Visionary Leadership: Public School Governance in California Flashcards
Laws and Accountability Acts
Parent Trigger Laws:
a parent trigger is a legal maneuver allowing parents to change the administration of a low-performing public school (this often results in transforming the school into a charter school)
Parent Empowerment law (SBX54) made CA the first state in the nation with a _________.
parent trigger.
Parent Empowerment law (SBX54) made CA the first state in the nation with a parent trigger. It also allows: (2)
- students at underperforming schools to have “open enrollment” at any other school
- students may receive a scholarship to attend a private school (cannot be religious based school).
LAUSD passed parent trigger rules in 2009, which stated that a school can be
transferred to outside management if approved by a majority of parents. It does not have to be a low performing school.
Over the past 35 years, new laws and court rulings have overridden the presumption of local control and transferred more control over schools to the _______. Decisions about resources, rights, curriculum, assessments, and standards are now primarily made at the _______ level. State laws need to align with ______ since we get a lot of funding from the ______ government.
state, state, federal, federal
Public School Accountability Act (PSAA)- “In 1999, CA passed the PSAA,
a comprehensive system to hold students, schools, and districts accountable for improving student performance.”
Program Improvement (PI)-
Under PSAA, schools are expected to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as measured under the law. Failure to make AYP for two years places a school into Program Improvement (PI). PI provides for a five-year program with a succession of increasingly severe interventions for each year the school does not achieve its AYP.
Program Improvement Year 1- Local Educational Agency (LEA):
Provides technical assistance to the school, notify parents of PI status of school and school of choice, provide choice to attend another public school served by the LEA that is not PI. LEA is responsible for transportation costs. Establish peer review process to review revised school plan (i.e. another committee from another school).
Program Improvement Year 1- School:
Revise school plan within 3 months to cover 2-year period. Use 10% of Title I (federal funds) school funds for staff professional development (specifically targeting areas that need improvement). Implement plan promptly.
Program Improvement Year 2-LEA:
Provide supplemental educational services to all eligible students (i.e. scholarships to tutoring center). Continue to provide technical assistance, notify parents, provide professional development, and provide school choice (not in PI).
Program Improvement Year 2-School:
Implement plan, and provide targeted professional development.
Program Improvement Year 3 “Corrective Action”- LEA: .
Inform parents and public of corrective action and allow comments (i.e. Townhall meeting or special school board meeting). May provide direct technical assistance to school site councils in developing school plans. LEA identifies school for corrective action and does as least one of the following: replace school staff (80-90%), implement new curriculum, decrease management authority at the school level (bring someone from the outside to run the school), appoint outside expert (i.e. educational consultant), extend school year or day, restructure internal organizational structure of school (i.e. have more teacher leaders), continue previously described PI initiatives
Program Improvement Year 3 “Corrective Action”- School:
continue previously described PI initiatives.
Program Improvement Year 5 “Restructuring”- LEA and School:
implement alternative governance plan developed in year 4, school continues in PI and LEA offers choice and supplemental services until school makes AYP for two consecutive years. School exits PI after two consecutive years of making AYP. LEA continues previously described PI initiatives.
