The PTA Disbands

"The PTA Disbands" is the 21st episode of The Simpsons' sixth season. It originally aired on April 16, 1995. In the episode, Edna Krabappel calls an emergency strike on behalf of the Teachers' Union of Springfield Elementary, to protest against Principal Skinner's miserly school spending. Students react in their own manner to the strike: Lisa becomes obsessed with a desire to be graded, while Bart enjoys the extra time he has during the day. Bart arranges to keep the teachers union and Principal Skinner at an impasse, but becomes frustrated with substitute teacher arrangements and resolves to force negotiations forward. The situation is resolved when Krabappel and Skinner agree to rent space in classroom closets to the Springfield Prison.

The episode was written by Jennifer Crittenden and directed by Swinton O. Scott III, with David Mirkin as show-runner. The episode includes cultural references to a number of books highlighted by Edna Krabappel as having been banned by other schools – including William Shatner's TekWar, Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman, and The Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin. The episode received favorable mention in books on The Simpsons and media reviews, and was cited by academicians, who analyzed portions of the episode from physics and psychology perspectives. During a 2004 strike by voice actors for The Simpsons during salary negotiations, media sources cited an iconic quote from Homer to Lisa in the episode about the teachers strike.