Growing Coalition Joins Legislators in Support of AB 1505, 1506 and 1507 Prior to Assembly Education Committee Hearing; Common Theme: “Waste, fraud and abuse hurting students must stop!”

SACRAMENTO – Dozens of lawmakers, parents, educators, classified school personnel, and civil rights leaders gathered today at the State Capitol in support of SB 756, a new bill authored by Los Angeles Senator Maria Elena Durazo, that calls for a five-year moratorium on new charter schools which will provide time to make much-needed adjustments to ensure all students, regardless of zip code, receive the tools, resources and overall quality education they need and deserve.

“The strength of every democratic society is inseparable from the strength of its system of public education. California’s public education system depends on local schools, teachers, parents, pupils and communities working collaboratively,” said Sen. Durazo. “SB 756 calls for a pause until some flaws in the law can be fixed. That’s why this is so important for our communities and for our future.”

Many of the much-needed changes that SB 756 requires by 2020 are addressed in AB 1505 (O’Donnell and Bonta), AB 1506 (McCarty) and AB 1507 (Smith), which were set to be heard by the Assembly Education Committee later in the day. Together these bills would restore power back to local school boards to decide if charters are the right fit for their communities and their students. Bill authors presented the need for these bills along with parents who are painfully watching their children negatively impacted by the flawed charter legislation.

“Time and time again I’ve seen the rules and regulations that govern all publicly-funded schools be disregarded at charter schools with little or no consequences at ALL. This growing disregard with NO consequences negatively impacts our most vulnerable students and communities,” said an emotional Hilda Rodriguez-Guzman, a Los Angeles parent, to reporters and a full house of supporters. “My youngest son has disabilities and I was unable to get his publicly-funded charter school to provide him the assistance he needed for years until I retained an attorney three times. I can’t tell you all that I had to go through and am currently going through! I’m a parent that knows and has learned a lot through first-hand experience how the charter school system works. When I naively tried to seek assistance from the California Charter School Association by posting my personal experiences with regards to my son on their Facebook page in hopes that someone would reach out and help me, they instead blocked me and turned their back on us because we didn’t meet their utopian educational narrative. It scares me to think about the children whose parents or guardians aren’t able to navigate this unregulated publicly-funded charter school system.”

AB 1505 by Assemblymembers Patrick O’Donnell and Rob Bonta ensures all matters related to charter schools’ authorization, renewal and other key decisions be made by the local governing board—those who actually know and manage the school district. It would allow authorizers to consider facilities, fiscal, and academic impacts on the district when considering new charter school petitions. AB 1506 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty establishes a cap on the growth of charter schools. The removal of the cap that was included in the original charter school law has led to destabilizing school districts and a law outpaced by the growth of unregulated corporate charter schools and the groups behind them. AB 1507 by Assemblymember Christy Smith closes a loophole in current law which allows a charter school to operate outside of its authorizing district.

SB 756 by Senator Durazo sets a moratorium on the authorization of any new charter schools in the state until 2024, unless several policies found within AB 1505, AB 1506 and AB 1507 are enacted before 2020.

What Legislators, Educators, School Workers, and Civil Rights Leaders are Saying

“Charter school reform is long overdue. These bills will provide school districts the ability to make responsible and informed decisions regarding authorization and renewal of charter schools, which are critical for student success and taxpayer accountability,” said Assemblymember O’Donnell, Chair of the Assembly Education Committee.

“School board members have a fiduciary duty to ensure the fiscal health of their district. They know the needs of their schools the best and should be able to consider the fiscal impact on their students and district when considering whether to approve a new charter school,” said Assemblymember Bonta.

“AB 1506 will put a cap on the number of charter schools in California yet allow some capacity for charter schools to expand when schools are phased out or shut down. This will give some much-needed financial stability to California school districts — many of which are challenged with declining enrollment and other cost pressures,” said Assemblymember McCarty.

“I am proud to author AB 1507 which restores the right of individual districts to have oversight of schools located within their boundaries. I am pleased that AB 1507 is a part of a broader package of measures creating greater transparency and accountability for our taxpayer dollars, while improving public schools for every student,” said Assemblymember Smith.

“I’m proud to co-author AB 1505, which finally allows local school boards to examine the financial, academic, and facilities impacts that charter schools will have on their districts. We must give local school boards the final say over whether a charter school can operate in their district. Locally-elected school boards are the right place for these decisions,” said Senator Nancy Skinner.

California Federation of Teachers President-Elect Jeff Freitas said: “The laws governing charters in California are like the wild west. With no real accountability to local school communities, charter schools have become a burden on school districts’ finances, facilities, and academic programs. It’s time to fix California’s broken charter school laws and put power back in the hands of our local school boards and communities.”

Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, California NAACP Education Chair, said: “California has not realized the mandate of Brown vs. Board to address segregation and deep-seeded educational inequity across our state. Today, more than 60 years later, schools across California are profoundly separate and unequal based on race and class. It’s a national shame that the sabotage of human potential is readily apparent across our nation. These issues are being amplified, in fact, made worse by the privatization and private control movement. The California NAACP and other community-based activists have called upon education reforms to refocus on inequities rather than privatization and private control of education. They are seeking to move the discourse concretely from choice to equity. Today, the California NAACP stands with stakeholders from across the spectrum to call for greater accountability and transparency on behalf of the students and families in the state of California. The NAACP is supporting and co-sponsoring SB 756. It aligns with the moratorium call from 2016 that decries the lack of transparency and accountability that’s readily apparent in privately-managed school choice.”

Retired Paraeducator, Twin Rivers Unified, speaking on behalf of the California School Employees Association, Martha Penry said: “We believe that all students deserve the opportunity to receive a quality public education in a safe and healthy environment. As classified employees, we are deeply concerned with the unregulated growth and lack of accountability of the 1,400 publicly-funded privately-managed charter schools… When a charter school enters a community, they siphon off public education funds robbing traditional public schools of the ability to provide necessary services to students. Students are hurting from rapid charter school expansion.”

Clarissa Doutherd, parent from Oakland Unified School District neighborhood public school parent said: “Like many children in Oakland, particularly African American children, my son has asthma which can sometimes be severe. It took months to figure out how medication would be administered in the event of an emergency because there is only one nurse for every 1,750 students in a district with many high need students who require daily life-preserving medications. Counselors, librarians, supervision staff during lunch and recess are all parts of what make schools safe spaces for our children – and these are being chipped away at. Because of the financial stress on our district, administrators are considering closing 24 schools… schools that have a disproportionate number of African American and Latino students. Families like mine deserve a school system that serves all students, not only a select few.”

Ocean View School District School Board Member Gina Clayton-Tarvin said: “Recently, despite fierce bi-partisan opposition and against the express denial of our entire district board of education, the Orange County Board of Education approved a charter in our district two times, based on solid legal findings. We found that the charter was unlikely to successfully implement their program, they failed to present a sound educational program and they failed to include a comprehensive description of all legally required elements. The county board ignored the will of the people who democratically voted in the school board meeting. We know what’s best for our students and we demand that our local control be respected. It’s time that we all get on board and fix our broken charter school laws. The best way we can do that is by passing these bills.”

Parent Christopher R. Wilson, who is also Associate Director of the Alliance San Diego, said: “‘I did not feel safe… and I learned absolutely nothing.’ These are the words spoken by a former student at a hearing for renewal for Thrive Charter School in the San Diego Unified School District. In addition to the instability caused by the influx and unchecked growth of charter schools within the public school system, there’s a lack of transparency and accountability and sometimes basic safety needs at these schools. The outdated laws and slanted approval process have caused our students and schools irreparable harm in California. I’ve heard far too many stories of parents being pushed aside and shut out. Some of the schools are governed by a private appointed board and they are making a situation worse. When our students and parents are not allowed to advocate for themselves, with student learning becoming second to growth and profitability, when parents are locked out of school and threatened with retaliation, when all of this and more is happening in communities of color already ravaged by economic and structural disparities, who will hold the schools accountable? The state has an obligation to step in and do something today… to give our students an opportunity to grow, learn and thrive in an educational environment of peace, harmony, learning and justice with transparency and accountability to the people served by these schools.”

The coalition also announced that May 22 will be a major Day of Action in Sacramento, when thousands will gather to urge California lawmakers to fix the states’ broken charter school laws.

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