“Parent-Trigger” Law Rattles Compton School
This morning the California Board of Education called for an investigation into reports of misconduct in a parent-initiated petition to call for the takeover of a Southern California public school.
The AP reports that ever since a petition was filed last week by parents calling for a charter school takeover of Compton Unified School District’s McKinley Elementary School, there have been allegations of parent intimidation. Under a new California law signed this year, parents may call for the overhaul of their children’s failing public school if a majority of parents support such a move. Sixty-two percent of parents at the 438-student school signed the petition, but many have since removed their support for the school.
There are several models for school takeover. They range from calling in a charter school to replace the former staff, or firing all the staff and rehiring no more than half who must agree to overhauls, or shutting down the school altogether. The charter school company Celerity Educational Group was set to take over McKinley,