A California Superior Court judge ruled last week that the Compton Unified School District violated parents’ First Amendment rights by imposing an onerous signature-verification process on a disputed petition for a charter school. A group of parents from McKinley Elementary School is the first to attempt to use California’s “parent trigger” law to force changes at a failing school. Judge Anthony J. Mohr ordered administrators to count the signatures by April 1, saying the district’s demands, including showing photo ID and speaking with administrators, violated the first amendment right to petition government.
A version of this article appeared in the March 30, 2011 edition of Education Week as Judge Rules in Parent-Trigger Case
