Education

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Estate Tax Bill Will Do Nothing to Reduce California’s Wealth Gap

You would think that California’s current $21.4 billion budget surplus would be plenty of money to fund the spending wish list of those thwarted over the past 8 years by former Gov. Jerry Brown’s adherence to the principle of subsidiarity. Think again.  In fact, much of the talk in Sacramento ...
Charter Schools

The Benefits of Charter Schools – Choosing Diversity

Every day, charter schools play an important role in meeting the diverse needs of California’s students. PRI’s Lance Izumi, Fortune School CEO Margaret Fortune, and EdVoice’s Bill Lucia share real-life charter school success stories and explore ideas policymakers can embrace to expand school choice options. Part 2 of our 4-part ...
Blog

USC: In Defense of a Half Million Dollars

Enough already. I’m tired of people snickering that USC, my old alma mater, isn’t worth the half-million-dollar bribe that actress Lori Loughlin allegedly paid to get her two daughters in the school. Here’s just a sample of the put downs:  John Podhoretz (University of Chicago), editor of Commentary, said in ...
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 ...
Education

Watch PRI’s Lance Izumi Discuss College Admissions Scandal on Newsy

Watch Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI’s Center for Education, discuss the college admissions scandal with host Chance Seales on “The Why” on Newsy.
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 ...
Blog

Will Legislature Act This Year to Keep our Kids SAFE? History Says Probably Not

This week on PRI’s “Next Round” podcast, I sit down with Senator Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga.  Among the topics that we discussed was his legislation to ensure safer schools for all students (Senate Bill 709), also known as the Sexual Abuse-Free Education (SAFE) Act. Right now, there’s a growing problem ...
Blog

What We’re Watching – The Best of PRI’s CA Ideas in Action Conference

Last week, PRI held its inaugural “California Ideas in Action” Conference in Sacramento.  For those of you who weren’t able to join us, below is your chance to watch 4 great panel discussions showcasing how free-market ideas are best suited to address California’s unique challenges and move the state toward ...
Blog

Free College Is Worse Than You Think

When Barack Obama called college an economic imperative, he did a disservice to millions of young people. When the current cast of presidential hopefuls call for college that’s free, they do a disservice to America. For years, liberals have romanticized a college education as the key to greater income and ...
Blog

Estate Tax Bill Will Do Nothing to Reduce California’s Wealth Gap

You would think that California’s current $21.4 billion budget surplus would be plenty of money to fund the spending wish list of those thwarted over the past 8 years by former Gov. Jerry Brown’s adherence to the principle of subsidiarity. Think again.  In fact, much of the talk in Sacramento ...
Charter Schools

The Benefits of Charter Schools – Choosing Diversity

Every day, charter schools play an important role in meeting the diverse needs of California’s students. PRI’s Lance Izumi, Fortune School CEO Margaret Fortune, and EdVoice’s Bill Lucia share real-life charter school success stories and explore ideas policymakers can embrace to expand school choice options. Part 2 of our 4-part ...
Blog

USC: In Defense of a Half Million Dollars

Enough already. I’m tired of people snickering that USC, my old alma mater, isn’t worth the half-million-dollar bribe that actress Lori Loughlin allegedly paid to get her two daughters in the school. Here’s just a sample of the put downs:  John Podhoretz (University of Chicago), editor of Commentary, said in ...
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 ...
Education

Watch PRI’s Lance Izumi Discuss College Admissions Scandal on Newsy

Watch Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI’s Center for Education, discuss the college admissions scandal with host Chance Seales on “The Why” on Newsy.
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 ...
Blog

Will Legislature Act This Year to Keep our Kids SAFE? History Says Probably Not

This week on PRI’s “Next Round” podcast, I sit down with Senator Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga.  Among the topics that we discussed was his legislation to ensure safer schools for all students (Senate Bill 709), also known as the Sexual Abuse-Free Education (SAFE) Act. Right now, there’s a growing problem ...
Blog

What We’re Watching – The Best of PRI’s CA Ideas in Action Conference

Last week, PRI held its inaugural “California Ideas in Action” Conference in Sacramento.  For those of you who weren’t able to join us, below is your chance to watch 4 great panel discussions showcasing how free-market ideas are best suited to address California’s unique challenges and move the state toward ...
Blog

Free College Is Worse Than You Think

When Barack Obama called college an economic imperative, he did a disservice to millions of young people. When the current cast of presidential hopefuls call for college that’s free, they do a disservice to America. For years, liberals have romanticized a college education as the key to greater income and ...
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