Assembly Approves Charter School Limits

Sacramento - The state Assembly has approved a bill that limits the number of charter schools in the state and bans nepotism in charter school hiring.

It approved AB401 Thursday on a 41-28 vote and sent it to the Senate.

The author, Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, says privately operated charter schools are funded with public money and should be held to the same employment standards as public schools.

In the 2009-10 school year, California had 819 charter schools. Ammiano's bill would cap that at 1,450 by 2017.

He says it would ensure that districts can hold charters to state standards and do not take money from public schools.

Opponents say limiting growth of charter schools stifles the ability of parents to get a high quality education for their children.