Public Schools
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 ...
Lance Izumi
February 1, 2019
Charter Schools
PRI Releases “Welcome to Change” School Choice Documentary on Groundbreaking SF School Serving At-Risk Youth
As California celebrates National School Choice Week (week of January 20-26), the Pacific Research Institute today released a new mini-documentary called “Welcome to Change,” showing the power of charter schools to get even the most troubled youths on the path to lead healthy, productive lives. “Charter schools give the flexibility ...
Pacific Research Institute
January 24, 2019
California
California’s Doomsday Clock Getting Closer to Midnight
In 1947 a group of scientists unveiled the Doomsday Clock to show how near civilization was to a man-made catastrophic end. Maybe California should have its own doomsday clock, since it seems headed for a wreck. Today’s official Doomsday Clock reads 11:58 pm, two minutes before disaster. The Bulletin of ...
Kerry Jackson
January 22, 2019
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 ...
Lance Izumi
January 18, 2019
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 ...
Lance Izumi
January 9, 2019
Blog
Fighting for California’s Free-Market Future
There’s a popular saying we are all familiar with, and it rings truer each time I hear it: “As California goes, so goes the nation.” If you want to know the policy battles America and the other states will soon be fighting, look no further than Sacramento. From the push ...
Ben Smithwick
December 28, 2018
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 ...
Lance Izumi
December 12, 2018
Blog
The Race for CA’s Top Ed Official: A Study in Contrasts
While much of the media is focused on which party will control Congress, one of the most important races in California is for state superintendent of public instruction, the state’s top education official. In one corner is education reformer Marshall Tuck, who lost a close race four years ago to ...
Lance Izumi
November 2, 2018
Blog
Teachers, Rock Stars, and Millionaires, Oh yes!
John Cox, GOP candidate for California’s gubernatorial race, made headlines the other day when he said that he’d like to see teachers paid like “rock stars and baseball players.” Later in a statement, he sheepishly walked it back: “Of course our teachers will never approach the pay of a Beyoncé ...
Rowena Itchon
October 23, 2018
Blog
Apparently, California Officials Can’t Rest Until the State Has America’s Highest Fuel Prices
Fuel prices in California are soaring like it’s 1979. A gallon of regular gasoline was averaging $3.82 across the state on Oct. 18, nearly a full dollar higher than the national average, according to AAA. Only in Hawaii are prices higher. With the summer travel season over, we expect some ...
Kerry Jackson
October 22, 2018
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 ...
PRI Releases “Welcome to Change” School Choice Documentary on Groundbreaking SF School Serving At-Risk Youth
As California celebrates National School Choice Week (week of January 20-26), the Pacific Research Institute today released a new mini-documentary called “Welcome to Change,” showing the power of charter schools to get even the most troubled youths on the path to lead healthy, productive lives. “Charter schools give the flexibility ...
California’s Doomsday Clock Getting Closer to Midnight
In 1947 a group of scientists unveiled the Doomsday Clock to show how near civilization was to a man-made catastrophic end. Maybe California should have its own doomsday clock, since it seems headed for a wreck. Today’s official Doomsday Clock reads 11:58 pm, two minutes before disaster. The Bulletin of ...
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 ...
Fighting for California’s Free-Market Future
There’s a popular saying we are all familiar with, and it rings truer each time I hear it: “As California goes, so goes the nation.” If you want to know the policy battles America and the other states will soon be fighting, look no further than Sacramento. From the push ...
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 ...
The Race for CA’s Top Ed Official: A Study in Contrasts
While much of the media is focused on which party will control Congress, one of the most important races in California is for state superintendent of public instruction, the state’s top education official. In one corner is education reformer Marshall Tuck, who lost a close race four years ago to ...
Teachers, Rock Stars, and Millionaires, Oh yes!
John Cox, GOP candidate for California’s gubernatorial race, made headlines the other day when he said that he’d like to see teachers paid like “rock stars and baseball players.” Later in a statement, he sheepishly walked it back: “Of course our teachers will never approach the pay of a Beyoncé ...
Apparently, California Officials Can’t Rest Until the State Has America’s Highest Fuel Prices
Fuel prices in California are soaring like it’s 1979. A gallon of regular gasoline was averaging $3.82 across the state on Oct. 18, nearly a full dollar higher than the national average, according to AAA. Only in Hawaii are prices higher. With the summer travel season over, we expect some ...