Assembly OKs bills to change California schools

Assembly OKs bills to change California schools
LA Times
By Patrick McGreevy and Howard Blume
January 5, 2010

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - Despite strong objections from teachers unions, the state Assembly on Tuesday night approved changes to California schools that would give parents more power to transfer their children from badly performing campuses and petition for fixes that could include removing principals.

The changes are intended to help California win a share of $4.3 billion in new federal funds that will be available through the Race to the Top program. The Obama administration is using the promise of that money to push states into adopting education reforms the president and his aides favor.

The legislation will signal to President Obama "that California is ready to experiment with promising reforms," said UC Berkeley education professor Bruce Fuller, although he added that the legislation does not go far enough...