Ben Austin: Agreeing on What's Best for Kids

Ben Austin: Agreeing on What's Best for Kids

Agreeing on What's Best for Kids

Ben Austin

For much of this young century, we've heard that reformers can't support tax increases, or that unions don't support reform. We've faced false choicesbetween charter schools and district schools. And we've seen our debate about the future of public education devolve into an ideological battle that means nothing to parents struggling to give their kids the education they need for the future they deserve.

At Parent Revolution, we believe in a simple paradigm: that we must make every single decision about our schools as if it would literally impact our own children. If we are going to take this seriously, not as a slogan or a sound bite, but as a serious public policy agenda -- then we need to accept that, as uncontroversial as it sounds, a real kids-first agenda is the most radical agenda in the state of California because it is so far-afield from the way our schools currently operate.

That's where Parent Trigger comes in. Parent Trigger is the first law in California history that gives