Many teachers in California are fed up with the political activism of their teachers’ union that is not aligned with the interests of educators and students — and often disrupts and derails classroom instruction in favor of political agendas. A case in point is the United Educators of San Francisco, which recently issued statements calling...

While there is no shortage of issues to consider when marking ballots on Election Day, education matters should be high on the list. All citizens, taxpayers, and parents, of course, have a stake in righting our wayward educational ship. Fortunately, the political angle has been front and center since parent-friendly Republican Glenn Youngkin beat out establishment Democrat...

Internal California Teachers Association documents reveal the union has far fewer members than it claims – and that union leaders expect that number to drop farther. Investigative journalist Mike Antonucci reports that union’s 2022-23 fiscal year budget has the number at 267,270 – a loss of 42,730 members or nearly 14 percent. The California Teachers...

The California Teachers Association fights parental choice with deeply flawed arguments. As this troubling year moves to a conclusion, there is certainly one thing worth celebrating: the great leap forward for educational freedom throughout the country. As I wrote last week, the countrywide union-mandated school shutdowns have had major consequences, and perhaps none more prominent...

When reflecting on Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent recall victory, a friend of the California Policy Center reminded me of a scene in the film Indecent Proposal. Woody Harrelson’s character had just been left by the love of his life, who’d run off with another man. Before handing divorce papers over to his soon-to-be ex, played...

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck hard back in April 2020, California’s teachers’ unions went into overdrive. The United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) released a lengthy document outlining what they believed to be “Safe and Equitable Conditions for Starting LAUSD in 2020-21.” In a report published by the California Policy Center that same month, Larry Sand explained the deal...

Last week what is arguably California’s most powerful political special interest, the California Teachers Association (CTA), or teachers union, held its quarterly State Council of Education meeting at the plush Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The CTA reported revenues of $209 million on their most recent IRS Form 990 (results through 8/31/2018), and their total assets increased...

If you’re suffering a bad-news hangover, I have a cure — and it’s not a shot of tomato juice and some equally bad or worse news. It’s actual great news: In just one year, a historically failing elementary school in a tough part of Anaheim has produced an educational turnaround that would be called a...

Charter school leaders and supporters took aim at Assemblymember Kevin McCarty during a March 13 protest on the steps of the state capitol in Sacramento. McCarty, a Sacramento Democrat, found himself under fire for sponsoring a bill to cap the number of public charter schools in California. Public charter schools, which are privately operated public...

Sacramento The state’s largest public-sector union, the California Teachers’ Association, hands out annual journalism awards, which are named after John Swett. He is known as the father of California public school system and as CTA’s founder. Swett was the state’s fourth superintendent of public instruction, from 1863 to 1867, and his vision clearly embodies the views...