Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/830448
A report by UCLA's Center for Civil Rights reveals that in 2011-12, black students were four times as likely to be suspended from charters as white students. And of the 5,250 charter schools studied, 235 suspended more than 50 percent of their students with disabilities. "ese exclusionary policies violate the California Education Code, the California and U.S. constitutions, and state and federal civil rights law," states the ACLU. CTA-backed AB 1360 seeks to prohibit discrimina- tory practices in charter access and due process. See page 33 for details. CTA seeks charter oversight CTA has worked with elected leaders to create legislation that addresses many of the issues around charters, including responsi- ble use of public funds and local control of education and resources. "CTA's goal is to make charter schools the way the law intended them to be — democratically run — so students, parents and the community have a voice, instead of being run by distant corpo- rations carpetbagging our school system so billionaires can make money," says Terri Jackson, a fourth-grade teacher and United Teachers of Richmond member who serves on the CTA Board. The proposed laws reflect a new way of thinking, says Lawson of In the Public Interest. He notes that under current law, "the impact of a charter school on surrounding schools can't be considered when approv- ing a charter application. But we think it should be, and that the law should change. New legislation would allow that through local control." When CTA attempted to pass legislation last year to make charters accountable and mandate transparency, it was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, a charter school founder. CTA has worked hard to reintroduce three bills — AB 1478, AB 1360 and SB 808 — which, in addition to making charters transparent and accountable, prohibit discriminatory admissions and enrollment practices and legislate local control of charters. (See story, page 33.) "CTA is not going to stand by and allow billionaires to profit on the backs of students or allow charter schools to operate without transparency and accountability," says Heins, noting that President Trump's proposed budget provides a $168 mil- lion increase in funding for unregulated charter schools — as well as millions more for private school vouchers. "Our students deserve better. Our parents deserve better. And our teachers deserve better." 34 cta.org FEATURE Terri Jackson Funding That Supports California Public Schools Last fiscal year, Lottery players contributed $1.5 billion in supplemental funding to public schools. That distribution includes K-12 schools, community colleges, the California State University, the University of California, and other school jurisdictions. For more information on the Lottery's contributions to California public schools, please visit: www.calottery.com/givingback E N H A N C I N G E D U C AT I O N