4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF MUST BACK NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS UNDER BILL

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF MUST BACK NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS UNDER BILL:

SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF MUST BACK NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS UNDER BILL

LAURA OLSON , ASSOCIATED PRESS/ AP CALIFORNIA STATE NEWS WIRE | HTTP://BIT.LY/1A8IAJW

Aug 30, 9:06 PM EDT  ::  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Legislation that cleared the state Assembly on Friday could make it harder to create charter schools in California by requiring supporters to seek consent from at least some lower-level unionized school employees.
Under AB917, at least 50 percent of teachers and support staff, such as cafeteria workers or custodians, would need to back any effort to convert a public school to a charter or start a new one.
The bill's author, Assemblyman Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, said it would allow "employees who play a vital role in the education of our kids, whether they're in the classroom or not, to have a voice in whether we convert or create a new charter school."
Current law requires petitions for a new charter school to include at least half the parents who expect to send their children to the school or half the teachers expected to work here. To convert an existing public school, at least half the teachers working at that school must sign the petition.
The number of teachers and support staffers employed at a public school or expected to be hired at a new charter would form a pool of potential supporters under Bradford's bill. The 50-percent threshold could be met with any combination of teachers and support