A new report from the ACLU, “Unequal Access,” accuses the schools — including 16 in San Bernardino County
More than 250 California charter schools – including dozens in Southern California – violate state law by keeping out low-performing students and creating unfair admission policies, a new report concludes.
The American Civil Liberties Union accuses the schools of posting online enrollment policies or forms that bar students from enrolling because of low grades or test scores. Some discriminate against English learners, require essays or interviews, force parents to volunteer, and discourage undocumented students from applying, the report alleges.
Charter school advocates and representatives from some schools deny there are widespread problems and say the report contains old information.
The list represents more than one-fifth of California’s roughly 1,200 charter schools. More than 80 schools have contacted the ACLU and nearly 60 have been taken off the list as of Thursday, Sept. 1.
Charter schools are taxpayer-funded public schools that have more flexibility than traditional public schools to create education programs aimed at fostering innovation.
By law, charter schools must admit all students, space permitting.
“It is already illegal for schools to exclude students,” said Victor Leung, an author of the report and a staff attorney with the ACLU of Southern California. “For whatever reason, some schools have not complied with the law.”
Leung took part in a conference call with reporters Thursday in which the speakers urged Gov. Jerry Brown to sign a bill aimed at increasing charter school accountability and transparency.
Some educators say charter schools take away students from traditional public schools, causing them to lose money.
“They take revenue from public schools across the district,” George McKenna, vice president of the Los Angeles Unified School District board of trustees, said in the conference call. “It makes operation of district schools challenging.”
He called on Brown to sign Assembly Bill 709, which has been approved by the state Legislature. The measure would hold charter schools to the same conflict of interest and public meeting standards as public schools.
“Now they aren’t required to play by the same rules,” Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-Carson, author of the legislation, told reporters.
The ACLU report, released Aug. 1, calls on the state Department of Education to order the accused schools to change their policies and inform parents of their practices.
The department didn’t respond Thursday to requests for comment.
Some charter schools named in the report said the ACLU mistakenly used outdated information on their websites that doesn’t reflect their current practices.
The California Charter Schools Association, a nonprofit that seeks to expand charter schools across the state, said the report blows the issue out of proportion.
President and CEO Jed Wallace noted in a statement on the group’s website that the report found less than 2 percent of the state’s charter schools exclude students based on academic performance.
Wallace urged the accused schools to make immediate changes to ensure they’re following the law.
He also encouraged schools to change language in their policies about essays and interviews and better describe options available to families to avoid “even a perception of bias or discrimination.”
Representatives of some charter schools named in the report criticized the methodology and questioned the accuracy of the report.