California Governor Gavin Newsom was in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, for the National Forum of Education Policy, where he accepted the Frank Newman Award for state innovation on behalf of California.
Upon receiving the award, Newsom began to attack red states for allegedly “banning books”:
“What’s happening now, banning books, the ‘othering’ of our students … it’s alarming … Education is under assault in a way we’ve never seen in our lifetimes.”
Newsom was speaking about states like Florida and Texas banning books such as “Two Boys Kissing” by David Levithan, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer. Math books in Florida were also banned due to what the state calls “prohibited topics,” including social-emotional learning and critical race theory.
In 2021, RedState’s Alex Parker reported that Hayward Unified School’s board of trustees cast a unanimous vote in the Bay Area, making the CRT-based program mandatory for preschoolers. This happened in California while Gavin Newsom was Governor.
Newsom touted the improvements in education in California with universal Pre-K, after-school programs, summer school, and child savings accounts. These things are absolutely necessary for the children; however, Newsom failed to mention that when schools were shut down due to COVID-19 lockdowns, Newsom sent his children to an in-person private school, while other children had to learn through Zoom and other ways of remote learning.
But, while children in California were forced to do online learning, states like Florida and Texas, the same states Newsom attacked Wednesday, kept schools open, and children could interact with each other and benefit from in-person learning. During that time–from the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years–the Golden state lost more than 271,000 public school students
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If California public schools and education in the state is so great, why does Newsom send his children to a private school?
According to a 2019 Wallet Hub study, California ranked 38th in reading test scores and 44th in math scores. California was 34th in the dropout rate and 50th in the student-teacher ratio. For years, California has ranked near the bottom in math and reading scores. California’s school system ranks 44th in the nation, according to a March study.
Although Newsom said in the speech he’s really proud that they have universal opportunities in schools now, they should work on improving public schools, advocate for school choice, while putting the parents’ and students’ interests ahead of the teachers union.
California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley wrote a letter to the Education Commission of the States regarding the award:
I’ve sent a letter to the Education Commission of the States regarding their baffling decision to give Gavin Newsom an award for “transformative improvements to education.” pic.twitter.com/neaYrrmUA9
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) July 14, 2022
In reality, it’s clear Newsom kowtows to the teachers union and opposes school choice, which would grant parents and their children the option of going to a school that is not in their district. School choice would help minorities the most, so you would think Newsom would be for that–since he constantly talks about equality and equity. But it’s something he never delivers.
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