In a major step, the Los Angeles school board calls for a moratorium on new charter schools
The Los Angeles Board of Education is calling on the California legislature to impose a moratorium on new charter schools, a remarkable shift by the pro-charter panel that struck a blow to the charter movement and may lead to stronger oversight of the schools.
The vote appears to signal an inflection point in the charter school debate in California, which has more charter schools and charter school students than any other state. California has allowed charters — which are publicly funded but privately operated — to flourish with little oversight amid growing controversy over financial scandals and other issues.
Charters have become a focus of activists around the country who say the schools provide families with options in districts with failing classrooms. Opponents, including the Los Angeles teachers union, say charters drain resources from the traditional schools that most students attend and encourage further privatization of an important civic institution.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a big supporter of charter schools, as are many of America’s wealthiest individuals, including billionaire Eli Broad, who several years ago promoted a plan to open enough charter schools in Los Angeles to serve at least half of the district’s more than 600,000 students.
But a growing number of education advocates and groups, including the NAACP, have called for a moratorium on charters until issues involving transparency and operations are resolved. California voters just elected a new schools superintendent, Tony Thurmond, who has said he wants to spend more money on traditional schools and stop the expansion of charters until concerns are addressed. He defeated a candidate who was supported by the charter lobby. Newly elected Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has emphasized his desire to spend more on schools within traditional public systems.
The Los Angeles school board resolution and vote — which happened Tuesday as pro-charter protesters picketed outside board headquarters — came out of last week’s agreement between the city’s school district and the teachers union. That pact ended a six-day strike by educators in the nation’s second-largest school district.
The school board voted Tuesday to ratify the strike-ending deal between the Los Angeles Unified School District and United Teachers Los Angeles. The new contract provides teachers with 6 percent pay increases, more resources for schools and small reductions in class size.
The strike ended with other agreements, too, including what many saw as a surprising promise by the school district to support a state moratorium of up to 10 months on charter schools while the state studies their effects.
The Los Angeles Board of Education has six members, at least half of whom were elected with the help of financial support from the charter lobby. The district superintendent, Austin Beutner, is a former investment banker who is a charter backer.
“LAUSD has joined the NAACP and other key organizations in calling on the state of California for a CONTINUE READING: In a major step, the Los Angeles school board calls for a moratorium on new charter schools - The Washington Post
