Convinced that charter schools bring about revolutionary change, good for students, parents, and teachers alike, the state legislature expanded that law last year. But after two steps forward, California is poised to take a giant step back. The bill passed the Democrat-controlled Assembly Education Committee. Two Democrats including the Chairwoman and all the Republicans voted against the measure, which would make charter schools the only public schools subject to mandatory collective bargaining. Charter school teachers and staff would have no such option.
Boards composed of teachers and other employees govern many charter schools.
If this passes it will be the districts and the unions that run charter schools. In hearings, not a single supporter of Migden's bill asked whether California's current charter law, amended last year, has been good for students. Politics, not the welfare of students proved uppermost on their mind. Wildman is right, and that is precisely the problem. The recent NAEP tests placed California virtually at the bottom in reading scores, below Mississippi and Louisiana.