Claremont Institute: Florida Shines the Pathway for School Choice

 The Sunshine State’s education reforms are a model for the nation.

By Anna K. Miller and Scott Yenor

Reforming education involves the notoriously difficult task of reforming bureaucracies. Legislatures and governors can pass laws that demand change, but education bureaucracies are notorious for simply absorbing reforms without changing their ways. This is why former Secretary of Education William Bennett called them “the blob.” Florida has not only taken action to force the blob to change, but it has also reoriented the blob with new standards. Though blobs are gonna blob, Gov. DeSantis’s determined administration, combined with other reforms, has resulted in the best chance to reform a state education system in two generations.

Florida has used its political and financial control to implement a plan to reconstitute its K-12 system, as we show in a new report from Claremont’s Center for the American Way of Life and the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Florida’s blueprint, which eliminates old standards while imposing new ones, provides a model for the rest of the country.

Florida’s two new parental bills of rights (one passed in 2022, the other in 2023) require local school districts to provide parents access to curriculum, assessments, and instructional materials. Parents can opt out of nonacademic surveys. The bills prohibit instructional practices based on assumptions of race essentialism or scapegoating and ban the use of radical gender theories and transgender ideology in K-8 classrooms. While many states have aspirational parental bills of rights, Florida puts teeth in theirs. Parents can sue districts for declaratory judgments and injunctive relief against violations, and can receive reasonable attorney fees; or the Florida Board of Education can appoint a special master, at school district expense, to investigate alleged violations. The Florida Department of Education (FDE) can also withhold funds to pay school board members or administrators (according to Florida regulations).

The FDE directed school districts to desist from applying transgender student policies and gender support plans that hide student name changes, pronoun use, or desire to transition from parents. The FDE also investigated school district racial equity policies and directed the districts to update their policies to comply with state law, which prohibits schools from promoting race essentialism or scapegoating.

Public school librarians are required to receive training on “material harmful to minors,” a legal definition which includes obscenity and pornography. School boards must adopt procedures for the removal and discontinuation of books based on their alignment to state standards. The FDE publishes a list of materials that have been removed or discontinued by school boards as the result of an objection and disseminates the list to school districts for their consideration. Failure to adhere to the policy results in administrative fines.

Florida’s most celebrated accomplishment is the creation of Education Savings Accounts (ESA) for all K-12 students. As a result, more students every year can leave public schools for private options or homeschooling. These accounts permit families to withdraw from district schools and receive an ESA of around $8,700, which can be used to pay qualified education-related expenses, such as tuition or tutoring. In 2023, when the program was robust but not yet universal, nearly 13 percent of Florida students were in private schools, five percent were homeschooled, and 13 percent were in charter schools. These numbers are going to rise as the numbers of students using ESAs has increased from under 250,000 last year to more than 400,000 this coming year. More students are draining from the public system.

The greatest virtue of the DeSantis education blueprint is that it does not settle for the old conservative playbook of school choice. He has organized a respectable, conservative group of scholars to reorient the entire K-12 education system through the promulgation of new state standards in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Civic Literacy, and Health Education. The English standards cover a vast number of titles and literary periods, including sections on the Greeks, the Renaissance, and the Romantics, in addition to American literature. Standards are content-based, which has been demonstrated to improve literacy by grounding reading in a matrix of meaning. The standards are so good, its critics have been reduced to making the spurious charge of racism.

Florida has leveraged its new standards to get revisions from textbook and curriculum manufacturers. It also plans to leverage state standards to change teacher preparation programs. At the same time, Florida no longer requires an education-specific degree to teach in public schools. Teachers can now get temporary certification for up to five years. Forty-two percent of Florida teachers have alternative certification, far more than in most other states. The new standards, combined with openness to alternative certification, mean that Ed schools will either have to adapt or wither on the vine.

The job is hardly finished in Florida. Efforts to expunge wokeness from its system are under threat, including from litigation on school libraries, unions, and gender transitioning. Persistent practices remain in the system. K-12 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offices, of which there are at least 30 in the state’s 67 school districts, could be disbanded. “Restorative Justice” programs should be shut down and replaced with traditional discipline standards. Social-Emotional Learning and abstinence-in-name-only sex education programs should be abandoned. Squeezing poor practices out will require continued vigilant oversight from the state Department of Education and from likeminded parents. More wins at the school board level are necessary.

Florida’s new state standards will take time to reorient the system. Also, they cannot take root in hostile soil. Both battles—curricular and administrative—must be fought at the same time, so this will be a long slog. Gov. DeSantis and Florida have provided the blueprint for other states to reconstitute their education systems—and have shown determination in the fight.

Scott Yenor and Anna K. Miller are, respectively, Director of State Coalitions at the Claremont Institute and professor of political science at Boise State University and Director of the Center for American Education at Idaho Freedom Foundation. They have just released a report on Florida’s K-12 system and will release a sister study on California’s education system in the coming weeks.

This editorial was originally published at The American Mind, a publication of the Claremont Institute

Idaho Freedom Foundation: School Choice Will End Woke Indoctrination

 

Despite the wishes of parents, Idaho’s K-12 public schools are decidedly advancing woke ideologies. From sexually explicit curriculum to pornographic books in school libraries or changing student pronouns without parental consent, public schools are force feeding children values against their families’ wishes. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. New research shows that education choice could be the answer to reducing wokeness in the education system. 

A recently released study by the Heritage Foundation empirically demonstrates that empowering parents to choose the best education for their child significantly reduces wokeness in schools. 

It is reasonable to ask how education choice could reduce woke ideology given that some elite private schools and schools of choice within the public system (charter schools) are pushing the same radical agenda. Teacher training in universities and accreditation reinforces this problem. If critics are right that parental control over their children’s education makes little to no difference, then education choice policies will not solve this impending problem. Perhaps we’re experiencing market “failure” where the only solution is to further regulate the public school system through bans on critical race theory and gender ideology.

Heritage scholars address this question by examining whether more strictly regulated charter school markets are more woke than less regulated markets. The study uses a unique measurement tool evaluating publicly available parent-student handbooks usage of woke terminology (e.g. equity, gender identity, social justice) compared to levels of government regulation. It found that schools in states with higher levels of government regulation are more woke, even after accounting for partisan leanings of states. 

Essentially, the preferences of government officials are more woke than parental preferences. The market for non-woke education isn’t failing. Rather, there is a failure for the market to exist due to the government imposing preferences on its monopoly system of schools. 

The study also demonstrates that the expansion of gender ideology and critical race theory in schools is occurring against the wishes of most parents, not at their behest.  For example, far-left states that highly regulate charter schools, such as Illinois and Washington, have higher levels of wokeness. Whereas Florida and Arizona, where charter schools are more accountable to parents and have fewer regulatory burdens, have lower wokeness levels. 

Ultimately, government bureaucrats and authorizers act as “gatekeepers” for woke ideology in schools. 

This new research should serve as a cautionary tale to Idaho lawmakers. Education choice policies should avoid regulation and protect private and religious schools from government interference. Parents should be given maximum freedom in deciding the education best suited to their child’s needs. It's simple — when schools are held accountable to parents rather than government bureaucrats, the less woke those schools are. 

Parental empowerment is a viable path forward to help stop the spread of corrupt ideologies in the public education system. In a free market, where money truly follows the child to the school of their parent’s choice, wokeness will be reduced and accountability will increase. Lawmakers would be wise to recognize that accountability begins with parents, not government bureaucrats.

Teachers Unions Are a Hate Group, Part 436: Tried and Failed to Repeal Arizona's Statewide School Choice Law

The Arizona teachers unions tried to repeal the latest universal school choice law passed in the state.

It's beyond outrageous. Here's the press release from the Center for Arizona Policy detailing their failure to qualify signatures for a repeal referendum:

Arizona Teachers’ Unions Apparently Fail to Overturn Universal School Choice Reform   A Joint release from Center for Arizona Policy Action and Goldwater Institute   Teachers’ unions and other opponents of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) have apparently fallen well short of the requisite 118,843 signatures needed to repeal the new law via ballot referendum, thanks to the efforts of the Goldwater Institute, the Center for Arizona Policy Action, and a statewide groundswell of parents. Based on the petition sheets released by the Secretary of State’s office, anti-parental rights groups only submitted 88,866 signatures. The tremendous shortfall in signatures is apparent based on the petition sheets made available by the Secretary of State’s office, which is due to make a final determination on the effort.   “The preliminary results make it clear: Arizona families have rejected special interests’ attempts to take away their ability to choose the education that best meets their child’s unique needs,” said Victor Riches, President and CEO of the Goldwater Institute. “Families deserve the right to choose the best education option for their children, regardless of zip code, and now, they’ll once again be able to exercise that right by applying for ESAs.”   “Arizona families want choice in education. That is clear by the preliminary low signature count,” said Cathi Herrod, Esq., President of the Center for Arizona Policy Action. “If those numbers hold and the measure does not make the ballot, Arizona families can again begin to apply for ESAs to help them choose the best educational environment for their children. ESAs are the end of the one-size-fits-all education that works for some, but not for many others.”    ESAs, which the Goldwater Institute and Center for Arizona Policy created in Arizona more than a decade ago, have been hugely successful in empowering parents to customize their child’s education experience to best meet their needs. The ESA program has gone from serving 100 students in 2011 to 11,000 earlier this year. Thanks to HB 2853, sponsored by Rep. Ben Toma, more than one million students will now be eligible.   The Goldwater Institute and the Center for Arizona Policy Action are proud to have advocated for this reform to give families more education options along with other school choice allies. Now that special interests have failed to overturn it, parents can continue taking advantage of the nation’s “gold standard” for school choice.

Let's not mince words here. Teachers unions are a hate group. They hate children, they hate learning, and they hate the freedom that comes with school choice and voucher programs. Teachers are desperate to retain what power they have left, what political capital they have accumulated, because for the last two years, teachers unions put their power and comfort ahead of parents, children, and learning. Now that parents have mobilized and organized like never before to put the needs of their children first, they are pressing on school boards and state legislatures to take the power away from the unions and restore the power to the parents.

School choice and voucher programs have long been in the pipeline of education reforms, but only now have these reforms burst through the political and bureaucratic inertia to become real mainstays in political discourse, and with meaningful results.

Every pro-freedom candidate running for office in Arizona should attack every pro-union candidate with the above press release. "They want to take away choice from parents, and I want the best choice available for parents and their kids!"

That is the winning combination we need to see in elections to come, and Arizona is the vanguard.

President Trump: Why Are You Silent on Sex Mutilation of Minors in Texas?

Dear President Trump:

We understand that you are getting more involved in the local and state politics of the several states throughout the United States.

Good for you! I definitely see you as a qualified, unabashed king-maker in these very trying and tiresome times. We need leaders who will call out other leaders who refuse to lead.

It's time that conservatives and constitutionalists starting thinking bigger and making major gains at the local and state level, not just focus on winning at the federal level. Most reforms that capture the country start at the local and state level, anyway. Right To Try legislation passed in Congress because over 25 states had enacted state versions of this legislation, for example, and you signed off on that signature reform in 2017!

Constitutional Carry has become the law of the land in 21 states, and is heading perhaps to one or two more this year, and three more next year. The United States Supreme Court is ready to step in and assure that the right to keep and bear arms is not just a right to exercise inside one's home, but outside in one's country. We are glad to see gun freedoms become commonplace in the United States, while in other countries more citizens realize the essential necessity of defending oneself from a tyrannical government.

And now Election Integrity has taken on new momentum, although the changes and reforms needed to clean up voter rolls and ensure that only citizens vote should have taken place decades ago. Thank you for taking the lead on this.

Thank you, more importantly, for calling out RINO Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan on the issues of Election Integrity:

Indeed, Speaker Dade Phelan is another Mitch McConnell, a weak leader who wants to make nice rather than make a difference. Phelan is indeed a despicable RINO. He has allowed Democrats to retain key leadership positions in the state house, even though they vote against the agendas that Texans care about. He allows them key chairmanships on committees, even though they often frustrate the Republican caucus agenda time and again.

And for all those arrest warrants issued for the runaway Democrats who frustrated two special sessions earlier this year, not one of those despicable Democrats have been formally charged or sanctioned in the Texas State Legislature. In fact, Phelan allowed them to retain key leadership positions and their salaries, despite the fact that they refused to work for the people of the state of Texas.

Phelan delayed constitutional carry until it was too politically damaging to his power to continue to do so, and he finally caved to allow the immensely popular heartbill to pass, too.

However, the Texas Republican Party has established 8 legislative priorities, and Phelan only approved two of them. Two key priorities which Phelan killed? One is school choice. Texans have wanted to break up the Big Government "public" school cabal for decades. And yet, even though Republicans have dominated the state legislature for over 20 years, they have not gotten this reform accomplished?

Why? Because weak RINOs like Phelan get big money from Big Labor, specifically the different teachers unions and associations throughout the state. He is a union whore who will do the bidding of union bosses, while kicking parents and children in the teeth.

But there is another legislative priority that the Texas GOP has fought for for the last four year, and which RINOs like Phelan have put off and killed over and over again: 

a ban on sexual mutilation/modification of minors.

RINO Speaker Dade Phelan not only gets big money from Big Labor, but he gets big backing from the Big LGBT Hate Machine. He has a 43% rating from the major sexual perversion hate group in Texas called "Texas Equality," which ironically enough is obsessed with pushing LGBT privilege.

Phelan is a big part of this deviant, destructive scheme.

Since the regular legislative session opened in January 2021, MassResistance and other pro-family forces have been pushing hard to ban this horrific, terrible, torturous practice in the state of Texas. Different bills were introduced, and many of them passed in the state senate. They faced nothing but delays and filibusters in the House of Representatives.

This is unconscionable.

Children should not be butchered or mutilated. They should not be subject to gruesome experiments in perverse attempts to change their sex. The parents who push these practices are committing child abuse. The Texas Department of Children and Families declared this ruling unequivocally.

There is a major reform that is moving across the country little by little, in which we need you to take a firm stance to support this reform, not just voter integrity, not just constitutional carry, and not just school choice.

We need you to come out strong against RINO Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and DEMAND that he take action to end sexual mutilation and gender modification of minors. There is no excuse for this barbaric practice to continue anywhere in the fifty states of the United States, and certainly not in the United States of America.

President Trump, we are so grateful that you fought and are continuing to fight the Build The Wall to protect our country. We are glad that you are fighting for the Second Amendment, for unborn babies, and for voter integrity.

Now is the time to fight to protect the children once they are born and raised. We need your help to call out the Texas legislature, and demand that they pass legislation that bans

1. sex reassignment surgeries on minors.

2. chemical castration of minors

3. social sex transitioning of minors

4. males in female sports (and vice versa) for all ages.

President Trump, you cannot Make America Great Again if you do not Make Male and Female Great Again. We cannot delay on this issue. You cannot remain silent in the face of the systematic maiming and butchering of innocent boys and girls outside of the womb!

Stand for Truth! Stop being silent! Speak out and Demand that the Texas State Legislature pass a bill to end sex mutilation/modification of minors!

Support California Homeschools: Call Assembly Committee NOW!

Update: Anti-homeschool Bill Delayed but Still a Threat April 9, 2018 | Media Contact: Brad Dacus, 916-616-4126   Sacramento, CA—A bill in the California Legislature that has alarmed homeschooling families has been delayed by two weeks. Last week, Pacific Justice Institute reported that Assembly Bill (AB) 2926 would be heard by the Assembly Education Committee on April 11.  That hearing has now been rescheduled for April 25.  The Bill would create an advisory committee to come up with “additional requirements” for homeschooling.  The Bill specifically directs the advisory committee to consider regulations such as health and safety inspections of the homes of homeschooling families; state-mandated curriculum standards; and credentialing, or certification of parents in order to teach their children. Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, “While we’re encouraged that this latest attack on homeschooling families has been delayed, this is no time for inaction.  Instead, we urge families to seize this opportunity to make calls and request face-to-face meetings with their Assembly members over the next two weeks.  These lawmakers need to hear firsthand the impact their votes will have on their constituents.” The members of the Assembly Education Committee and the phone numbers of their Capitol offices are as follows: Patrick O'Donnell (Chair), 916-319-2070 Kevin Kiley (Vice Chair), 916-319-2006 Asha Kalra, 916-319-2027 Kevin McCarty, 916-319-2007 Marc Steinorth, 916-319-2040 Tony Thurmond, 916-319-2015 Shirley N. Weber, 916-319-2079

Cruz News (Including Tax Reforms and School Choice Victories)

December 16, 2017 Greetings, This week, I was thrilled that the Senate confirmed both Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett and former Texas Solicitor General Jim Ho to fill the vacancies in Texas on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. I’ve been friends with Don and Jim for decades, and know them personally to be principled defenders of the Constitution and the rule of law. They will be exceptional appellate judges, which is why I was proud to recommend them to the President for these positions. On Tuesday, President Trump signed the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, which includes 13 amendments that I sponsored and eight that I cosponsored. These amendments will help Texas and our military interest abroad and in space. This legislation is a crucial first step toward rebuilding our military, giving our service members a well-deserved raise, and ensuring our military has the resources to be successful in their mission. In recent months, we’ve seen waves of appalling sexual harassment and assault allegations originating everywhere from Hollywood, to newsrooms, to the halls of Congress. Every person, man or woman, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace, and Congress is not above the law. On Thursday, I sponsored a bipartisan bill that overhauls the current process that victims of harassment and discrimination in Congress must go through when reporting a claim. We must empower victims of harassment, and hold perpetrators accountable. My Senate office continues to work to ensure swift and effective service to Texans and Texas communities in need of federal assistance following the storm. If you need additional information or assistance during the recovery and rebuilding process, please do not hesitate to contact my office or utilize the federal and state resources listed here. Please read below for an update from this last week. Keep Texas Strong, Ted Cruz ICYMI: The Hill Column on Cruz 529 Expansion: Tax plan’s proposed expansion of education savings is a game changer Drew White, senior federal policy analyst at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, penned a piece for The Hill, urging Congress to ensure Sen. Ted Cruz’s amendment expanding 529 College Savings Plans to include K-12 elementary and secondary school tuition for public, private, religious schools, and homeschooling expenses, to be included in the final tax bill. Read more... ICYMI: Washington Examiner: Ted Cruz Makes DC School Choice Push The Washington Examiner highlighted Sen. Cruz’s reintroduction of the Educational Freedom Accounts Act, which creates a unique educational choice program in Washington, D.C., empowers parents, and provides opportunity to every public school student in the nation's capital, including those enrolled in public charter schools. Read more... Sen. Cruz: ‘Space Policy Directive 1 Reaffirms NASA’s Core Mission’ Sen. Cruz, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s signing of "Space Policy Directive 1,” which establishes a foundation for a mission to the moon, and beyond. Read more... President Trump Signs 2018 NDAA Into Law Today President Trump signed into law the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides numerous military necessities, including over $479 million in military construction funds to the state of Texas for 2018. Read more... Sen. Cruz: ‘Americans Who Pledge Their Allegiance to Terrorist Organizations Forfeit Their Rights as Citizens’ Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement regarding the arrest of Houston resident, Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, for attempting to provide material support to ISIS, renewing his call to pass the Expatriate Terrorist Act (ETA), which he introduced earlier this year. Read more... Sens. Cruz, Markey Introduce the National Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2017 Sens. Cruz and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the National Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2017. Read more... Sen. Cruz: This Week, Two Exemplary Judges Will Be Confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Sen. Cruz delivered remarks on the Senate floor in support of Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, and former Texas Solicitor General Jim Ho, nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Read more... Sen. Cruz Praises Confirmation of Justice Don Willett for Fifth Circuit Sen. Cruz released the following statement after the Senate confirmed Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Read more... Sen. Cruz: ‘The Internet Should Be Free of Taxation, Censorship and Regulation’ Sen. Cruz issued the following statement regarding the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) vote to repeal net neutrality regulations. Read more...  Sens. Cruz and Donnelly Reintroduce Legislation to Help National Guard, Reserves Qualify for Tiered Preference in Hiring for Civil Service Jobs Sens. Cruz and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would give qualified members of the National Guard and Reserves a tiered preference in hiring for federal civil service jobs. Read more... Sen. Cruz Joins Sens. Rubio, Kennedy, Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Simplify Disaster Assistance for Hurricane Victims Sens. Cruz, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Kennedy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced S. 2226, the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act, legislation that would prohibit the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from penalizing victims of natural disasters who apply for, but decline, Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans. Read more... Sen. Cruz Praises Confirmation of Jim Ho for Fifth Circuit Sen. Cruz released the following statements after the Senate confirmed former Texas Solicitor General Jim Ho to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Read more... Sens. Cruz, Gillibrand, and Others Introduce New Bipartisan Legislation To Combat Sexual Harassment And Discrimination In Congress, Bring Transparency And Accountability To Sexual Harassment Reporting Process Sens. Cruz and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), today introduced new bipartisan legislation that would overhaul the current process that victims of harassment and discrimination in Congress must go through when reporting a claim. Read more... Texans in D.C. The full press releases may be viewed here. Central Texas Office 300 E. 8th St, Suite #961 Austin, TX 78701 Phone: (512) 916-5834 North Texas Office Lee Park Tower II, 3626 N. Hall St., Suite #410 Dallas, TX 75219 Phone: (214) 599-8749 Southeast Texas Office 808 Travis St., Suite #1420 Houston, TX 77002 Phone: (713) 718-3057 South/Central Texas Office 9901 IH-10W, Suite # 950 San Antonio, TX 78230 Phone: (210) 340-2885 East Texas Office 305 S. Broadway, Suite 501 Tyler, TX 75702 Phone: (903) 593-5130 South Texas Office 200 S. 10th St, Suite 1603 McAllen, TX 78501 Phone: (956) 686-7339 Washington Office 404 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-5922      If you no longer wish to receive these emails click here to unsubscribe.equa

How Trump Can Make California Great Again

Election 2016 was great news for almost all Republicans.

We know about the blue states that went red. Wisconsin went from a sea of blue to a near red-state (except Madison and Milwaukee). Michigan is on the road to recovery, and red all over, too. In Pennsylvania, Democratic strongholds like Erie County and the surrounding suburbs of Philadelphia County went Republican. States which stayed Democratic got redder, too. Minnesota was a near-win for Trump. A Republican governor with a now ruby-red legislature will flip the Land of 10,000 Lakes into the GOP column in 2018. Illinois Republicans also made modest legislative gains. A new Republican Rust Belt strategy will pay future dividends. Globalist pressures, immigration, and anti-American trade deals are forcing conservatives to target the industrial core of America, long neglected by the think tanks.

But the Republican resurgence missed other deep-blue states like Rhode Island and Delaware. Hawaii’s lone GOP state senator succumbed to the Blue Hawaii syndrome. Aloha State Democrats now hold unanimous control in the state senate.

It was bad news in California, too, following modest gains in 2014. Democrats took back the state legislative super-majority. The final blow fell when Democrats flipped a state senate seat in the reliably Republican SoCal region of Diamond Bar. The California press—from the Sacramento Bee to the Los Angeles Times—have downplayed this progressive political restoration, claiming that Sacramento’s moderate Democrats will hold back the hyper-liberalism of their peers.

Yeah, sure!

The State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (who represents cities with the lowest quality of life among cities nationwide) will enjoy a longer shelf-life (since reformed term limits extended his potential tenure to 12 years). He wants to focus on “Latinos.” What? The rest of Californians don’t matter?! Taxes are coming. Water is not. Labor unions rule, and uniformed voters drool. Anti-religious bigot state senator Ricardo Lara will take another crack at criminalizing Christianity.

California’s liberal ruling class despises Trump, and demand secession. Should we be surprised? Progressives resemble the Confederates of 1860. They like their slaves (welfare-dependent and illegal), and they don’t want the federal government messing with their peculiar institution of “Government First, Individual Last.” If there is a secession, the 19 northeastern California counties that voted for Trump should form The State of Jefferson and call it a day.

But seriously, is there a silver lining for the Golden State?

Former Congressional candidate-turned-radio host Carl DeMaio (who ran on nearly every Democratic plank in 2014) discussed with libertarian Steven Greenhut the need for a robust opposition. They claim that Republicans are too focused on law-and-order issues. They need to be libertarian, fit their district. My assemblyman David Hadley checked off every box on their list … and still lost.

Should California Republicans just pull up stakes and leave? I met California transplants in Texas, but I’m not ready to leave, yet. After three weeks of reviewing California’s epic losses, I believe California can be saved. Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters—from Marco “Taco Trucks” Gutierrez to We the People Rising—all hail from California. Long Beach, CA is the seat for one of the most active national Trump contingents.

How can President Trump and Company Make California Great Again?

1. Voter ID. Voter fraud is the norm, not an anomaly, in California. CBS news investigator David Goldstein discovered dead people voting in Los Angeles County elections. In San Pedro, CA, an apartment received 83 ballots mailed to different people. The Democratic state legislature enacted automatic motor-voter registration, and the year before, California Democrats allowed illegal aliens to get drivers’ licenses.

Do you see the problems here?

California’s Secretary of State Alex Padilla (who denies the existence of voter fraud) allows people to register to vote online. California Republicans are mulling a lawsuit (finally!). I would like to see Attorney General Sessions sue the state of California for rampant voter irregularities. After all, voter fraud violates the civil rights of all Californians!

2. Labor reforms. Big Labor buys politicians the way chefs buy meat at the butcher shop. Their domination in Sacramento ensures the progressive agenda for all, while taxpayers get to pay for it.

South Orange County teacher Rebecca Friedrichs sued California’s largest labor union—the California Teachers Association—because the coerced dues violated her First Amendment rights. Her case stalled before the Supreme Court following Justice Antonin Scalia’s untimely passing. Still, anti-forced unionism cases are advancing through federal courts. Trump appoints Super-Scalia, and forced unionism in California—plus the dues which fund the Democratic Party—is dead. (Trump should also sign the National Right-To-Work, sponsored by US Senator Rand Paul!).

3. Religious Freedom Restoration Initiatives. The churches across the country did not sit out Election 2016. Religious liberty faced extinction if Jezebel Hillary won the presidency. Ricardo Lara’s SB 1146 woke up Christians even in Sodom-and-Gomorrah California. Conservatives need to tap into this momentum. California’s churches are alive and well, but need to get active. Donald Trump was the only Presidential candidate to suggest repeal of the nefarious Johnson amendment during the campaign. If Congress repeals this law, churches and pastors will reassert their freedom, then participate in politics and shape the culture.

4. A Donald Trump presidency is ready to defund sanctuary cities. California has at least 35. Securing the borders and ending welfare to illegal aliens will remove California’s Democratic voter base while welcoming back taxpayers and middle-income families.

5. Expand School Choice and Defend Charter schools. Trump’s Department of Education nominee, Betsy DeVos, will take these reforms national. In California, parents and students have organized against corrupt, union-bought city councils which oppose school choice and impose moratoria on charter schools.

Californians can do their part, too, of course:

6. Repeal Prop 14. In 2008, California enacted Louisiana-style jungle primary. The result? Three quarters of Los Angeles Country residents have no Republican on their ballot, besides Donald Trump. Epic fail. It must be repealed.

Is this a tall order for California?

It would be yuge! But with President Trump, Californians have nothing to lose!

Betsy DeVos in Danger! Call US Senators--Don't Let Them Stop This Education Reformer!

President Trump’s strong, conservative nominees have sailed through confirmation.

And the Regressive Left is mad!

They are fighting like mad to stop Trump’s future cabinet nominees.

Left-wing special interests, teachers’ unions, everyone who profits from the failed, government-run educational status quo want to stop Betsy DeVos.

Why are they afraid of her?

1.       She supports charter schools

2.       She has advanced school choice options for working-class families

3.       She wants vouchers and homeschooling as options for all students

4.       She will end the corrupt and waste of labor unions and government bureaucrats who enrich themselves at the expense of your kids and our tax dollars.

If the US Senate votes DeVos down, expect:

1.       More failing schools
2.       No choice for your family to find the best education
3.       Liberal indoctrination for your kids
4.       Long-term failure and unemployment

Because of the heavy, intense lies from all the liberal interest groups above, two Republican US Senators have announced that they will not support DeVos!

Now more than ever, your pressure on key US Senators can ensure that a great conservative education reformer becomes into Trump’s next Secretary of Education.

Please contact the following US Senators. Your outreach makes all the difference!

Your call will only take 30 seconds to 1 minute per US Senator, and your child’s future depends on it!

The Two Republican US Senators Currently in Opposition

Use this script:

“Hello, my name is __________, and I am calling this office to inform Senator ______ that she must reverse her decision and support Betsy DeVos as our next Secretary of Education. The future of our children’s education depends on it. Thank you.”

Susan Collins (R-Maine): (202) 224-2523

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska): (202)-224-6665

Senators Up for Re-Election in 2018

Use this script:

“Hello, my name is _________, and I am calling Senator _________ to urge him/her to support Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. And as a reminder, we are well-aware that Senator ________ faces re-election next year. Thank you.”

• Angus Kings (I-Maine): (202) 224-5344
• Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin): (202) 224-5653
• Tom Carper (D-Delaware): (202) 224-2441
• Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania): (202) 224-6324
• Bob Corker (R-Tennessee): 202) 224-3344
• Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana): (202) 224-4814
• Jeff Flake (R-Arizona): (202) 224-4521
• Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico): (202) 224-5521
• Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota): (202) 224-2043
• Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota): (202) 224-3244
• Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri): (202) 224-6154
• Bill Nelson (D-Florida): 202-224-5274
• Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan): (202) 224-4822
• Jon Tester (D-Montana): (202) 224-2644
• Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi): (202) 224-6253

For Other US Senators On the Fence

Use this script:

Hello, My name is _________, and I am calling Senator ______ to urge him/her to support Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. She is a qualified nominee with the best interests of children at heart. The future of public education and our children’s future is at stake. Thank you.”

• Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada): (202) 224-3542
• Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin): (202) 224-5323
• John McCain (R-Arizona): (202) 224-2235
• Marco Rubio (R-Florida): (202) 224-3041
• Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina): (202) 224-6342
• Mark Warner (D-Virginia): (202) 224-2023

This is urgent. We can’t allow the regressive left to stop education reform and school choice for our students!

Let me know if you have any questions. Email me at arthurschaper@hotmail.com.