When the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close this spring, it exposed the California Legislature’s lack of wisdom in approving a two-year moratorium on the expansion of distance learning in charter public schools. It’s not the decade of the 1990s or 2000s, it’s 2020. We are a fifth of the...
Walters: Dumbing Down Teacher License Tests
The abrupt and apparently prolonged closure of California’s public schools due to coronavirus fears is — or should be — a reminder of their vital societal role. Six million kids will miss at least a few months of schooling. While many are receiving some education at home, from parents and/or...
Newsom Signs Bill Pushing Back Public School Start Times
Students in middle school and high school can sleep in later beginning in 2022, thanks to legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday. Senate Bill 328, which was authored by state Sen. Anthony Portantino, bans public high schools from starting before 8:30 a.m. It additionally requires middle schools to...
Walters: Charter Schools Cheat the Hangman
Elections have consequences – often beneficial ones for those on the winning side and detrimental to the losers. Operators of California’s charter schools – public schools that operate independently of school districts – knew they would be targeted when Gavin Newsom won the governorship last year, and union-backed Democrats increased...
Deal on California Charter Schools Overhaul Announced
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a deal on Wednesday that would overhaul how the state authorizes and judges its charter schools. The Legislature must still approve it, which appears to be a formality after its top two leaders endorsed it. California has seen growing charter school enrollment in communities serving...
Deal on California Charter Schools Overhaul Announced
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a deal on Wednesday that would overhaul how the state authorizes and judges its charter schools. The Legislature must still approve it, which appears to be a formality after its top two leaders endorsed it. California has seen growing charter school enrollment in communities serving...
5 Takeaways From Newsom’s Revised Budget Plan
Buoyed by California’s strong economy, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent state lawmakers a revised budget Thursday that boosts his already-hefty January proposal to $213.6 billion. Ka-ching! Public schools will reap most of the gains if the Democratic-controlled Legislature rolls with him. Newsom also upped his ante on the housing crisis with a proposed...
California Overhauls Sex Education Guidance for Teachers
SACRAMENTO — California has overhauled its sex education guidance for public school teachers, encouraging them to talk about gender identity with kindergartners and giving advice to help LGBT teenagers navigate relationships and practice safe sex. LGBT advocates praised the new recommendations for giving such attention to a community that often...
Walters: Can We Protect Kids From Becoming Zombies?
We’ve all seen children, often very young children, hunched over from heavy book backpacks, shuffling along sidewalks just an hour or two after sunrise on their way to school. They look like zombies, and that’s because California’s public schools often begin their classes so early in the morning that many...
Walters: Can California Close Its ‘Achievement Gap’?
The biggest issue facing the nation’s biggest public school system – California’s, with six million students – is a stubborn “achievement gap.” That’s the term educators use to describe persistent differences between what white and Asian students learn, as revealed by academic testing, and what Latino, black and poor students...