State lawmakers are moving closer to cracking down on charter schools, and possibly banning new ones after this year.
After fierce debate and passionate protest, members of the state assembly voted to give school districts more power to deny new charter schools. A separate bill would cap charter schools, allowing no more after January 1, 2020.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed similar reforms, but Gov. Gavin Newsom, who ran with the enthusiastic backing of the teachers unions, is more receptive.
Newsom said the debate over charter schools has been "festering" for 20 years, and "it would be a miracle" if he and the legislature resolve it now.
"I'm working collaboratively with the superintendent of public education on a work group that is concluding its work in the next few weeks to try to rein in some of these 'additional reforms' as it relates to charters," said Newsom. "Those bills will progress and process over the course of the next few weeks, but there is a lot of work, I can assure you, happening behind the scenes on that. I hope it comes to a place where we can find some common ground."
Newsom won't say if he supports a moratorium on new charter schools, or if he'll sign a bill that includes a cap, saying he doesn't want to trip up the work group before they've made their decision.
Supporters of traditional public education say charters are sucking too many kids and too much money out of the public school system, while charter school advocates say they are filling a void left by public schools that fail too many students.
Newsom has already signed a bill requiring more charter transparency, and his budget would bar charters from rejecting disabled students.