Washington, D.C.

On Monday, a federal district court judge in Maryland granted a barring the Department of Education and the Office of Personnel Management from disclosing personally identifiable information to Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency.

The American Federation of Teachers, the nation鈥檚 second-largest teachers union, filed a federal lawsuit with a coalition of labor unions Feb. 12 alleging that the department illegally gave DOGE access to millions of private and sensitive records.

The court ruled that the AFT would likely succeed in its lawsuit and agreed that the two agencies 鈥渓ikely violated the Privacy Act by disclosing their personal information to DOGE affiliates without their consent.鈥� The restraining order will expire March 10. 

鈥淭his is a significant decision that puts a firewall between actors whom we believe lack the legitimacy and authority to access Americans鈥� personal data and are using it inappropriately, without any safeguards,鈥� union President Randi Weingarten said in a press release.

In other action, the union announced on Feb. 19 that as part of a recently launched campaign called . 

The National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, organized a rally outside the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 12 to protest the nomination of Linda McMahon as secretary of education.

In response to administration efforts to downsize federal agencies, the American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit to stop a resignation program that prompted thousands of workers to leave their jobs. The nation鈥檚 largest federal employee union 鈥� which represents U.S. Department of Education staff 鈥� argued that the program was unlawful, .

California

Members of unions in 32 California school districts have banded together to negotiate a shared set of contract demands: improved wages and benefits, smaller class sizes, fully staffed schools and more resources for students.

The locals united as part of the California Teachers Association’s , which launched Feb. 4. The districts employ a total of 77,000 educators and teach 1 million students, and include some of the largest in the state: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento. 

Many of the unions鈥� contracts are set to expire this summer. California Teachers Association President David Goldberg said in a Feb. 4 webinar that the campaign is intended to build pressure statewide, .

At one charter school in the San Fernando Valley, teachers staged a four-day after working without a contract since July 1. Educators at El Camino Real Charter High School, who are represented by United Teachers Los Angeles, walked out from Feb. 10 to 14 before reaching an agreement that includes a 19% salary increase over three years, .

The nation’s first charter school strike occurred in 2018, a four-day work stoppage at Acero, one of Chicago鈥檚 largest charter school networks. The vast majority of charter schools are not unionized.

Idaho

A bill that would ban taxpayer funds from going toward teachers union operations advanced out of committee to the full House on Feb. 12. The bill鈥檚 sponsor, state Rep. Judy Boyle, said is intended to cut down on what she called 鈥渦nder-the-table鈥� dealings between school districts and unions, according to the .

HB98 would apply only to teachers unions, not to other public-sector unions that represent occupations like first responders, according to the Idaho Education Association. It would require teachers to use personal leave to do union work, eliminate payroll deductions for dues and ban distribution of union materials on school property. Violators could be fined up to $2,500.

鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 the outcome we wanted, but we鈥檙e not done fighting this bad bill yet,鈥� Chris Parri, the union’s political director, said . 鈥淲e鈥檒l need all hands on deck to kill it for good in the [state] Senate when the time comes.鈥� 

Illinois

The Chicago Teachers Union rejected a recommendation Feb. 4 from a neutral arbitrator that negotiators return to the bargaining table and reach agreement with Chicago Public Schools on a that includes higher pay for veteran teachers and more librarians. In a letter to the district, the union that the mediator 鈥渞ightly notes that [Chicago Public Schools] consistently signs 鈥� labor contracts despite claiming it lacks the funds to afford them.鈥�

Once the recommendation is rejected, the union has to wait 30 days before it can give the district a 10-day strike notice. The Chicago Teachers Union went on strike during contract negotiations for seven days in 2012, one day in 2016 and 11 days in 2019.

Massachusetts

Lawmakers questioned the state鈥檚 largest teachers union at a special hearing Feb. 10 over learning materials that some members believe were antisemitic. 

The Massachusetts Teachers Association, which represents more than 117,000 educators, was about the Israel-Hamas conflict. President Max Page said that the documents were created by request from the union’s board and published in a members-only area of the union website.

Examples included a poster on the Israel-Hamas war reading, 鈥渨hat was taken by force can only be returned by force鈥� and a book about a Palestinian girl who says, 鈥渁 group of bullies called Zionists wanted our land so they stole it by force and hurt many people,鈥� according to .

鈥淭he notion that our union is trying to 鈥榠ndoctrinate鈥� our young people is simply not true, and accusations to that effect have led to death threats to me and my staff, and to other attacks on our union,鈥� Page said. 鈥淧osting resources does not imply agreement with each and every document. Nor would we ever expect that our members would look at these resources with an uncritical eye.鈥�

An by the Israeli-American Civic Action Network that asks lawmakers and state agencies to halt collaboration with the union on legislation has received more than 17,000 signatures.

Utah

One of the first bills Gov. Spencer Cox signed into law this year bars teachers unions from bargaining collectively and conducting operations on school property.

The governor on Feb. 14, marking the end of a weeks-long debate about how public-sector unions should operate. Lawmakers who favored the bill said it will ensure transparency in unions and protect taxpayer resources, but educators said it will only make a job that鈥檚 already full of challenges more difficult.

While it doesn鈥檛 prevent employees from joining a union, the law prohibits public agencies 鈥� which employ teachers, firefighters, police officers and county workers, among others 鈥� from 鈥渞ecognizing a labor organization as a bargaining agent鈥� and 鈥渆ntering into collective bargaining contracts.鈥� 

The Utah Education Association said HB267 will also weaken advocacy because it cuts off access to schools by barring unions from using public property for free. Some opponents of the bill charged it was created to retaliate against the Utah Education Association, which is The association is the state鈥檚 largest teachers union, with 18,000 members.

I took the long way around to get to this work. I was an animated film-maker 鈥�

鈥� and a sheet metal worker and member of of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. I then spent almost eight years in the Air Force as a C-130 navigator.

To illustrate just how much technology has advanced since then, that box in the upper right corner of the photo contains a sextant, which was my primary means of navigating over water.

After leaving the service, I got my master’s in international affairs and began a freelance career as a .

I took work as a newsletter editor, back when the internet was a rumor, personal computers only did one thing at a time, and 鈥渃ut and paste鈥� meant scissors and glue.

My first article about a teachers union was published almost 30 years ago. For me, it was just another story, along with others I had written about California鈥檚 recycling program, or weird news I compiled and labeled 鈥渢he outpost of the odd.鈥�

But readers responded to the union story, so I wrote more, culminating in a 1994 long-form analysis of the California Teachers Association for the Golden State Center for Policy Studies. I called it 鈥淭he Shadow Legislature.鈥�

Three decades later, that鈥檚 still an accurate title.

Obviously, many things have changed in public education. When I started writing, charter schools were just a fledgling experiment and school choice an impossibility.

Unfortunately, many other things are almost exactly the same. I recently came across . It was about outcome-based education, and if you change some of the acronyms around and update the references, it could have been written last week.

Schrag described issues of textbook censorship, social engineering, performance-based assessments, phonics versus whole language and more. Then there is this paragraph:

鈥淚t’s striking how quickly our struggles about curriculum ideas escalate into quasi-religious controversies over social or moral absolutes. The right sees a conspiracy by the federal government and its secular humanist legions to strip parents of control over their children and inculcate them with relativistic values, witchcraft and satanism. The left looks at every parent who walks into a principal’s office complaining about a book or a school assignment as a tool of religious fanatics.鈥�

See our full archive of Mike Antonucci’s Union Report

Schools are a political battleground, because everywhere is a political battleground. We can wish for things to be different, but we have to deal with the realities. My only goal for the past 30 years was to tell you the stories the teachers unions won鈥檛. That鈥檚 all.

I couldn鈥檛 possibly list and thank all the folks who helped and supported me along the way. Some of them, on both sides of the divide, probably wouldn鈥檛 want to be mentioned by name anyway. But I do want to single out the good people, past and present, at this publication, 蜜桃影视. For the past seven years, they have been patient, kind and invaluable in making this column much better than it otherwise would have been. So thank you, Romy, Steve, Bev and the entire crew. I wish you much future success in your continuing mission to challenge the status quo.

Finally, thanks to you, my readers. All of you have made my long career, and now, happy retirement, possible.

God bless you all.

But at least in a relative sense, the past five years have not been to CTA鈥檚 liking. It spent $20 million in 2020 in a failed attempt to raise property taxes, and the Supreme Court鈥檚 Janus ruling in June 2018, which banned the collection of agency fees from non-members, has had a damaging effect, but not quite in the way most observers expected.

By the union鈥檚 own calculation, only about 2,700 teachers dropped their membership in the five years since Janus. That鈥檚 hardly debilitating to a union of almost 300,000 members. The hopes of Janus supporters and the fears of union supporters that Janus would lead to wholesale resignations did not come to pass in California.

However, it appears the ruling has been harmful to union recruiting of new members. According to internal union documents, in 2019 there were only 18,000 local public education employees who were eligible for CTA membership but did not join. As of the end of September 2023, the number of non-members had ballooned to almost 36,000.

Overall, the union ended the 2022-23 school year with 38,000 fewer members than it had when it began the first post-Janus school year in 2018-19. This chart, from internal CTA documents, shows the membership trends over the past 12 years.

CTA鈥檚 dues aren鈥檛 tied to membership levels, but to average teacher salary. Federal COVID relief money boosted that significantly, to the point where the union鈥檚 draft budget for 2024-25, obtained exclusively by Union Report, calls for a $30 dues increase. That would bring state level dues to $816. Coupled with national dues, every teacher belonging to CTA will pay at least $1,020 next year. Local dues will add to that figure.

The union estimates the increase will net it an additional $8 million, of which $3.3 million is earmarked for staff pay increases. Another $3.5 million is designated as 鈥渆xcess income over expenses,鈥� which in another context would be called 鈥減rofit.鈥�

Overall, CTA is budgeting for $228 million, which is almost $40 million more than the national American Federation of Teachers received in dues this year.

The California union has several pots in which to place its income, many having to do with politics. CTA currently has $3.2 million in its candidate political action committee, $4.7 million in its independent expenditure committee, $8.4 million in its media fund, $15.3 million in its advocacy fund, and a whopping $38.9 million in its ballot initiative fund.

It is too early to list everywhere the union鈥檚 ballot measure spending might go, but it is already planning opposition to the . Scheduled for the November 2024 ballot, the measure would require majority voter approval for any tax increase passed by the legislature.

CTA鈥檚 financial involvement in local school board races is underreported. The state union recently pledged $100,000 to help elect Telly Tse and Neda Farid Faroumand to school board seats in the Glendale Unified School District, where CTA has roughly 1,300 members. Tse, coincidentally, .

The union also contributed $55,000 to in the Orange Unified School District.

There is no prospect for significantly diminishing the union鈥檚 role in state politics, though it appears CTA will maintain its position through ever-increasing funds collected from ever-decreasing membership levels. America鈥檚 industrial unions have survived decades with such a model. CTA may be on the wrong side of the slope, but the slope is shallow enough to ensure its continued influence for many years to come.

Mike Antonucci鈥檚 Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.

For years, the California Teachers Association has opposed universal dyslexia screening for students, helping to defeat legislation that would have mandated it. And yet, many classroom teachers are advocating for all students to be tested. 

As another possible legislative battle looms, the statewide teachers union鈥檚 opposition to mandatory screening continues to frustrate many educators. According to classroom teachers across the state, the California Teachers Association鈥檚 position will perpetuate a 鈥渨ait-to-fail鈥� approach to reading instruction that forces educators to sit by while students fall further and further behind.

Dyslexia is a neurological condition that causes difficulties with reading and affects  in the United States. But early screening and support can mitigate or even prevent illiteracy stemming from the learning disability.

Officials at Decoding Dyslexia CA, a grassroots advocacy group, say hundreds, if not thousands, of teachers working with students who struggle with reading support universal screening. The California Teachers Association doesn鈥檛 understand the benefits of screening all students for dyslexia, said Megan Potente, one of the co-directors of Decoding Dyselxia CA. 

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 some misinformation,鈥� Potente said. 鈥淪ome of the reasons for their opposition aren鈥檛 supported by the research.鈥�

Doug Rich, a veteran teacher and reading specialist at San Francisco Unified, said he鈥檚 鈥済one rogue鈥� and started screening all of his students for signs of dyslexia. He said testing is relatively quick 鈥� taking less than 10 minutes 鈥� but the results are crucial.

The test results can tell him where his students are struggling, whether it be sounding out letters or recognizing words. If all students were screened in kindergarten, Rich says, fewer would end up working with him.

鈥淲e know so much about dyslexia,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e know the underlying causes. We have these simple tools that are efficient and accurate.鈥�

Reading instructors, education experts and neuroscientists all agree: early screening is one of the best ways to mitigate or even prevent the illiteracy that can be caused by dyslexia. Despite having some of the best experts in the field of dyslexia research, California remains  that doesn鈥檛 require universal screening.

That鈥檚 not for lack of trying. State , a Democrat from Glendale who鈥檚 dyslexic, tried and failed twice in the past three years to pass legislation that would have mandated universal screening for students in kindergarten through second grade. In February, he said he is trying .

Although it has not taken a position on the latest bill, the California Teachers Association opposed Portantino鈥檚 last two bills. Claudia Briggs, a spokesperson for the union, said the association鈥檚 leadership team believed that bills would have caused 鈥�.鈥� The association鈥檚 position is that universal screening will take valuable time away from instruction and may misidentify English learners as dyslexic by mistaking their lack of fluency in English for a learning disability. Briggs said the union would decide its position on the new bill in March.

Potente is optimistic about this year鈥檚 bill. It has 33 co-authors, more than double that of last year鈥檚 bill. 

If the bill gets to Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 desk, it鈥檚 not clear whether he鈥檒l sign it. Newsom, who鈥檚 also dyslexic, supported dyslexia research by funding UCSF鈥檚 Dyslexia Center to the tune of $28 million in recent years. In 2021, he published a children鈥檚 book based on his childhood experiences. His office, however, declined to comment on whether he supports universal screening.

In response to the union鈥檚 objections, a chorus of experts and classroom teachers, backed by a well-established body of research, contradict its arguments. CalMatters interviewed 10 teachers from across California who said screening students early prevents students from needing more intensive services when they鈥檙e older. They also said universal screening would prevent English learners from being referred to special education because it would allow teachers to remedy early signs of reading challenges.

鈥淭eachers are already spending an overabundance of time using other horrible assessments for reading,鈥� Rich said, referring to tests for reading comprehension or vocabulary. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e not getting good information.鈥�

A patchwork of screening

Some districts, like Pleasanton Unified in the Bay Area, already screen all students in kindergarten, first and second grades. In other districts, top officials encourage screening all students but haven鈥檛 adopted a universal screening policy. 

Jennie Johnson, a reading intervention teacher for the Lancaster School District, 50 miles north of Los Angeles, said the district is in its first year of screening all students. It鈥檚 also training teachers on how to use the results from the screening to refine reading instruction. 

Universal screening is even more critical now because pandemic-era learning loss resulted in so many students reading below grade level, Johnson said. Half of the fifth graders at her school are currently reading at a third grade level.

鈥淲e are not surprised by the lack of literacy because that鈥檚 where our school typically is,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the number of fourth and fifth grade students reading below grade level is alarming this year.鈥�

In other districts, it鈥檚 up to individual teachers to advocate for screening their students. Kristen Koeller, a reading intervention teacher in the Cupertino Union School District, said she has to be strategic about which students get screening. When she recommends a student for a dyslexia screening, she said her supervisors encourage her to use other reading assessments that have been purchased as a part of the district鈥檚 reading curriculum. She said this ultimately discourages teachers from using screeners that haven鈥檛 been approved by district officials.

While district-approved assessments can help determine a student鈥檚 reading level, Koeller said they don鈥檛 test whether a student is at risk of dyslexia. 

鈥淵ou can be a bit of a rebel,鈥� Koeller said. 鈥淏ut you can鈥檛 just go around thumbing your nose at your boss. I just continue to advocate respectfully for the change I鈥檇 like to see.鈥�

Decoding Dyslexia CA includes a coalition of teachers like Koeller who are willing to buck both district policies as well as the California Teachers Association. They lobby state lawmakers and sponsored Portantino鈥檚 universal screening bills. 

By at least one measure, most California voters support these efforts. A  found that 87% of the state鈥檚 voters are in favor of a policy requiring universal early screening. 

Without a mandate, teachers say, whether a dyslexic student learns to read will be left to chance. That approach deepens inequities, as some students have parents who can afford private assessments and tutoring. But those who lack the resources are much more likely to become illiterate adults. 

鈥淚 see this as a huge social justice issue,鈥� said Lori DePole, also a co-director of Decoding Dyslexia CA. 鈥淭his 鈥榳ait-to-fail鈥� model that we鈥檙e using in California is unacceptable.鈥�

The California School Psychologists Association also supports screening all students between kindergarten and second grade, saying a small investment of resources earlier in a child鈥檚 education can pay off exponentially. 

鈥淚f you catch them young, you can implement interventions that may prevent them from needing more intensive services later,鈥� said Melanee Cottrill, executive director of the .

The importance of early screening

Kristina Delgadillo, a middle school special education teacher at Visalia Unified in the San Joaquin Valley, said she regularly works with students who could have learned to read if they had been screened earlier. She said screening younger students is worth the relatively small time investment.

鈥淚鈥檝e been assessing too many kids for the first time in fourth, fifth and sixth grade when I should have already been providing them services,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 see kids fall through the cracks.鈥�

Delgadillo cited  that found that it takes an additional 30 minutes a day for a kindergarten or first grade student with dyslexia to read at grade level. But if a student waits until fourth grade to be screened, it takes two hours a day.

Echoing the concerns of school psychologists, education experts say teachers can mitigate the illiteracy caused by dyslexia if they can detect the warning signs early. Even third grade can be too late, as students go from 鈥渓earning to read to reading to learn鈥� in other subject areas. If teachers can鈥檛 get students reading at grade level by then, it means they鈥檒l struggle with reading textbooks in social studies or word problems in math class.

鈥淪tudents don鈥檛 want to be in a classroom if they can鈥檛 read,鈥� said Jordan Paxhia, a special education teacher at San Francisco Unified. While effective reading instruction on its own can鈥檛 ensure a student鈥檚 success, universal screening is a crucial step to making sure all students can read at grade level.

鈥淟iteracy may not be a panacea, but it certainly would give students more of a chance,鈥� Paxhia said.

Teachers say screening English learners is even more urgent. If left unaddressed, dyslexia could delay students鈥� acquisition of English while they struggle to read their native language as well. And because they aren鈥檛 diagnostic tools, a red flag on a dyslexia screener won鈥檛 mean a student will be sent immediately to special education. If a dyslexia screener detects a student is struggling with reading, a teacher will spend more time with the student. From there, the teacher and the school can provide more resources and services if necessary.

鈥淚鈥檓 not overly concerned about false positives,鈥� Paxhia said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean they have dyslexia. And isn鈥檛 that a better use of our time than letting something go unnoticed?鈥�

It鈥檚 harder to reverse the damage for a student who isn鈥檛 screened early. High school and middle school teachers know this best.

Holly Johnson teaches ninth grade English at Santiago High School in Garden Grove. She works with students who read below grade level, but by the time they arrive in her classroom it鈥檚 too late to remedy the effects of dyslexia. She doesn鈥檛 know for sure how many of her students have dyslexia, but she said it鈥檚 clear that they never got the help that would have been provided had they been screened earlier.

鈥淪creening can be done in high school, but it鈥檚 so difficult,鈥� she said. 鈥淭heir relationship with school and their narrative has already been built.鈥�

Research shows that failing to read at grade level can have ripple effects for a student鈥檚 academic success as well as their mental health. Students who can鈥檛 read will struggle across all subjects in school. They鈥檙e less likely to  and tend to  once they enter the labor force. But in the short term, illiteracy leads to anger and hopelessness for Johnson鈥檚 students.

鈥淩ather than being embarrassed about reading, they鈥檒l pick a fight with the teacher,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 more cool than everyone knowing you can鈥檛 read.鈥�

A failure to screen students and help them in earlier grades means high school teachers like Johnson must not only teach them how to read but how to rebuild their identities as students.

鈥淚f we can get these kids diagnosed, their problems won鈥檛 be as big,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ll of it can be nipped in the bud.鈥�

This story was originally published by .

The effort to get on the November 2022 ballot is just getting started, but such a statute would give parents 鈥渓egal standing鈥� before a judge to argue that districts should make better use of education dollars, said initiative spokesman Michael Trujillo, a veteran political strategist.

鈥淗ere鈥檚 a chance for parents to become effective policymakers on behalf of their children,鈥� said Trujillo, who has long worked for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a supporter of the initiative.

The move comes as parents across the country are vocally asserting their rights to influence the education agenda. Parents鈥� anger over school closures and controversial diversity and equity initiatives was considered a key factor in tipping the Virginia governor鈥檚 race in favor of Republican Glenn Youngkin.

The California initiative would be the third effort nationally to enshrine a child鈥檚 opportunity to receive a high-quality education in a state constitution. Supporters have launched similar campaigns in and . 

鈥淗aving that right in the constitution could be very helpful in addressing long-standing inequities in our educational system and closing opportunity gaps,鈥� said Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, an Oakland-based advocacy organization. He added that 鈥済etting more dollars to kids of color and English learners has to be part of the equation.鈥�

The California initiative, however, includes wording that would prohibit courts from issuing remedies that include 鈥渘ew mandates for taxes or spending.鈥�

That restriction could be an obstacle to improving educational quality, said Jessica Levin, a senior attorney at the Education Law Center, based in New Jersey. 

鈥淢ore funding would be the way to address many of the issues that the proponents of this initiative are purporting to want to fix,鈥� she said. The center represented plaintiffs in , a 1998 New Jersey school finance case that led to far-reaching reforms, including universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.

A from the center gives California a C for the level of per-student funding schools receive from state and local sources. But it grades the state a D on how much it spends on education as a percentage of overall economic activity 鈥� less than 3 percent.

State constitutions, Levin added, all include some 鈥渁ffirmative obligation鈥� to provide students a public education, but courts have varied in how they interpret what that education should include.

Federal courts in recent years have also been asked to consider whether the U.S. Constitution should entitle children to an education. Last year, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer agreed to a $100 million settlement in a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals case in which seven Detroit students argued their schools had failed to teach them to read.

On Nov. 1, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in in which 14 Rhode Island students argue their schools don鈥檛 provide civics education, leaving them unprepared to exercise their rights as citizens. 

鈥楾here鈥檚 no remedy鈥�

In California, David Welch, who waged a lengthy challenging state laws on teacher tenure and seniority, is behind the ballot initiative. That lawsuit, Vergara v. California, argued such provisions keep poor and minority students from having effective teachers. In 2016, the California Court of Appeals ultimately held that the attorneys for the nine student plaintiffs were unable to prove that state law controlled teacher assignments.

The state鈥檚 powerful teachers unions came out on top when the state supreme court declined to review the case. A ballot measure that aims to improve schools by making it easier to fire ineffective teachers would be certain to reopen that fight. Levin said the initiative 鈥渙n its face鈥� might sound appealing, but could be a way to once again go after teacher tenure and laws that  result in new teachers being the first to go when budgets are cut.

Trujillo said the initiative is not just an effort to revive Vergara. 

鈥淲丑补迟 Vergara taught us is that there is a right to a free education,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut if you want to sue because of a reading gap, there鈥檚 no remedy.鈥� 

Some experts say the measure, which would need roughly a million signatures by June to qualify, is vague and ignores the limitations districts face when the majority of their budgets are spent on salaries. Laura Preston, director of governmental affairs at F3Law, a California firm that handles education cases, said laws that require districts to negotiate budgets with teachers unions can limit flexibility to address students鈥� needs. 

Schools are also facing teacher shortages now and even superintendents are 鈥� not a time to discuss getting rid of teachers, she said.

The initiative is 鈥渟o broad that we鈥檙e all trying to figure out what it means,鈥� Preston said, calling the proponents 鈥渁 bunch of people who don鈥檛 know how education works trying to reform education.鈥�

鈥楢 battle royale鈥� 

The effort to add the constitutional amendment isn鈥檛 the only California initiative likely to provoke a fight with the teachers unions. A venture capitalist is behind a measure to eliminate collective bargaining for public sector employees. The argues that unions 鈥減rotect bad employees.鈥�

A failed in 2012, but the prolonged school closures could have shifted some voters鈥� attitudes. Julia Koppich, an independent San Francisco-based researcher, said proponents could play on 鈥渦nions being blamed for keeping schools closed longer than some parents thought they needed to be.鈥�

Republicans tried to use parent frustration with school closings during the September election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, but were unsuccessful.

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure if that anti-union, pandemic-specific anger is of the lasting variety,鈥� Koppich said, but even so, 鈥渋f this initiative is on the ballot, it will be a battle royale and an expensive one.鈥�

Lisa Gardiner, a spokeswoman for the California Teachers Association said members 鈥渃ertainly believe that all students deserve a high-quality public education,鈥� but that the union does 鈥渘ot take positions on 鈥� or even consider 鈥� ballot measures until they have qualified for the ballot.鈥�

School closures are also fueling efforts to get two private school choice initiatives on the ballot. Now in the signature-gathering phase, both would create education savings accounts, of either $13,000 or $14,000 per year, that families could use for private and religious school tuition. 

鈥淭he pandemic required families to try alternatives,鈥� according to . 鈥淭oday more than 60 percent of families are interested in alternative learning options for their students beyond the traditional public school system.鈥� 

State officials estimate the cost of the program would range from $4 billion to $7 billion, which 鈥渃ould be paid with reductions to funding for public schools and/or reductions to other programs in the state budget.鈥�

The unions are also likely to oppose efforts to expand school choice in the state. Trujillo said he鈥檚 expecting a 鈥渨ell-funded鈥� campaign to defeat the constitutional amendment guaranteeing a high-quality education if it goes before the voters. But he鈥檚 hoping that when proponents highlight smaller class sizes and higher pay for qualified teachers as possible results of the amendment, the unions might like what they hear. 

鈥淯nions that want to oppose this are going to feel like they鈥檙e in upside-down land,鈥� he said.