 CTA won its first major legislative victory in 1866 with a law providing free public schools to California children.A year later, public funding was secured for schools that educated nonwhite students.More early victories for organized labor established bans on using public school funding for sectarian religious purposes (1878-79); free textbooks for all students in grades 1-8 (1911); the first teacher tenure and due process law (1912); and a statewide pension, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (1913).