Public school advocates should embrace open enrollment

• October 26, 2023

Attending highly-ranked public schools is an educational holy grail for many families, but enrolling in these public schools can be near-impossible for many students since access to them is based on where students live. Less affluent students often can’t attend these public schools because their families can’t afford the costs required via the expensive mortgages or high rents charged within the schools’ boundaries. 

Some students, desperate to attend better schools, lie about where they live–a practice called address sharing–to gain access to higher-performing public schools. Yet, address sharing is risky. In California, it’s a felony that can carry a four-year prison sentence. Some public school districts even hire private investigators to find students who they think are address-sharing. If the district finds evidence, students are expelled, and parents can go to jail.

To its credit, California requires all school districts to participate in within-district open enrollment, which means students can transfer to any public school in their assigned school district if the school has available seats. Unfortunately, California is one of just 13 states in the country that require all school districts to participate in this type of within-district open enrollment. 

Open enrollment lets students choose the public schools best for them. Kids may need to escape bullying, access advanced placement (AP) classes, or get better math or artistic offerings. A 2023 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research on the Los Angeles Unified School District found that within-district open enrollment positively affects student achievement and college enrollment, especially when transfer students are compared with nonparticipants. Moreover, the researchers said the program benefited the school district because the open enrollment program encouraged LAUSD schools to improve, especially lower-performing ones.

These findings align with 2016 and 2021 studies by California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) on the state’s District of Choice program, which lets students transfer to schools outside their assigned district. The LAO found students used the program to access AP courses, International Baccalaureate courses, specific instructional models, and specialty courses that weren’t available at their assigned schools. 

LAO also found that some school districts, including those with declining student populations, could use open enrollment to attract new students. Small and rural school districts used cross-district transfer students to “generate a notable share of their revenue,” LAO reported.

Unfortunately, only 47 school districts across California, or 5% overall, participated in the District of Choice program in the 2022-23 school year. Students who can’t use the program must navigate the state’s labyrinthine transfer systems that rely on specific school district agreements and things like the number of hours a student’s parent works inside the school district’s boundaries.

As a result, despite its good statewide within-district open enrollment program, California’s open enrollment policies fall short of Reason Foundation’s best practices in four out of five key categories, a new report finds.

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For comparison, Texas currently scores worse— zero out of five in best open enrollment practices in Reason Foundation’s new report, Public Schools Without Boundaries 2023. That’s partly because California and Texas allow public school districts to charge tuition to transfer students. One Dallas-area public school district, for example, charges public school transfer students $9,000 annually, effectively blocking low- and middle-income students from transferring to it. 

However, a cutting-edge open enrollment law has been proposed in the Texas legislature. It would let Texas students move to any public school with open seats without tuition and implement robust transparency provisions to help parents and students. If signed into law, Texas would go from among the worst open enrollment policies in the country to the best. Six other states have already expanded public school open enrollment this year, Public Schools Without Boundaries finds. 

California’s District of Choice and within-district open enrollment programs have been helpful, but the state is falling behind. Lawmakers and public school advocates should expand and streamline open enrollment policies so all of California’s students can access public schools with available seats. Rather than letting zip codes determine the quality of public schools available, open enrollment allows students and parents to find the public schools that are best for their educational and social needs.

Jude Schwalbach is an education policy at Reason Foundation and author of the open enrollment study, Public Schools Without Boundaries. 

​ Orange County Register 

When it’s always the beginning of history, it can never be the end of war

• October 26, 2023

“US officials,” Nahal Toosi, Lara Seligman, and Paul McLeary write at Politico, “are worried that violence in Israel’s neighbors will spiral into a larger regional war.” More specifically, they’re worried that such a war will result in US casualties among US troops across the region.

For some reason, though, the Biden administration is flooding the region with MORE troops — a second carrier strike group and (presumably US-operated) air defense systems — instead of withdrawing the thousands already there to the relative safety of the country they enlisted to, allegedly, defend.

Why are US troops even there? There is no “why.” They’ve ALWAYS been there, since the beginning of history … October 7, 2023. That’s when a group no one had ever heard of launched an inexplicable attack on a brand new country with no previous regional beefs that might explain any of the craziness.

The previous beginning of history, September 11, 2001, set the previous clock ticking when another group no one had ever heard of launched an inexplicable attack on the United States.

The US regime hadn’t bankrolled and launched that group in the 1980s to give the Soviet Union “its own Vietnam.” It’s leader hadn’t issued a 1996 declaration of war demanding the withdrawal of US troops from the Middle East. The group hadn’t attacked US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 to drive the point home, or the USS Cole in 2000 for emphasis.

None of that ever happened. A Big Bang occurred at 8:46 Eastern Time on 9/11, erasing everything that had gone before and making anything that came after totally, completely, and obviously justified.

Another Big Bang occurred on October 7, so here we go again.

Such Big Bangs occur frequently throughout history. Think June 28, 1914, or September 1, 1939, or December 7, 1941, or February 22, 2022.

These Big Bangs are always described as “everything changed” moments, after which we’re expected to forget anything — incidents, grievances, and especially moral codes — associated with a time before, so that those demanding such amnesia from us can get away with doing whatever they please until the next Big Bang resets the clock again.

In reality, these “everything changed” claims are “nothing must be allowed to change” demands. They’re an attempt to erase our memories so we won’t notice our rulers doing the same things over and over while promising us different results.

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Perpetual war is our lot until  we defy our rulers’ magic resets by allowing ourselves to remember, confront, and learn from history.

Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

​ Orange County Register 

Anaheim council close to adopting new lobbying laws despite some division

• October 26, 2023

The City Council, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, debated at length on how encompassing an updated lobbying law should be in Anaheim, but divisions emerged over how far some of the most substantial reforms proposed so far should go, which were ultimately hammered out in compromise.

A council majority agreed to keep most of the lobbying law changes, but they did ask city staff to take away language concerning government affairs employees registering as lobbyists. Some councilmembers, however, decried the efforts as going too far.

The proposed update to the city’s lobbying laws would empower the city auditor to audit a random 20% of registered lobbyists in the city annually and to ask elected officials and members of the city’s executive team for information about past meetings where they have been lobbied. It also has definitions for what influencing city officials means and would expand record-keeping requirements for lobbyists.

Craig Steele, an attorney who is helping Anaheim navigate its series of reforms, said at Tuesday’s meeting that under-reporting lobbying activity is likely happening now in Anaheim.

The council last updated its lobbying law in 2022, making it a criminal penalty to run afoul of the lobbying rules.

The City Council is now making another attempt to enhance the laws in Anaheim after independent investigators recently alleged a pattern of potential lobbying violations when they were commissioned to look at concerns of corruption and influence peddling in City Hall. The council will likely vote on a final version of updates in a few weeks.

City Clerk Theresa Bass said there are currently 18 lobbyists registered with the city, and that number typically hovers around 20.

Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said the proposed ordinance has teeth, and will ensure people who are attempting to influence city officials register as lobbyists.

“The point of this lobbying ordinance is that Anaheim citizens deserve to know who has the ear of their elected officials,” Aitken said. “And it shouldn’t matter what side of the argument you are, it should apply equally across the board.”

The updated lobbying ordinance from city staff contained language that would require people employed in “government affairs” or “government relations” types of roles to be considered a lobbyist, but the council voted to ask staff to remove that part. They also asked to exclude labor unions advocating for labor contracts with the city from having to register as lobbyists. Other California cities include the exemption.

Councilmembers Jose Diaz and Natalie Meeks were the most critical of the updated lobbying ordinance.

“I don’t see why we need to change this,” Diaz said. “It’s too intrusive, too complicated.”

Meeks said the whole direction of the ordinance bothered her. She said it was fraught with loopholes and complexity, and her preference was for requiring councilmembers to release calendars of who they are meeting with.

Following the meeting, Aitken said she’s pleased that her colleagues have supported reform measures and said Anaheim is “on the cutting edge of having the most transparent form of government in Orange County, if not California.”

“I think we came to a strong compromise that still addresses the root issue, which is making sure that everyone that interacts with elected officials is registering as lobbyists,” she said.

Anaheim leaders aren’t done yet looking at new reform topics. There will be a future meeting about campaign finance reform, as well as a vote on prohibiting lobbyists from serving as advisers to any city official.

The council also hasn’t received an update after the city attorney asked Visit Anaheim in August to give back $1.5 million it may have surreptitiously diverted to a nonprofit of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. The city gave Visit Anaheim that money to promote tourism recovery during the pandemic, and Visit Anaheim likely violated its agreement by diverting the funds, officials have said.

Aitken said the state’s audit looking into the $1.5 million, which is expected to be released in the winter, could bring forward additional reforms.

“I’m looking forward to the results,” Aitken said, “to see if there’s anything else that we need to look at and address that would put us in a stronger position to be more accountable to the voters.”

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​ Orange County Register 

‘Assault weapons’ bans are indeed unconstitutional (and bad policy)

• October 26, 2023

California remains committed to pursuing stringent gun control measures as one of the most anti-gun and anti-freedom states in the nation. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon, as the state legislature passes bill after bill to further restrict the right of law-abiding Californians to protect themselves.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has even made gutting the Second Amendment the theme of his politically-motivated, national campaign for a “28th Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution. Unless Governor Newsom succeeds in doing something that’s never happened in our 250-year history, California’s gun control laws must still comply with the principles outlined in our nation’s founding charter.

This month, United States District Court Judge Roger Benitez ruled that California’s law banning so-called “assault weapons” violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.  Citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Judge Benitez said “[California] has identified no national tradition of firearm regulation so broad in its coverage or so far reaching in its effect as its extreme ‘assault weapon’ statutes.”  He is absolutely right.

As you’ll recall, last year the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in NYSRPA v. Bruen, which held that states seeking to implement gun control laws must demonstrate that they are “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation” in order to be lawful.  Bruen therefore created an important constitutional test, which California’s “assault weapons” ban just failed.  The ban’s scope is overly broad in banning entire classifications of widely owned firearms, and California could not demonstrate its alignment with historical precedents.

Not only are bans on so-called “assault weapons” unconstitutional, they’re also bad policy. Let’s first set the record straight on defining the category of firearm.  “Assault weapon” is an arbitrary term generally used by anti-gun activists and politicians to refer to semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15.  Not only are they among the most commonly owned guns in the country for home protection, including among women who find them easy to shoot safely and accurately, they’re used in a small fraction of firearm related deaths.

According to a Pew Research Center analysis, “rifles – the category that includes guns sometimes referred to as ‘assault weapons’ – were involved in just 3% of firearm murders” in 2020.  Despite attempts by gun control supporters to portray semi-automatic rifles as a boogeyman responsible for a vast amount of deaths nationwide, the data simply does not support this claim.  There’s also scant evidence that “assault weapons” bans would reduce violent crime.  Even generous assessments of the 1994 crime bill, which banned certain types of semi-automatic rifles for a decade, show it had little to no impact on reducing crime or gun-related deaths.

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Every year it becomes more evident that sweeping bans on entire classifications of firearms not only can’t pass constitutional muster, but they’re also not the answer to our nation’s growing violent crime problem.  It’s more important than ever for law-abiding citizens to grasp this reality and stand up for their rights – that’s why the U.S. Concealed Carry Association for Saving Lives Action Fund is working to educate and empower responsible gun owners to become citizen lobbyist, equipped with the information and platform they need to push back against bad policies like “assault weapons” bans.

In California, the ability to protect yourself and your loved ones will continue to hang in the balance as the state seeks to appeal this recent ruling.  Ask yourself if you think they truly have your best interests – your freedom and your fundamental right to self-defense – in mind.  It’s becoming increasingly clear that they don’t.  Fortunately, the Constitution will have the final say.

Katie Pointer Baney is the managing director of government affairs for the U.S. Concealed Carry Association and executive director of theUSCCA for Saving Lives Action Fund.

​ Orange County Register 

Canyon girls volleyball tops Dana Hills in thrilling five-set match to grab spot in CIF-SS semifinals

• October 26, 2023

ANAHEIM — The Canyon and Dana Hills girls volleyball teams were both looking to take one step closer to making program history on Wednesday night.

In the end, Canyon prevailed in yet another five-set match, defeating Dana Hills, 25-11, 18-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13, in the CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinals at Canyon High.

The Comanches (21-4) will face No. 1 seed Beckman on the road in the semifinals Saturday, and are now one win away from their first CIF-SS finals appearance in program history.

FINAL

Canyon wins a thriller over Dana Hills, 25-11, 18-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13. The Comanches will be at Beckman on Saturday for the semis.@ocvarsity @ComancheSports pic.twitter.com/Koxi3LpHHS

— David Delgado (@DavidDelgado_OC) October 26, 2023

Canyon coach Matt Silva, who is also in charge of the boys team at the school, is in his second year at the helm of the girls team.

Silva was unsure how his team would respond in the fourth set after taking the opening set and dropping the next two, falling behind 2-1 in the match.

“After set three I didn’t know if we were going to pull it off, but we got (set) four and built a little momentum late in (set) five and now, we are all happy,” Silva said gleefully.

Rowan Dillard had a team-high 11 kills for Canyon, Sydney Valentine added 10 kills and Annie Singelyn finished with nine kills.

It’s going to 5!
Canyon takes set 4 from Dana Hills 25-23.@ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/t0KhTFuVql

— David Delgado (@DavidDelgado_OC) October 26, 2023

The attack for Dana Hills (22-5) was led by Kaity Hoelker, Ava Hoff and Reese Weinert.

Silva was thankful his team made enough adjustments in the final two sets to slow down Weinert’s impact up the middle.

“Their middle, Reese, was just absolutely fantastic, and then she switched from hitting to tipping and then she went back to hitting, and we couldn’t get a beat on her at all,” Silva said, “but I felt the girls did a good job. My opposite, Annie Singelyn, blocking late in set four on the outside helped us get touch blocks, which was key for us.”

Middle blocker Nikki Monfared had nine blocks and six kills for Canyon. The junior middle blocker was a fixture at the net.

Giselle Haugen contributed with four blocks and three kills.

“Nikki was huge and Giselle Haugen, absolutely, had some huge blocks late in sets four and five, but I think the big thing with this team is it’s a collective group,” Silva said. “We play teams that have one or two girls that can bring it, but I feel I have seven, eight, nine girls even on the sidelines that are contributing and helping us out. That’s been the difference so far.”

Both teams won five-set matches in the second round of the playoffs with Canyon beating Roosevelt and the Dolphins defeating Redlands.

The Comanches will face Beckman on Saturday with a trip to the finals on the line.

“They’re a great team, so we gotta get back into the film room and try to prepare as much as possible,” Silva said.

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​ Orange County Register 

CIF-SS girls volleyball playoffs: Wednesday’s quarterfinals scores, schedule for Saturday

• October 26, 2023

CIF-SS GIRLS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

DIVISION 1 

Saturday, third and final round of pool play

POOL A

#4 Sierra Canyon (1-1) at #1 Mater Dei (2-0), 6 p.m.

POOL B

#3 Huntington Beach (2-0) at #2 Mira Costa (2-0), 6 p.m.

#7 Los Alamitos (0-2) at #6 Alemany (0-2), 5 p.m.

DIVISION 2

QUARTERFINALS, WEDNESDAY

Orange Lutheran def. Edison, 3-1

Long Beach Wilson def. Newport Harbor 25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 24-26, 15-9

JSerra def. La Canada 18-25, 25-15, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13

SEMIFINALS, SATURDAY

Orange Lutheran at Redondo, 6 p.m.

Long Beach Wilson at JSerra, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 3

QUARTERFINALS, WEDNESDAY

Beckman def. Village Christian 25-17, 25-21, 25-16

Canyon def. Dana Hills 3-2

SEMIFINALS, SATURDAY

Canyon at Beckman, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 4

QUARTERFINALS, WEDNESDAY

El Dorado def. St. Lucy’s 25-19, 25-14, 25-14

Sunny Hills def. Windward 25-23, 25-19, 25-19

Capistrano Valley Christian def. Valley Christian 3-0

SEMIFINALS, SATURDAY

West Ranch at El Dorado, 6 p.m.

Capistrano Valley Christian at Sunny Hills, 6 p.m.

DIVISION 5

QUARTERFINALS, WEDNESDAY

Corona Centennial def. Northwood 3-0

Culver City def. Irvine 25-21, 25-10, 25-22

DIVISION 6

QUARTERFINALS, WEDNESDAY

Linfield Christian def. Tarbut V’Torah 3-0

DIVISION 8

QUARTERFINALS, WEDNESDAY

Villanova Prep def. Orangewood Academy 3-0

DIVISION 9

QUARTERFINALS, WEDNESDAY

Rosemead def. Century 3-0

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​ Orange County Register 

Freshman Westley Matavao helps lift Orange Lutheran girls volleyball past Edison in CIF-SS quarterfinals

• October 26, 2023

ORANGE — The plan of attack for Orange Lutheran’s girls volleyball team in its CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinal match against Edison on Wednesday was to give its freshman outside hitter, Westley Matavao, as many swings as possible.

The 6-foot Matavao made the most of her opportunities, finishing with 26 kills to lead the Lancers to a 25-10, 21-25, 25-17, 25-16 victory at Orange Lutheran High School.

Orange Lutheran (25-13), which is the No. 4 seed in the division, will take on No. 1 seed Redondo in the semifinals Saturday at Redondo High School. Redondo defeated Oaks Christian in four sets in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Players on the Orange Lutheran volleyball team begin to celebrate after a four-set victory over Edison in the CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinals on Wednesday, Oct. 25. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

The Lancers are back in the semifinals for the first time since 2017, when they won the Division 2 title in four sets over Santiago of Corona.

Orange Lutheran served 16 aces and was the more dominant team at the net, with seven blocks.

“Edison’s always a powerhouse in volleyball,” Orange Lutheran coach Henry Valiente said. “So we knew we had to take it to them, to serve tough to keep them at bay. But that’s a great program that we played and I’m so happy that it was a good match for both of us.”

Matavao had seven kills in the first and third sets and eight kills in the fourth set, with nearly every kill coming from the left side of the net.

Lancers setter Marley Robinson, who is also a freshman, had 31 assists as she fulfilled her role in the game plan by getting the ball to Matavao.

“There are so many people always stacked on me, but with my team behind me, I know I can get through,” said Matavao. “I know I can do it. This team is so supportive and energetic. We were a unit tonight. We played amazing together and I wouldn’t want to do it with any other team.”

Orange Lutheran players, from left, Marley Robinson, Westley Matavao, Jaedyn Houston and Maylynn Mitchell, each made big contributions in the win over Edison in the CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinals Wednesday, Oct. 25. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

In the first set, Maylynn Mitchell served three consecutive aces and Jaedyn Houston and Kenzie Houston each served an ace to help the Lancers build an 11-3 lead.

Matavao had back-to-back aces and scored three of the Lancers’ final four points on kills.

The score was tied eight times in the second set and the lead changed hands three times until the Chargers (17-13) pulled away on three kills and a block from Molly McCluskey, who led the team with 15 kills and four blocks.

The Chargers led through the first half of the third set and had an 11-10 lead until consecutive kills from Mitchell gave the Lancers their first lead, which they never relinquished.

Orange Lutheran led through most of the fourth set and took an 18-9 lead on three consecutive kills from Matavao.

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​ Orange County Register 

Santa Margarita boys water polo edges Mater Dei, eyes Open Division playoffs

• October 26, 2023

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SANTA ANA — Santa Margarita’s boys water polo team splashed and sang in the pool at Mater Dei after a dramatic victory in the final minute of regulation Wednesday night. But that wasn’t the only reason for the celebration.

The Eagles rejoiced in what they hope was the defining moment of a quest to reach the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs.

Center Max Ellis capped a dominant performance with a goal from center with 26 seconds left to lift Eagles past Mater Dei 14-13 in a duel for second place in the Trinity League.

Santa Margarita (19-6, 4-1) entered the match ranked sixth in Orange County and tied with Huntington Beach for eighth in Division 1.

The top eight squads in Division 1 are expected to be grouped in the Open Division, and Eagles first-year coach Brian Weathersby believes his team might have moved past Huntington Beach.

“I think we’ll end up jumping them and be in the Open,” Weathersby said of the Oilers, who split two matches against Santa Margarita and went 0-1 against Mater Dei. “And they’ll be in Division 1. That’s what I think.”

Ellis, an uncommitted senior, netted a match-high six goals and drew a penalty shot. He said he wants to play in the Open Division despite the presence of powerhouses JSerra (undefeated), Newport Harbor (two-time defending champion) and Harvard-Westlake.

“I want to compete for first (against the best), and if I lose trying to get first, then that’s all right because at least I tried to get the best I can with my teammates,” Ellis said.

Ellis praised his teammates for their entry passes against Mater Dei (15-10, 3-2), ranked fourth in the county and seventh in Division 1.

He scored the winning strike off a pass into set by Christian Brossa.

The Eagles then sealed the victory on a steal on the ensuing possession by goalie Jack Farnell, a JSerra transfer who had 11 saves and three steals.

Santa Margarita also received four goals apiece from Keegan McGann and Evan Wu.

Mater Dei, under first-year coach Wyatt Benson, recovered from a 13-10 deficit with less than five minutes left, to knot the score at 13-13. Santino Rossi capped the surge with a counterattack strike with 2:28 left.

Left-hander Nathan Banos, a Princeton commit, and Brian Barnuevo each finished with three goals.

Cal commit Alex Oprea, another left-hander, Rossi and Nico Sandoval each added two goals.

“(If) we bring that effort, we touch up on a couple mistakes here and there, I’m pretty confident we can take down anyone we play (in CIF),” Benson said.

Santa Margarita plays host to Palos Verdes on Thursday in another match critical to its Open Division aspirations.

The playoff pairings will be announced Saturday at 9 a.m.

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​ Orange County Register