L.A. School Board Seeks Pause on Charter Schools Following Teachers’ Strike, Reported by Reuters

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Los Angeles school board has voted to request that state lawmakers impose a moratorium on the establishment of new charter schools in the region. This move comes in response to demands from a teachers’ union representing over 30,000 educators, following a week-long strike that concluded last week.

The school board’s 5-1 vote marks a significant change for a group that previously included many members in favor of charter schools, which are publicly funded yet privately managed.

Charter schools are prevalent across the United States, often featuring teachers who are not unionized. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the district’s educators’ union, contended throughout the strike—supported by numerous parents and notable Democratic leaders—that charter schools facilitate "privatization" of education and siphon resources away from conventional classrooms.

As part of the labor agreement reached with UTLA to end the strike, district officials agreed to allow a vote on the request for a charter school moratorium. The board’s approval of this resolution also urges state officials to explore potential modifications to California’s charter school legislation, shifting the debate over new charter schools in the nation’s second-largest school district to Sacramento.

PAUSE AND STUDY

Austin Beutner, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, expressed support for the resolution. He remarked that the charter law is outdated and emphasized the need for a pause while experts assess the issues and suggest any necessary adjustments to the law for the future.

Los Angeles Unified has around 150,000 students enrolled in charter schools, more than any other school district in the country. This new resolution will not impact the operation of the district’s 275 existing charter schools. The district also serves approximately 500,000 additional students in traditional public schools.

Representatives of California Governor Gavin Newsom and the state Department of Education were unavailable for comment.

On the day of the school board vote, charter school supporters demonstrated at the district’s headquarters. Myrna Castrejón, president and CEO of the California Charter School Association, criticized the resolution, stating that it seeks to address a non-existent problem.