‘Parent trigger’ clears Michigan Senate, backers say it helps students ‘trapped in a failing school’
by Dave Murray
Mlive.com
June 6, 2012

School choice advocates said the state Senate’s approval of the “parent trigger” billwill create more opportunities for parents with children in chronically failing schools.

But some school leaders said the state already has a plan to work with the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools, and said a new law could upend reform efforts that already are working.

The bill, which cleared the Senate by a narrow, 20-18 vote on Wednesday, would allow parents or teachers in failing schools to convert their building into a charter school or one of three other turnaround plans.

Senators rejected a Democrat amendment that would have allowed for parents to convert a building back to the district if they are unhappy.

Also rejected was a move by Sen. John Pappageorge, R-Troy, to exempt schools where more than 10 percent of the students are English language learners.

SB 620 calls for persistently struggling schools to be offered to charter school authorizers if at least 60 percent of parents agree to the move, or if 60 percent of teachers want the change and 51 percent of parents agree.

Parents and staff also could petition for one of three turnaround options that are included in federal school improvement grants. Those include adopting new teaching strategies, removing the principal and at least half the teachers and shutting down the building.

Schools would have to be in the lowest-performing 5 percent of state schools to be eligible under the bill, sponsored by state Sen. David Robertson, R-Grand Blanc Twp.

Sen. Vincent Gregory, D-Southfield, said he objects to the idea of turning over a physical school building to a charter school operator, saying that district taxpayers paid for the school.

But Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township, said the goal is to “help students who are trapped in a failing school,” and that forcing a charter school to purchase the building would in effect be asking taxpayers to pay for a school building twice.

Similar bills are under consideration in more than 20 states, according to national school choice advocates.

But Michigan’s plan is different because the state already has a system in place to identify chronically poor-performing schools, and the bill limits conversion to those failing programs.

“This is huge for parents and kids frustrated in struggling schools,” said Andy Solon, Michigan director of StudentsFirst.org, which supported the effort. “The turnaround options give parents more options. Each school and situation is different.”

But Don Wotruba, deputy director of the Michigan Association of School Boards, said his group opposed the bill because the state education department already is focusing on those schools.

“The state has a mechanism in place through the persistently struggling schools list or possibly the Education Achievement Authority,” he said. “The problem with a parent trigger is that a turnaround effort might already be in place and showing progress, but a group of parents could come in and undo it if they’re not happy.”

Wotruba said there also could be situations where charter school groups could come in and lobby parents to ask for a conversion.

The bill now heads to the state House for consideration.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R- Monroe, said the parent trigger bill is likely the last of the major school reforms to move through the Senate this year, outside of on-going talks surrounding teacher pensions.