June 14 is the anniversary of the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt that helped set California on the path to statehood. But how many California students could explain what the Bear Flag Republic was, why it mattered, or how California became a state? The truth is, we have no idea. California schools are expected to teach...

Why students’ history proficiency goes unmeasured, and how a politicized framework is undermining classroom instruction. California has no reliable way to measure whether students are meeting state history and social studies standards. In Gavin Newsom’s State of the State speech in January 2026, he claimed that California has seen “improved academic achievement in every subject...

Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom submitted his proposed 2026-27 budget to the legislature, weighing in at nearly $349 billion. His budget plan came one day after he gave the last State of the State address of his term, in which he touted California’s “record-breaking” education spending. Newsom painted California as a model for “nation-leading...

America’s schools won’t recover through more spending or slogans, but through a return to proven basics—clear instruction, firm discipline, accountable teaching, and classrooms focused on learning. As someone who attended public school in the 1950s and 1960s, taught in elementary and middle schools in the early 1970s, and then from 1984 until I retired in...

With schools back in session and the state budget finalized, the question of what California spends on public education — and what it delivers in return — is at the forefront of many parents’ and taxpayers’ minds. California has among the highest per-pupil spending in the nation, but questions persist about whether California families are...

On June 4, 2024, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing on “The Consequences of Biden’s Border Chaos for K-12 Schools.” Mari Barke, Director of CPC’s California Local Elected Officials, testified before the Subcommittee on the impact of illegal immigration on California’s K-12...

Just when you think California legislators can’t thumb their noses at parents any harder, Assemblyman Christopher Ward (D-San Diego) introduced a bill this week that aims to strip control from local school boards. Ward’s AB 1955 — the Orwellian-named SAFETY Act — is an attempt to override the parental notification policies passed by a growing number of...

In a significant win for parental rights this week, the Jurupa Unified School Board agreed to pay California teacher Jessica Tapia $360,000 to settle her lawsuit for wrongful termination. The case has drawn national attention to the plight of teachers being illegally directed by California education officials to keep secrets from parents when their child...

Grant Allen once lamented, “What a misfortune it is that we should thus be compelled to let our boys’ schooling interfere with their education!” These words, often attributed to Mark Twain, encapsulate a sentiment that education transcends the walls of a schoolhouse, echoing the belief that learning should not be confined to a classroom. Increasingly,...