Dear John,

We have important news to report!

Last night Governor Newsom announced an agreement has been reached on AB 1505, the critical charter school reform bill that is a key priority for CFT members. The agreement follows months of incredible organizing and weeks of intense negotiations, where CFT leaders, members, and staff have stood with fellow educators, school workers, parents, and students to push for reform.

While there is still much more work to do, if passed by the Legislature, AB 1505 will represent a sea change in the laws governing charter schools in California. Of particular importance, school districts will now be able to consider the financial impact of new charter schools on their community and neighborhood schools, every classroom will have a properly credentialed teacher, and charters can be held accountable for cherry picking students.

While the reforms in AB 1505 are critical, we must continue our efforts to fully fund public education and to defend our schools against privatization, corporatization, and other ‘reforms’ that continue to threaten our communities and our students.

Thanks again to all who have worked so hard to fix our broken charter school laws. Thousands of CFT members have organized to make this day a reality, and every effort was essential to beat back the deep-pockets behind the charter school industry.

AB 1505 still needs a final vote in the Senate and a concurrence vote in the Assembly. In the coming days, we will urge folks to take part in the final push to get the Senate and the Assembly to pass the bill.

Have a great holiday weekend!