California bill that would restrict charter school approvals stalls in Sacramento
Charter school supporters are applauding a state senator’s decision to table a bill that would have allowed only school districts to approve new charter petitions.
The bill’s author, State Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, said Monday he will not ask the Senate Education Committee to vote on the bill next week when it was due to come up for consideration.
Mendoza said he remains behind the concept of the bill, which would greatly restrict how charters appeal district-level refusals to their county offices of education and remove the state Board of Education from the process altogether.
Mendoza made his decision following a rally and meeting with charter supporters at his Los Angeles-area office this past week.
“I’ve taken the concerns expressed about this bill and its impact on existing charters, and I am working to address them,” Mendoza told EdSource. “However, due to timing, I may present the bill in the Senate Education committee and not ask for a vote. This will allow us more time to find the best way to address the serious issues of charter school authorizations and petitioners.”
The setback for the bill reflects the growing clout of the California Charter School Association as it moves aggressively to expand charter school enrollments in the state. The association has called on its members to rally against the bill, including asking supporters to rally at Mendoza’s district office on April 13.
The bill was backed by the California Teachers Association, which argued that allowing school districts to approve charter schools was consistent with the “local control” approach espoused by Gov. Jerry Brown and adopted by the state Legislature.
“SB 808 is not dead,” said Claudia Briggs, spokeswoman for the California Teachers Association. “There is a lot of important testimony that needs to be shared and myriad facts presented, therefore more time is needed to show the drastic and negative impacts the lack of regulations on corporate charter schools is having on our students and communities.”
The union wrote on its website that the ability of county offices of education to overrule some district decisions on charters “is undermining the practice of local control, wherein districts develop priorities and plans with input from all California bill that would restrict charter school approvals stalls in Sacramento | EdSource:
Big Education Ape: California Charter Schools and REAL Local Control - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/04/california-charter-schools-and-real.html
Big Education Ape: New Legislative Push for Charter School Accountability | UTLA - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/04/new-legislative-push-for-charter-school.html
