2026 Spring Fellow
Atharva Soni is a student at Northwood High School in Irvine, California. He is the creator of the TUCA Bill, legislation proposing binding arbitration in teacher union impasse proceedings, which was reviewed by the California Legislative Analyst Office and is currently in discussions with state legislators. Atharva serves as a judicial intern at the Los Angeles Superior Court and was selected as a representative by Irvine Unified School District to advocate before California state legislators and education policy experts on LCFF funding inequalities. He plans to attend law school in the future.
Capstone Project
This brief analyzes how California’s weak nonbinding teacher impasse process, paired with funding inequities from the LCFF and declining student enrollment state-wide facilitate teacher strikes. The brief then proposes adding binding arbitration to the impasse process to incentivise meaningful cooperation and protect students.
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