Resisting Reform

      The California State Legislature is once again a war torn battlefield – at least that is the way it feels to those who consider ourselves among the dedicated foot soldiers of the school choice movement in California.
      The first skirmish was played out when new Governor Jerry Brown basically fired all the members of the State Board of Education with education reform interests and replaced them with numerous non-reform minded individuals including a former California Teachers Union lobbyist.
      On yet another front, the battle includes the new State Board of Education and a new Superintendent of Public Instruction (Tom Torlakson). The new State Board has communicated that they are starting over on writing the reform-minded Parent Trigger Legislation regulations. Meanwhile Torlakson has stated that he will work with California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee) to propose clean up legislation to the Parent Trigger – both Brownley and Torlakson were staunch opponents of the initial Parent Trigger Legislation and both are strongly supported by the teachers unions. Parent advocates are rightfully concerned.
      Meanwhile, with less than four days til the deadline to submit bills, of particular concern to charter supporters are the following; AB 360 (Brownley), AB 401 (Ammiano) and AB 440 (Brownley). AB 360 would significantly change the governance model for charter schools; subjecting them to the Brown Act, Government Code 1090 and the California Public Records Act. Ammiano’s proposed legislation would place a 1,450 school cap on charter schools, limit the number of charter schools in a district to 10% and prohibit charter school operators from hiring relatives. Brownley's AB440 has risen from the ashes of last years legislation session. In it she proposes new audit regulatory guidance specific to charter schools, a list of auditors approved for charter audits, allows for the denial of a charter if the operator previously had a charter that was persistently low achieving, was non-renewed or revoked. Within AB440 if a charter school is in Program Improvement* it can be given a shorter charter renewal period, and can take into account at renewal whether a charter serves a similar population to the district as well as changing academic expectations at renewal. (*According to californiawatch.org, over 50% of schools receiving Title 1 funds are in Program Improvement -PI- and by 2013 due to rising accountability measures, 100% are predicted to be in PI)
       The backdrop for all of this activity is the prolonged and ongoing pain of a severe state econcomic crisis and a 25 billion dollar state budget shortfall to fill.  Ongoing and deep cuts to education have left everyone wounded and searching for every dollar, every resource with which to staunch the bleeding. And this scarcity of resources also pits the traditional education system against the school choice movement.
     
My opinion – and I welcome yours as well – We are living in unprecedented times. The world as we know it has changed dramatically. A confluence of events from the growth of charter schools and choice, to the Race to The Top initiative, to Arne Duncan and President Obama’s pro-charter stance, to Waiting for Superman and The Lottery – and finally to an Ohio mother being arrested for enrolling her child in a better school than offered in her neighborhood. These are watershed moments creating a momentum of support for charter schools.  The traditional system – under mounting pressure and for sheer survival – must and will push back. Now more than ever we must stand strong and united. Be informed and inform others so that we can best be prepared for where and when we are needed stand up for our children, school choice and quality education opportunity.