The rigid old normal

By Larry Sand
05/26/2020
When the Covid-19 craziness subsides, our calcified zip-code education laws will endure. Pundits are continuously speculating about what the post-pandemic “new normal” will look like in education when schools open (hopefully) in a few months. Many say that smaller class size will be necessary to facilitate social distancing. Some think that homeschooling will flourish. While...

TAGS: Gloria Romero, Larry Sand, National Education Association, school choice, teachers union

School choice ascending

By Larry Sand
05/19/2020
As traditional public schools grapple with the effects of Covid-19, many parents are awakening to school choice.  The left-right debate about how to improve education in the U.S. often comes down to money v. school choice. Many on the left bemoan the fact that we don’t “invest” more in education. It doesn’t help to point...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Betsy DeVos, COVID-19, Diane Ravitch, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union

The coming upheaval in education

By Larry Sand
05/12/2020
Due to Covid-19 related economic realities, the unions demand the Feds pour billions more into education. There is no way to sugarcoat it. The economic impact of Covid-19 will take its toll on education funding. The National Education Association is in full freak-out mode, “calling for an additional $175 billion to stabilize education funding—the $30.7...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Benjamin Scafidi, California Teachers Association, COVID-19, Larry Sand, LIFO, National Education Association, seniority, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Pensions in the time of a pandemic

By Larry Sand
05/05/2020
Willfully blind to the reality of the fiscal impact of Covid-19, the teachers union is demanding billions from the already beleaguered American taxpayer. Long after the coronavirus fades into history, there will be many lingering effects. And high on that list very well may be the toll on public employee pensions and the beleaguered taxpayers...

TAGS: 401K, defined benefit, EdChoice, Larry Sand, National Education Association, teachers union

Do Black and Hispanic lives really matter to progressives?

By Larry Sand
04/21/2020
An illuminating study comparing education in America’s progressive and conservative cities opens a major can of worms. A stunning report that came out in January of this year received little attention at first, and was then completely buried due to the avalanche of coronavirus-related stories. “The Secret Shame: How America’s Most Progressive Cities Betray Their...

TAGS: conservative, educational savings accounts, Larry Sand, tax-credit scholarships, teachers union, vouchers, Walter Williams

Freedom for me, but not for thee

By Larry Sand
04/14/2020
Temporary Los Angeles teacher union contract, inspired by COVID-19, liberates teachers, but parents and kids are still held captive, of course. On Thursday, April 9th the Los Angeles Unified School District struck a distance-learning pact with the United Teachers of Los Angeles. The seat-of-the-pants labor agreement was necessitated by the closing of all district schools...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, coronavirus, COVID-19, education savings account, Larry Sand, school choice, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The coronavirus and rigid education policy

By Larry Sand
04/07/2020
As the COVID-19 crisis continues, much of the Big-Ed/Big Union complex maintains its inflexibility.   With U.S. schools closed, educators across the land are scrambling to figure out how to provide instruction to millions of students via computers. Granted, an immediate switch to distance learning is not easy for school districts, which by and large...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Betsy DeVos, coronavirus, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Pearls of venom

By Larry Sand
03/31/2020
Los Angeles teacher union leader is using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to trash charter schools. Due to the coronavirus, many of us are going out of our way to be nice – helping the elderly and infirm, shopping for a family that fears leaving home, limiting ourselves to purchasing just one package of...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, California Charter Schools Association, coronavirus, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, Myrna Castrejón, National Education Association, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles