This is testimony delivered by a parent to the Los Angeles school board, as they debated whether to create new rules governing the “parent trigger” takeover process. She asked the school board to guarantee a fair process that protects parents against manipulation and exploitation.

This is what she said:

Hello,

My name is Raquel Cedillo and I am a parent of 3 students currently enrolled at Haddon Elementary.   I am here to ask that you please set forth guidelines in regards to the Parent Trigger Law and how  organizations such as Parent Revolution collect signatures.

At Haddon Elementary, parents have been misled and lied to.  Representatives from the parent union went door to door asking parents to sign their petition. Parents were told it was to better the school and  every student would get a lap top.  Parents were also told that all the teachers and the principal were supporting this change.  I know this because this is what I was told when they came knocking on my door.  They came three times in one week trying to convince my mother to get me to sign the petition.  They were persistent.   Is this how they obtained most of their signatures? Pressuring parents? Some parents did not realize by signing this petition, they were signing to change our school to a charter.  Parents were not given all the facts!

At 24^th street and Weigand Elementary, were parents given all the facts? Was there a public meeting informing all parents about the Parent Trigger law and what was happening at their school? The answer is NO.  In Adelanto, Parent Revolution had two petitions circulating, one asking for school reform and another asking to change the school to Charter.  Parents didn’t know which was going to be used until it was too late and the petition was submitted to the District.  So basically, Parent Revolution is asking for parents to sign a blank check and cross their fingers and hope for the best….is that true parent empowerment?  NO it’s not.  Parents have the right to hear from both sides about what is going on, so they can get the facts and be able to make an educated choice, and parents need a public place in which to do this like at the school.

Parent Revolution has been involved in our school for over two and a half years.  This is the longest by far a school has been involved in a parent trigger campaign.  Adelanto, 24^th Street and Weigand were changed rather quickly.  I was once asked by David Goldberg, CTA Director, “What is the difference with Haddon?”  Well the difference is Haddon’s parent involvement.  Haddon has a core group of parents who have taken it upon themselves to inform parents about what is going on at our school.  Parents have passed out fliers, talked with other parents and even had rallies to inform parents about these petitions and not to sign them before knowing all the facts.  This is true parent empowerment Involving ALL parents in making choices pertaining to their children’s school.

Over the last two and a half years Haddon parents have had to put up with so much from Parent Revolution and its organizers.  Haddon has two Parent Revolution organizers who attend almost every school meeting/function.   These organizers are NOT parents or even community members.  These organizers are the masters and Haddon’s parent union are the puppets.  At these school meetings such as SSC or coffee with the principal, parent union parents do not ask questions or make any move without these two organizers telling them what to do or what to say.  Some of these members of the parent union do not even have students who attend Haddon.  So how are they a part of the parent union? Are these the same parents collecting signatures, under false representation as parents of Haddon?   Who verifies how these signatures are collected? Who verifies what was said to parents while collecting signatures? Where were these signatures collected?  Some parents informed me they were asked to sign a petition when leaving a grocery store, while walking through the neighborhood, on the school campus, in front of the school, or at church.  Is this how Parent Revolution conducts business? Catching people off guard?  Parents were not given all the facts when asked to sign these petitions.  I have some parents who said they signed without really understanding what this petition really meant.  There are parents who now want to rescind their signatures after getting all the facts and now understanding what this petition can do to their school.  How is this process handled? Parents want to rescind their signatures before it’s too late.  This didn’t have to happen if guidelines were set up and parents were informed from the start.

A recent article on June 3^rd in the L.A. Times was titled the “Parent Trigger Trap.”  This is exactly what it is- a trap!!  Not all parents are being informed about what is happening at their children’s school.  Parents are not given the facts from both sides before signing the petition.  Also if parents sign the petition then they agree with changing the school.  If parents don’t sign, when and if the school is changed , those parents no longer have a voice or vote . How is that parent empowerment? Parents are forced between a rock and a hard place.  This also needs to be changed.  Parents who don’t sign need to have a voice or vote about what happens at their child’s school.  It’s like parents lose their rights if they don’t agree with the petition or Parent Revolution.

So as a parent I am asking that you, the school district,  please implement rules and guidelines in which outside organizations such as Parent Revolution must follow when proceeding with a parent trigger campaign.

Thank you,

Raquel Cedillo

Robert Skeels attended a “meet and greet” sponsored by pRev (the organization formerly known as Parent Revolution). Read what he learned as he socialized with those who are prepared to close down 50 public schools in Los Angeles. Why? Well, firing people makes better schools. Or does it?

Steve Zimmer proposed the following resolution to the Los Angeles Board of Education. His goal is to make sure that parents are fully informed and protected against stealth campaigns to trick parents into handing their school over to a charter operator or firing the staff.

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District
OPEN SESSION ITEMS

Board Resolutions For Initial Announcement

1. Mr. Zimmer – Comprehensive Information for Parent Initiated School Transformation (For Action June 18, 2013, 12 p.m.)

Whereas, The Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District recognizes the essential role of parents and legal guardians in every aspect of their child’s public education and in the successful transformation of schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District;
Whereas, California State Education Code 53300-53303 (The Parent Empowerment Act) allows for parents at persistently lowest achieving schools to trigger options for school transformation if over 50% of parents or legal guardians at a campus sign a petition calling for the implementation of one of four interventions;

Whereas, California State Education Code 53300-53303 only allows parents and legal guardians who sign the petition to vote for the selected transformation model;

Whereas, California State Education Code 53300-53303 does not currently require public meetings or other mechanisms to ensure accurate and balanced information about school performance or transformation options be provided to all stakeholders during the petition process;

Whereas, Two District elementary schools have been transformed through this process in the 2013-14 school year and the Board assumes there will be several attempts to transform District schools in the 2014-15 school year;

Whereas, Very limited information about the school and monitoring of the signature gathering process was presented to the Board for 24th Street and Weigand Avenue Elementary Schools;

REGULAR MEETING ORDER OF BUSINESS

333 South Beaudry Avenue, Board Room 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Public Comments on Items to be Discussed at This Meeting

The public can address the Board at the commencement of the meeting in the Board Room on any item that is described in this notice or other issues under the purview of the Board of Education. At the conclusion of the closed session portion of the meeting, announcements required regarding actions taken by the Board of Education will be made in the Board Room.
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Bd. of Ed. Regular Board (CS) Meeting – 1 – Order of Business, 9:00 a.m., 06-18-132.

Whereas, The Board has not adopted specific policies and guidelines for receiving petitions and validating the transformation process; and

Whereas, The Superintendent has not issued clear guidelines for principals and school site personnel regarding protocols and operational procedures for each stage of the parent trigger process; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District directs the Office of General Counsel and the Superintendent to submit the following information to the Board for each future transformation petition that is presented to the Board:

1. Independent verification of the signatures and the signature gathering process

2. Evidence of public notice and a summary of information presented at a public meeting held in the school community detailing accurate information about the school and the
available options for transformation

3. An analysis of five years of school data

4. A summary of interventions attempted at the school site and an analysis the success or failure of these attempted interventions

5. An analysis of school report card data and/or school climate survey data;

Resolved further, That the Superintendent bring guidelines and operational procedures for school site personnel to use during parent trigger processes for review by the Board at the first scheduled business meeting of the 2013-14 school year; and, be it finally

Resolved, That the Board urges the Superintendent and Office of Government Relations staff to seek legislative changes to California State Education Code 53300-53303 that will better serve all parents and legal guardians in the transformation process. These changes should include, but not be limited to:

1. Provisions that ensure all parents and legal guardians (not solely those who sign the petition) be allowed meaningful participation in all aspects of the transformation process and vote on the transformation option;

2. Provisions that ensure accurate and independently verifiable information about school performance and transformation options that are available to all parents; and

3. Provisions that safeguard against manipulation of families in the process and validate training of all Parent Empowerment Act signature gatherers.