Here’s our pick of recent news about the ongoing effort to privatize public education in California. Not a subscriber? Sign up here.
Sign this petition to hold charter schools accountable. Educators for Democratic Schools has launched a petition calling for “an immediate moratorium on certifying new charter schools in California, as they are draining funds from public schools and destabilizing school districts.” Sign it here.
“A microcosm of the state’s charter school debate.” Palo Alto Online digs deep into the history of California’s charter school battles, concluding that rapid charter school growth has left school districts scrambling for funding and students. Palo Alto Online
It’s time to limit charter schools. Our own Jeremy Mohler weighs in on growing concerns about the fiscal impact of too many charter schools: “Charter schools have become a politically complicated issue in recent years—highly contentious yet sometimes a little overblown. But there’s no question it’s time to slow their growth.” San Francisco Chronicle
ICYMI. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that requires charter schools to be as transparent to the public about how they operate as traditional, neighborhood public school districts. This brings California on board with the 38 other states that do so. The Washington Post
And at the national level… According to a new report from the Network for Public Education (NPE), the federal government has wasted up to $1 billion on charter schools that never opened, or opened and then closed because of mismanagement and other reasons. The Washington Post