Parent Trigger Laws
The Reality Behind the Hollywood Story
Our Mayors Back Them, Do You?
70 Percent of U.S. Voters Support Parent Trigger Laws
The parents are heading back into court
A parent trigger is a legal maneuver through which parents can change the administration of a poorly performing public school—most notably, by transforming it into a charter school. The first parent
trigger law was passed by the California legislature in
January 2010. Similar laws have been adopted subsequently by
Louisiana, Mississippi, Connecticut, Texas, Indiana and
Ohio. The law has been invoked by parents in the Compton and
Adelanto school districts of California; both efforts have
been blocked by legal challenges.
“Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis play two determined mothers, one a teacher, who will stop at nothing to transform their children’s failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.” The film is
drawing
a lot of talk in education circles
Some say it shows the
potential of “parent-trigger” laws that give
parents power to take control of their children’s
education and encourages much-needed grassroots education
reform. The film has spurred several
campaigns
For a closer look at
how California’s parent-trigger law is being tested,
read more about an effort by a group of parents in
Adelanto
in San Bernardino County
Others say the film is divisive and unfairly blames teachers and their unions for school problems, when, they claim that public school teachers and their unions also want to see more parent involvement. The topic in the film
is a weighty one, for sure, and there’s plenty to
debate and opinion regarding the parent trigger and other
ways to address failing schools. If you're a parent, by all
means see the movie. Then think about the education your
child is getting and the one they would like to get, talk
with other parents and with the School Board, and then
decide. BTW: The District 17C School Board meets
on the 3rd (third) Wednesday of every month at 6pm (not
7pm as stated on the agenda and minutes pages) in the
K-School library. Be sure to go here
The Reality
Behind the Hollywood Story The new movie Won’t Back Down tells the story of a parent and teacher uniting to transform their children’s failing school. It is a story parents and kids at Desert Trails Elementary know all too well. Desert Trails is, by any measurement, a failing school. It is located 80 miles north of Los Angeles. It ranks in the bottom 10 percent of schools statewide. In the 2010-2011 school year, two-thirds of the children failed the state reading exam. Nearly 80 percent failed the science exam. The school hasn’t met state standards for over six years. Appalled by this pattern of abject failure, the parents reached out to Parent Revolution, the nonprofit that conceived of California’s groundbreaking “Parent Trigger” law. Parent Trigger empowers parents to transform failing schools through community organizing. The parents at Desert Trails banded together, forming the Desert Trails Parent Union (DTPU). In 2011, the DTPU launched a seven-month organizing campaign, ultimately winning support from parents representing 70 percent of the children at the school for a first-ever parent-led school turnaround. What happened next has Won’t Back Down looking like a G-rated version of reality. Desert Trails parents met with teachers, the teachers’ union, the principal, and the deputy superintendent to develop a list of objectives for school improvement. The key was one idea: all decisions, from staffing to budget to the curriculum, be driven by the best interests of their children. Their initial proposal was a moderate amendment to the teachers’ union contract. The proposal would have maintained Desert Trails as a unionized, district-run school, helping ensure a good teacher in each classroom. The district rejected it. Parents then proposed a “Partnership School”—a school where parents, district leadership, and the teachers’ union share power, working together to transform the school. The district rejected it. What happened next has Won’t Back Down looking like a G-rated version of reality. A campaign of lies and intimidation was launched against parents who signed the petition. Parents were told if they didn’t “rescind” their Parent Trigger petition signature, their school would get shut down immediately. The DTPU even caught opponents forging documents to make it seem like parents opposed change. With the help of pro bono attorneys, the DTPU took the case to court. They laid out the evidence of fraud, forgery, and intimidation before a Superior Court judge. This past July, these brave parents won a monumental victory. The judge ordered the district to validate the parents’ petition, giving the parents the right to select a new nonprofit charter school to run Desert Trails. Instead of complying with the court
order, the district voted to violate the court order. One
school board member said, “If I am found in contempt of
court, I brought my own handcuffs, take me away now. I
don’t care anymore.” I spoke at the August 15, 2012 School Board Meeting on the topic of Parent Trigger Laws. Is it time for a Parent Trigger law in Oregon? California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas plus 12 more states are considering such a law. It puts parents in control of failing schools. It allows dissatisfied parents to demand changes at their kids' schools - including a total takeover - if a majority sign on. California, the first state with such a law, parents can convert their school into a charter school or force the district to remove staff, including teachers or even a principal. They can bargain for different or nuanced changes that will help fix their children's failing school. At the end of the day, parents are waking up to the fact that, in a fundamental way, many of our schools are failing because they're not designed to succeed. They're not serving the interests of children because they're not designed to - they're designed to serve the interests of adults. US Conference of Mayors has endorsed parent triggers The complexity of teacher-quality debates. Reminds me of the school bureaucracy and teachers union as opponents of change. Teachers wrestle with their conflicting feelings about unions' vital job protections even as they push for the system to change. Parent trigger laws are just going after unions that aren't doing their job. I suggest people go see Won't Back Down which was opening September 28 in Crescent City. I went down Saturday night (September 29 to see the new parent trigger law movie "Won't Back Down" about one parent who wouldn't give up on her child in a failing inner-city school. She went up against apathetic parents who accepted the system as it is, teachers who were protecting their jobs, and a school board who was imbedded in a system where change creeps along in an effort to keep things as they are. While we don't have a failing inner-city school system, our rural system has some of the same drawbacks concerning preparing our children for the real world. State of Oregon Schools Oregon ranks 33rd for
the overall well-being of its children. Each domain
(Economic Well-Being (41st), Education (37th), Health (20th)
and Family and Community (22nd) includes four key
indicators. Of the 16 categories, Oregon's children improved
in five, worsened in 9 and remained the same in 2. Find out
more information and the definitions and data sources for
indicators at datacenter.kidscount.org/databook/2012
1. Children not
attending preschool (2008-10): 58% Source: Overall Child Well-Being in Oregon 2012 District 17C Schools In 2008/09, only 81% of our seniors received diplomas. In 2009/10 that dropped to 75%, well behind Gold Beach and Port Orford (with only 67% of the boys receiving a diploma). The city of Brookings
ranked 153 of 213 cities (bottom 28%). District 17C was 111
of 153 school districts (bottom 27%). K-School ranked 461 of
721 elementary schools (bottom 36%). Azalea ranked 255 of
376 middle schools (bottom 32%) and BHHS ranked 200 of 311
high schools in Oregon (bottom 36%). (Note: Ranking is
determined by adding each school's average OAKS Math
score with the average OAKS Reading score to form a
combined average score. The school with the highest combined
score is ranked #1. What our students are left with are underperforming schools in an underperforming state. For too long, many
school districts like ours have been more worried about
keeping the staff happy than doing whatever is necessary to
prepare the children for their future. Maybe it's time to
start a union of parents and get our Oregon state
legislators to adopt a Parent Trigger law! The
parents are heading back into court Change is never easy. It is time, however, to focus on what’s important: the right of every child to have access to a great public education. Meanwhile, their children face another year trapped in a failing school. The top leadership of the district—including the superintendent and two deputy superintendentshas resigned in the past few months. The district is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, borrowing from reserves just to pay its monthly bills, while spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on high-priced lawyers defending an indefensible status quo. The parents of Desert Trails are the gripping reality behind Won’t Back Down. Since the Parent Trigger law was passed in California, it has passed in three other states and been introduced in a dozen more. It’s been endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. A recent national Gallup Poll found 70 percent of Americans and 76 percent of public school parents support Parent Trigger. Change is never easy. It is time, however, to focus on what’s important: the right of every child to have access to a great public education, and the responsibility of every educator to make every decision about our schools rooted in what’s best for the interests of children, not powerful adults. Ben, a proud parent of two young
daughters, has served as the Executive Director of the
Parent Revolution since April 2008. He has dedicated much of
his career to fighting for a California where every child
can get a great public education. Prior to joining the
Parents Union and launching the Parent Revolution campaign,
he directed the successful campaign to transform Locke High
School from the worst high school in Los Angeles into a
college preparatory model of reform. These 7
States Allow Parents to Fire Teachers and Take Over Failing
Schools. The parent trigger law, titled “Parent Empowerment,” was passed in California on January 7, 2010. This bill gives California parents the power to take over a failing school and implement the necessary changes to turn it around. Since California passed this law, six other states have followed suit. And according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, other states are considering parent trigger laws as well. The author of the original bill, Gloria Romero, explained her vision for the law in an interview with StateImpact Florida: “The imagination of the parent trigger law is really to understand that it is parents who are the architects of their children’s future,” she said, adding that the law “gives real rights to match the responsibility that parents have and feel towards trying to fight for the best education options for their children.” On the California Teachers Association blog, CTA President Dean Vogel voiced the union’s opposition to parent trigger laws: Our concerns about the trigger law
were borne out of the lack of concrete regulations and
procedures… Under the parent trigger law, there is no
requirement for any kind of informed discussion, for open
meetings, for an opportunity to hear all options or another
side, or even any practical way to monitor what signature
gatherers actually say. Once the majority signature
threshold is met, that’s it. Parents who don’t
sign the petition are excluded from crucial further
decisions about the school, including if and which
management company will take over. Our Mayors Back
Them, Do You? Hundreds of mayors attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Orlando, Florida last weekend voted to endorse "parent trigger" laws in their cities. Parent trigger laws allow parents to take over a failing school, fire the teachers and maintain control themselves or allow private management to move in. "Mayors understand at a local level that most parents lack the tools they need to turn their schools around," Democratic Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles told Reuters. Democrats and Republicans alike voted unanimously in favor of parent trigger laws. Advocacy group Parent Revolution, which has been a staunch advocate of parent trigger laws in California (one of the few states where these laws have been passed) released a statement yesterday saying this is a big step forward for the movement. Executive Director Ben Austin wrote: This vote represents an historic step forward for the parent power movement and the education reform movement both within the Democratic Party as well as in dozens of big and small cities across the nation. Parents and mayors both intuitively understand the tragic impact of our failed educational status quo, as well as the moral, political and economic urgency of giving parents power over the educational destiny of their own children. According to the Reuters article, a parent trigger law has not yet been successful anywhere. Right now, there are two court cases in California where parents are trying to push through takeovers in their underprivileged school districts. The fact that mayors are now on board may make it easier for a parent trigger law to be established—and work. "The parent trigger is a mechanism that is a substitute for a terrible situation," Joy Pullmann, an education research fellow at the Heartland Institute, told TakePart. She says that, as "hyper-local officials" who are uniquely tied into their communities, mayors may feel that this is the best way for them to wrest control of their local schools which are often governed by centralized state rules. "Mayors and parents are natural allies," she says. "Mayors are held accountable by voters on how local schools function—they have a lot of responsibility but no authority. I think [this vote] is a surprise politically because parent trigger is controversial. It's a big deal for a coalition of mayors ideologically to say they back it." Parent trigger is indeed highly controversial. Teachers unions have vehemently fought the possibility that a law could allow parents to take away their control—and their members' careers. Opponents argue that, as Democrats and Republicans seemingly unite in this effort, school privatization will eventually ruin America's public school network. It has also been argued that parents are just pawns in a game that will ultimately line the pockets of big businesses that ultimately want to take over schools. Fifty-one percent of the parents get to make a final decision for everyone else's child. How is that fair? "It's strange that the Conference of Mayors would 'endorse' parent trigger legislation," Kathleen Oropeza of Fund Education Now, a Florida advocacy group which has fought parent trigger laws, told TakePart. "We have always said that this is a scaled-up asset transfer of billions of dollars of public funds into private hands. Why are the mayors doing this? Parent trigger has been an abysmal failure everywhere it has been tried. Sure, parents are used to pulling the trigger, but then they lose all control. Fifty-one percent of the parents get to make a final decision for everyone else's child. How is that fair? Sadly, school privatizers used the Conference of Mayors for a political platform—nothing more." Kristin Kloberdanz is a freelance
writer based in the San Francisco Bay area. She has written
for Time, the Chicago Tribune and Forbes.com about
everything from economic crises and political snafus to best
summer beach reads.
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