Op-Ed: Hypocritical Gov. Gavin Newsom claims to promote education freedom while imprisoning students in failing schools and suffocating parents’ rights

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is co-opting conservative mottos to justify flushing more money into California’s failing public education system.

In a press release last week, Newsom claimed that his “family agenda promotes educational freedom.”

“California is leading on parental choice and participation, creating a place where every student has a chance to thrive and every family has access to an education system that fosters opportunity,” Newsom said.

Parents get “a seat at the table during critical decisions like school budgets,” the release claims. 

California is also expanding programs like universal transitional-kindergarten, universal free meals, and before and after school programs.  

Although the cumulative cost isn’t specified, previous multiple billion-dollar investments suggest the price tag for Newsom’s plan will be staggering.  

While these programs technically give parents a choice of whether or not they want to enroll their students, they do nothing for families still trapped in a failing public school system.  

Recent data show that less than half of California’s students are proficient in English. Two-thirds are subpar at math.  

Additionally, African American and Hispanic students score much worse on average than their white or Asian counterparts. Low-income students also struggle, achieving only 36% proficiency in English and 20% in math. 

Despite the fact that many school choice programs are designed for or prioritize low-income students, Newsom has squarely refused to promote them. 

The governor even attended a Catholic private school and sends his children to a private school. 

But rather than give students real opportunities – California doesn’t have a single school choice program – Newsom is advancing his vision of “community schools,” one-stop-shops of social services that are woefully inadequate at educating students.  

‘The child is not the mere creature of the State’  

“In California, parents have the right to actively participate in their child’s learning,” Newsom’s statement continued, “and we’re transforming education so all students can learn on a safe campus where they can receive quality education, healthy meals, mental health care, and have the freedom to learn without political censorship.”  

The first part of that sentence is telling: parents have the right to actively participate in their child’s learning. 

In fact, parents have a lot more rights than that. 

According to a Supreme Court ruling in 1923, Meyer v. State of Nebraska, parents have the right to direct the upbringing of their child as they see fit.  

Newsom is talking out of both sides of his mouth: claiming that California is pro-parent while simultaneously making it one of the most anti-parent states in the nation.  

A law currently making its way through the state Legislature would criminalize parents who criticize school boards or employees. 

Other measures have put custody rights of gender dysphoric children in jeopardy, and parents who don’t affirm a child’s gender identity could be considered child abusers. 

In another ruling in 1925, the Supreme Court unanimously decided that children couldn’t be forced to attend public school. 

The justices cited Meyer v. Nebraska, saying, “The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” 

In other words, parents have an inalienable right and duty to raise their children.