California Governor Gavin Newsom has been busy this back-to-school season—launching a podcast, pinch hitting for his party’s presidential nominee, and further denigrating his home state’s education system. As a California mom of preteens and a former public school advocate, I’ve never been more troubled about the future of our state and country.

California schools have long been ranked in the bottom half on a national scale. The 2022 Nation’s Report Card (also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP) revealed only 30% of 8th graders were proficient in reading and 23% were proficient in math. Meritocracy has been abandoned. Restorative practices that prevent teachers from administering discipline destroy student accountability and safety. Mandated “Ethnic Studies” programs fracture unity. Parents no longer have legal authority over their own children at public schools. One could argue that California’s public education system teeters on state-sanctioned child abuse. And, in the words of our governor, “As California goes, so goes the nation.”

Enough is enough. Reasonable parents and teachers must reverse California’s radical trajectory. Here’s a commonsense task list for restoring our schools: