California parents scored a massive victory yesterday when Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) announced he would “hold” his vaccine mandate bill (SB 871) that would force all children to receive the Covid vaccine to attend in-person public and private school.
The bill would have gone a step further than Gov. Newsom’s proposal to add the Covid vaccine to the list of vaccines required for K-12 students. Pan wants to prohibit a personal belief exemption, which would have made California the only state to exclude such an opt-out. For most people — including anyone who’s ever read the First Amendment — that’s simply a step too far.
Gov. Newsom’s administration quickly followed Pan’s announcement with its own Department of Public Health press release. The Gov advised that, because the FDA has not fully approved the Covid vaccine for children in grades 7-12, “California will not initiate the regulatory process for a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for the 2022-2023 school year and as such, any vaccine requirements would not take effect until after full FDA approval and no sooner than July 1, 2023.” This begs the question of whether there will be an actual need for a 2023 vaccine for a 4-year-old virus that likely will have run its course.
Nonetheless, jubilant parents and parent groups, including CPC’s Parent Union, celebrated the victory that was hard-won by parents who organized throughout the state to protest the bill. Over 3,000 people signed CPC’s petition to kill the bill and hundreds more contacted their legislator through our Take Action tool.
“Dozens of Parent Union leaders across the state fought for our parental rights and won,” said Rebecca Holz, director of CPC’s Parent Union. “The war isn’t over, but we won this battle. Parents are ecstatic.”
“The most powerful special interest in Sacramento right now is California parents,” said Lance Christensen, CPC’s Vice President of Education Policy and Government Affairs. “Sacramento politicians are used to having free rein when it comes to enacting bad laws, but they woke a sleeping giant when they came for our kids.”
While SB 871 has been “paused,” parents must remain vigilant in opposing the bill or they may be surprised when it unexpectedly rises from the dead. Next month, the governor must submit the “May Revision” for his 2022 budget. That’s when Californians will have to watch for the increasingly perverse “budget trailer bills” process, akin to the “kitchen sink” of California legislation. California lawmakers often tuck controversial legislation into convoluted budget trailer bills where they may go unnoticed and unchallenged until it’s too late.
Even when they don’t go unnoticed, terrible policies buried in otherwise legit budget items make for difficult votes. The lawmakers who vote for them will often do so while delivering teary speeches in which they claim they had no choice — “Yes, in order to save the puppies, I had to vote to kill all cats, but there was simply no choice,” they’ll say. But they always have a choice. It’s a backbone they may lack.
If you haven’t yet reached out to your local legislators to help stiffen their spines, you can still use our Take Action tool. Let your representative know you expect them to oppose the contents of SB 871 no matter where it raises its ugly head.
Biden administration’s not-so-sneak attack on Charter Schools
The Biden administration launched an under-the-radar attack on charter schools in March at the behest of the nation’s teachers unions. The day after Congress approved $440 million for the federal Charter Schools Program that provides funding for charter schools, the Department of Education quietly released proposed rule changes to the program that would make it harder for new charters to receive grants.
The move came as a surprise to those who still think charter schools have the broad bipartisan support of years past, when even President Obama agreed that the promise of charters — free from teachers union bureaucracy — offered students stuck in poor-performing school districts a way out.
Now, charters have fallen out of favor with progressives, thanks to the teachers unions’ relentless campaign to paint charters as Public Enemy No. 2 — the No. 1 spot having been taken over by parents. The unions rightly consider charters a threat as parents see charter school students in their neighborhood thrive while traditional public schools in the same district self-destruct.
Charter schools succeed for the very reason many public schools do not: charters are publicly funded, but privately run — free from union influence. Today, 3.5 million students nationwide are enrolled in at least 7,500 charter schools, and many charters (including CPC’s own) have long waiting lists.
According to the Department of Education, 25 percent of charter students nationally are Black, 35 percent are Latino and 30 percent are White. The success of such a diverse student body torches the union’s narrative that lack of resources or systemic racism is to blame for poor-performing, government-run schools.
The Administration’s proposed rule changes would raise hurdles to new charter schools. For example, the rules would require a “community impact analysis” to demonstrate that there is “demand” for the school and allow charters only to serve “extra” students that exceed district capacity. With public school enrollment at historically low levels, the bar will be impossible for many charters to meet, especially in low-income districts.
Another proposal would require that charter schools “collaborate” with local public schools and “provide a letter from each partnering traditional public school or school district demonstrating a commitment to participate in the proposed charter-traditional collaboration.” Only teachers union lobbyists could propose such a change requiring charter schools to negotiate with their opponents with a straight face.
Progressives want charter schools under the thumb of teachers unions because, as usual, they don’t care about what is best for kids or families. They only care about union control and keeping kids trapped in schools where indoctrination is more important than education — and that leads us to our next subject . . . .
National Teachers Union Pushes Environmental Justice Agenda
When it comes to being tone-deaf, the teachers unions suffer what our friends in the medical community might call bilateral anacusis. With parents nationwide pushing back against Critical Race Theory and radical gender ideology being taught in schools, what does the National Education Association do? It doubles down on environmental justice curriculum for Earth Day!
“With Earth Day right around the corner, how will you be teaching about climate change and environmental justice?,” NEA asked its members earlier this week, linking to “Environmental Justice: Why We Should Teach it and How to Get Started,” an NEA Today article everyone should read to truly understand what we’re up against.
“As a future educator, you will help develop the next generation of informed citizens,” the article begins. “Perhaps most urgent of all (emphasis added), you will have the opportunity to teach students about environmental justice.”
According to the NEA, “environmental racism” traps communities of color in “perilous surroundings.” Young students are “natural activists,” says one teacher highlighted in the piece, adding that students are inspired by activists who speak up against “oppressive regimes.”
NEA President Becky Pringle is, naturally, “a leader of K–12 Climate Action — a coalition that aims to make schools a force for change, including supporting teaching and learning about climate issues.”
If you haven’t laugh-snorted your coffee by then, take two minutes to look at the NEA website itself. Under the “Racial and Social Justice” tab, you’ll find that the NEA highlights the gambit of progessive causes, including a link to “Pledge Your Support” to Black Lives Matters. BLM is as we speak getting hammered — in the mainstream press, no less — for having disappeared millions of dollars of donations into the purchase of such essentials of racial justice as mansions, like this one in Los Angeles.
Make no mistake: The NEA is not a “pro-teacher” union working on behalf of educators, students and families. It’s just another Leftist-activist machine that’s pushing neo-Marxist ideology through our public schools — and they aren’t even trying to hide it.
“There are a lot of very angry parents. Should the Biden administration go through with these ridiculous regulations, prepare to add charter school parents to their ranks.” — Darvio Morrow, CEO of the FCB Radio Network
California, There We Went: Larry Sand, president of the California Teachers Empowerment Network, lays out why California’s parents are opting out of public schools.
