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NAN Sacremento meets with California Governor and rejects Charter School Bill
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NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK AND URBAN LEAGUE ENCOURAGE GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM’S ADMINISTRATION TO OPPOSE THREAT TO PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
Civil Rights Organizations Support School Choice, Oppose AB 1505
SACRAMENTO (June 19, 2019)–Leaders of two prominent civil rights organizations and African American grandparents are meeting with Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration today to express their concerns about legislation that could diminish the growth of public charter schools in California, if passed and signed into law. Statewide California Urban Leagues representing Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego and all CA chapters of Al Sharpton’s National Action Network strongly oppose AB 1505 by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell in an open letter to the Governor and the California Legislature. The letter–which ran as a full page ad in African American newspapers statewide—says, “it is not fair to African American families to take away public charter schools and force them back into failing district-run schools in order to balance school budgets. It calls AB 1505 “a direct attack on the ability of African American parents to choose the best education possible for their children”.
The meeting includes:
• Pastor Tecoy Porter, President NAN Sacramento
• Rev. Jonathan Moseley, President NAN Los Angeles
• Cassandra Jennings, President and CEO, Greater Sacramento Urban League
• Ray King, President and CEO, San Diego Urban League
• Christina Laster, charter school grandparent
• Joette Spencer-Campbell, charter school grandparent
The group meeting with Governor Newsom’s Administration is available for comment today 4:15pm in front of the Governor’s office in the state capitol.
NAN and the Urban League are most concerned with data indicating 80 percent of black children are below grade level in math and 68 percent can’t read or write at grade level.
“Parents want to get the best education for their children to give them a way out—charter schools could be that way,” said Pastor Tecoy Porter, President of NAN Sacramento.
Both nationally recognized organizations (NAN and Urban League) are joined by African American grandparents of children in public charter schools who are deeply concerned with AB 1505’s effort to remove appeal rights and due process for public charter schools and the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s deceptive inclusion of AB 1505 intent into the recently released Charter School Task Force Report.
AB 1505 is expected to be debated in the Senate Education Committee July 10, 2019.