What Is Jon Reading? Interesting Things To Read From This Past Week - Including New Survey Numbers on Prop. 50, CA Governor’s Race

I am perusing the web all week, and I write about some things, but I read about a lot more. Each week, I curate interesting things that you may enjoy checking out. Some political, some not!

---

This week we hit 350 unique posts on So, Does It Matter? We are getting lots of site visitors. Just in the last week we’ve picked up over 300 new free subscribers and a big should out to the 19 new paid subscribers. Paid subscriptions fuel the engine here. I’m setting up a new home podcasting studio with great equipment with funds from paid subscriptions! Anyways, here we go…

---

What am I reading?

OPEN ENROLLMENT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF SCHOOL CHOICE FOR CALIFORNIA

In this commentary from Reason, Jude Schwalbach makes a clear and compelling case that California’s public-school transfer system is overly complicated and unfair to families. He explains how current laws restrict student mobility, make parents jump through needless bureaucratic hoops, and ultimately trap kids in schools that aren’t the right fit. If you care about education reform and parental choice, this is a smart, concise read that points to simple policy fixes with real impact.

---

JUDGE CERTIFIES CLASS ACTION FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS IN LAWSUIT CHALLENGING CALIFORNIA’S GENDER SECRECY RULES

The California Policy Center has this piece about how a federal judge has certified a class-action lawsuit challenging California school policies that require teachers to withhold a student’s gender identity from parents. Known as Mirabelli v. Olson, the case argues these “parental exclusion” rules violate parents’ constitutional rights and teachers’ free speech. Certification means the suit now represents families and educators statewide who object to these policies. If the court rules in their favor, it could end secrecy mandates in schools and reshape how districts handle gender identity.

---

So this Saturday column on the things I have found interesting to read is a thank you to our paid subscriber. There is a lot below - more columns and articles, two great charts, a long form article recommendation, and two great videos — and a bunch of quick hits. Please support my independent writing where I call balls and strikes by becoming a paid subscriber. There’s a button below to get a free trial!