Here is an excellent idea from the California Democratic Party: Charter schools should be governed by elected boards, just like real public schools.
California is a bellwether for the nation. This strong stance shows that teachers are reclaiming their profession from billionaires and hedge fund managers.
Edsource reports:
Taking aim at the majority of charter schools in the state, the California Democratic Party has included language in its platform declaring that these schools should be overseen by publicly elected boards, in contrast to the self-appointed boards that run most of them.
The new language, adopted at the state party’s annual convention in Long Beach over the weekend, was promoted by the 120,000-member California Federation of Teachers and strengthens an already strongly worded section of the California Democratic Party’s platform on charter schools.
It is especially significant because it comes from a state with by far the largest number of charter schools in the nation, enrolling just over 10 percent of all the state’s public school students. It also underscored the ongoing divisions within the party over charter schools, which have become about one of the most contentious issues on the nation’s education reform agenda.
“We need to keep certain services public, and education is one of them,” said California Federation of Teachers President Jeff Freitas.
The party platform includes this new language:
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLATFORM
Urges “support for those charter schools that are managed by public and elected boards, not for profit, transparent in governance, have equitable admissions, adopt fair labor practices and respect labor neutrality, and supplement rather than supplant existing public education program.” — Adopted by California Democratic Party, November 2019
Diane Ravitch's blog 
WOW, wonderful move, California Democrats and Teachers! Such a great idea! Just WOW!!
Charters always should have been regulated by elected boards. They should function as a supplementary service.
yes, and the fact that so many have been allowed to function without public oversight has said so much about the entire set-up
The California Democratic Party has it right. So right. With elected boards, fair labor practices, no TFA, and no way to transfer public property to private hands, charter schools could actually support instead of supplanting the public education of many students. But supporting students is not the real goal of corporate charters. They want to rob the public with a hostile takeover of services.
This would be a step in the right direction; however, we have some public school boards in California with members who have a felony on their records. Union members are divided on whether or not to recall them.
School districts should be vetting candidates for school board because they will be in trouble if they have convicted felons running the show and they want to get federal money, such as through Title I (e.g., funds for schools with at least 40% at-risk kids from low income families).
This applies in higher ed, too. When I taught at a private non-profit college that was established by a convicted felon, our board was stacked with his appointments, including people from his companies, and we could not get federal funds through Title IV (i.e., student financial aid) due to his status as a convicted felon. We ended up losing our regional accreditation for governance issues because of his involvement with the school as well (so eventually he sold it but the damage had been done and it closed not long after that).