Sacramento, CA…Lack of accountability and transparency at California charter schools is hurting our kids. That was the underlying sentiment shared on a media teleconference call today that included California State Treasurer John Chiang, Assembly Member Mike Gipson (D-Carson), Los Angeles Unified School District School Board Vice President Dr. George McKenna, Anaheim Unified School High School District Superintendent Mike Matsuda, parents and civil rights and community supporters.

The coalition called on Gov. Jerry Brown to sign co-sponsored legislation, AB 709, which requires all charter schools to be transparent and accountable to parents and to disclose how they spend taxpayer money, including budgets and contracts. It prohibits charter school board members and their families from profiting from their schools, and requires charter schools to comply with California’s open meetings, open records and conflict of interest laws.

Recent news headlines and academic studies have documented waste, fraud and abuse by privately-managed charter schools, which have cost taxpayers millions while hurting students.

“Although charter schools are privately-run entities, they cannot be excused from the accountability that is required from those responsible for educating our children. That is why AB 709 is so crucial,” stated Assembly Member Mike Gipson (D-Carson), who authored the bill. “Families deserve to know how their schools are being run, and our state deserves an education system that is free from unfair advantages and double standards.”

Bay Area parent Aimee Roylance was forced to withdraw her children from the Livermore Valley Charter School one week before classes started this year after learning the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the school’s operator, Tri-Valley Learning Corp., for financial fraud and potential criminal charges. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson called it “the most serious set of allegations against a charter that I’ve ever seen.”

“As a parent, I fully support having a choice to send my kids to a charter school and I’ve enjoyed having our children at LVCS for the past six years. But I cannot and will not support actions that threaten the future of my children. The actions of the charter governing board – the fraud, the mismanagement, the abuse of power – in addition to what they’re doing to our teachers has a severe emotional impact on my kids and on all students,” said Roylance. “The lack of accountability and transparency at charter schools is hurting our kids and I hope the governor makes the right decision and signs AB 709.”

LAUSD School Board Vice President Dr. George McKenna echoed Roylance’s concerns.

“AB 709 outlines the standard for transparency, accountability and integrity utilizing taxpayer dollars and provides a clearer path toward a democratic community-based approach to education,” said Dr. McKenna. “Our students, parents and communities are counting on us and we urge Gov. Brown to sign this bill.”

State regulators have found more than $81 million in fraudulent and wasteful spending at charter schools in California, while another report shows that an expansion of privately-run charter schools would cost the Los Angeles Unified School District more than $500 million this year alone. An ACLU report, “Unequal Access,” found that more than 20 percent of California’s charter schools deny access to students with disabilities, English learners, or students who have lower grades and test scores. The NAACP recently called for a ban on privately managed charters. Research by In the Public Interest shows Californians overwhelmingly favor proposals to reform charter schools – proposals that include strengthening charter school accountability and transparency, improving teacher training and qualifications, preventing fraud, returning money to taxpayers when charter schools close, and ensuring that neighborhood public schools are not adversely affected.

“All children should have an equal opportunity to attend a charter school. All means all. That means a child whose parents work two full-time jobs. That means a child in foster care. That means a child whose parents may have a disability,” said Carol Kocivar, California State PTA Education Advocate. “No child should be discriminated against because of a requirement that requires mandatory volunteer hours as a criterion for admission or continued enrollment. Shame on any school that creates that kind of barrier to a child who wants to attend.”

Charter students at Magnolia Public Schools in Anaheim are also negatively impacted by the school’s president’s admitted ties to Turkish government which led to a failed coup attempt.

“There is a lack of oversight and transparency in large, networked charter schools, especially in the case of the nation’s second-largest charter chain, called Magnolia Science Academy, where taxpayer dollars may have been used to fund a coup attempt overseas,” said Mike Matsuda, Superintendent of the Anaheim Unified High School District. “Americans need to be asking questions about transparency and accountability.”

The coalition also supported SB 322, which prohibits charter schools from having discriminatory admission requirements to prevent them from cherry-picking the students they want and turning away students that need extra help. It also ensures uniform disciplinary actions for all students by requiring charter schools to identify a list of acts for which students can be suspended or expelled, as well as setting a maximum length for suspensions. This bill failed on the Assembly floor this week.

Read about the newly-launched CTA public campaign to ensure equal access for all students, increase accountability and transparency in charter schools, and expose the anti-public education billionaires with a coordinated agenda to divert funds from our neighborhood schools at www.kidsnotprofits.com.