N.J. legislator proposes 'parent trigger' for failing schools

[The Straight Story]

N.J. legislator proposes 'parent trigger' for failing schools


A New Jersey state legislator wants to give parents the power to pull the "trigger" on failing schools in a bill he introduced Monday.

In his proposed Parent Employment and Choice Act, also known as "the parent trigger," Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R., Monmouth) wants to enable parents of children in low-performing schools to petition to force one of three overhaul measures, if a majority of parents in a given school sign on.

The measures are converting the school into a charter, changing school administrators, or establishing a tuition voucher program. It is unclear who would pay for such vouchers.

"We cannot make time stand still in districts with severe shortcomings," said Kyrillos. "Either we provide options to parents to effect rapid and wide-ranging reforms, or children will continue to progress through an educational system that is not meeting their needs."

Kyrillos' legislation is modeled after a law adopted in California this year. Earlier this month, the McKinley Elementary School in Compton, Calif., became the first school to get a majority of parents to sign a parent-trigger petition, demanding the school become a charter.


http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20101214_N_J__legislator_proposes__parent_trigger__for_failing_schools.html

[rfranklin]

1. I think the parents should be jailed if their children can't pass the tests....

They are ultimately responsible for their children, not the teachers.