SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Due to lack of support, Senate Bill 1362 (Beall) was withdrawn from consideration today by Senator Jim Beall, effectively killing the bill in this legislative cycle.
“Today is a major victory for families for whom charter public schools have provided a lifeline, and a pathway to college and career in California,” said Carlos Marquez, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, CCSA. “We will never apologize for fighting to protect charter schools as a viable and thriving high quality public school option for all students. And we will continue to reject the perverse notion that decades of poorly managed district finances should be corrected on the backs of hardworking charter public school families.”
If enacted, SB 1362 (Beall) would have severely restricted the growth of charter public schools in California and potentially forced quality charter schools to close or never allow them to open.
“So long as districts continue to ignore the crushing reality of the looming financial crisis at the hands of unfunded retiree liabilities, and so long as the Legislature fails to fundamentally overhaul the authorizing structure in California, we anticipate that powerful special interests will continue to use charter public schools as a red herring to avoid the hard decisions that lie ahead,” continued Marquez. “We’ll remain in the arena.”
SB 1362 was withdrawn following a weeks-long grassroots effort that spanned from Silicon Valley to the State Capitol in Sacramento. Led by the Charter Community of Silicon Valley (CCSV) – which represents Santa Clara County’s charter public schools and serves as the voice for over 30,000 charter public school students in the region – CCSV members, collectively engaged principals, teachers, parents and students to call, write letters and personally meet with Senator Beall to share their positive experiences with charter public schools and concerns about the bill itself. Additionally, CCSV wrote a letter outlining their concerns around this legislation to the Chair of the Senate Education Committee. Today’s victory is owed in large part to the efforts of the CCSV.
“I’m grateful to Senator Beall for hearing the impassioned voices of the families and charter schools within his district, and for pulling his proposed legislation, SB 1362,” said John Glover, Chair, CCSV and Founder & CEO, Alpha Public Schools. “If passed, this bill would have limited school choice for families and students whose options for high-quality schools are already extremely limited. This is a demonstration of the power our families, schools, and larger education reform community have when we are united and motivated to fight for what is best for the students who need us the most.”
Media Contact:
Emily Bertelli
ebertelli@ccsa.org
412-559-8571