Hideous housing hypocrisy and other commentary
If California progressives really “cared about the plight of poor kids,” snaps Steven Greenhut at The American Spectator, they would’ve snuffed Assembly Bill 1505, which will gradually gut charter schools in the Golden State. Instead, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it on Oct. 3. California started its experiment with charters in 2002, with the backing of such liberal stalwarts as former Gov. Jerry Brown and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. But teachers unions declared war at the outset, and now, thanks to Newsom, they’ve succeeded: While the bill doesn’t ban existing charters, it “will stop the growth in charters.” Charters have been delivering, especially for poor and minority students, but “none of that really matters to California’s Democratic leaders” — as long as their union allies have control of the schools.
