Watered Down Charter School Reform Bill Falls Short
lush with funding supplied by billionaires, the charter school industry has bought itself a lot of influence in the halls of the state capital building in Sacramento. This caused a significant obstacle as state legislators attempted to pass the first meaningful updates to a 25-year-old charter school law. Using millions of dollars in campaign cash, deploying scare tactics, and pulling on heartstrings, those who seek to privatize our public school systems had managed to stall the proposed bills. Only ten percent of students in publicly funded schools attend charter schools, but once again it appeared that charter school operators would be given priority over 90% of students attending traditional public schools.
In the compromise bill that will be voted on within the next couple of weeks, some important flaws in the law governing charter schools will finally be addressed.
In the compromise bill that will be voted on within the next couple of weeks, some important flaws in the law governing charter schools will finally be addressed.
Under Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, both with a personal history of being involved with charter schools, this defeat for public school students would have been final. However, in the last gubernatorial election, the charter lobby made a tactical error by backing Antonio Villalagrosa. This meant that the eventual winner, Gavin Newsom, a self-described “agnostic” on the issue, owed no debts to these publicly funded private schools. When the reform bills stalled, he forced both sides to the negotiating table and brokered a compromise. Students whose education is funded by the state will get protection from bad actors in the charter school industry after all.
In the compromise bill that will be voted on within the next couple of weeks, some important flaws in the law governing charter schools will finally be addressed. Unbelievably, for the first time, all new charter school teachers will have to be credentialed for the CONTINUE READING: Watered Down Charter School Reform Bill Falls Short - LA Progressive
