[T]he Omnibus appropriations act of 2009 defunded (roll call vote here) the successful program–effectively eliminating any opportunity for poor DC schoolchildren to escape the horrid DC public schools. The Democrats, namely Dick Durbin, claimed that the program funding would take away from the money the DC public schools needed. GOP House Speaker Boehner and Senator Lieberman put out this video statement:
[...] this is going to be a tricky issue for Obama and the Democrats–one that will further define the Democrats as bought-off, public-sector union hacks and self-serving politicians who continually oppress and exploit others for their own political gain. Some of you may think, yeah, those Republicans, but I will remind you–it was the Republicans who originally started the DC scholarship program and the Democrats (and a few of the usual RINOs) who filibustered it. Kinda like the 1964 Civil Rights Act–Democrats filibustered that one, too. Look it up.
The parents are making use of a new California law, called the Parent Trigger, which gives them the power to impose sweeping changes on failing schools.
[...] Under this law, if the majority of a school’s parents agree, they can choose to close down the school, replace the entire staff, or convert it to a charter school. All that is required is a petition signed by 50 percent of the parents. On December 7, accompanied by a horde of news cameras, a McKinley Elementary parent representative made history when she delivered a petition (signed by 62 percent of parents) to the district’s superintendent demanding that that school become a charter school. “This is the beginning of a new future of our kids,” parent leader Ismenia Guzman was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying. As a result, a charter school operator will be given control of the school. Like any charter school, the operators will have to meet agreed-upon goals in order to have their contract renewed. What makes this story so encouraging is the fact that parents were given power over their child’s education. No longer will parents be forced to watch helplessly from the sidelines as their child becomes trapped in a failing school, at least in California.
