Act now to protest weak charter board conflict rules

Believing it’s imperative that charter school boards comply with the conflict-of-interest laws that apply to regular school district and county boards, the California School Boards Association is urging members to register their opposition by July 10 to less stringent charter board rules now being considered by the state Board of Education.

The state board has drafted regulations that would apply weaker conflict-of-interest standards to charter boards, exempting them from Government Code sections that apply to traditional school boards. Instead, charter boards would only be required to comply with nonprofit benefit corporation standards of conduct.

Critics, including CSBA and its Education Legal Alliance, argue that the proposed regulations are unnecessary and unlawful: Charter school board members oversee public schools supported by public taxpayer dollars and thus should be subject to the same conflict-of-interest rules that govern regular school district and county boards.

CSBA and the Alliance will be filing comprehensive opposition comments, but district and county board members are also urged to submit their views on the regulations.

“There must be clear lines drawn about charter schools in order for the public to feel assured that their money is being handled appropriately,” said Stephanie Farland, CSBA senior policy consultant.

Comments can be sent to:

Debra Strain, regulations coordinator
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Room 5319
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-319-0155
E-mail: regcomments@cde.ca.gov.

Questions? Contact Farland at 916-371-4691 or sfarland@csba.org.