A California judge ruled that parents of students attending
Desert Trails Elementary School had met the requirements under California’s
revolutionary parent trigger law—a law championed by former state Senator
Gloria Romero that allows parents to petition a poorly performing school to
close. Under the law, if 51 percent of
parents sign a valid petition, the school must undergo major reforms including
reopening as a charter school or sending students to different public and
private schools, through school vouchers. And while California might be the
first state where parents have moved to reform a school, parent trigger laws
also exist in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The Adelanto Elementary school district serves more than
8,000 students—24.8 percent of whom live in poverty and 81.6 percent of whom receive
free and reduced-price lunch. Reuters
reports that only one in four students are proficient in math, reading, and
writing when they graduate. In math,
only 10 percent of eighth graders are proficient.
Education reformers around the country have talked about
enacting the legislation and whether it’s a good idea. But now, we’re going to see if students
attending Desert Trail Elementary School in Adelanto will perform better as a
charter school or using scholarships to attend other schools.
“This is a huge milestone in our struggle for our children
to receive the basic education they are entitled to and deserve,” said Doreen Diez, a parent who led the petition charge.
School Choice Now! and
families across the country will keep watch on the developments in Adelanto. It will be exciting to see the transformations in the lives of the students thanks to parent empowerment.
- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG
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