to promote their...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Dennis Van Roekel, Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, Gray Davis, Kevin Dayton, Kevin Jennings, Labor History Month, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Parent Trigger, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, University of California Miguel Contreras Labor Program

Fifty States of Right-to-Work?

By Larry Sand
02/17/2015
Elected officials, the courts and John Q. Public are supporting worker freedom these days; teachers unions and other public employee unions are on the run. Last Monday, Illinois governor Bruce Rauner issued an executive order that, if it stands, will absolve state workers from paying forced dues to a union. As The Wall Street Journal...

TAGS: Bruce Rauner, California Teachers Association, Center for Individual Rights, Chicago Teachers Union, Harris v. Quinn, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Policy Institute, Karen Lewis, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Paul Kersey, Right to Work, Service Employees International Union, teachers union

Scholars and Scholarship: A Case for Charter Schools

By R. Claire Friend
02/03/2015
Public and private charter schools have emerged as a striking exception to the dismal system of U.S. public education that has performed so poorly on international assessments of student performance such as PISA and TIMMS. Despite the virulent opposition to them by the powerful California Teachers Association, National Education Association and their political allies in...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, National Education Association

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

Interview With Rebecca Friedrichs – Fighting for Teacher Freedom

By Editor
11/14/2014
In April 2013, the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), as noted on their website, “filed suit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of 10 California teachers and the Christian Educators Association International, challenging the constitutionality of California’s “agency shop” law, which violates the First Amendment by forcing...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Center for Individual Rights, Christian Educators Association International, Rebecca Friedrichs

Election Lessons for Education Reformers

By Private: Gloria Romero
11/10/2014
Results from the Nov. 4 yielded both hits and misses regarding prospects for advancing education reform in the Golden State, along with a few immediate lessons: Understand your fight You can’t buy elections – especially the obscure post of superintendent of Public Instruction, a constitutional office created seemingly to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, CTA, Gloria Romero, Marshall Tuck, Parent Empowerment Act, Tom Torlakson

Education Reform: #1 Issue on the Ballot in California

By Larry Sand
10/21/2014
Reformer battles with teachers union darling for top education position in Sacramento. “Teachers Unions Are Putting Themselves On November’s Ballot” was the headline in a recent article by Haley Edwards in Time Magazine. Okay, this is hardly news, but the extent of the largess is eye-opening. Considering that this is not a presidential election year,...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Dean Vogel, EdSource, education reform, Eli Broad, Larry Sand, Marshall Tuck, National Education Association, Steve Greenhut, teachers unions, Tom Torlakson, Vergara

Unions – The Biggest Bullies in the School House

By R. Claire Friend
10/09/2014
There has been a great deal of public attention on the problem of bullying in our public schools. Issues such as possible causes as well as appropriate administrative and legal remedies have been hotly debated across the country by educators, parents and politicians with varying responses. The focus of bullying heretofore has been limited to...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Friedrichs vs. the CTA, Harris vs. Quinn, public sector unions, teachers union