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California Law Gives Powers to Parents, Troubles Teachers
Filed under: In The News
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an education reform bill Jan. 7 that has the state's teachers peering out their windows looking for villagers with torches and pitchforks.
Teachers are worried because the new "parent trigger" law gives parents the power to demand expensive overhauls if at least half of them sign a petition declaring a school inadequate.
Leaders of the California Teachers Association call the law a "lynch mob provision," reports the San Bernadino Sun. Many parents and legislators -- as well as the Governator himself -- call California Senate Bill 4 an important restoration of parental control.
"For too many years, too many children were trapped in low-performing schools and couldn't do anything about it," Schwarzenegger said the day he signed the bill. "As a matter of fact, the exit doors might as well have been chained.
"Now, because of SB 4, parents have the right to free their children from those under-performing schools -- and that without the principal's permission," he added.
That last comment got a chuckle out of the crowd gathered for the signing at Bethune Middle School in Los Angeles.
The teachers' union, however, is not smiling.
Union leaders, on their Web site, say the law will "create chaos in school districts and drain resources from local classrooms and punish lower-performing schools without providing needed assistance."
The law requires at least half of the parents in a school to sign a petition to declare the school inadequate. If that happens, parents can call for the building to be shut down or turned into a charter school. They also can ask for the principal and up to half the staff to be fired.
When signing the bill, Schwarzenegger said the new law will help California compete for $700 million in federal education funds.
The governor called a special session of the Legislature in August after President Barack Obama pledged federal aid to states to help reform education.
"We were not able to compete because we did not have the laws in place," he said Jan. 7. "So this is why I called a special session and asked Democrats and Republicans to work together and to change that."
Despite support for the bill in the Legislature, some lawmakers see the teachers' point of view.
"In one sense, it is wonderful for parents to have more oversight of our schools," Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto, tells the Sun. "But in another sense, if (parents) successfully petition to potentially close a school that is failing, that closure will have a devastating financial impact to our state."
Carter tells the Sun the cost of overhauling a school could be as high as $500,000 per school.
To control costs, the law allows only 75 schools statewide to be overhauled by parent petition.
What really bugs teachers, union leaders tell the paper, is the insinuation that educators don't care and aren't doing their best -- to the point that they need a swift kick in the rear.
After signing the bill, Schwarzenegger said he always wants to work with teachers and be sensitive to their concerns.
However, he added, "every time when you talk about education, we always have to focus on one thing: what's best for the children, not what's best for the grownups."
Related: School Progress Report
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
2-01-2010 @ 5:45PM
Sandyone said...Too bad the law doesn't give power to the parents *and the teachers* and just cut the stupid union and administration out of the picture. Get the parents and teachers working together and govern education from the lowest level.
That's how to serve the kids best!
Reply
2-02-2010 @ 1:42AM
nick fabulis said...YOU ARE SO RIGHT !
2-01-2010 @ 8:21PM
Heather said...Of Course the Teachers Unions are upset. The current education system is not designed to better the quality of our childrens lives through quality education or even to prepare our children for a vigorous and thriving economy. It is rather designed to maintain a status quoe and ensure just enough children make it through the system with a high level education and the majority are able to accomplish the basic litteracy and mathmatic skills to eek by in life. It is also designed so that a few will fail and ensure just enough instability that the argument can be made that more money needs to be thrown at the education system and ultimately into their pockets. The average cost nation wide for a student to navigate through 12 years of school is a whopping $ 194,000 with out taking future inflation into account. Although we tax payers are dishing out this incredible amount of money the Teachers Union believes the No Child Left Behind Act which established a standard requiring 100% of students graduating highschool are able to read, write and have basic math skills to succeed in life is unrealistic and simply a Utopian Goal. I say after spending 194,000 dollars it is not Utopian, but rather an obvious expectation. If a parent that homeschooled their child and that child was unable to read and write by the age of 18, well I have no doubts they would be prosecuted for child neglect and rightfully so. Why are the rules differant for the Socialist education system which seems to be more of a scam than anything else.
Reply
2-02-2010 @ 8:48AM
Bob said...The teachers union's are as crooked as the day is long! I say the parents must control the union's & the teachers, or simply get rid of the unions.
The best thing is for the teachers & parents to work together to form a program to educate the kids. Teach the 3 R's! Do not let kids graduate unless they know the math, english, civics, writing skills, etc. Come on people, do you want your kids & grandkids to be stupid? Don't you care how educated they are or aren't?
Heather is right & you should pay attention to what she is trying to tell you!
Reply
2-07-2010 @ 4:28PM
tess said...I wish Iowa had this. I think parents should have more power. I have been amazed by the number of ignorent teachers my son has had over the years. This year takes the cake. He is a juvenile diabetic and because of this he has had to miss school because of doctors appointments and illness. He went to his teachers to get his work that he missed and was told by some of his his teachers that they would get back to him and they never did. because of this he failed 2 of his classes first somester. He is involved with an improve group and because he failed those 2 classes he could not be a part of state compitions. He has work very hard to get his grades up but they are still refusing to let him participate because of what happened in his first semester. How fair is that? Those teachers should be held more acountable.
Reply