A Tale of Two Petitions: The Best and Worst of Times Implementing the Parent Trigger Law

• In Event: Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Parents, Students, and Communities Organizing for and Against Educational Change

Abstract

The Parent Empowerment Act in California, better known as the Parent Trigger, is a new law that provides parents with the right to restructure their children’s underperforming school. Drawing from a qualitative case study approach, the following paper follows the stories of two trigger petitions in Los Angeles. Following families, educators, and organizers, the author uses tenets of Social Movement theory to further understand how parents organize for a trigger petition. Further, the author explores the intended and unintended consequences of the law as it has been currently implemented at both Los Angeles schools. Finally, the author addresses these consequences to evaluate the short term outcomes of implementing trigger laws.

Author

• Rodolfo Acosta, University of Southern California