Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part Two - Ruling Itself Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part Two - Ruling Itself:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part Two - Ruling Itself

(Editor's note: I am not a lawyer.  I am a layperson who is interested in the law and I have sought to understand the Washington State Supreme Court ruling on the charter school law.)  

Background

For your edification, here's a link to the Washington State Constitution which was ratified in 1889.  The key issue in this case is the Constitution's use of the term "common schools."  Here's a history of the term "common school" fromPBS.  It would appear that it was a historical term meaning schools funded by taxes (as opposed to private or church-led schools).  Horace Mann was the best-known leader for common schools.  

The term first appears in Article II (Legislative Department), Section 28, part 15. Section 28 states:

SECTION 28 SPECIAL LEGISLATION. The legislature is prohibited from enacting any private or special laws in the following cases: 

15. Providing for the management of common schools.

The main section that the Court used was Article IX - Education - wherein we find the famous "paramount duty" phrase.  It's on page 37.  One key paragraph that seems to throw some people is this one:

The legislature shall provide for a general and uniform system 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Ruling: Part Two - Ruling Itself:

Highlighting Websites, Blogs and Books!

Highlighting Websites, Blogs and Books!:

Highlighting Websites, Blogs and Books!

Back in August I passed the two year mark since I started this blog!

Today I would like to draw your attention to many wonderful blogs, websites and books about education which I have been collecting like rare coins for the last year. I already listed many others when I first started this crusade. Check out my WEBSITE!

Everything has to do with the desire for good public schools and education for all children.

Some of these sites you already know due to their popularity. I mean who doesn’t know Peter Greene? But I had not added him in the beginning so there is Curmudgucation!

I also know there are more sites I have not included. I have a stack on my desk which I still need to add. There are many wonderful voices out there who want the same thing—great democratic public schools!

I love to read other educator and parent and student viewpoints and I feel it is worth the time to write a little bit about them.

I also added some new sites from different countries. Through social media I’ve met some savvy educators from England (like Roger Titcombe, John Mountford, and Leah Highlighting Websites, Blogs and Books!:

Peg with Pen: So Here We Stand: Opt Out in Dangerous Times

Peg with Pen: So Here We Stand: Opt Out in Dangerous Times:
So Here We Stand: Opt Out in Dangerous Times

Four years ago they called us "Opt Out" folks crazy.  They laughed at us.

Then, at the UOO conference, over a year ago in Denver, our website was hacked and maliciously destroyed. At that point we clearly had become a threat.

Now, headed into year five we don't get hacked anymore, but everyone with loads of money and power is trying to ride the tails of Opt Out and/or co-opt it. Right now, in my opinion, is the most dangerous time for all of us. We are on the brink of winning, so they must try to appease us - this is where the whole "less testing" mantra comes in. Less testing is better than getting nothing right?? Wrong!!!! Remember - we must get all for all children. Do not negotiate and do not settle for less.

And then, they (corporate reformers) have to CLAIM the Opt Out message as their own because watching it come towards them like a stampede of wild stallions that is OUT OF THEIR CONTROL (yes, that's good), is honestly causing them to scurry in circles trying to figure out - how dear god - to rein us in!

So......what do they do? They create their own pathetic little inaccurate Opt Out guides (byECS and NASBE) that show that "some legal" Opt Out is allowed in some states - - mind you these groups are FUNDED BY PEARSON, GATES, among others. And then..these big money power players share these pathetic guides with well known educational reporters and union leaders, to mention a few - and this gets shared in social media as the "guides" for Opt Out. (Ummm... Opt Out is an act of civil disobedience - no legal mumbo jumbo needed, but thanks). These guides they have created could actually discourage Opt Out because it brings forward the mentality that it must be legal to do it. Again, NO. We do not need anyone's permission to refuse these tests.  And do not forget that United Opt Out has the real guides, written by the people for the people over two years ago FREE OF CHARGE. We created these guides in order to make Opt Out easier for parents and students who are trying to navigate legal waters and deal with the harassment that comes under these incredibly high stakes Peg with Pen: So Here We Stand: Opt Out in Dangerous Times:

This is NOT as Good as it Gets

I think what's really hard to stomach right now is that many children believe this is as good as it gets. Many don't know that they could receive more attention from teachers who have small class sizes. Many don't know that rooms plastered with data and standards ultimately mean nothing. Many don't know that their kindergarten classrooms should include blocks, painting, and kitchens (to name a few items). Many don't know that they deserve more recess. Many don't know that all these tests they take and all this test prep they do is actually a waste of time and robbing them of important learning time. Many don't know that the reason they feel wiggly is because they sit too long in their classrooms. Many don't know that they have a right to ALL of it - small class size, books, arts, librarians, counselors, nurses, REAL teachers, recess, play, portfolio assessment, delicious healthy lunches and more. Many don't know that they should have extracurricular activities AT their school FOR FREE. Many don't know that their learning should be planned and developed with their input. Many don't 

This is NOT as Good as it Gets

Unions and Friedrichs. | Fred Klonsky

Unions and Friedrichs. | Fred Klonsky:

Unions and Friedrichs.

NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia does a good job of explaining the dangersif the U.S. Supreme court rules against agency fees and Fair Share in theFriedrichs case.

Over the last century, our nation’s commitment to collective bargaining—allowing employees to unite and have a voice in their workplace—has served this country well, creating the middle class that has powered our democracy. And the types of laws challenged in Friedrichs have both improved our public schools and opened the doors of opportunity to people of color, women, and immigrants. The Court should reject the invitation in Friedrichs to slam that door shut.

There are discussions going on right now among union leaders about what our organizations should do if, as they fear, the Roberts Court rules against us.

Agency fees, also known as Fair Share, requires employees to pay the cost of union representation regardless of whether they choose to join or not.

It also requires the union to provide representation whether the employee is a Unions and Friedrichs. | Fred Klonsky:

Families for Excellent Schools, Luke Bronin and the expansion of the Charter School and Corporate Education Reform Industry in Hartford Connecticut. - Wait What?

Families for Excellent Schools, Luke Bronin and the expansion of the Charter School and Corporate Education Reform Industry in Hartford Connecticut. - Wait What?:

Families for Excellent Schools, Luke Bronin and the expansion of the Charter School and Corporate Education Reform Industry in Hartford Connecticut.

JUST ANOTHER ASTROTRUF for PUBLIC SCHOOL PRIVATIZATION 

Families for Excellent Schools (FES) is a major New York City based, corporate funded, charter school and education reform advocacy group.

In recent months the group and its allies have played an increasingly powerful role on behalf of Greenwich native and political newcomer Luke Bronin’s campaign for mayor of Hartford.

The work for Bronin is only part of the organization’s effort to expand into Connecticut.

So far this year FES has spent well in excess of a $1.5 million to push Governor Malloy’s successful effort to divert scarce public funds to charter schools rather than adequately funding Connecticut’s public schools.  The net effect of Malloy’s pro-charter school, pro-Common Core testing and anti-teacher agenda is that charter schools are getting even more public funds while local Connecticut communities are being forced to raise property taxes and cut public school programs just to balance local budgets.

Families for Excellent Schools also have their hand in Luke Bronin’s recent win in the Democratic Primary for Mayor of Hartford and a recent job post announces that the group is also hiring a Hartford, Connecticut organizer “to work with its Connecticut team.”

Andrew Doba, Governor Dannel Malloy’s former mouthpiece, who also served as Hartford mayoral candidate Luke Bronin’s spokesman, is the lead consultant for Families for Excellent Schools in Connecticut.  Doba works for a New York based public relations group that is headed by the former spokesperson for Michael Bloomberg.

Not only has Families for Excellent Schools been paying Malloy/Bronin’s spokesperson but the organization has also handed hundreds of thousands of dollars over to Roy Families for Excellent Schools, Luke Bronin and the expansion of the Charter School and Corporate Education Reform Industry in Hartford Connecticut. - Wait What?:

Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers 

Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER

Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Other Astroturf lobbying groups

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Florida superintendents revolt: We have ‘lost confidence’ in state’s school accountability system - The Washington Post

Florida superintendents revolt: We have ‘lost confidence’ in state’s school accountability system - The Washington Post:

Florida superintendents revolt: We have ‘lost confidence’ in state’s school accountability system

Florida’s school superintendents are revolting against the state’s accountability system that uses standardized test scores to measure students, teachers and schools. They just issued a statement saying that they “have lost confidence” in the system’s accuracy and are calling for a suspension and a review of the system.

The Florida Association of District School Superintendents, which represents the state’s 67 district leaders, issued the statement after most of the school chiefs met in Tampa with state schools Commissioner Pam Stewart. They expressed their concerns about the accountability system, which is based on the scores students receive on the Florida Standards Assessments, but she apparently did nothing to temper their concerns and they issued the statement that bluntly says:

Florida district school superintendents have lost confidence in the current accountability system for the students of the State of Florida.

The assessments are aligned to the Florida Standards, which were adopted in 2014 after Florida dropped the Common Core State Standards and developed a new set of standards that many said were remarkably similar to the Core. The state also dropped the Common Core test known as the PARCC — which was created by a multi-consortium funded by the Obama administration to develop new exams aligned to the Core — and bought new computer-administered assessments first given to Florida students this past spring.  The administration of the exams was such a mess, with major technological problems, that Superintendent Alberto Carvalho of Miami-Dade County Public Schools,  the largest district in the state and one of the country’s largest in the country, publicly slammed the tests as did other schools chiefs.

[Mom: Why my kids won’t be taking the new Florida Standards Assessment test]

Florida first instituted a school accountability system using standardized test scores under former governor Jeb Bush, who from 1999-2007 ushered in school reforms that became a model around the country.  He is now running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and is touting his education reforms.

Previously Florida used a different exam, the FCAT, to evaluate schools in an accountability system that began to crumble even when Bush was governor Florida superintendents revolt: We have ‘lost confidence’ in state’s school accountability system - The Washington Post:

Why do more than half of principals quit after five years? - The Hechinger Report

Why do more than half of principals quit after five years? - The Hechinger Report:

Why do more than half of principals quit after five years?

New principal struggles to find balance in ever-changing role

Principal Krystal Hardy talks to students during a ‘community meeting’ at Sylvanie Williams College Prep elementary school, on January 16, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Hardy spends most of her time out of her office mentoring teachers and staff and spending time with the children. She is the face of the new type of principal. Fifty percent of the children here started the year below grade level in reading and math. The goal is to help them catch up and keep making progress. No reproduction. Photo: Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor

NEW ORLEANS — It’s a few minutes before 8 a.m. and Krystal Hardy, the principal of Sylvanie Williams College Prep elementary, a charter school in New Orleans, is greeting a line of third-graders as they shuffle down the hall.

“I like the way you keep your eyes forward and your voice turned off,”

she says to a student with a green bow in her hair who has been ignoring a whispered conversation behind her. The girl shoots Hardy a cautious smile.

“Tuck in that shirt,” Hardy says to another. The young boy hastily shoves his green polo shirt into his khaki pants. “We need you to be ready to learn, so you need to look like you’re ready to learn,” says Hardy.

It’s the second full week of instruction at the start of the second year of Hardy’s tenure as principal. The administrator, a wiry, intense young woman, is cautiously optimistic. This time last year, she and thousands of other public school principals around the country began their first year in the front office and stepped directly into what many consider one of the toughest jobs in America.

And the most important. In the age of the knowledge economy, education increasingly shapes the future success of individuals as well as nations. So The Hechinger Report and the Christian Science Monitor decided to follow a principal through her inaugural year at a struggling urban school to find out how hard the job really is, how it’s changed, and what this reveals about the state of American education.

Being a school principal has never been easy, of course. Traditionally, the role was like being the chief executive officer and face of the school. The principal hired teachers, interpreted directives from the district and state, and balanced the budget (in theory). Day to day, this meant wrestling with innumerable smaller tasks: handling the concerns of parents, disciplining unruly kids, Why do more than half of principals quit after five years? - The Hechinger Report:

Marie Corfield: Why I oppose @NEAToday early endorsement of @HillaryClinton

Marie Corfield: Why I oppose @NEAToday early endorsement of @HillaryClinton:

Why I oppose @NEAToday early endorsement of @HillaryClinton

Without unions, workers will lose many of the protections against abusive employers. Wages for all will be depressed, even as corporate profits soar. The American Dream will be destroyed for millions. And we will have a government of the corporations, by the already powerful, for the wealthy.
              ~ Kenneth Bernstein, teacher, author, education activist

Change your social media profile pic if you agree

Teacher, education activist and blogger,Fred Klonsky, posted this yesterday: 

What has been rumored for several weeks is now pretty much a sure thing. The NEA board of directors are meeting next week and they will go through the motions of taking a vote. But an endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party primary race is all but assured. (emphasis mine)

What's particularly troubling is that because this is a primary endorsement, many member voices simply will not be heard in this process. Steven Singer writes:

[S]ince this is only an endorsement for the primary election, the matter would not need to go before the Representative Assembly (RA). In effect, the move could sidestep the voices of the RA’s 8,000 delegates representing state and local affiliates, student members, retired members, and other segments of the united education profession. 

The decision would be made by a handful of leaders and the PAC council. Though there are thousands of PAC council votes, they are Marie Corfield: Why I oppose @NEAToday early endorsement of @HillaryClinton:

CURMUDGUCATION: An Open Letter to Lily Eskelsen-Garcia

CURMUDGUCATION: An Open Letter to Lily Eskelsen-Garcia:

An Open Letter to Lily Eskelsen-Garcia

Dear Lily:

I am a thirty-seven year classroom veteran, a former local EA president, and a lifelong NEA member. I am a member, and I have concerns.

The internet has been buzzing with the news of an upcoming endorsement of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Presidential nominee. In particular, there is talk of a procedural move that will sidestep the general membership and their representatives. The most likely motivation would seem to be that Clinton's campaign is sinking, and it is reported that while you admit Sanders is more in line with our interests, you see Clinton as more electable.

I am asking you, as a member-- please don't do this.

It is true that I'm not a fan of Clinton, and that I see her as likely to carry on the corporate, anti-public education policies of the last two administrations. And it's also true that I am, cautiously, a Sanders fan. But believe me when I tell you that, even were this maneuver being considered in support of Sanders, I would still oppose it.

Here's why.

The assault on public education-- the push to close public schools and replace them with money-making charters, the various "reform" actions to redirect public tax dollars to private corporate coffers, the use of Big Standardized Tests to foster a narrative of failure, the constant attempts through all political avenues to break down the teaching profession so that an experienced well-paid unionized workforce can be replaced with a cheaper, inexperienced, short-term more easily controlled pool of pseudo-teachers-- all of these are part of a larger assault.

An attempt to circumvent democracy itself.

At Dyett High, in New Orleans, in Newark and Camden, in Detroit, in Philadelphia to Eli Broad's new LA takeover, the push is to disenfranchise voters, taxpayers, citizens, community members. Reformsters of all different stripes, from Bill Gates to Reed Hastings to Campbell Brown to Arne Duncan-- they all share one simple belief: that in this country there are some people who should CURMUDGUCATION: An Open Letter to Lily Eskelsen-Garcia:

Cartoons on Kids and Parents in School and at Home | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Cartoons on Kids and Parents in School and at Home | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Cartoons on Kids and Parents in School and at Home

Here’s a selection of cartoons that amused me about the return to school this month in the U.S.  I also included cartoons that picked up on the foibles of parents and kids in this high-tech society. Enjoy!

 More Cartoons on Kids and Parents in School and at Home | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Transgender at school: As more teachers come out, districts struggle to put policy into practice | OregonLive.com

Transgender at school: As more teachers come out, districts struggle to put policy into practice | OregonLive.com:

Transgender at school: As more teachers come out, districts struggle to put policy into practice

Leo Soell fought breast cancer last year, and took an extended leave from teaching fifth grade at Hall Elementary School in Gresham. After the experience, Soell chose to come out in the workplace--they came out as transgender, changed their name to Leo and now go by the gender-neutral pronoun "they." Kristyna Wentz-Graff/Staff

Leo Soell came back to school with no hair, a new name and an announcement.

The Hall Elementary School fifth grade teacher left to undergo cancer treatment last fall as Brina. A double mastectomy and four rounds of chemotherapy clarified a few things.

For years, Soell had lived a double life. At home in Southeast Portland, friends knew Soell was transgender and used the gender-neutral pronoun "they." At work in Gresham, coworkers called the 26-year-old "she." But after treatment, Soell was ready to be known as "Leo" and "they" at school, too.

"Because I was dealing with cancer, you think about the fact that you need to be yourself and nothing less than that every single day," Soell said. "I chose to stop lying."

Soell returned from medical leave in May, and expected coworkers to celebrate. Instead, other teachers said, the principal told staffers they could not announce Soell's gender transition or name change. Some coworkers stopped talking to Soell, teachers said. Others called Soell "lady" or simply "Soell."

Oregon and Washington have long barred employers from firing workers because of their gender identity. Portland-area districts celebrate diversity in school mottos and warn against discrimination in board policies. Yet most schools remain unprepared for the coming wave of transgender teachers, staff and students.

In the worst cases, teachers and students say they have been harassed or bullied. Even in progressive Portland, where principals routinely remind educators to ask students their preferred pronouns, transgender teachers say they still worry about how administrators will respond to parents, who may not understand or care what the law requires.

And in Gresham, investigators are now reviewing what happened to Soell last spring.

"I honestly don't think the district had any clue that all of this would happen," Soell Transgender at school: As more teachers come out, districts struggle to put policy into practice | OregonLive.com:

Ed Notes Online: Ed Deform Erodes: Eva and Front Group Families for Excellent Schools Allies Resort to Race Baiting, Community Reacts

Ed Notes Online: Ed Deform Erodes: Eva and Front Group Families for Excellent Schools Allies Resort to Race Baiting, Community Reacts:

Ed Deform Erodes: Eva and Front Group Families for Excellent Schools Allies Resort to Race Baiting, Community Reacts

FES is resorting to naked racism to promote their September 30 rally attacking de Blasio. People are calling on them to take it down. But then where would they put their half a million bucks? Not in the schools, pray tell. I pray tell they leave that ad up for the public to see. 

You know, so many teachers are also attacking de Blasio from the other side for not reversing many of Bloomberg's policies and also attacking the UFT/Unity leadership for not doing enough to pressure him for changes because they want to be a partner (ie, stool at the table.) I keep thinking if we would be better off with the alternative - Eva or someone of that ilk - like Hakeem Jeffries who would savage teaching core and put a charter in every pot. They are going to knock off de Blasio and we will not end up with a more teacher friendly mayor -- but maybe that's better - to have a clear enemy to battle.

I reported on the Success Charter leaked memo on how to force parents into bringing their children to the upcoming Sept. 30 Charter school rally by closing down her schools and leaving them without child care, forcing many of them to take off from work that day: Eva Moskowitz Sept. 30 Rally.

Charters force march parents and students

Eva's version of the Bataan death march.

On the surface it seems as if Eva is winning. But with every outrageous act skepticism grows among the public and press. Imagine of FES has put their millions into supporting, not degrading schools?


Someone emailed me about doing something the day of the rally to protest. My response was that FES and Eva closing schools and holding a naked political rally only helps in the battle of ed deform. 

Here are reports on the racist FES ad from Schools Matter and Capital NY:

Schools Matter via the Observer

NY Charter Movement Calls Mayor de Blasio Racist for Not Supporting Apartheid Charters

from the Observer:

“The rhetoric of this ad, and the people and money behind it, are part of the problem,” she said.

Luis Garden Acosta, the founder of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice and the father of a child who attended a charter Ed Notes Online: Ed Deform Erodes: Eva and Front Group Families for Excellent Schools Allies Resort to Race Baiting, Community Reacts:

Schools Matter: Charter Schools Crime Log

Schools Matter: Charter Schools Crime Log:

Charter Schools Crime Log

Could be any few days of the school year.

from Ohio:

State Auditor Dave Yost plans to have employees fan out across the state again this year in an attempt to verify that charter schools’ enrollment reports match up with the students sitting in their buildings.
Yost also noted that although the Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled that charter-school operator White Hat Management can keep furniture and equipment paid for with taxpayer money, the majority of justices made a key finding that could keep operators from getting the upper hand in future contract negotiations.
Last fall, auditors from Yost’s office made unannounced visits to 30 charter schools to count students. They found significantly lower numbers than expected at half the schools.

from California:

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (BCN) -- A Sunnyvale charter school that was temporarily closed after the arrest of an employee revealed that the school had failed to complete background checks and tuberculosis tests has been cleared to reopen, the Santa Clara County Office of Education said Thursday evening.
Spark Charter School was shut down at the end of the day last Friday after county education officials found the school could not confirm they had complied with all state procedures regarding employee background checks, TB clearances and teacher credentials.

from New Jersey:

PATERSON – In the latest salvo over the role of charter schools in New Jersey, a Newark-based education advocacy group issued a report that says Paterson-based charters accumulated $6 million in surplus funds this year while the local school district was forced to impose layoffs because of financial problems.
The group, the Education Law Center (ELC), says in a report issued on Thursday that the state has not imposed the same two-percent limit on charter schools’ unrestricted fund balances thatSchools Matter: Charter Schools Crime Log:

 Big Education Ape: CURMUDGUCATION: The Big Map O' Charter Failure http://bit.ly/1FzO2VR

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS WEBSITE

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

A compilation of news articles about charter schools which have been charged with, or are highly suspected of, tampering with admissions, grades, attendance and testing; misuse of funds and embezzlement; engaging in nepotism and conflicts of interest; engaging in complicated and shady real estate deals; and/or have been engaging in other questionable, unethical, borderline-legal, or illegal activities. This is also a record of charter school instability and other unsavory tidbits.

Keep checking

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

Be sure to check out two other Great blogs:

-THE BROAD REPORT (as in Eli)
-THE PERIMETER PRIMATE

Test scores complicate the debate over expanding L.A. charter schools - LA Times

Test scores complicate the debate over expanding L.A. charter schools - LA Times:

Test scores complicate the debate over expanding L.A. charter schools

As the battle to greatly expand charter schools in Los Angeles begins, both sides are touting statistics they claim make their case.

Charter forces point to test scores showing that their students, on average, do better than those in L.A. Unified.

------------

FOR THE RECORD: A previous version of this article said that charter backers led by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation seek to raise nearly half a million dollars to more than double the number of charters within eight years. The amount sought is nearly half a billion dollars.

------------

L.A. Unified officials put forward a different set of numbers. They argue that it's more accurate to compare charter schools not with the district as a whole but with magnet schools. In that match, magnets generally do better.

The data game is an early skirmish with big implications as charter backers, led by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, seek to raise nearly half a billion dollars to more than double the number of charters within eight years. The cornerstone of their campaign is to prove, through statistics, that L.A. Unified is failing students and that parents should have the option of enrolling in charters.

There is general agreement that overall student achievement in LAUSD is disappointing, with dropout rates and test scores worse than state averages. In recent years, the district had made gains compared with the state, but that trend reversed this year under new, more rigorous tests.

"The charter schools send out certain data and LAUSD sends out certain data and you can get lost in the data," said Antonia Hernández, head of the California Community Foundation who works with L.A. Unified and is involved in the charter expansion discussions. "When the adults stop fighting over data, the issue is where will parents be as far as choice and where will students be as far as getting a good education."

Magnet schools, which offer specialized programs, were created to promote integration. They are district-run; teachers and other staff are represented by unions. They enroll 67,700 students.

Charters are independently operated and exempt from some rules that govern traditional schools. Most are non-union. They enroll more than 100,000 students.

Charters have proved highly popular with parents, and L.A. has more of them than any other district in the country. The plan by charter proponents, outlined in a strategy report obtained by The Times this week, calls for 260 new charters.

The Broad Foundation said Friday that it "has watched as the number of families seeking to enroll their children in public charter schools has increased dramatically. Many more families are waiting for a spot at these schools. As a funder, our only goal is to help all families who want access to a high-quality public school for their children."

Comparing schools is tricky, educators, researchers and others say.

Parents can choose to send their children to magnets or charters, which could be a meaningful difference compared with traditional schools, said Li Cai, co-director of the National Center for Research on Test scores complicate the debate over expanding L.A. charter schools - LA Times: