The CPC Investigative Reporting Challenge.

If you’ve ever worried publicly about the teaching of Critical Race Theory in California’s K-12 schools, you’ve been told you’re an idiot — that CRT doesn’t exist outside of universities. But that claim ignores the fact that California’s teachers go to universities.

This week, we saw how this plays out in the real world when Cal State Fullerton’s College of Education announced it was cutting ties with a nearby school district. In a letter to the district, CSUF administrators wrote:

The placement of student teachers in Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD), at this time, would place us in conflict with our goals to prepare teacher candidates with pedagogical approaches rooted in diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, race and gender theories, cultural linguistic studies, social emotional well-being, and tenets of Critical Race Theory.

The university’s break-up letter goes on like this, but you get my meaning: You’re not an idiot — or you might be, but certainly not on the fact of CRT’s influence on K-12 schools. 

The district’s sin? In April, it declared that it would no longer allow the teaching of Critical Race Theory in its schools. In August, in light of that resolution, the university’s College of Education asked the district about its “commitment to providing a just, equitable, and inclusive education.” The district’s response was elegant and candid:

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District values all students and promotes equity and equality, respects diversity, celebrates the contributions of all, and encourages culturally relevant and inclusive teaching practices.

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District condemns racism (a prejudged attitude and discriminatory behavior against individuals or groups on the grounds of race) and will not tolerate racism, racist conduct, bigotry, or anything that constitutes hate crimes.

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District is committed to maintaining a safe, positive school environment where all students, staff, parents, guardians, and community members are treated with respect and dignity, and where we can and will serve and celebrate students through academic excellence.

I went to a Catholic elementary school in the 1960s and ‘70s. The nuns were by no means what you’d call liberal — except when it came to corporal punishment, at which point they liberally applied the lash. They wore the truly medieval habit (wimple, veil, floor-length tunic) but they taught us the historically modern virtues of American diversity and tolerance. We learned that everyday Chinese, Irish, Italians, Poles, Koreans, Mexicans, Slavs, Brits, Germans, Japanese, Africans and other immigrants and (especially!) slaves, former slaves and the descendants of slaves, Jews, Muslims, countless varieties of Christians, agnostics/atheists and Native Americans — that these peoples contributed to the American success story.

Among each of these groups there were Truly Great Americans. The nuns beat into us (sometimes literally) the bedrock belief that we Americans are truly e pluribus unum. That’s an ethnic studies program that would likely be welcomed by everyone today — everyone outside Cal State Fullerton’s College of Education.

Here’s the CPC investigative reporting challenge:

• Is there a California state university near you? Does it deploy student teachers to K-12 schools districts near you? 

• Has your district taken steps to assure that student teachers aren’t bringing the contagion of CRT into your K-12 classrooms? Has the district, for instance, followed the example of Placentia-Yorba Linda in explicitly prohibiting CRT while upholding the virtues of American diversity?

Send your findings — along with proof — to CPC’s Sheridan Swanson at: [email protected].

California Exodus: Mari Barke joins women’s Policy Circle panel on state to state migration.

Mari Barke, director of CPC’s CLEO, was a featured panelist at The Policy Circle's 6th Annual Leadership Summit last week in Fort Worth, Texas. The summit brings together women from across the country who are community, corporate and philanthropic leaders to discuss vital policy issues.

Mari joined a panel discussion on the historic shifts in state to state migration happening today, and explained the root causes of the California Exodus to summit attendees.

California saw a whopping $8.8 billion drop in adjusted gross income from lost taxpayers in 2019, and lost a congressional seat after the 2020 census because of the state’s population decline. For the first time since the start of the century, California saw a decline in the number of students attending public schools.

“We are seeing a clear pattern of people leaving our state because of its failed policies,” Barke said. “California’s high taxes and overregulation have resulted in businesses moving to other states.”

CEOs across the country rate California as the worst state to do business. In 2021, CNBC ranked California 47th for the cost of doing business, 48th for the cost of living, and 50th for business friendliness.

“When businesses leave, it’s not just a massive loss of capital and jobs, employees also take their wealth and students with them,” added Barke.

Skyrocketing housing prices and the highest state income taxes in the nation are also major drivers of California’s outbound migration. Crime, homelessness, out-of-control gas prices, along with the Golden State’s COVID policies that kept businesses and schools closed far longer than other states have also contributed to Californians moving to greener pastures.

“Especially with the growth in remote work, families are realizing they don’t have to stay in California.” Mari explained. “Parents are choosing to work in other states that have a lower cost of living and better education options for their kids.”

To see how many businesses have left California, check out CPC's California Book of Exoduses here.
 

Election countdown.

With just over two weeks left before the November 8 election, you may be looking for a fresh perspective on the ins and outs of how California is really run. CPC has three excellent resources for California voters.

• California's Ballot Propositions. If you missed our roundup of the propositions on the ballot, be sure to check it out here. CPC's analysis gives voters the information they need to understand what's at stake and the political power players in each fight.

• Understanding School Bonds. Do you have a school bond measure on your local ballot? Then you won't want to miss our Understanding School Bonds Toolkit! Find out how you can determine if your local school bond proposal has the specificity, accountability and transparency necessary to ensure the bond money borrowed will actually improve schools and help kids — or if the bonds will just create another slush fund for teachers unions and special interests.

• California Union Watch. CPC's @CalUnionWatch automated Twitter bot tracks and publishes government union campaign contributions in real time. Just yesterday, this dignified little robot reported that the California Teachers Union dumped $300,000 into the campaign to re-elect incumbent state schools chief Tony Thurmond for Superintendent of Public Instruction. If you really want to see just how much influence government unions wield in California politics — and how many millions they pour into campaigns at every level of government in every county in the state — make sure you follow @CalUnionWatch here. 

And don't forget to follow California Policy Center on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

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