History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Empowering parents — to sign petitions or become engines for change?
- 09-06-2011
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Opinion by Liz Guillen/Thoughts on Public Education
Liz Guillen is Director of Legislative & Community Affairs at Public Advocates, a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy.
On Wednesday, the California State Board of Education will vote to approve regulations implementing California’s parent empowerment law. Given the intense scrutiny this law has received, it’s important to remember that it is just a small step on the road toward truly empowering parents. Passed by the Legislature in 2009, the “Parent Trigger” statute allows parents to petition their school district boards to adopt one of the turnaround interventions handed down by the feds. But community advocates like us wonder: What if parents don’t want any of these turnaround options? There are many reasons why they wouldn’t. Though much ballyhooed by some, especially charter advocates, the new law is actually quite modest in scope. (more...)
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