Trump Undoes Obama’s Transgender Bathroom Guidelines

By Larry Sand
02/28/2017
…and teacher union command central is furious. Last week, the Trump administration rightfully withdrew former President Obama’s guidelines regarding bathroom usage, which had called on schools nationwide to let transgender students choose “Boys” or “Girls,” depending on how they perceived themselves and not the old-fashioned way: by body parts. Additionally, Obama had threatened to remove...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Betsy DeVos, California Teachers Association, Donald Trump, Eric Heins, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, transgender

The Unions’ Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

By Larry Sand
02/14/2017
Which meant it was a very good week for the rest of us.  Last week, labor unions took a series of body blows. First, it was announced Monday that Missouri had become the 28th right-to-work state. The Show-Me State showed the unions that worker freedom now takes precedence over their forced dues racket. Not only that, but...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Betsy DeVos, California Teachers Association, Center for Individual Rights, Eric Heins, F. Vincent Vernuccio, Friedrichs, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Petrilli, National Education Association, release time, Right to Work, school choice, seniority, teachers union, tenure

NEA’s and Hillary’s Bully Folly

By Larry Sand
11/01/2016
Teachers union and Hillary Clinton team up to tackle the (nonexistent) bullying epidemic. For several weeks now, the National Education Association has been running ads in in nine swing states on the so-called “Trump effect.” The six-figure campaign maintains that Donald Trump’s inflammatory campaign rhetoric has caused a substantial uptick in bullying in schools. NEA president...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Prop. 75, Scott Walker, teachers union

The World’s Largest Oligarchical Organization

By Larry Sand
10/25/2016
The WikiLeaks document dump exposes NEA’s manipulation of its purported democratic process. The WikiLeaks email release, unmasking the Hillary Clinton campaign, has become a daily ritual. A treasure trove of communiqués has exposed Hillary to be just about everything that the right (and even many on the left) has said she is. The emails from...

TAGS: Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, James Sherk, John Stocks, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Antonucci, NEA, teachers union

Clinton Turns Her Back on School Choice While Trump Embraces It 

By Larry Sand
09/13/2016
As Hillary Clinton cozies up to the teachers unions, Donald Trump seeks to vastly expand school choice opportunities.  In November, 2015, Hillary Clinton gave a speech in South Carolina in which she abandoned her prior support for charter schools. Using language straight from the teachers union fact-free playbook, she claimed that charters “don’t take the...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Charter schools, Common Core, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Kevin Chavous, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, merit pay, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union, vouchers

The Myth of the Underpaid Teacher Lives On

By Larry Sand
08/23/2016
 Yet another “study” showing how poorly teachers are paid has surfaced. Well, it’s a new school year and there is much tumult in the world of public education. Common Core battles, testing opt-outs, and litigation about school choice and teacher work rules dot the landscape. But with all the uncertainty, it’s comforting to know that...

TAGS: AFL-CIO, AFT, American Enterprise Institute, Andrew Biggs, Economic Policy Institute, Heritage Foundation, Jason Richwine, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mary Kay Henry, National Education Association, NEA, Richard Trumka, seiu, teacher pay, teachers union, Valerie Strauss

Biden, Bork, García and Weingarten

By Larry Sand
03/22/2016
Positioning themselves as strict Constitutionalists, teacher union leaders cry foul over a precedent that the unions helped create. In the wake of Antonin Scalia’s untimely passing, two national teacher union leaders are in a self-righteous snit because the Republican-led Senate is remaining firm in its conviction to hold off consideration of a new Supreme Court...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Antonin Scalia, Friedrichs, Joe Biden, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Supreme Court, teachers union

Testing Matters

By Larry Sand
01/05/2016
Led by the teachers unions, the push against standardized testing punishes kids. With bipartisan support in Congress and President Obama’s blessing, the son of No Child Left behind, dubbed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), has become the law of the land. While many on the right favor the law because it returns some power...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, CAHSEE, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, No Child Left Behind, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Reactionary Teachers Union Parties like It’s 1909

By Larry Sand
09/15/2015
Self-serving Washington Education Association dusts off a 100 year old law to shut down charter schools. As I have frequently written, the teachers unions have a schizoid relationship with charter schools. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays they want to kill them off; on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays they want to unionize them. Earlier this month,...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, Charter schools, Eric Owens, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Rick Hess, teachers union, Washington Education Association

Nevada Electrifies the School Choice Movement

By Larry Sand
06/09/2015
The state known for flashy neon, quickie divorces and Wayne Newton shows is now ground zero for private school choice. On its website, the Nevada State Education Association informs us that vouchers (and other private school options) are unworthy because, among other things, they offer “no real ‘choice’ for the overwhelming majority of students.” This...

TAGS: education savings account, ESA, Friedman Foundation, Greg Forster, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Robert Enlow, teachers union, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris