POV: Parent Trigger Law

Los Angeles - FOX 11 Vice President & General Manager Kevin Hale talks about a step forward for parents fighting to make their children's school better... the Parent Trigger Law.

You can watch the full video of the editorial in the media player... and share your comments on the topic below the editorial transcript.

Full Editorial Text:

FOX 11 has been there each step of the way, as Compton parents under the new state “Parent Trigger” law made history.

Under the new law, they were the first in the country to exercise their rights to pull the trigger on a failing elementary school, demanding that McKinley Elementary be transitioned to a charter school.

But Compton Unified School District waged a fierce counterattack.

In recent days, however, an L.A. Superior Court judge lashed out at Compton officials over their attempts to stop the progress these parents have triggered.

The judge even went so far as to call these underhanded tactics unconstitutional. The parent group that helped organize this movement, Parent Revolution, calls this a major triumph.

In a recent Point of View, we challenged Governor Brown and the State Board of Education to back this revolutionary law -- which for the first time takes control away from bureaucrats and gives authority to parents.

Apparently, they heard us because the board has promised to expedite the final rules on “Parent Trigger,” while keeping the law intact.

It’s too early to ring the final victory bell. Compton school officials are still trying to fight this historic reform. Their latest ploy was to say they can't verify one single signature on the petition based on a bunch of flimsy excuses.

But we’re asking you, Compton School District: Why are you being so stubborn?

McKinley Elementary has been a failure factory under your control. For over 7 years, it's scored at the bottom 10% elementary schools in California. You’ve failed the students, so why not give parents and these kids a chance?

What they did took guts, and the entire nation is watching to see how this all plays out.

Don’t hold on to a school you’ve been unable to fix. Compton Unified do the right thing, stop fighting the parents and let them form a new school.

Thanks for listening.

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