Staff Reports
California’s schools are supposed to teach reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, state-run webinars and district curricula have turned classrooms into culture-war labs. Two recent developments — the Mirabelli v. Bonta court fight over parental‑notification rules and the San Francisco Unified curriculum scramble — make the problem plain. Parents want basics. Politicians and some education leaders keep offering ideology.
Court ruling puts parents back in charge
The federal case Mirabelli v. Bonta threw a spotlight on what many parents already feared: some school policies encouraged keeping key information from moms and dads. A federal judge blocked the state guidance that let schools hide a student’s gender identity from parents, and an emergency action at the high court signaled those policies “will likely not survive strict scrutiny.” In plain English: the courts are skeptical that secret‑keeping rules pass constitutional muster. That should clear up the fog for teachers who have been told to juggle legal risk and moral lectures instead of lesson plans.
Curriculum chaos — teach reading, not rage
Meanwhile, San Francisco Unified and other districts are scrambling over ethnic‑studies materials and lesson plans that critics call politicized. The superintendent of San Francisco Unified, Dr. Maria Su, has acknowledged the need for “guardrails” even as she defends the idea of ethnic studies. That’s a polite way of admitting something went off the rails. Parents tuned into congressional hearings to ask one simple question: is my child learning to read or being asked to adopt a political lens? The answer should be obvious, but California’s education apparatus keeps complicating it.
What teachers and policymakers must do
Teachers are professionals. They should not be forced into the role of social‑engineering apprentices. Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond need to stop funding workshops that read like political manifestos and return resources to phonics, math facts and classroom discipline. The Science of Reading is not a fad. It works. Spend less on identity‑theory training and more on proven reading programs, tutoring, and small‑group instruction. That’s how you close gaps — not by turning classrooms into demonstration stages for pet ideologies.
Wrap up — prioritize parents and basics
California is at a crossroads. The courts have raised red flags about secretive policies. Parents have loudly demanded clarity on what their kids are being taught. Lawmakers and school bosses can either listen or keep arguing about theories while test scores stumble. If the state truly cares about student achievement, it will stop radicalizing teachers and start teaching the basics. Call it common sense, call it accountability — call it what it is: the job schools were created to do.
