On Wednesday, April 26 at 9 AM, CCSA sponsored legislation, SB 739 by Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil will face a major vote in the Senate Education Committee. This crucial legislative proposal would extend the 2021 pandemic protection for charter public school renewals.
SB 739 will keep in place a charter authorizer’s statutory role and responsibility to provide ongoing oversight of charter public schools. Charters will still have to provide financial, academic, and other data at least annually. Authorizers must conduct annual school visits and may require corrective action for any violation of the law or the conditions of the school’s charter, up to and including revocation of a school’s charter at any time.
The problem is “good dashboard data” will not be available in either 2024 or 2025, because two years of comparable Dashboard data is needed for a renewal decision.
California’s charter public schools are measured by their performance on the California Department of Education (CDE) Dashboard accountability system. Schools that are required to undergo the renewal process next year must submit incomplete and corrupted data that reflect the school years that were dramatically impacted by the pandemic.
We can’t allow a quality school serving the highest need students to have to divert resources from students or face closure based on incomplete data. Before solid and reliable data is available, more than 500 charter public schools are slated to go through the renewal process with incomplete data reported on the dashboard for 2022.
Charter supporters need to let the State Senate know how important this piece of legislation is to ensure that kids do not face more uncertainty and instability in their education. This is not the time for schools to have to contend with this inherently political process and divert resources that should be going to learning recovery and teacher retention.
Now is the time for YOU to take action and show YOUR support for students in nonprofit California charter public schools!
Here’s what you can do:
1. Share this article
- “Give All Public Schools the Best Environment to Recover from the Pandemic” by Myrna Castrejón, CCSA President and CEO.
2. Post #SupportSB739 messages on your social media platforms
- CCSA has created this a #SupportSB739 Social Media Toolkit with graphics and sample posts to help you to spread the word.
>> Click for English: #Support739 Campaign Social Media Tool Kit
>>Click for Spanish: #ApoyeSB739 Kit Para Redes Sociales 2023
3. Email your Senator
- Take part in CCSA’s advocacy campaign which is a simple way to send a personalized message to your state Senator.
Your support will make a difference in the April 26 vote to support charter public schools and the families they serve.
In a moment where there is no fair, reliable, and objective benchmark from which to measure school performance, it is unreasonable to put school leaders in an inherently political process that can result in school shutdowns and further hurt students and families.
Make your voice heard in support of SB 739 today!!
