LOS ANGELES – Today, California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) President CEO Myrna Castrejón issued the following statement opposing the new charter policy approved by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board that limits the access of charter public school students to district campuses, violating voter-approved Proposition 39 (2000):
“The decision of the LAUSD Board of Education to enact this policy is divisive, discriminatory, and unlawful. Instead of following California law and providing equitable facilities for charter public school students, LAUSD’s Board voted today with their campaign donors and against the very students they took an oath to support. It is a shameful day when the second-largest school district in the nation puts politics ahead of students and families.
“The impacted charter public schools serve neighborhoods with the highest economic and academic needs, where appropriate classroom facilities are hard to find, and, if they exist at all, they are prohibitively expensive to retrofit for school use. LAUSD serves nearly half the students it did 20 years ago and has ample facility space to serve the needs of all public students in the district without pitting families enrolled in traditional district schools against charter families.
“This policy is a blatant violation of the law as it treats public school students differently by giving preference to students enrolled in traditional schools over students attending charter public schools, ignoring their academic needs. Without access to district facilities, many charter public schools displaced from LAUSD campuses will be forced to relocate far away from the students they serve or close altogether.
“If the Board were serious about its claims to protect current colocations, it would have worked together with the charter school community to fix the district’s broken systems to benefit all public school students instead of doubling down on a policy that picks winners and losers.
“Respecting the educational journey of students and the programs that suit them best to enable their school and life success should be the district’s guiding principle. With today’s action to approve the policy, CCSA has no choice but to pursue judicial relief to defend the rights of families and students.”
The policy approved today, which was developed following the passage of a resolution by Board Members Rocio Rivas and Jackie Goldberg on September 26, 2023, bans charter public school students from approximately 350 district campuses in the future and threatens to relocate half of the charter schools that currently share space with an LAUSD school.
CCSA sent a letter to the LAUSD School Board outlining potential legal challenges to the policy. The letter can be found here.
About the California Charter Schools Association
The vision of the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) is to build great public schools of joy and rigor that prepare all California students for success in college, career, community, and life. The mission of CCSA is to meet parent, educator, and community need for great public school options by supporting and advocating for high quality non-profit charter schools and sharing their success throughout California’s public schools. Learn more.
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