California’s charter schools targeted yet again

The California charter school movement began with the adoption of a 1992 law legalizing such schools in America’s largest state. In the quarter-century since, the charter movement has proven extremely popular. About 10 percent of the school’s 6.2 million students are enrolled in charters.

The academic record of these schools is mixed, according to a 2014 Stanford study, to above average, according to 2015 state test results. But the best charter schools — such as the High Tech High campuses in San Diego County — are world-class. And by and large, parents of charter students value having an alternative to regular public education — schools with far fewer rules and more of an emphasis on the needs of students than adult employees.

Charters’ growth and popularity riles the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers, which combine to be the most powerful force in state politics. These unions’ opposition to charter schools has waxed and waned, but the weakness of their allegations has always limited how much they can achieve. Far from being bastions of white elitism, charters are as likely to enroll minority students from poor communities as public schools. Far from being unaccountable, charters that perform poorly can actually be shut down — which is almost an impossibility with a public school. Far from being costly drains on education funds, studies have repeatedly shown charters in California and the rest of the nation have managed to educate students while getting significantly less funding per student than regular schools.

But now comes the most focused attempt to derail the Golden State’s charter-school movement in years. Billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad’s confirmation in 2015 that he plans to seek to sharply expand charter schools in Los Angeles Unified has triggered an all-hands-on-deck response from United Teachers Los Angeles, the most powerful local union chapter.

This has led directly to a game-changing anti-charter bill being considered by the Legislature — a naked power grab that barely bothers to make the case it is addressing a real problem. SB 808, by Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, would end the right of county boards of education and the State Board of Education to overturn decisions by school districts to reject charter school applications and give districts the final say on whether charters seeking renewals after five years should be approved. Given that most urban school board members in California are elected with the support and money of teachers unions, this could have enormous consequences if approved. This is hinted at by the fact that the union-allied Los Angeles school board has already endorsed the bill.

If SB 808 survives what could be a long slog lasting into 2018 and reaches Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, the assumption might be that the politician who founded two Oakland charter schools would quickly veto it. But Brown has done the CTA and CFT huge favors, only starting with his backing school finance machinations that freed up money for teacher raises. So here’s hoping SB 808 dies a deserved death — and doesn’t offer the governor another chance to reciprocate the unions’ past support.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion