An important warning from Diane Ravitch about how the CA State Board of Education is overruling local districts and forcing charter schools upon them that they do not want. This drains school district funds and sometimes facility space from local schools.
Her article features a YouTube video of Professor of Education Heilig’s testimony at the State Capitol against this practice.
Among the highlights in the video: “At about 40%, the CA Board of Education has the highest charter failure rate of any level of authorizer in CA since 2001.” and, regarding Betsy Devos’ charter school experiment in Michigan, “More than 80% of charters there are for-profit which has led to the Great Lakes State dropping to one of the lowest performing states in the nation!“
Julian Vasquez Heilig testified to a State Senate Committee on Education about why charters should be held accountable and be transparent. As chair of the California NAACP Committee on Education, he cites the findings of the national NAACP, which recommended banning for-profit charters and requiring that all charters be authorized ONLY by the local school district, to be sure that they meet local needs instead of replacing public schools.
Yesterday, the State Board of Education approved two KIPP charters for districts that had rejected them. In California, a charter school can be rejected by the local board, rejected by the county board, and appeal to the state board, which was packed with charter supporters by charter-friendly Governor Jerry Brown.
At the charter hearing, Angela Der Ramos, the CTA State Board liaison for the Dr. Oscar F. Loya Elementary School, said:
KIPP is trying to muscle their way into the SF School…
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