Commentary: Teacher Union Power Is Still in Full Bloom

CTA Event

As a result of the Janus decision in 2018, no teacher or any public employee has to pay a penny to a union as a condition of employment. The good news is that since then, 20% of workers in non-right-to-work states have dropped out of their unions, according to a report from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The not-so-good news is that 70% of teachers nationwide are still willingly paying union dues, a great deal of which goes to politics, specifically to progressive candidates and causes.

The California Teachers Association has the honor of being the biggest political-spending teachers’ union in the country. A recent report reveals that between 1999 and 2020, the 300,000+ member union spent an astonishing $222,940,629 on politics – about $6 million was spent on the federal level, while almost $217 million stayed in the state – with 98.2% of all spending going to Democrats. The top advocacy issues for CTA include regulating charter schools, immigration reform, social justice, and a slew of almost exclusively left-wing causes.

Read More

Commentary: Charter Schools Rise to the Challenge

Due to pandemic-related issues, declining birthrates, inferior education, radical curricula, etc., government-run schools are bleeding students. Whereas traditional public schools (TPS) had 50.8 million students enrolled in 2019, the number had shrunk to 49.4 million one year later. The federal government now projects that public school enrollment will fall even further – to 47.3 million – by 2030, an almost 7% drop in 11 years.

Where are the kids going? The U.S. Census Bureau reports that families are moving to private schools and setting up home schools at a great rate. But what can parents do if they can’t home-school or afford a private school and there are no educational freedom laws on the books? Their option then would be charter schools, which are independently operated public schools of choice that aren’t shackled by the litany of rules and regs that TPS are encumbered with and, importantly, are rarely unionized.

Read More

Commentary: As Families Take to Charter Schools, Cities and Their Teacher Unions Throw Up Obstacles

A vote by the Los Angeles board of education vote last month to ban charter schools from sharing space at 300 district campuses is the latest big-city attack against alternatives to struggling traditional public schools.

With the strong support of United Teachers Los Angeles, school board members say the ban will protect black and Latino students from the disruption and harm that occurs when charters are placed in buildings used by other public schools. But charter advocates reject the board’s reasoning. Far from hurting disadvantaged students, charters in LA and other cities have established an outstanding track record in accelerating their academic performance compared with traditional schools, according to researchers.

Read More

Biden Official Bankrolls Group Claiming Charter Schools Teaching ‘Classics’ Are ‘Far-Right’ Ideologues

A Biden administration official is a major donor to an organization that characterized Christian charter schools teaching a classical education as “far-right” ideologues attempting to advance “Christian nationalism.”

The Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee and her partner Mark Simon gave at least $5,000 in 2022, the highest level of sponsorship, to the Network for Public Education, a left-wing activist group focused on promoting public schools, according to the organization’s sponsors page. The Network for Public Education released a June 2023 report which notes that “right-wing ideology” is growing in charter schools that teach a “classical” or “traditional” education.

Read More

Ohio Governor DeWine Asks for Family and Education Policy Changes in State of the State Address

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine proposed major expansions of various social programs in his 2023 State of the State address to legislators in Columbus on Tuesday.

The Republican governor called on lawmakers to enact a variety of new policies to aid families through the budget for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. Those requests include allowing parents who adopted children from private agencies to access Medicaid coverage and expanding a home-visit program providing health assistance to expectant mothers. 

Read More

Black and Hispanic Catholic School Students Outperformed Those in Government Schools on Nation’s Report Card Assessments

Results of national education assessments released last week showed unprecedented drops in academic achievement in fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading scores, but black, Hispanic, and low-income Catholic school students outperformed their counterparts in national, charter, and public school averages.

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” revealed a dramatic decline in test scores from 2019, when students were last tested.

Read More

Ohio, Michigan Charter Schools Sue Biden Administration

A group of Ohio and Michigan charter schools sued the Biden administration today, claiming a new rule that requires charter schools to prove public schools are over-enrolled is illegal.

The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, includes the Michigan Charter School Association and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a nonprofit charter school authorizer that supervises 13 charter schools in Ohio.

Read More

Parents Flee the Public School System as Charter Schools See Surge in Enrollment

Enrollment in New York City schools is dropping while charter schools are seeing a growth in the number of students, according to a report published Wednesday by the Manhattan Institute.

Throughout all New York City schools enrollment declined with 80,707 fewer students enrolled in grades K-12 in the most recent academic year than in the 2019–20 academic year, the report said. The drop has been most pronounced in schools operated by the New York City Department of Education (NYDOE), where enrollment is down by 83,656 students, the largest drop the NYDOE has seen.

Read More

Michael Bloomberg Blames Teachers’ Unions for Keeping Money Flowing to Traditional Government Schools and Away from Charter Schools

Former Democrat New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says teachers’ unions were responsible for keeping schools locked down during the pandemic, a move that has enabled a mass exodus of students from traditional government schools throughout the country.

Given the generally poor academic achievement of America’s students, the steep drop in enrollment means states are now paying more to educate fewer children, and, “paying more for failure,” he asserts.

Read More

‘Cynical Symbolism’: Biden’s Education Department Issues New Rules to Crush Charter Schools

President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing new policies that make it harder for charter schools to survive while strengthening the power of teachers unions, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The newly proposed rules, which apply to the Department of Education’s (DOE) 2023 budget, will make it more difficult for charter start-ups to qualify and receive funding from a $440 million federal charter school program by requiring charter schools to prove there is a demand for education not being met by other institutions like public schools. The guidelines will consequently give teachers unions more control over education, experts told the DCNF.

Read More

Biden Education Department ‘Declares War’ on Charter Schools as School Choice Becomes Overwhelmingly Popular in America

As more families and teachers flee government schools, the Biden administration – bound to the teachers unions – has now “declared war” on charter schools, as Robert Maranto, editor of the Journal of School Choice, wrote at National Review Monday.

The Biden education department is now on a path to sabotage the federal grant program that funds charter schools, public schools that are privately managed, with its proposal of new rules that appear to actually deter applicants from seeking grants.

Read More

Exclusive: Anti-White LGBT TikTok Star Identified as New Jersey Charter School Teacher

A TikTok influencer who frequently posts anti-white screeds and LGBT content on social media is a middle school teacher at a New Jersey charter school, The Star News Network can reveal.

Nairobi Colon teaches at KIPP Whittier Middle School in Camden, New Jersey. KIPP, which stands for Knowledge is Power Program, is a nationwide nonprofit network of charter schools, funded in part by private donors.

Read More

Commentary: Financial Stability Is Key to Being Able to Leave Job for Refusing Vaccine Mandate

Joshua Mawhorter

Until recently, I was a California teacher working in two charter schools, one as a full-time classroom teacher of Government/Economics and sometimes U.S. History, and the other as a part-time independent study teacher who assists families with a program primarily based around homeschooling. I have taught for about five years and love teaching.

Last week, I was fired from one school and put on unpaid administrative leave at the other because of my refusal either to take and demonstrate proof of the COVID-19 vaccine or test weekly. I even filed a religious exemption stating the following that was rejected:

“As a committed follower of Christ, I religiously and philosophically cannot submit to either a government vaccine mandate or weekly testing.

Read More

Commentary: The Other Back to School Story

Back to school stories this year will focus, naturally, on the Covid-19 pandemic’s toll on students and families and on remedying these difficulties.

But another story is being shortchanged: it’s about how parents sought new options for their children like homeschooling, small learning pods, and micro-schools, with civic entrepreneurs and their partners creating new organizations or expanding existing ones to meet this demand.

Read More

Wisconsin Charter Schools Growing, Overcoming Law and Misperceptions

Wisconsin charter schools are on the rise despite legal hurdles and widespread myths.

First established in 1993, Wisconsin charter schools now number 235 with 14 schools listed as new since last year. That’s a 6% upward trend.

One of the schools listed as new is the Carmen Middle School of Science and Technology South Campus. The school was categorized as new because of a location move.

Read More

Commentary: A School Movement Targeting Minorities That Works, Progressives Don’t Like It

Michael Landsbaum hit bottom after his father lost his job and couldn’t pay rent, leaving the teenager homeless in Dallas. He slept on friends’ couches for months until he was rescued by an unlikely source: his high school.

But Pathways in Technology Early College High School did much more than provide him with a place to stay at a counselor’s home. Its accelerated program, including college courses, gave Landsbaum the drive to get through the tough times and the hope for better days.

Read More

Family Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Charter School for Mandating Anti-White ‘Critical Race Theory’ Class

A Nevada mother has followed through on her threat to file a civil rights lawsuit against her son’s charter school for refusing to let him opt out of a mandatory class that promotes hostility toward whites as a race.

Democracy Prep at the Agassi Campus (DPAC) forced William Clark “to make professions about his racial, sexual, gender and religious identities in verbal class exercises and in graded, written homework assignments,” creating a hostile environment, the biracial high school student and Gabrielle Clark allege in their federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Read More

Survey: Private, Charter Schools More Likely to Provide Meaningful Education During Shutdowns

Several reports and national surveys indicate that private and charter schools provided more meaningful educational services during state shutdowns than public schools did, and more parents are choosing nontraditional educational options this fall.

A nationally representative survey conducted by Education Next found that while there was “a lot of lost ground on learning” during coronavirus shutdowns in the spring semester, there was “a more robust response in the charter school sector and in the private school sector” among respondents.

Read More

Commentary: Thomas Sowell’s New Book Shows Why Charter Schools Focus on Students Rather Than Teachers’ Unions

Thomas Sowell is a truth seeker who grew up in Harlem and is one of the wisest men of our times. In his new book, Charter Schools and Their Enemies — published on June 30, 2020, his 90th birthday — he exposes the hypocrisy of our politicians, teachers’ unions, and public school bureaucrats.

Read More

Loud Crowds Outside Democratic Presidential Debate in Westerville

Several groups of protesters and supporters of various candidates descended upon Otterbein University in Westerville for the Democratic Debate Tuesday. People began to gather before noon and the loud crowds grew throughout the day.

Read More

Democrats Supporting Charter Schools Plan Protest at the Democratic Presidential Debate in Westerville

Democrats who support charter schools will descend upon Otterbein University on Tuesday, October 15 for the Democratic Presidential Debate. Groups and individuals from across the country want these candidates to know that “choice” must include the right for low-income minority students to have education options.

Read More

State Senator Andrew Brenner and Charter Schools Leaders Expose ‘Unsustainable’ Levels of Underfunding

As legislators continue to increase funding for traditional district schools in every budget, one segment of public schools is grossly underfunded according to State Senator Andrew Brenner (R-Powell) and some school leaders. Public charter schools receive a fraction of the funding that district schools get.

Read More

Ohio Ranks Below Average in Education Based Upon ALEC’s National Report Card

  The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has issued its 23rd Report Card on American Education. They ranked and graded all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report card released Thursday reveals Ohio ranks 27th with a C- based upon 2018 data. ALEC grades education on six factors:…

Read More

State Superintendent Says Report Card ‘Really Good,’ Senator Fedor Calls that a ‘False Narrative’

Report cards were unveiled this week for Ohio’s 608 traditional district schools and 250 public charter schools. In an interview printed by Gongwer, State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria stated, “First and foremost, it’s a really good report card. It has a lot of indicators that show we’re making progress.”

Read More

Charter School Advocates See Nothing ‘Fair’ in House Bill 305, the ‘Fair School Funding’ Plan

  Charter school advocates are expressing concern about the bi-partisan “Fair School Funding” plan. House Bill 305 was introduced in late June by Representatives Robert Cupp (R-Lima) and John Patterson (D-Jefferson). President of the Ohio Coalition for Quality Education (OCQE), Ron Adler, commented to The Ohio Star, “There is nothing ‘fair’ about…

Read More

Students and Parents Win with School Choice Improvements in Ohio Budget

  COLUMBUS, Ohio – Students and parents will have more educational opportunities thanks to the budget bill legislators just passed and Gov. Mike DeWine signed. The law makes closing charter schools more difficult, expands the EdChoice Scholarship program, and increases the time frame for signing up for the Cleveland Scholarship.…

Read More

Charter Schools See Relief in Budget After Playing Defense for Decades

Charter Schools in Ohio have been facing mounting regulations every year with very small, if any, spending increases since their creation in 1997. Charters, which are called “community schools” in Ohio law, are public schools with no legal access to local tax dollars. They are required to abide by some laws and exempt from others. The exemptions were expected to provide charters with greater flexibility and lower costs.

Read More

Bernie Sanders to be the First 2020 Candidate to Call for Ban on Charter Schools

by Neetu Chandak   Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is set to call for a ban on for-profit charter schools Saturday, which will make him the first 2020 presidential candidate to suggest such a policy. Sanders is slated to argue in an education policy speech in South Carolina Saturday…

Read More

Ohio Bill Would End ‘Right of First Refusal’ for Schools of Choice

  For nearly eight years, charter and community schools in Ohio have had an advantage: first dibs on any public school property that was for sale. It’s a process called a right of first refusal. House Bill 43 will eliminate that advantage. Right now, if a school district wants to sell…

Read More

National Education Report Card: Ohio Keeps Pace With Country But Can’t Break From the Pack

Education Week, an independent news and data organization that collects, analyzes and reports information on the nation’s education has completed its annual “chance-for-success index” of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Out of the entire nation, Ohio ranks 24th at preparing its students for success. It was awarded a grade of…

Read More

Ohio School Voucher Program Doubles as More Public Schools Fail to Make The Grade

After a staggering number of Ohio public schools failed to make the grade, the state’s voucher and charter school system is poised for tremendous expansion. In Ohio, if the public school test scores of a student’s home district fall below a certain level, calculated by the Ohio Department of Education, a…

Read More

If You Like Your Charter School, You Can Keep Your Charter School – Richard Cordray Plan Would Destroy School Choice

Ohio Democrat Governor’s candidate Rich Cordray released his education plan this week and it was really, really bad. In fact, the only way to make the plan any worse would be if Rich Cordray stood up and announced that “if you like your charter school, you can keep your charter…

Read More