Parents File Suit Against Compton Schools
COMPTON (AP) — Several parents in Compton are suing the school district over school reform.
The lawsuit against the Compton Unified School District , filed by six parents and their children, claims district officials are violating their right to a quality education. They say the district is allegedly trying to obstruct an effort to convert a failing elementary school to a charter school.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien issued a temporary order blocking the district from using what the parents claim is a complicated and unfair process for verifying signatures on their charter school petition.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement supporting the parents.
"Regardless of ZIP code or income level, every child has the right to a quality education," the mayor said. "I know from personal experience that having an excellent teacher and a stable classroom environment can mean everything to a student, especially one who is having trouble."
The lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court seeks class-action status.
The suit is the latest development in a fight by a group of parents at McKinley Elementary School to use California's so-called "parent trigger law" to convert the struggling school into an independent charter.
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