California’s education system is at a crossroads, and the time for a bold transformation is now. If you keep running the same play—and losing—it’s insanity to expect a different outcome. For decades, Sacramento’s liberal elite have employed the same stale, politically charged agenda, failing our children miserably. California’s schools have become laboratories for radical left-wing experiments, and the results speak for themselves: declining test scores, rampant illiteracy, and a generation of kids robbed of real opportunity.
Education reform is no longer just a political talking point—it’s an existential necessity to restore our state’s greatness. California, a state that once led the nation in academic performance and innovation, now languishes near the bottom, crippled by failed progressive policies. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, our school spending has surpassed national averages since 2018, yet outcomes grow worse year after year. Fewer than half of our children read or write at grade level, and inner-city schools fare even worse, locking countless students into a cycle of poverty and dependence.
Our educational priorities have drifted disastrously away from academics. Sacramento bureaucrats push Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) mandates, critical race theory, gender ideology, and social-emotional learning, all of which detract from core knowledge and skills. Ken Williams, a veteran member of the Orange County Board of Education, perfectly captures this crisis: “Our education system has failed California’s families and children.” He’s right—our schools now serve the interests of teachers’ unions, woke activists, and special interests, not our kids.
The solution is clear: empower parents through real choice. Arizona’s highly successful Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) offer a proven model. Under ESAs, a student’s public education funding follows the child directly, allowing families to choose private, religious, charter, or other educational options. Arizona families receive 90 percent of the district funding allocated for their child, dramatically improving school quality and accountability.
Imagine if California families could similarly choose the best schools for their children. Imagine a California where parental rights are not trampled by bureaucrats, and where the radical indoctrination of our children is ended. Education Secretary Linda McMahon recently declared that hiding critical information about students’ health and well-being from parents, as California’s AB 1955 allows, “is not only immoral but also potentially in contradiction with federal law.” Restoring parental rights and transparency is essential to fixing our education crisis.
Furthermore, we must dismantle the disastrous policies threatening women’s sports and Title IX protections. Biological males should not compete in women’s sports, plain and simple. Unfortunately, Sacramento Democrats have repeatedly blocked common-sense legislation protecting our daughters and sisters. Assembly Bills 89 and 844, which would have safeguarded female athletes and ensured restroom and locker room safety, were shamefully defeated along party lines. Californians overwhelmingly oppose these radical policies, yet Democrats stubbornly cling to ideology over common sense.
Additionally, the forced implementation of racially discriminatory DEI policies must end. DEI programs perpetuate division, resentment, and mediocrity, violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. As Wenyuan Wu, Executive Director of Californians for Equal Rights Foundation, argues, “Merit is infinitely better than a return to ancient aristocracies founded on wealth and birth. It is fairer than the fashionable paradigm of equity, which treats Americans as representatives of their identity groups.”
Beyond ideological battles, California must invest in real education infrastructure. Charter schools provide high-quality education with greater efficiency and lower operational costs, yet bureaucratic red tape and union opposition limit their expansion. Proposition 39, designed to help charters access surplus district facilities, is routinely undermined by union-backed trustees. Expanding charter schools and reforming facility funding formulas would immediately benefit countless California families.
Finally, career and technical education (CTE) must become a statewide priority. Our economy desperately needs skilled workers in trades, healthcare, and technology. CTE programs offer direct paths to lucrative careers without saddling students with crushing debt.
The bottom line is clear: California’s education system demands immediate, sweeping reform rooted in parental choice, meritocracy, transparency, and common sense. By abandoning the failed Sacramento playbook and embracing proven conservative solutions, we can restore educational excellence to our great state. The future of our children—and California itself—depends on our willingness to do what’s right.
