Lying to gain an advantage is SOP for Democrats and Islamists

NY Times Exposes Talarico’s Fake Story About Overcrowded Classrooms

https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/10/ny-times-exposes-talaricos-fake-story-about-overcrowded-classrooms/

James Talarico claims he battled to teach America’s youth in overcrowded classrooms. The New York Times says there may be more to the story.

Posted by  Matt Lamb Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 05:30pm 

James Talarico has a compelling story about teaching classrooms with 45 students during a two-year stint as a Teach For America educator, but even the New York Times is poking holes in it.

“When I entered the classroom, the Texas Legislature had just gutted the public education budget by $5 billion — so I had 45 kids in one classroom,” Talarico claims on his website. “There weren’t enough desks for everyone, so some of my students sat on the air conditioning unit.”

“In the richest country on the planet, I knew that was unacceptable,” he says.

It is a compelling claim – Republicans cut public education funding so these students suffer. Talarico certainly thinks it will resonate with voters, which is why he keeps repeating it.

“At one point, I had 45 students in one classroom,” he said. “There weren’t enough desks for all those kids, so I had students sitting on the air-conditioning unit in the wealthiest country in human history — in the 21st century, children sitting on the air-conditioning unit.”

But the NY Times says the story may not be true.

The Times reported:

Documents from the Texas Education Agency indicate that the most students ever assigned to a class period that Mr. Talarico taught was 30, with most of his classes ranging in size from 22 to 27 students. In the interviews with Mr. Talarico’s former students and colleagues, they recalled classrooms where every desk was occupied, but not crowding to the point where students were sitting on air-conditioners.

His campaign argues that Talarico worked to reduce the size of the classrooms, explaining the conflict in records. A teacher at the school said some classrooms may have had 45 students.

Students and teachers praised Talarico for his dedication to his students, noting how he would use “Toy Story” and Kanye West to reach his classroom.

However, questions have also been raised about how Talarico used his education connections to potentially enrich himself.

The Democratic Senate nominee sat on the Public Education Committee in the Texas House, while also securing contracts for a DEI consulting firm that employed him.

Talarico “earned $83,333.40 from the nonprofit in 2025,” Fox News reported.

Critics say he benefited from a “pay-to-play” scheme, while the firm says it maintained a strict conflict of interest policy.

The Texas race is unusually close, with Democrats seeing Talarico as a prime opportunity for a pick up against Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee.

[Featured image via Talarico’s campaign website]

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Matt Lamb currently works as an associate editor for The College Fix. He also contributes to a variety of websites, including Human Life Review, Legal Insurrection and AMAC Newsline. His work has been published by The Federalist, Townhall, and The Daily Caller. He has worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.