The California Legislature fast tracked a bill requiring charter school transparency and accountability and prohibiting conflicts of interest. The charter lobby had fought this legislation for years and Governor Brown had twice vetoed similar legislation.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill surrounded by well-wishers, even the California Charter School Association, which pretended to be thrilled by the new requirements.
Gov. Newsom signs legislation requiring charter school transparency in California
Governor Newsom stressed his support for high-quality charter schools but made clear that the well-heeled industry doesn’t own him.
The days of wine and roses are over.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane Music to my ears. CBK
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“The new law requires California’s 1,300-plus charter schools to follow the same laws governing open meetings, public records and conflicts of interest that apply to school districts. They include ensuring board meetings are open to the public, providing records to the public upon request and, to prevent personal gain, banning board members from voting on contracts in which they have a financial interest.”
Absolutely amazing this wasn’t already law.
And good for the teachers for striking and forcing them to consider it.
I wonder how ed reformers will justify not extending this to publicly-funded private schools and contractors in the voucher schemes they’re all pushing.
DeVos is fond of saying that “public” means “publicly funded”. This is where her ridiculous, made-up definition falls apart. That’s not what it means and at some point the public will figure that out.
The ed reform ideology is incoherent. It doesn’t make any sense. One piece contradicts the next piece and that will just get worse and worse. Now they have to promote transparency in public schools while blocking transparency in private schools, all the while claiming they’re all the same because they’re all publicly-funded.
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Chiara writes: “Absolutely amazing this wasn’t already law.”
The greater “we” have not been watching the political chicken house. Instead, “We” have assumed that LIKE MOST TEACHERS, everyone really wants what is best for the children and, as a part of that, what is best for a democratic culture writ-large.
So WE left the door open, projected our good will out onto those who don’t deserve it, and in they walked. CBK
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One charter supporter said that the bill signed by Newsom was a “scorched earth” policy towards charters.
Like, requiring them to hold open meetings. Like, requiring them to make their records public.
Like, forbidding conflicts of interest.
Some scorched earth!
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Diane It must be painful when greediness gets scorched. CBK
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Diane, Please inform your readers how some charter schools are able to provide religous training while recieving tax dollars. How do states that allow such practices. Thank you. Bill Murphy Dunein,Fl
Sent from my iPhone
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This law is needed to make charter schools more transparent and open to public discourse, but it does not address the need to limit charter expansion in saturated markets. It does not eliminate the preferential treatment given to charter authorization without considering the impact on community public schools. There are still many issues that need to be addressed. Charters have never been collaborative so the public needs to watch them to see that they abide by the new rules.
“The legislation does not address the calls for a moratorium on charter school expansion that the Los Angeles, Oakland and West Contra Costa Unified school districts have issued in recent weeks.”
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I hear a lot of talk about keeping “high quality” charter schools. I have no idea what this means in California or any other state.
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The definition is endlessly flexible, as you know.
In Ohio it went from “higher test scores” to “just better- we know not why”
They have two cards to play, one is “better quality” and the other is “choice” and they pull one or the other out depending on which one they need to play.
If “high quality” were the measure they wouldn’t all be pushing vouchers. There’s no “quality” analysis in all those private schools they’re funding. They have no earthly idea if those schools are “better” and they have no way to regulate them anyway, even if they did.
“Quality” CLEARLY gave way to the ideological value of “choice”. The voucher fad currently sweeping the echo chamber proves it.
DeVos is pushing a federal voucher to purchase educational services. How much “quality control” will be involved in that? None. It’s Tutors with Computers all over again.
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To charter zealots, all charters have “high quality seats.” Public schools don’t.
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Diane That’s the other side of cheering the “qualities” of charter schools: Bad-mouth “public” anything, especially schools. They keep throwing that spaghetti at the wall of public opinion, and some of it is bound to stick. CBK
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After nearly 30 years of promises, charters have yet to deliver. How much longer do we have to wait?
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“High quality” = “we require at-risk students who win the lottery — but only those whose parents commit to performing all the duties we require of parents before we allow their child to attend — to perform at whatever level we deem acceptable or be flunked over and over again until their parents pull them out.”
According to the reformers, having the kind of “high quality” standards that huge numbers of at-risk kids can’t meet and being willing to show the most vulnerable children the door as fast as you can — as documented by the NAACP — makes you “high quality” and worthy of expanding.
Remember, the ONE thing that “high quality” charters have in common are high attrition rates that “mediocre” charters don’t have.
What is more admirable than showing an at-risk kid who you have already humiliated and punished the door? According to advocates of “high charters” — nothing!
I find it disgusting that journalists are not covering what the NAACP documented in their report when they asked for a moratorium. Namely, “high quality” charters pushing out kids they did not want to teach.
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“Charterization” of our public schools is another form of CHILD TRAFFICKING. Good one, America.
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I think some private schools know the ed reform theory is nonsensical, and that’s why they don’t back vouchers. They’re right.
If they accept public funds they will have to accept public rules, or the “governance” schemes remain utterly incoherent. A favored “class” of publicly funded schools is untenable.
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It’s so funny that the Trump Administration are supposedly promoting “free speech”
DeVos speaks EXCLUSIVELY to fellow ideological travelers. Her department has essentially cut public schools completely out of any discussion of public education.
Just crazy. We have 10,000 federal employees who are barred from addressing the issues of 90% of students.
It could not be LESS “free”. It is ideologically dictated, 100%. Public schools are ideologically incorrect – their very existence- so we have this entire federal agency that must pretend they don’t exist. Which would be bad if they were 10% of schools, but is ludicrous when they’re 90% of schools.
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While this is a step in the right direction and we applaud the signing of this accountability measure, we have bad news at the same time. If you live in California, heads up!!
We could use some help. Make a call. I Cannot stress enough how parents and teachers need to call and protest these bills. Please make a call today:
Please feel free to share this. (copy and paste)
On Wednesday, 3/6/19, at 10:30 AM, the Senate Education Committee will be hearing SB 7070.
This is a train bill, meaning it covers multiple education topics in one bill. Several of the components are very bad. Tell the Senator that you oppose train bills.
1. Establishes a new voucher program “Family Empowerment Scholarship”, which will provide low income children with vouchers to private, mostly religious, schools. The funding will come directly from the FEFP (Florida Education Finance Program), meaning your property taxes will pay for much of it. Please tell the senators that you are opposed to paying property taxes for vouchers to religious schools with no academic accountability.
2. Also funded in the FEFP are a series of teacher/principal bonuses. Our teachers need RAISES not bonuses. Bonuses can not be used to secure a mortgage. In the midst of a critical teacher shortage our teachers need increased salaries.
Please let these senators know you oppose SB7070 because of the above. Also, let them know that you believe PUBLIC SCHOOLS are an essential part of our community and they deserve our full support.
Senate Ed Committee
Senator Diaz 850-487-5036
Senator Baxley 850-487-5012
Senator Perry 850-487-5008
Senator Simmons 850-487-5009
Senator Stargel 850-487-5022
Senator Montford 850-487-5003
Senator Berman 850-487-5031
Senator Cruz 850-487-5018
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This horrible bill was approved by the education committee by a 5 to 3 vote. The bill will advance, and I am sure it will be challenged. However, DeSantis has appointed “ringers” in the courts so the struggle will continue.
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I understand that DeSantis now controls the Florida supreme court by his appointments. Nasty situation there.
DeVos’s model state. In voucher schools, teachers need not have a college degree or certification.
Florida is heading backwards, rapidly.
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This is where the brave free speech warriors in the Trump Administration go to launch their federal voucher program:
“In this episode of “The Report Card with Nat Malkus”, on the AEI Education Podcast, host Nat Malkus talks to Chester Finn, Jr. and Jim Blew about this idea, its political prospects, and past efforts to increase educational choice in America.”
Well! What an exciting debate they’re having! Members of the echo chamber promote vouchers with one another.
VERY diverse as far as “opinion” I must say. It spans the realm all the way from people to who are vehemently opposed to public schools to people who promote vouchers for a living.
Notice who is completely excluded from this education discussion- public school leaders and advocates and supporters. The federal government excludes them, because who cares what the people who educate 90% of children think about this massive new voucher program?
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Does anyone know what the potential loopholes are in the bill’s language — if it exists?
I will not be surprised if someone finds those loopholes. How often does good legislation become compromised with revised language that provides a one-step-forward, one-step-back loophole where nothing changes?
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The party is over reformers, go home.
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Whenever I see that A word (accountability) I cringe because of all the atrocities that have been committed in the name of A. If A has been so traumatic for public schools, so useless, why should we delight in its application to private school? I get the point that goose and gander both need similar treatment. This leads me to suggest particular things that might be a part of real accountability.
— teacher turnover: high rates of turnover are generally a sign that only inexperienced personnel are teaching
— access to reading material: in the old days this meant library books and magazine or journal articles accessible to students
— salary differential: single salaries that are greater in the extreme among all the other salaries are signals of corruption. For example, a principal earning a quarter of a million a year while teachers earn 25,000 would suggest that something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
— condition of plant: students asked to learn in sub-standard conditions
— class size
— numbers of students seen by a single teacher each day
— classes available for students with various needs
Have I mentioned test scores? No!
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