Democratic POTUS candidates must choose between parents and unions

By Larry Sand
12/03/2019
Sanders stands firm on the issues; Warren and Booker are chameleon-like; Biden is meh. As I wrote in May, several of the Democratic presidential hopefuls were tripping over each other in an effort to secure the endorsement of the teachers unions. These candidates were most pointed in criticizing any form of school choice. Bernie Sanders...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Gillum, Bernie Sanders, Charter schools, Corey DeAngelis, Cory Booker, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Next, Elizabeth Warren, Howard Fuller, Joe Biden, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, Ron DeSantis, school choice, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, vouchers

Charter haters’ train is temporarily derailed in CA

By Larry Sand
06/04/2019
Two bills that would have deeply wounded the popular schools of choice are dead…for now.  Last week, two seemingly sure-shot bills were deep-sixed in the California legislature. AB 1506 would have placed a ceiling on the number of charter schools allowed in the state – the magic number being those in existence at the end...

TAGS: California Charter Schools Association, California Teachers Association, Democrats for Education Reform, Eric Heins, Jay Greene, Larry Sand, Rick Hess, teachers union, Tom Kane

National Association of Arrogant Calculating Phonies

By Larry Sand
05/14/2019
Renegade locals fight California state NAACP and national board over anti-charter school stance. Nearly 68 percent of all black public school students in California perform below their grade level in English and language arts, and more than 80 percent fail to meet the state’s proficiency mark in math, according to the latest California Assessment of...

TAGS: California Charter Schools Association, Charter schools, Christina Laster, Democrats for Education Reform, Larry Sand, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Education Association, teachers union

Teacher pay fray

By Larry Sand
08/14/2018
  In light of strikes past and future, a brief review of teacher compensation is in order. A recent headline in the Austin American-Statesman caught my eye. It read, “Texas education chief suggests paying higher-performing teachers more.” Those of you whose first reaction is “Well, duh,” are hardly outliers. But in the land of...

TAGS: Democrats for Education Reform, Education Next, Educators for Excellence, Eric Hanushek, Janus, Larry Sand, pensions, teacher pay, teachers union

Shoddy Studies

By Larry Sand
12/12/2017
Flawed reports aside, charters – schools of choice – are flourishing. As I wrote last week, too many government-run schools are failing and the future for them, collectively, is not rosy. But the monopolists running our traditional public schools (TPS), in addition to blaming lack of funding, have been busy lashing out at charter schools, which are decentralized and give parents a right to choose where to educate their kids.

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Anthony Cody, California Charter School Association, Center for Education Reform, Charter schools, Democrats for Education Reform, Diane Ravitch, Eva Moskowitz, Howard Fuller, In the Public Interest, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Network for Public Education, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Hillary Rodham Weingarten

By Larry Sand
11/17/2015
Using teacher union talking points, Mrs. Clinton badly distorts facts about charter schools. Coming on the heels of the Benghazi fabrication, the “dead broke” when she left the White House claim, and “servergate,” the latest Hillary blunder is a baseless sliming of charter schools. In a well-publicized gaffe, she told journalist Roland Martin, … the...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Cecily Myart-Cruz, Charter schools, Democrats for Education Reform, Eva Moskowitz, Hillary Clinton, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Nina Rees, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Teachers Unions Appeal Vergara

By Larry Sand
05/05/2015
… and continue to block any and every meaningful reform the California state legislature has to offer. On May Day (how fitting!) the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers filed their appeal of the Vergara decision. In that 2014 ruling, Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu struck down California’s teacher tenure, layoff and...

TAGS: Bill Lucia, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Carol Liu, Dean Vogel, Democrats for Education Reform, EdVoice, Josh Pechthalt, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Rolf Treu, Shirley Weber, Students Matter, StudentsFirst, teachers union, Vergara

Democrats and Teachers Unions: The Chasm Grows

By Larry Sand
12/23/2014
As more Dems demand education reform, the teachers unions find themselves increasingly isolated. Going back to 2009, I have written many times about the relationship between the teachers unions and the Democratic Party. It’s no secret that the party and the unions were at one time synonymous, but this is rapidly becoming history. Quite clearly,...

TAGS: Andrew Cuomo, Campbell Brown, Democratic Party, Democrats for Education Reform, Joel Klein, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, National Education Association, New York State United Teachers, teachers union, United Federation of Teachers

Keeping Their Backs Up and Claws Sharp

By Larry Sand
07/15/2014
As the teachers unions lose popularity, some think that they will soften their positions. But as recent events show, this is very far from the truth. A poll taken in June, right after the Vergara decision was handed down in Los Angeles, found that 49 percent of California voters think that teachers unions have a...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Arne Duncan, Democrats for Education Reform, Dennis Van Roekel, Education Next, Gloria Romero, Harris v. Quinn, Joe Williams, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, Terry Moe, Vergara

Tenure, Temerity and the Truth

By Larry Sand
02/11/2014
Los Angeles Times op-ed and teachers union defense of educational status quo are packed with malarkey. Now in its third week, the Students Matter trial still has a ways to go. Initially scheduled to last four weeks, the proceedings are set to run longer. On Friday, Prosecutor Marcellus McRae told Judge Rolf Treu that the...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, Andrew Biggs, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, David Welch, Dean Vogel, Democrats for Education Reform, Gloria Romero, Heritage Foundation, Jason Richwine, Joe Williams, Kevin Chavous, LA School Report, Larry Sand, Michelle Rhee, National Council on Teacher Quality, permanence, seniority, Students Matter, StudentsFirst, Teach For America, tenure