Lance Izumi
Blog
Why Are Teachers Mostly Liberal?
The wave of teacher strikes across the country, with their focus on killing education reforms such as charter schools, have focused attention on the ideology of teachers. Many Americans are now asking: “Why are teachers so liberal?” Tom Rademacher, a Minnesota teacher of the year who writes for the Education ...
Blog
President Trump and An American Education Agenda
In early 2018, Pacific Research Institute released my publication An American Education Agenda, which included my five top reform recommendations for the federal government. It is heartening to see that President Trump and his administration have addressed, in some form, most of my recommendations. The five federal recommendations in An ...
Agriculture
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 ...
Charter Schools
Across the Country, Unions are Waging War on Charter Schools
A combination of powerful aggressive teacher unions and compliant state and local politicians have produced a perfect storm that threatens to destroy the future of charter schools and the children who benefit from them. Charter schools are publicly funded schools independent of school districts, which have more flexibility and autonomy ...
Charter Schools
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 ...
Commentary
LAUSD teachers should exercise their Janus rights, not follow their union off a fiscal cliff
Despite the recent settlement of the Los Angeles teachers strike, mostly in the teacher union’s favor, the deal largely ignores the shaky financial realities of the school district. While the union crows about its apparent victory, the potential fiscal disaster should make teachers consider leaving the union, not rallying around ...
California
The best solution to Los Angeles teachers’ strike? More school choice
Conventional analyses of the Los Angeles teachers strike present the public with a false dichotomy: is the teachers union right or is the school district right? The reality is that both sides are wrong, and the solution for parents and students is greater school choice for all children. First, the ...
Blog
Federal Lawsuit Filed Over Biased Curriculum
Policy debates over curriculum often center on test scores and other student performance indicators. However, according to a recent lawsuit filed in federal court, curricular bias and indoctrination have reached shocking levels that raise serious constitutional concerns. The lawsuit was filed by Fair Education Santa Barbara, whose members include parents ...
Classroom Ideology
Are Teacher Unions the Biggest Threat to Freedom?
What is the biggest threat to freedom in our country? According to an eye-opening new book by educator Rebecca Friedrichs, who gained fame as the named plaintiff in a U.S. Supreme Court case challenging forced fees from teachers to unions, teacher unions are thwarting freedom on a massive scale. In ...
Blog
Honoring Our Veterans
Veterans Day, which we celebrated on November 11th, is not only a national holiday where we honor those men and women who served in our armed forces, but it is also an intensely personal day where family and friends remember their loved ones who wore the uniform. My father is ...
Why Are Teachers Mostly Liberal?
The wave of teacher strikes across the country, with their focus on killing education reforms such as charter schools, have focused attention on the ideology of teachers. Many Americans are now asking: “Why are teachers so liberal?” Tom Rademacher, a Minnesota teacher of the year who writes for the Education ...
President Trump and An American Education Agenda
In early 2018, Pacific Research Institute released my publication An American Education Agenda, which included my five top reform recommendations for the federal government. It is heartening to see that President Trump and his administration have addressed, in some form, most of my recommendations. The five federal recommendations in An ...
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 ...
Across the Country, Unions are Waging War on Charter Schools
A combination of powerful aggressive teacher unions and compliant state and local politicians have produced a perfect storm that threatens to destroy the future of charter schools and the children who benefit from them. Charter schools are publicly funded schools independent of school districts, which have more flexibility and autonomy ...
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 ...
LAUSD teachers should exercise their Janus rights, not follow their union off a fiscal cliff
Despite the recent settlement of the Los Angeles teachers strike, mostly in the teacher union’s favor, the deal largely ignores the shaky financial realities of the school district. While the union crows about its apparent victory, the potential fiscal disaster should make teachers consider leaving the union, not rallying around ...
The best solution to Los Angeles teachers’ strike? More school choice
Conventional analyses of the Los Angeles teachers strike present the public with a false dichotomy: is the teachers union right or is the school district right? The reality is that both sides are wrong, and the solution for parents and students is greater school choice for all children. First, the ...
Federal Lawsuit Filed Over Biased Curriculum
Policy debates over curriculum often center on test scores and other student performance indicators. However, according to a recent lawsuit filed in federal court, curricular bias and indoctrination have reached shocking levels that raise serious constitutional concerns. The lawsuit was filed by Fair Education Santa Barbara, whose members include parents ...
Are Teacher Unions the Biggest Threat to Freedom?
What is the biggest threat to freedom in our country? According to an eye-opening new book by educator Rebecca Friedrichs, who gained fame as the named plaintiff in a U.S. Supreme Court case challenging forced fees from teachers to unions, teacher unions are thwarting freedom on a massive scale. In ...
Honoring Our Veterans
Veterans Day, which we celebrated on November 11th, is not only a national holiday where we honor those men and women who served in our armed forces, but it is also an intensely personal day where family and friends remember their loved ones who wore the uniform. My father is ...
