California Teachers’ Association Pushes for Free Yoga, Homeless Access to Parking Lots

A California teachers’ association is pushing for free yoga classes and homeless people to have access to public school parking lots — and members are threatening to strike if the demands are not met.

The Fresno Teachers Association, the third-largest teachers’ association in the state, demanded in a contract proposal that high school parking lots be opened to homeless families, according to the Washington Free Beacon . Additionally, the teachers' association is also seeking free yoga and meditation classes.

"It's not our area of expertise," Fresno Unified School District Superintendent Bob Nelson said of the union’s demands of allowing homeless people to use the school parking lots, EdSource reported.

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"Is it the school system's job to fix everything in regards to societal things? Absolutely not," Manuel Bonilla, the president of the FTA said. He added ideas such as this were mean to start a conversation. "There are ideas on how we might do it because nobody else is thinking about these ideas."

Bonilla said, "Instead of coming to the table and designing something with us, they'd rather scrutinize the idea and shut down the conversation. Our ideas are not the end all, be all; they are a starting point."

The FTA acknowledged the move to open high school parking lots to allow homeless families to park their cars would require "paid security," which would cost around $500,000.

Additionally, the FTA noted that free yoga and meditation programs would cost around $1 million, which includes reimbursing members up to $1,000 a year if they actively do a yoga class or other fitness classes for 100 days.

The district reportedly has 55% or more of its students who are homeless, in foster care, living in poverty or are not native-English speakers, according to EdSource.

This is not the first time a school district has made demands and went on strike. In May, the Oakland Education Association went on strike for two weeks after demanding Black students receive reparations, according to the Free Beacon.