Governor Bobby Jindal signed legislation allowing parents in the state-run Recovery School District to vote to return their low-performing school to local control.
“The measure by Baton Rouge Rep. Ted James lets parents petition the state-run RSD to return a school to local control if that school has earned a “D” or “F'” grade from the state for five consecutive years.”
Maybe this legislation will help to puncture the myth of Louisiana’s Recovery School District, the media’s miracle district.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
If one opposes the parent trigger legislation on the grounds that parents shouldn’t control schools, communities should (and therefore, parents shouldn’t be treated as special stakeholders in determining who runs a school), should one oppose this legislation on the same grounds?
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If a thief picks my pocket and steals my wallet, should I be arrested for picking the thief’s pocket and taking my wallet back?
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What if the wallet isn’t mine but is in my possession when it is stolen? Should I be arrested for taking it back?
Of course, the best scenario is to not have the wallet stolen to begin with.
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So, Justin, you are against the “Parent Trigger?”
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The former state board of ed (BESE) member who is the principal drafter of the original legislation for RSD, Leslie Jacobs, continues to push the lie of the New Orleans Miracle. To do so, she must slant the facts.
I refute her here:
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5 years of failure before petition to reverse. That is the entire elementary school experience … Evaluation time needs to be shortened ..
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but it’s possible to shorten it too much. what is the proper evaluation time, and how is it determined?
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They can change their name and shuffle a few management chairs, thus they will never be subject to sanctions, they will claim they are a new entity. Let’s hold them to the same standard the public schools are subjected to.
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A friend of my stepdaughter worked for the recovery school district. They almost never got paid. It is time to get rid of them and if this is good why not a Real Parent Trigger run by the law and rules. You just saw in LAUSD the blowback on the illegal signatures and no parent training. Well, what is the difference between the reverse charter school by the parents and the Parent Trigger? They are both triggers aren’t they???? It is about time the myth of the wonder of New Orleans is blown away for the fantasy it has been and is.
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George — were my eyes deceiving me, or did I read a comment of yours on another post on this site in which you state that 9/11 was a plan to implement education reform?
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And don’t forget that Duncan said the BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS KATRINA. OY! What am awful statement and shows he’s for the corporatization of America’s public schools — a BAD IDEA
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Unfortunately this legislation is meaningless. If the RSD is concerned that a school may be taken over they will simply reconstitute the school making it ineligible for takeover since the SPS will be a “T”. Additionally, the petition requires 50% of the parents of children that attended the school for 2+years. Most families abandon the RSD school after year one.
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then it won’t need many signatures….
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Am I wrong or were the schools a community resource paid for by the community? I should think that returning the school to local control is a community issue. Everyone pays for the resource, everyone votes. Otherwise, I would think that a large portion of the voters are being disenfranchised.
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Goddanged it 2O2T, there you go with that critical thinking stuff again. Any type of these “parent trigger” laws are anti-democracy smoke and mirrors. If it’s bad in CA, it’s bad in LA.
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I can’t help it, Duane. We still had time to think when I went to school.
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The RSD is a joke. The RSD is really just a holding place until the right charter app comes around for them to be taken over. They continue to cut critical school positions in their schools, in one elementary school they didn’t even bother to teach Science, and then come to the public schools lobbying for our kids to attend their phenomenal middle schools of choice. no thank you. our kids deserve better.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
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My guess: Parent Trigger falsely raised a lot of hopes for Louisiana parent involvement that didn’t materialize. Jindal is a politician so his first instinct is to stay in office, which you can’t do when so many parents of public school children are really POd at you and your fake empowerment bill. He knows he has to placate them since Parent Trigger in practice is a crock of bull. Reverse Parent Trigger might be just as toothless in parent determination. We’ll see…
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I think you’re right, Teacher Librarian. Jindal’s approval ratings have fallen to an all-time low. He’s still politically ambitious, so he’s got to save face. It will be interesting to see what else (good) he does.
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So is this just to save face? Wouldn’t this be a good thing? Admitting defeat is the first step in recovery.
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“Admitting defeat is the first step in recovery.”
Not for a politician (and I doubt Piyush is admitting defeat here), it’s a first step in the next higher level of office.
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Exactly, Duane.
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I’m really excited about this bill – finally something in LA education goes right! And if this gets used to return RSD to local control (wonderful in and of itself), maybe people who get fired from RSD will stop turning up in high-level positions in my district.
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