June 12, 2020

Dear Governor Newsom,

On behalf of the officers and directors of the California Association of Private School Organizations (CAPSO), I write to offer our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the inclusion of private schools and early education programs in the state’s distribution of personal protective equipment. I would also like to personally commend…

Here’s how the game is played. First, public education special interest groups vigorously oppose any and all constitutionally permissible arrangements that would place public funds in the hands of low-income parents for the purpose of enabling them to send their children to the schools of their choosing, whether public, public charter, or private. Then,…

The California Senate resumed formal activity last week, following an extended spring recess. It was hardly business as usual.  There was but one hearing scheduled – an April 16 meeting of a budget subcommittee tasked with getting a handle on the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Face mask snugly in place, Senator Holly…

The horrific shootings took place on a Saturday – the Jewish sabbath, or Shabbat.  April 27, 2019 also happened to be the eighth-and-final-day of Passover, which meant that the Chabad of Poway synagogue was filled with worshipers when the 19-year-old assailant entered the premises and began firing.  Minutes later, one congregant lay dead, and…

Last November, New York Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia jolted the state’s private school community by issuing guidelines requiring public school boards to ensure that private schools operating within their boundaries are providing an educational program that is “substantially equivalent” to that offered by district public schools.  The directive, seen by many as a…