Ohio Gov. John Kasich has tucked into his budget proposal a measure called the “Parent Trigger,” which would allow parents to take over failing public schools and force the installation of new management. It would make Ohio the second state in the nation to embrace this reform, behind California.
The Heartland Institute has been at the forefront of promoting the Parent Trigger to legislators, Tea Party groups, and school reform advocates across the country. Click here (http://www.heartland.org/schoolreform-news.org/article/28202) To read Heartland’s policy study on the Parent Trigger and visit www.theparenttrigger.com for the latest news and developments.
The following statements by education policy experts at The Heartland Institute may be used for attribution. For further comments, refer to the contact information below or contact Jim Lakely, director of communications at The Heartland Institute, at [email protected] or 312/377-4000.
“By proposing the Parent Trigger legislation, Gov. Kasich has opened the door to the rapid improvement of Ohio schools through parental action. As parents exercise their power under this new law, they will break free from the failed decades-long bureaucratic reshuffling to reform schools and begin converting bureaucratic infrastructure to true neighborhood schools.”
Bruno Behrend
Director, Center for School Reform
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Parents are often the missing element among ‘stakeholders’ discussing how to turn around the public schools. Too often, legislators, policymakers, and bureaucrats give lip service to the idea of parent involvement. Join the PTA, pay your dues, and let the professionals run things is usually the implication. The Parent Trigger gives parents unprecedented power to effect vital reforms.
“Here’s what a parent empowerment law, or Parent Trigger, would do for Ohio: If a simple majority of parents at a failing school decide to organize and petition their local school district, that local school district would be compelled to make changes. The parents might want to bring in a charter school operator, or replace the principal and half the staff, or, in extreme cases, close the school and have the right to send their kids to a higher-performing school nearby.”
Ben Boychuk
Managing Editor, School Reform News
Research Fellow for Education Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
818/389-2931
“The Ohio public school system employs a higher percentage of non-teachers than all but two other states. In fact, a Heartland Institute study ranked Ohio 50th in terms of efficiency in public education. It is clear that the traditional union model of reform – more money, more teachers – has failed Ohio. Gov. Kasich’s announcement of a Parent Trigger breathes life back into a dying system by empowering parents to tackle school problems in the most democratic and localized way imaginable.”
Marc Oestreich
Legislative Analyst
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 27-year-old national nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.heartland.org or call 312/377-4000.
Jim Lakely is the Vice President and Director of Communications of The Heartland Institute.
