The annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the so-called parent trigger idea.
The parent trigger means that 51% of parents at a school can sign a petition, and as the Reuters article about it said, “seize control” of the school.
Once the parents have seized control, with the endorsement of the mayors, they can fire the staff or hand the school over to a charter corporation. In other words, they can seize public property and privatize it.
This is nuts.
The parent trigger idea was hatched by a group called “Parent Revolution,” which is richly endowed by the billionaire boys’ club: the Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation, and the Walton Foundation. These are not what you call ordinary parents. I expect there are paid parents on its staff, but it is not what you would call a grassroots group. Its executive director, Ben Austin, was appointed to the California State Board of Education by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but removed by Governor Jerry Brown.
When Republicans in Florida tried to push through parent trigger legislation, it was opposed by Florida parent groups. The sponsors had to import Parent Revolution staff from California to endorse it. The bill failed.
The parent trigger is a hoax against parents. In two years since the law was passed in California, not a single school went charter.
But who knows? Maybe hundreds of thousands of schools will be taken over by parents and handed off to for-profit charter organizations.
Sorry to repeat myself, but this is nuts.
Diane
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on Kmareka.com and commented:
New recipe for insanity endorsed by the US Conference of Mayors.
I’m not sure under which topic this belongs:
http://www.freep.com/article/20120618/NEWS05/206180387/Muskegon-Heights-plan-to-charter-schools-cut-36-12-million-deficit-may-be-a-first
Muskegon Heights Plan to Charter Schools, cut $12-million Deficit may be a First
by Lori Higgins
June 18, 2012
… The emergency manager for Muskegon Heights Public Schools is taking an unprecedented approach to eliminate the district’s severe debt — one of the worst deficits among Michigan’s schools — by chartering the entire west Michigan district.
… In May, Weatherspoon laid off every one of the union’s 85 members — and just about every employee in the district. The union’s contract with the district runs through August 2013, but the union is technically dissolved since there are no members.
Just finished a blog about this which will be posted in next day or two.
Gov. Jindal didn’t miss a thing. Parent trigger was thrown in with all the other ALEC reforms. I would take a guess that not even half of the legislators understood what it really was and did.
Michele Rhee supports Mayor or Governor takeover of failing districts. That is what she did in DC. Named Chancellor and school committee had no power. There will be no local control.
Anytime you see some really stinky piece of legislation being ramrodded through multiple State Legislatures at once, it’s a pretty good bet that ALEC is behind the ramrod.
Check out the Public Education section of “ALEC Exposed” for further information:
• http://alecexposed.org/wiki/Public_Education
Bills Affecting Americans’ Rights to a Public Education
• http://alecexposed.org/wiki/Bills_Affecting_Americans'_Rights_to_a_Public_Education
ALEC’s Legislative Agenda on Education —
• http://keystoneprogress.blogspot.com/2012/05/alecs-legislative-agenda-on-education.html
I was utterly disgusted by this. My mayor is a former University of California professor (of political science, no less). I feel like the world has truly and completely gone mad! I wish there was a Teacher Trigger that could be pulled so that we could take back control of our classrooms, curricula, and testing. /SCREAMING!!!/
I, too posted about this…and will again, today. What gets me is that the Democrats joined with Republicans and the mayors were unanimous in recommending the wholesale selling-out of America’s public schools.
Does anyone still think that the Democrats will see the damage being done to public education and help us? Does anyone still think that NEA’s and AFT’s endorsement of Obama will mean that the Democrats will fall in line and suddenly become “friends of public education?” Well, think again.
Obama is part of the problem, not the solution.
Important to note that the failed Parent Trigger legislation in Florida last Spring would not allow parents to pull the trigger on the private company that seized control of the public school. Parent empowerment only went in one direction, towards privatization. Once 51% of parents chose to hand their public school over to a charter school, the damage would be irreversible. The poorest neighborhoods with failing schools and parents who could be easily deceived by a slick charter pamphlet, might soon be left with no choice and no free education. Some charters have started charging students fines for minor infractions like chewing gum. Parent Trigger legislation effectively ends a free public education in the neighborhoods that need it the most. Way to go Democratic mayors for endorsing the disempowerment of the people you supposedly represent!
That’s the sneaky kind of legislation they are trying to push through. Thanks for bringing that aspect to our attention so now we can use that against them, at least hopefully, in MO.
I typed a long response re “enterprise zones” and proposals coming from ALEC, The Heritage Foundation and the secret membership composed of members from both organizations listed..The Council For National Policy. I lost it in space………..
All of the educational restructuring is coming in under enterprise zone legislation as proposed by the above. The laws are and have been waived to put this “madness” in state by state, and zone by zone. The parents noted as “trigger parents” are just part of their mad plan to destroy our representative form of government. These poor parents are pawns in their devious plan!
What are enterprise zones? They are small “Hong Kongs” …a large and cheap labor pool that will be available to work in often small cottage industries as is common in Hong Kong. See the School to Work Act. The enterprize zones were first introduced in the USA by Stewart Butler. a native of UK who connected with the Heritage Foundation and sold his idea to Congress. ALEC and the Heritage Foundation ,now in most states, promote their ideas to the state legislature and the general public through clever propoganda. Most of their propogand is out and out bold lies!
They are frauds exactly like “The Nation At Risk” was.
tests, tests.
The idea of “enterprise Zones
I
tests. Page 14
“The concept behind such a proposal is simple and based partrly on the American Legislative Exchange Council’s proposed enterprise zones for business. The educationaal enterprise zones will remove government regulations and union restrictions in designated areas….”
(Comment: In other words they will waive the laws).
What are “enterprise zones?” They are small “Hong Kongs’ scatted
tests, as would their students.” Page 14
“o) Each and every school will be under the control of the student’s parents and the community members. They will select textbooks, help mold curricula, judge teacher performance and set the levels of pay. Such a plan will require and EVALUATION COMMITTEE, composed of parents and community representatives–this will lend to the whole project a bit of human element, a vital requirement for success”. Page 14
“p) A merit system will be set up for the teachers in the designated schools districts”.
(Comment: That was done in Arizona. The Center for Excellence was established at Northern Arizona State University, in Flagstaff, AZ. Dr. Terrell Bell and Albert Shanker came for the dedication. The teachers in Arizona were taught the Essential Element of Instruction, Madeline Hunter’s method based on the work of Pavlov. This program was used for merit pay and probably still is.