The California Nanny State (Nearly) Dictates Statewide School Starting Times
[guest post by JVW]
Earlier today, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that had been duly passed by the Democrat-dominated state legislature which would have prohibited middle schools and high schools in the state from commencing classes any earlier than 8:30 am. This legislation had passed the Assembly by a fairly close 41-34 margin (with five abstentions) and the Senate by a more healthy 23-14 margin (with three abstentions). The narrowness of the Assembly vote suggests there thankfully won’t be much appetite for trying to override Brown’s veto.
Heaven forbid that local school districts make decisions based upon the needs of their own families, rather than the legislature imposing a one-size-fits-all solution. This is what it’s like living in California in 2018. Now that the problems of homelessness, pensions, unaffordable housing, poverty, and crumbling infrastructure have been solved, the legislature can start micromanaging morning start times for sleepy teenagers.
This is an increasingly rare case of Governor Brown being Good Jerry, the pragmatic sole adult in the room (or, more pointedly, in the Democrat caucus room). Once in a while he has managed to rise above his manifest weirdness and shoot down some of the more puzzling flights of fancy upon which his legislative allies regularly embark. But Moonbeam is leaving us in January, and I for one have zero faith that a Democrat successor like Gavin Newsom won’t gladly indulge the Sacramento nutcases and sign these ridiculous bills into law. As crazy as it sounds, we will soon come to miss Jerry Brown here in the Golden State.
Sic transit gloria Californiae.
– JVW
We won two world wars and sent a man to the moon with citizens who started high school at 8:00 am or earlier.
JVW (42615e) — 9/20/2018 @ 6:48 pmMy friends’ daughter (high school sophomore) starts at 7:15 or 7:30; that just seems insanely early.
It seems to me that there are reasonable arguments on both sides. Fortunately I don’t have to worry about it… 🙂
Dave (b41e40) — 9/20/2018 @ 7:01 pmIt seems to me that there are reasonable arguments on both sides.
I’m not against a school having a later starting time. I just think it should be decided upon by the actual local school board in consultation with parents and teachers, not by a bunch of ADHD legislators in Sacramento.
JVW (42615e) — 9/20/2018 @ 7:07 pm@2. Yep. ‘Insanely early’ is kind.
Back in ’75, my own brother went through this crap in a Ohio HS. He had to sit through high school physics classes, first period, starting at 7:30 AM — and they expected the kids to learn that when they were barely awake. It’s hard on the teachers, too. And Winter only made it worse.
No earlier than 8:30AM seems fine but still a little early; gets through most of the rush hour. But 9 AM class start seems best.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 9/20/2018 @ 7:21 pmNo earlier than 8:30AM seems fine but still a little early; gets through most of the rush hour. But 9 AM class start seems best.
But do you know who’s against pushing back the starting time? The teachers. This is mentioned in the article that I linked to. I guess that by now they have become accustomed to getting up early, and many of them probably like having a work commute slightly earlier than the general rush hour traffic. I’m sure they also appreciate being able to leave for the day by 3:00 or 3:30, so they can try to beat the rush hour traffic on the way home.
Additionally, parents and their employers aren’t going to be too happy about a 9:00 am start time if it means that they have to delay their arrival at work in order to drop junior off at 8:45.
JVW (42615e) — 9/20/2018 @ 7:39 pmI was at a school that was temporarily overcapacity. We had to “platoon”. Grades 9-12 were there from 6 to 12 (no lunch). And grades 7-8 (new junior high had a construction delay) were there from 1 to 7.
I LOVED IT (grade 9). Felt like you got your entire day back. My sister (grade 8) hated it.
Anonymous (d41cee) — 9/20/2018 @ 8:12 pm@5. “Junior’ can take public transport, walk or take what we called ‘the school bus.’ JVW.
In my school days, classes started promptly at 9 AM, lunch periods cycled between noon through 2 PM, school classed ended at 3:30 PM extracurriculars- band, team practies and such- were after that for those who chose and the students and parents managed accordingly.
The rest took the buses home w/homework to do. It worked then; it works now.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 9/20/2018 @ 9:19 pmSo true. It’s so over. Sad.
As for Moonbeam’s veto, he probably couldn’t find a way to tax it or to create new illegal voters, so he scrapped it.
Patricia (3363ec) — 9/20/2018 @ 9:25 pmAnonymous, at 6: i have always been a night person, more likely to stay awake until usnrise than get up at sunrise. I would have liked your sister’s setup and loathed yours, and I would probably have failed my morning classes consistently.
aphrael (3f0569) — 9/20/2018 @ 9:34 pmThat’s not all Moonbeam did this month:
Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown called President Donald Trump a “saboteur” and claimed Trump would undermine America “if we don’t get rid of him.”
Brown made the appeal to rid America of Trump in an interview with MSNBC at a climate change summit in San Francisco earlier in September in which he lambasted the president for his tweets concerning the death toll in Puerto Rico and his stance on climate change. Brown claimed that Trump was “sabotaging the world order” and urged voters to vote Democrat in November.
“We never had a president who was engaged in this kind of behavior. I mean he’s not telling the truth; he keeps changing his mind; he’s sabotaging the world order in many respects,” Brown said.
“It’s unprecedented, it’s dangerous, and hopefully this election is going to send a strong message to the country; the Democrats will win…something’s got to happen to this guy, because if we don’t get rid of him, he’s going to undermine America and even the world,” he added.“
https://dailycaller.com/2018/09/19/jerry-brown-get-rid-of-trump/
harkin (2582ce) — 9/20/2018 @ 9:48 pmI was spared the “Willis Wagon” (the nick name for CPS trailer-like modular classroom) demographics which would have also included the split shift schedule. I have the ideal schedule for a decent work arrival.. My daughters 8.00 to 3.00 is like my 7th through 12ths 8.00 to 2.46.
urbanleftbehind (dd425f) — 9/20/2018 @ 9:56 pmAh yes portables, which ended up being permanent.
Narciso (af134e) — 9/20/2018 @ 10:02 pmThat’s hardly out of line with the popular viewpoint in California, Harkin.
PPIC, in July:
Trump approve/disapprove:
29A, 66D. dems: 7/90. reps: 80/20. Ind: 32/66. Central Valley 35/57; Inland Empire 39/60; LA 23/72; Orange/San Diego 36/59; Bay Area 19/78. Dem CD 24/71; Rep CD 43/53; Competitive CD 36/57; Male 36/59; Female 23/73; african-american 13/79; asian-american 24/70l latino 17/78; white 41/55.
what’s really striking is that there isn’t a single demographic group in the crosstabs, other than registered republicans, that have a majority approval. Even among self-described conservatives, more disapprove than approve.
Bashing Trump is entirely consistent with public opinion in the state.
http://www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/crosstabs-alladults0718.pdf
aphrael (3f0569) — 9/20/2018 @ 10:03 pmWell you’re doomed ala Venezuela, but your zealousness,in getting there is,extraordinary
Narciso (af134e) — 9/20/2018 @ 10:07 pmThis kind of a,proves the point:
https://youtu.be/zRttpJxj59A
Narciso (af134e) — 9/20/2018 @ 10:09 pmMandatory education past the age of twelve, public school at that if they could have their way, is nothing more than Progressive nanny-statism to begin with. Read Douglas’s (thank God it was a) dissent in the Amish case for a full view of their all-your-child-belong-to-us manifesto.
nk (9651fb) — 9/21/2018 @ 3:46 amCalifornia corrupts everything, anyway. Nothing is safe. Not Thor, not Aunt May, not the X-Men. Marvel had to invent a new category of super-heroes, “inhumans”, and kill off all mutants with Terrigen mist, because it sold the term “mutants” to Fox and Disney cannot use it in their movies. Pitiful. Give it back to Mexico!
nk (9651fb) — 9/21/2018 @ 4:30 amYes but terrigen creates enhanced people, in humans sank like a stone, the gifted has some promise,
Narciso (4b4dce) — 9/21/2018 @ 6:29 amWe were in the hands of top people;
https://reason.com/blog/2018/09/20/brian-wansink-nutrition-papers-retracted
Narciso (4b4dce) — 9/21/2018 @ 6:53 am“Bashing Trump is entirely consistent with public opinion in the state.”
Who said it wasn’t.
The Dems, academics and media cast Trump as this super destructo beast as they screw the state further into the ground, all while importing illegals in to keep the vote imbalance and chase the people who built the state (off all colors) out to states where they aren’t expected to fully fund the destruction and the golden retirements of public employees (also in the exodus to keep more of that golden egg).
harkin (7f4688) — 9/21/2018 @ 7:16 amYes he’s the mutant star goat, it’s fully andromeda, containment is impossible.
Narciso (4b4dce) — 9/21/2018 @ 7:20 amIt’s science, you denier. I bet you also opposed Michelle Obama’s scientific nutrition dictates.
Ed from SFV (6d42fa) — 9/21/2018 @ 8:10 amI am so glad I left. The rot is so deep and the denial so great that it will take collapse before things change. And before that happens they will eat everyone’s resources first.
Kevin M (e9a4b1) — 9/21/2018 @ 8:18 amall while importing illegals
The final nail for me was when they gave over a million drivers’ licenses to illegals, despite already being in gridlock. And then they wonder why public transit ridership is down.
Kevin M (e9a4b1) — 9/21/2018 @ 8:27 amthe la subway isn’t safe because there’s a violent and dangerous element what you encounter when you ride on it
happyfeet (28a91b) — 9/21/2018 @ 8:36 amwhich, i still rode it a lot but i had a special hat i wore what made me look blue collar/possibly unemployed and i never made eye contact with anybody
happyfeet (28a91b) — 9/21/2018 @ 8:37 amthe golden retirements of public employees (also in the exodus to keep more of that golden egg)
that’s the typical newbie from Illinois in Tennessee, Texas, and Arizona. Usually a former school administrator who craps about the taxes up here, but who double and triple dipped and got a really high “last-5 year” average pay before decamping.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 9/21/2018 @ 8:44 amhttp://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-governor-jerry-brown-plastic-straws-ban-20180921-story.html
Kevin M (e9a4b1) — 9/21/2018 @ 10:21 amI remember some students taking AP courses in “zero period,” which started at 7 AM. I wonder if this proposed law would have gotten in the way of those students? If so, add that as another reason to oppose this proposed law.
M Scott Eiland (b16b32) — 9/21/2018 @ 10:40 amThis is 100% a pro-student proposal. Studies are overwhelmingly in favor of later start times being beneficial to students. Our local parents have been pushing this for literally years, and all of the pushback has been from teachers, who like being home at 3:00pm.
matt d (d4aa6f) — 9/21/2018 @ 12:02 pm“On Monday, California governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 100, which requires the state’s utilities to obtain all their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045.
Before signing the bill, Brown said the legislation was “sending a message to California and to the world that we’re going to meet the Paris agreement.” In fact, it will only increase the hardships that California’s climate policy imposes on the poor …
Even before SB 100 passed, though, California’s leaders were already facing a legal backlash from minority leaders over the high cost of the state’s climate policies. On April 27, The Two Hundred, a coalition of civil-rights leaders, filed a lawsuit in state court against the California Air Resources Board, seeking an injunction against some of the state’s carbon dioxide-reduction rules …
The suit claims that the state’s climate laws violate the Fair Employment and Housing Act because CARB’s new greenhouse-gas-emissions rules on housing units in the state “have a disparate negative impact on minority communities and are discriminatory against minority communities and their members.”
The suit also claims the state’s climate laws are illegal under the Federal Housing Act, again because their effect is felt predominantly by minority communities. It also makes a constitutional claim that minorities are being denied equal protection under the law because California’s climate regulations are making affordable housing unavailable to them …
On Thursday I spoke to John Gamboa, a member of The Two Hundred. He said SB 100 is merely the latest example of California politicians’ ignoring the poor and the middle class when making energy policy. “Every time they pass new regulations, the burden falls on the people who can least afford it,” he told me.
“That’s the history of the environmental movement: They care more about spotted owls than brown babies …”
The high cost of renewable-energy mandates was noted by a handful of California’s Democratic legislators during the debate over SB 100. “This is yet another in a laundry list of bills that are discriminatory to the people I represent,” said Adam Gray of Merced.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Gray went on to say that the supporters of SB 100 were more motivated “to impress national progressives rather than poor residents in rural communities who would face higher electric bills.”
SB 100’s sponsor, state senator Kevin de Leon, is running for U.S. Senate in this fall’s election. When I asked Gamboa about de Leon, and more specifically why a Latino leader would be so supportive of a measure that could hurt low-income Latinos, he paused and let out a sigh.
“I know Kevin. He has a good heart,” Gamboa said. “He got excited about getting votes from the environmental community and this was a good way to do it.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/blogs/tim-blair/climate-activists-continue-worldwide-war-on-the-poor/news-story/8c701b7ce9771418de86efdeccfb5fad
harkin (2582ce) — 9/21/2018 @ 3:27 pmharkin–
All of this is due to Tom Steyer and his massive campaign contributions. He spends more personally than the entire NEA does on CA elections. If you want Tom’s money, you have to be a eco-Nazi.
Kevin M (e9a4b1) — 9/22/2018 @ 8:39 amThis is 100% a pro-student proposal.
yes yes kids should at least have the option of a later start
i suspect the pushback is mostly from lazy loser teachers what like to get home to their kitty-cats and watch netflix
happyfeet (28a91b) — 9/22/2018 @ 8:44 am