Steve Perry

California Charter Stories Bring Hard Data, First-Hand Experience to National School Choice Debate in D.C. at Black Caucus Conference

When the emancipation proclamation freed African-American slaves some 32 years later, slave-holding states like North Carolina did not automatically throw out the harsh anti-literacy legislation they had been using to oppress slaves. Those laws, the Jim Crow ones that followed, segregated schools, under-funded school districts – as well as other economic, political and social factors – all played a role in erecting barriers to a quality education for African Americans over the decades that followed.

Black Legislator Under Fire for Legislation Capping Charter Schools

About 6,000 supporters showed up at the state Capitol in Sacramento recently to rally against four pieces of unfriendly charter school legislation, one co-sponsored by McCarty. If passed, school choice advocates say the bills could curb the growth of charter schools in California. They also fear the proposals could begin the dismantling of the existing 1,323 taxpayer-funded independent schools in the state.