Posts tagged school choice
Commentary: Teachers strikes cost students weeks of school in 2023
January 3, 2024 // Betsy DeVos said that the strike-induced school closures "are continuing to exacerbate a problem [the unions] created by the extended lockdowns and shutdowns during COVID." "They're doing it at the expense of the kids they are supposed to be serving," she said. "The unions continue to try to amass more and more political power and extort taxpayers for more and more money and continue to promote a very leftist ideology across the board." DeVos said that lost learning due to missed school days is "devastating for kids [and] families" and noted that closing schools creates difficulties for families beyond the missed time in the classroom. "For those people who have jobs to go to on a daily basis, [they] now have to scramble to try to figure out what to do with the children that are left at home because their schools aren't opening to serve them," she said. "These unions continue to really whipsaw the people around who are supposed to be their customers; they're supposed to be the people they're serving. And yet there's no regard for the impacts on them.
Teachers union boss ripped for claiming school choice undermines democracy
December 21, 2023 // American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten made the comparison at the "Network for Public Education Action" national conference in October. In a clip of her remarks, which went viral on social media this week, the union leader can be heard criticizing school choice advocates. "They have not one thing that they offer as a solution other than privatizing or voucherizing schools," Weingarten said. "Which is about undermining democracy and undermining civil discourse and undermining pluralism."
UNION CONTRACTS TRAMPLE LOUISIANA PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS’ AND EMPLOYEES’ RIGHTS
September 15, 2023 // “These unconscionable agreements restrict teachers’ First Amendment rights, force them to be members of unions against their will, make it difficult to resign from the union, and even prevent them from learning about competing organizations that provide similar benefits to school employees.” In addition to trampling teachers’ First Amendment rights, the Pelican Institute found that CBAs at two Louisiana school systems grant union members who are parents the opportunity to select a different school that fits their children. Proponents of school choice believe that a child’s zip code shouldn’t determine their destiny. Unions seem to agree, but only if they bestow parents with that choice.
ILLINOIS: Union president’s school choice sparks debate over Illinois’ expiring program
September 11, 2023 // State Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, did not comment directly on whether the Invest in Kids Act should be extended but said it should be up to the parents to do what they believe is best for their children. "I believe every child should have the opportunity to go to the school that their parents choose for them to go to. Period," Ford told The Center Square. Ford said the choice by Davis Gates to send her child to a private school speaks to another issue he sees. "We cannot miss that her decision to place her [child] in a school outside of Chicago Public Schools speaks volumes to the deficit in those schools," Ford said.
Opinion: Glenn Youngkin’s path to White House must plow through teachers union monopoly in education
August 24, 2023 // The unions are highly motivated. One of Gov. Youngkin’s top priorities is Education Savings Accounts, which will provide every family with thousands of dollars a year to spend on schools of their choosing. Virginia families got a taste in spring of 2023 when the governor approved a $30 million grant fund for families to hire tutors and get other educational services. The fund was oversubscribed, showing incredible demand from families for education freedom. Yet more such policies, especially ESAs, are the greatest threat to teachers’ unions, since they break the de facto monopoly of public K-12 education. That monopoly contributes to student failure. According to the National Assessment of Educational Priorities, which is typically called "the nation’s report card," Virginia’s students are massively falling behind. Barely 37 percent of 4th graders are proficient in Math, while only 31 percent are proficient in English – down 10 and 6 points in three years, respectively. By 8th grade, average scores are even lower, with less than a third of students achieving proficiency in math, reading, and writing. Education Savings Accounts are the ticket to excellence Virginia students need. They’ll give families access to a marketplace of options, spurring the competition and innovation that could transform student performance for decades to come. Sadly, teachers’ unions would rather keep as many students in public schools as possible, even if it means stunting student success.
America’s Largest Teachers Union Isn’t Beyond Reform
July 20, 2023 // Washington can make the NEA less political and more accountable by revising its federal charter.
Op-ed: Placing teachers unions’ power above students’ lives
July 11, 2023 // Ms. Weingarten is the head of the powerful American Federation of Teachers union, and Mr. Pompeo’s assessment notwithstanding, President Biden’s secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, just appointed her to serve on the Department of Homeland Security’s school safety council. According to Mr. Mayorkas, the council will advise the department on school safety and help it “counter the evolving and emerging threats to the homeland.”
Exclusive — Stephen Moore: Democrats Care More About Teachers’ Unions Than About Children
July 10, 2023 // Moore criticized Democrats for opposing school choice and said they “care more about teachers unions then than they do about kids.” In explaining school choice, he said, “It basically would take some of the money that the state legislators … appropriate for schools, and it allows the money to follow the backpack, the kids. It follows the kids to have a better opportunity to go to a Catholic school, or a charter school, or a map school or a science school or a Montessori school.”
Gov. Shapiro, Choose School Choice Over Union Power Grabs
May 18, 2023 // Government union PACs spent more than $20 million in Pennsylvania during the 2021–22 election cycle. More than 92 percent of those contributions went to Democratic candidates and causes. The money helped Democrats gain a majority in the state’s House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. House Democrats, plus one lone Republican, have now backed the top priority of union executives. House Bill 950, a proposed constitutional amendment that would impose union mandates on employees who do not necessarily share the political agenda of union leaders, passed 102 to 99 on May 3. The bill takes its inspiration from a law out of Illinois that prohibits elected officials from advancing right-to-work initiatives that safeguard First Amendment rights. Josh Shapiro, the commonwealth’s Democratic governor who took office in January, has been a consistent opponent of right-to-work laws. However, he has not yet publicly commented on the push for union mandates in the current legislative session.
Red States Lead the Way on Protecting Workers
May 5, 2023 // It’s not just school choice and tax cuts. Red states have also made 2023 a banner year for labor reform, the best in years. Credit goes to governors and lawmakers who want to empower workers, save money for taxpayers, and make their states more competitive and responsive to citizens’ needs.