School Choice Extension Bill Blocked by California Democratic Assemblywoman

, Spencer Irvine, Leave a comment

California lawmakers are looking at whether to extend the school choice program an additional five years, but one lawmaker is taking a stand against it:

California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) has halted extension of the state’s 22-year-old school “District of Choice” (DOC) program, set to expire at the end of the 2016–17 school year.

DOC is a school choice program that allows students to cross district boundaries and enroll in any of 47 participating school districts without a transfer agreement from their home district. The program serves about 10,000 students across the state. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (CLAO) issued a study about the program earlier in 2016. In its report, CLAO said the DOC program “provides transfer students with additional educational options,”and “transfer students have varied demographic backgrounds.”