Calif. district becomes first to enact state's 'parent trigger' law

Ruling supports Adelanto charter school effort

Judge rules that California's 'parent trigger' law does not allow signatures to be revoked, meaning Desert Trails Elementary in Adelanto could become a charter.

 

Original article in the Los Angeles Times by Teresa Watanabe.

In an emotional celebration, Mojave Desert parents Monday hailed a court ruling that found the school board illegally rejected their efforts under the state's "parent trigger" law to transform their failing elementary school into a charter campus.

More than half the parents at Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto had petitioned for the change at their campus, where nearly three-fourths of sixth graders fail to read and do math at grade level. But the board invalidated more than 100 signatures and rejected the petition.

In a decision made public Monday, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Steve Malone ruled that the Adelanto school board improperly allowed 97 parents to rescind their signatures, which caused support for the petition to drop below the required 50% threshold. He ruled that the law does not allow recisions, ordered the district to accept the petition and gave parents the go-ahead to start soliciting charter school proposals.

"This is something huge," said parent Cynthia Ramirez, as tears welled in her eyes. "My daughter's got to have a shot at something good. These are our babies at stake here."

To read the complete article, visit the Los Angeles Times.