On April 10, a group of community leaders, legislators, parents, educators and labor leaders from across California gathered at the State Capitol in Sacramento to announce a bill calling for a 5-year moratorium on new charter schools in California.

The group included Alliance San Diego Associate Director Christopher R. Wilson, who has been a champion of education, and has previously advocated on behalf of students and families against the sub-par practices of charter schools in San Diego.

The bill, SB 756, authored by Los Angeles Senator Maria Elena Durazo, will allow time for charter programs to make much-needed changes to ensure that every child receives the caliber of education and access to resources necessary to thrive.  

Christopher R. Wilson, associate director of the Alliance San Diego, issued the following statement:

“The outdated laws and slanted approval process have caused our students and schools irreparable harm in California. I’ve heard far too many stories of parents being pushed aside and shut out. Some of the schools are governed by a private appointed board and they are making a situation worse. When our students and parents are not allowed to advocate for themselves, with student learning becoming second to growth and profitability, when parents are locked out of school and threatened with retaliation, when all of this and more is happening in communities of color already ravaged by economic and structural disparities, who will hold the schools accountable? The state has an obligation to step in and do something today…to give our students an opportunity to grow, learn and thrive in an educational environment of peace, harmony, learning and justice with transparency and accountability to the people served by these schools.”

 Watch a livestream of the press conference, and read the California Teachers Association press release on the event here.