Good news on the school choice front. Thanks to the parent trigger law passed by the state legislature in 2010, students of a failing school in downtown Los Angeles — 24th Street Elementary — will have the opportunity to attend a charter school in the near future. As the L.A. Times explains, the trigger law allows parents to petition to overhaul a campus with new staff and curriculum, close the campus or convert it into an independent publicly financed charter.
The L.A. Board of Education approved parents’ petition in a 5-1 vote. Parental choice is a key component of meaningful education reform. Good luck to the parents and children of 24th Street Elementary during this important transition.