Falling Behind on Educational Freedom: ALEC in The Orange County Register
California parents need to insist on empowering themselves.
The Orange County Register covered California’s poor performance in education reform due to restrictive policies that hinder education freedom, based on the category rankings of the 2025 ALEC Index of State Education Freedom: A 50-State Guide to Parental Empowerment. Jonathan Williams, ALEC President & Chief Economist, was also featured in the piece and provided insights into some of the causes behind California’s setbacks and the areas in need of reform for the state to improve its ranking in the future.
California is falling behind in education reform. Out of a top score of 100, the new 2025 Index of Economic Freedom of the American Legislative Exchange Council gave it an overall score of 29.66 for “parental empowerment,” earning a “D” grade. It ranked 33rd of the 50 states. Tops was rival Florida with an 89.87 score and an “A+” grade. ALEC is a free market-oriented think tank that produces model legislation for state legislators.
Williams was quoted later on stating the overall problem for California’s education ranking is its deference to the teachers’ union over empowering students and parents.
California’s overall problem, Williams said, is it continues to empower the teachers’ unions instead of the students. California parents need to insist on empowering themselves. He pointed to the 2022 recall of three radical school board members in liberal San Francisco as an inspiration. To meet global challenges, the teachers’ unions’ sclerotic control over education in California must be replaced by parental control.