Southern California legislators call for charter school reform
California legislators took to the steps of the State Capitol on Wednesday to call for reform of the state’s charter school law, including requiring them to be run as non-profits.
“The public is paying for them,” Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, D-West Covina, said afterward. “The accountability ought to be there and the protection for the employees ought to be there.”
Four Democrats, flanked by representatives of the California Teachers Association, the California Federation of Teachers and the California Labor Federation, announced four new pieces of legislation the legislators said will ensure the charter schools fulfill their stated mission.
Hernandez introduced Assembly Bill 787, which would not allow charter schools to be run for profit. Instead, it allows a charter school to operate as, or be operated by, a nonprofit public benefit corporation.
“Some, if not many, of the charter schools throughout California and the nation run their charter schools with some of their focus on bringing in profit at the end of the year,” Hernandez said. “This is an effort to ... make sure that our dollars are focused on a student-centered approach, not for the profiteering of CEOs.”
Not everyone believes the new law is necessary, though.
“Overall, I think charter schools are working reasonably well in California. There’s always room to improve, but I think we need to make sure this is about improving charters, rather than just going after charter schools,” said Gabe Rose, chief strategy officer of Parent Revolution, the organization that led to the passage of the 2010 parent-trigger law, which enables parents to force changes at failing public schools.
Those changes include potentially turning them into charter schools, as happened in the High Desert city of Adelanto.
“My impression,” Rose said, “is that there’s basically no for-profit charter schools in California right now, so this is a bit of a red herring.”
Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-Compton, introduced Assembly Bill 709, which explicitly states that charter school board meetings are covered by California’s open meeting law, the Ralph M. Brown Act. (Charter schools receive their operating charter from public schools, are funded by public tax dollars and are officially public schools.)
California legislators approved the Charter Schools Act in 1992. As of fall 2013, there were 1,130 charter schools operating in the state, according to the California Charter Schools Association.
“Over the years, charter school enrollment in California has grown to the largest percentage in the nation,” Gipson wrote in an email Wednesday afternoon. “However, despite this growth, our state laws have not been updated to ensure these expanding schools are required to maintain an acceptable level of accountability and transparency with our teachers, students, and parents. Assembly Bill 709, which I have authored this year with the support of the California Teachers Association, is part of an ongoing effort to make sure all of our schools are held to a consistent standard.”
The assemblymen were joined on the steps by state Sens. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Tony Southern California legislators call for charter school reform:
Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-Compton, announces his bill, which would explicitly make charter school board meetings subject to California’s open records law. (Photo courtesy of the California Teachers Association)
Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, D-West Covina, speaks Wednesday at a Sacramento news conference calling for more accountability of California’s more than 1,100 charter schools. (Photo courtesy of the California Teachers Association)