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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Pennsylvania's education reform arsenal - pottsmerc.com

Pennsylvania's education reform arsenal - pottsmerc.com

Pennsylvania's education reform arsenal

Earlier this month, California parents became the first in the nation to use a so-called "parent trigger" to force radical change at a school ranked in the bottom ten percent of elementary schools in the Golden State. Pennsylvania may be next to "pull" the trigger.

In California, 62 percent of parents at McKinley Elementary School — far more than the 51 percent required — signed a petition demanding it be changed to a charter school. Under the law, passed in January, parents may choose from a menu of reforms: converting to a charter school, replacing the principal and staff, reforming the budget, or closing.

Other states may follow in California's footsteps. In addition to Pennsylvania, legislators in Georgia