Los Angeles, California – The Los Angeles Unified School District made a decision to stop public charter schools from setting up on public school grounds where the students who struggle the most are found. These students are often the least helped by the regular public school system.
According to Proposition 39, public schools must offer space to public charter schools that is pretty much the same as what other public school students get. This rule has allowed 52 public charter schools to share space with public schools in the LAUSD system, which has 1,438 schools including 221 charter schools. Public charter schools don’t charge tuition and get money from taxes, just like traditional public schools, but they can be closed if they’re not doing well and usually don’t have unions like regular public schools.
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Traditional public schools in LAUSD get about $5,225 more funding for each student compared to public charter schools.
This new rule particularly stops charter schools from being at LAUSD Priority, Black Student Achievement, and Community schools. Priority schools are those in the lowest 50% in terms of performance; only 31% of black LAUSD students are up to the state’s standards in reading, and 17% in math. LAUSD says its Community Schools focus on using social justice to tackle the economic and social challenges that lead to gaps in opportunity and achievement, aiming for all students to succeed academically and be prepared for college, careers, and life.
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United Teachers Los Angeles, which represents teachers in LA public schools, has always been against letting public charter schools share public school spaces.
“There are more than 70 public schools that are co-located by unregulated charter companies, which destabilizes the public school and the surrounding communities,” said UTLA on its website dedicated to fighting Proposition 39. “Parents and educators are fighting back against billionaire privatizers and the destructive tactic of co-location.”
Experts in education say that limiting options for some of the neediest students in LAUSD might harm their academic success, which is something they really need.
“The Los Angeles Unified School District has been hemorrhaging students for the last 20 years — including a 1,000 percent increase in charter school enrollment within their own boundaries — because the district cannot meet the academic needs of its population,” said California Policy Center Vice President of Government Affairs and education expert Lance Christensen to The Center Square. “This new policy will only inflame passions and further deflate educational outcomes, with children losing in the end.”
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While LAUSD’s regular public schools have unions, most public charter schools do not. Charter schools usually have their own buildings, but sharing space with an existing public school that has extra room has been a way to offer another option for education funded by the public, especially for families with lower incomes.
