Readers React: LAUSD’s outrageous ‘parent trigger’ suspension

To the editor: It’s outrageous that the Los Angeles Unified School District thinks it’s above the “parent trigger” law by suspending it for the upcoming school year. (“LAUSD says it’s not subject to state’s ‘parent trigger’ law this year,” Aug. 14)

In the letter to L.A. Unified granting a waiver from federal requirements, there was nothing that would condone or justify the circumvention of state law. Parent-trigger author Gloria Romero is rightfully livid, as this breach of public trust by district officials is in complete contradiction to the spirit of a law designed to give parents a voice.

Parents don’t have the luxury of establishing a new timeline for assessing school performance; their children’s learning needs are too important for that. Accountability and parental involvement are critical to a school’s success, and it’s a shame that the district feels compelled to undermine the positive relationship between parents and educators.

Kara Kerwin, Washington

The writer is president of the Center for Education Reform.

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To the editor: As a teacher for 34 years, I saw the demise of public schools begin with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978. The decision-making started to be concentrated in Sacramento with politicians less familiar with education.

Parent-trigger laws, charter schools, teaching to the test and increased dropout rates and delinquency are the results of disempowering educators and giving politicians, lobbyists and corporations greater control over schools.

Give educators and school districts more control, allow the creative spirit back into the classroom, reinstate vocational, music, art and fitness classes, and engage parents in their children’s education, and we might just become a higher-achieving country.

It does take a village to educate a child, and that village includes teachers, families and others. We must invest in our public schools.

Dee White, Capistrano Beach