California Cheats Charter School Students of Funding Again
The 2020-21 state budget signed back in June by Governor Newsom glaringly failed to fund growing regular public schools and public charter schools. A purported “fix” to this problem, pushed by the governor and Democrat legislators, turns out to be just more Sacramento smoke and mirrors. The budget for the new fiscal year froze funding […]
Key Supreme Court Case Could Increase School-choice Possibilities In California
The week of January 27th is National School Choice Week, which is appropriate since a potentially landmark case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court could have wide-ranging implications for California parents who want more education options for their children. The case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, involves a Montana school-choice program that gives Montanans […]
Charter Schools Don’t Fiscally Distress Regular Public Schools
In their continuing war against charter schools, teacher unions have persistently argued that charter schools, which are mostly non-union, have a large negative financial impact on the regular public school system. New research, however, contradicts this claim. In Sacramento, the California Teachers Association is pushing a package of anti-charter-school bills, including AB 1505, recently passed […]
Don’t Scapegoat Charter Schools For School Districts’ Fiscal Woes
Governor Gavin Newsom’s move to have State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond create an expert panel to review the financial impact of charter schools on regular public schools, and put out a report by July, smells like an attempt to scapegoat charter schools. First, comments by the governor’s office plainly showed Newsom’s bias. A […]
Newsom Supports Charter Cap: Kids Will Suffer
An ominous aspect of the recent Los Angeles teachers strike settlement is the provision pushing for a halt on the number of charter schools. Although the 2017 L.A. school board elections resulted in a board majority favoring charter schools, in the strike settlement agreement The New York Times noted, “it was immediately clear that the […]
A Choice For Kids With No Options Left
January 22nd to 28th will mark National School Choice Week, which promotes efforts to empower parents to choose the best education option for their children. There is probably no better example of why children need choices in education than Life Learning Academy (LLA) public charter school. Opponents of charter schools, which are independent public schools that […]
Can Technology Help Students And Save Education In California?
Watch a video of PRI’s “The Future Is Now” panel here. Much of the debate in education over the last few years has centered around issues of standards, curricula and testing. While very important, these issues should not obscure the possibilities offered by new models of delivering instruction, especially those involving education technology. To explore […]
Vergara Decision: Remember the Children the Court Forgot
In 2014, California Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu ruled that the state’s teacher tenure, layoff and dismissal laws violated the state’s constitutional guarantee of a quality education for every student. Judge Treu based his decision on compelling trial testimony, much of it from students, which he said, “shocks the conscience.” An appellate court recently reversed […]
Total Victory For The Children
In a scathing opinion, Los Angeles trial judge Rolf Treu ruled that California’s laws governing teacher tenure, teacher layoffs and teacher dismissals were unconstitutional. Judge Treu said that the evidence presented in the case of Vergara vs. California was not only compelling, but “shocked the conscience.” Most shocking of all, and what likely most moved […]
Polling Shows Californians Like School-Choice Tax Credits
This week is National School Choice Week and recent polling data shows that Californians support school choice, especially proposals creating tax credits that empower parents to choose the type of education that best meets their children’s needs. Historically, Californians have had a favorable view of particular school-choice options. For example, charter schools, which are deregulated […]