A high-profile attempt to use a “parent trigger” law to convert a traditional public school in California to a charter was rejected by the local school board, after divisions over the plans surfaced.
The superintendent of the Adelanto school district, northeast of Los Angeles, recommended that the board reject a parent petition to make the change, saying only 235 of 460 signatures submitted could be verified, short of the necessary threshold, according to the Los Angeles Times. The board agreed, by a 5-0 vote.
A group of parents in the community had pushed to convert Desert Trails Elementary to a charter school, citing frustrations about its low academic performance. But in recent weeks, another group of parents raised concerns about those efforts, according to the Times, saying some of those signing the petition were misled, and that there was not widespread support for a charter, as some had claimed. Ninety-seven of the signatures tossed out were from parents who said they were misled about the conversion, or signed in error, the Times reports.
Proposals to create parent-trigger laws have drawn interest in a number of states.
