Jackson Jambalaya

Representative Cecil Brown (D-Hinds) pushed a "trigger law" for charter schools in a recent submission to JJ. The only line missing from the column was "the wonderful thing about triggers, is triggers are a wonderful thing." Here is an excerpt from his column:

"Known nationally as a “parent trigger law,” Mississippi’s law allows parents of children in chronically underperforming schools to take over governance of the school. By a vote of parents of more than 50% of the kids in the school, the parents can elect a “local management board” for their school, remove some or all of the school’s teachers and administrators, develop their own curriculum and schedules and, in essence, convert the school to a charter school. The school would remain a public school and would receive the same local, state and federal support it received before the conversion but would no longer be governed by the local school board. Under federal law, the provisions of the “No Child Left Behind Act” would continue to apply, but administration of the school would be left up to the school’s duly elected local management board. Day to day operations could be contracted out to a charter school operator such as KIPP, or the board could hire its own personnel. The law applies to schools that are in the lowest three categories of performance for three consecutive years, and there is no limit on the number of schools that can convert. The three year measurement period has now passed, so the current 2012-2013 school year is the first year that the conversion will be available..." Rest of column

Sounds nice. Responsible. Legislation we can all support. Right? Before you answer that question, check out how trigger laws are used to defeat parents in California. The Wall Street Journal editorial page reported how school boards in California are blocking the parents from converting public schools to charter schools:

A California Superior Court judge ruled last month that several hundred parents in Adelanto, California had successfully pulled the nation's first parent trigger to force change at their children's failing public school. The judge "commanded" the Adelanto school board to let the parents "immediately begin the process of soliciting and selecting" proposals to transform Desert Trails Elementary into a charter school.

At a recent hearing, the school board unanimously refused. Instead, the board wants to implement what it calls "alternative governance" reforms: a somewhat longer school day, a "technology infusion into the classroom," better training of teachers, and a "community advisory committee" to oversee such changes. That is, the board wants to keep tinkering around the edges of a school that's been classified as failing for six years in a row, with 70% of sixth-graders not proficient in English or math.

The board insists that it is following the law—notwithstanding board member Jermaine Wright's vow to stand in the schoolhouse door in handcuffs. The board's line is that because the new school year is about to begin, it's too late for Desert Trails to become a charter school.

But the parents aren't aiming for this year. They want to solicit charter offers for next year. Naturally, the board says next year is also impossible, because that will be too far removed from when the parents filed their petition in January 2012. So having obstructed the parents for as long as legally possible, the school board turns around and says too much time has passed for the "trigger" to still be relevant.

This is an invented standard that no law or regulation empowers the board to apply. And it follows last month's court order that slapped down the board for its "abuse of discretion" in trying to disqualify parents' petition signatures. The parents of Adelanto will now have to return to court to enforce the victory they have already won... Column

One can only imagine how the public school lobby in this state will use the trigger law to fight conversions. Watch them become the biggest supporters of voter ID - on petitions for conversions. How many different ways can they frustrate the parents? Check to see if they live in that district. Do they have children attending that school. Does it apply to all parents in the district or just those with children attending that school (One good way to throw out the votes of parents with children in private schools or schooled at home.). Don't forget, spouses can't sign petitions for each other. How long is the petition valid? Starting to get the idea?

Then there is the matter of the school must be rated in the "lowest three categories" for three consecutive years (failing, low performing, at risk of failing). Academic Watch would not count. That's right. Most of the JPS schools are on academic watch, which is considered to be a "D". The Department of Education bureaucrats do some finagling with ratings for one year and presto, the school gets moved up to academic watch.... and the clock resets. You will be surprised at how creative the dullest public school bureaucrat can be when charter schools appear on the scene. They have all kinds of tricks for tinkering with the ratings. Don't count all the special ed students. Good students that transferred out of the school to get a better education? No problem. They can move their scores back into that school to raise the rating. Get the idea?

The charter school fight is not going away. Watch for more "reasonable" legislation from the public school lobby as they try to escape any accountability and competition in Mississippi.