Educational Freedom Is on the Move

By Larry Sand
04/06/2021
School choice is rapidly advancing across the U.S. On March 9th, I wrote that Covid-related lockdowns were leading many states to implement or advance already existing school choice measures. Just four weeks later, it is happening at breakneck speed. Legislators and parents have become fed up, and are doing what they can to regain control...

TAGS: Greg Forster, Kevin Kiley, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Patrick Wolf, school choice, teachers union

Pocket Man

By Larry Sand
11/24/2020
If Joe Biden becomes president, will he go along with the teachers union wish list? As I wrote last week, charter school students, kids who are in other school choice programs, and taxpayers could be getting the short end of the stick if Joe Biden becomes president on January 20th. To assist Biden with policy...

TAGS: Charter schools, Chris Stewart, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, Joe Biden, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Lindsey Burke, NAEP, National Education Association, teachers union

Schools out…forever?

By Larry Sand
03/24/2020
Whether it’s a pandemic, a damn panic, or all the above, the coronavirus has turned us into a nation of homeschoolers. With just about every public school in the country closed at this time, the only way for kids to get an education is at home. Many see this as nothing less than tragic. Writing...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, Andrew Coulson, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Corey DeAngelis, coronavirus, homeschooling, Horace Mann, Kerry McDonald, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Stephen Sawchuk, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Undisrupted Education

By Larry Sand
04/17/2018
The world has progressed in amazing ways since 1983, but for the most part, public education has stagnated. In 1983, the first mobile telephones intended for public use were released, ARPANET became the technical foundation of the internet, and A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform was released. The latter was a report...

TAGS: A Nation at Risk, Center for Education Reform, Charter schools, Clayton Christensen, EdChoice, educational savings accounts, Fordham Institute, Heritage Foundation, Jeanne Allen, Jeb Bush, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Matthew Ladner, Mike Petrilli, NAEP, National Assessment of Educational Progress, tax-credit scholarships, teachers union, vouchers

Transitional Kindergarten: A Boondoggle by any other name….

By Larry Sand
01/14/2014
CA announces a budget surplus — and legislators can’t wait to blow it. It’s hardly surprising, but California’s we-never-met-a-big-budget-bill-we-didn’t-like Democratic lawmakers and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson have joined hands to sponsor SB 837, new legislation that would provide free public preschool to every four-year-old child in California. The Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2014, introduced...

TAGS: California Teachers Empowerment Network, Caroline Hoxby, Darrell Steinberg, Head Start, Jerry Brown, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Lisa Snell, Tom Torlakson, Transitional Kindergarten

The Strange Politics of Education Reform

By Larry Sand
09/10/2013
… where conservatives demand change and many alleged progressives, including teacher union elites, are really reactionary. While this may be old news to some, it can’t be said enough: In our polarized times, education reform is the only truly bipartisan issue, whereas with other matters things invariably break down into Republican vs. Democrat, liberal vs....

TAGS: Andrew Cuomo, Democrats for Education Reform, Diane Ravitch, Eric Holder, Heritage Foundation, Jay Greene, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Lisa Snell, Michael Nutter, Rahm Emanuel, Reason Foundation, teachers union

“I’m Randi Weingarten and Now, the Fake News.”

By Larry Sand
07/30/2013
Teachers union makes news with meaningless words and a misleading poll. Norm MacDonald is famous for opening the comedic news segment on Saturday Night Live by introducing himself and telling the audience that it’s time for the “fake news.” I thought of this when, at the recent American Federation of Teachers convention, President Randi Weingarten...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Cato Institute, EAG, Jason Bedrick, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Michelle Rhee, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Stephen Sawchuk, teachers union, The Heritage Foundation, Valerie Strauss

Head Start or Dead End?

By Larry Sand
01/02/2013
The only “lasting impact” of the Head Start program is on taxpayers’ wallets. Those too-clever-for-words folks over at the Department of Health and Human Services have yet again tried to put one over on us. Using the oldest PR trick in the book, they released information to the media that they hoped no one would...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Empowerment Network, Caroline Hoxby, Head Start, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, National Education Association

More Money for Business as Usual

By Larry Sand
11/27/2012
Throwing ever more funds at education without making substantive changes to the system is a horrible waste of money, not to mention children’s lives. California Democrat Congressman Mike Honda and National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel recently collaborated on an op-ed that played up just about every bit of feel good, cliché-riddled drivel ever...

TAGS: Andrew Biggs, Dean Vogel, Dennis Van Roekel, Eric Hanushek, Gloria Romero, Heritage Foundation, Jason Richwine, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, National Education Association, Prop. 30, Teach For America, teacher pay, teachers unions

The Public Education Jobs Program

By Larry Sand
10/30/2012
As you go to the polls next week, please consider the facts before voting to pour more money into the K–12 black hole. Last week, The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice released a comprehensive study which details an employment explosion in America’s public schools. America’s K-12 public education system has experienced tremendous historical growth in...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Benjamin Scafidi, Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, Lindsey Burke, NAEP, Prop. 30, Prop. 38