Charter reforms sidetracked
Governor voices concerns with Brownley bills
Facing objections raised by Gov. Jerry Brown, Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Julia Brownley this week withdrew a package of charter reform bills that she and the California Charter Schools Assn. had spent four months negotiating. She expressed optimism that she could satisfy Brown’s concerns, which she would not specify, in coming months.
Brownley pulled AB 360, requiring that charters comply with public records, open meeting,and conflict of interest laws, and AB 440, which would set new academic minimums for a school to have its charter renewed. A third bill, SB 645, sponsored by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, had already been waylaid by the Assembly.
Brownley, D-Santa Monica, has spent two years pushing for more transparency and tighter accounting requirements in charter school operations. The charter schools association has
