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LWV CA Ed Fund LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF CALIFORNIA EDUCATION FUND
Nonpartisan Pros & Cons of

Proposition 8

PUBLIC SCHOOLS. PERMANENT CLASS SIZE REDUCTION.
PARENT-TEACHER COUNCILS. TEACHER CREDENTIALING.
PUPIL SUSPENSION FOR DRUG POSSESSION.
CHIEF INSPECTOR'S OFFICE.

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Initiative Statute
THE QUESTION

Should voters add six provisions to the Education Code that would make major changes in the state's K-12 education system?

SITUATION

The State Department of Education, with a $34 million annual budget, oversees the 8,000 public schools in California. In addition, public schools answer to the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, the appointed State Board of Education, the Governor, and the Legislature.

THE PROPOSAL

Proposition 8 would:

  • create a new school oversight office, headed by a Chief Inspector of Public Schools, which would report annually on the quality of K-12 schools

  • require each school district to have a governing council of parents/teachers, which would have decision-making power and responsibilities for budgets and curriculum

  • give principals more control over their choice of teachers

  • require teachers to submit lesson plans for approval

  • impose new credential requirements and require that all new and some experienced teachers be tested to demonstrate subject-matter competency

  • expel students immediately for illegal drug possession and require that they attend a continuation school

  • create a permanent fund to ensure a maximum 20-student K-3 classroom size.

FISCAL EFFECT

The Legislative Analyst estimates the new state programs required by Proposition 8 would add up to $60 million. Some of these costs would be offset by increased fee collections.

SUPPORTERS SAY

  • Parents deserve a timely, unbiased report on their child's school.

  • Proposition 8 ensures that funds for the Class Size Reduction Program cannot become a political pawn.

OPPONENTS SAY

  • The new Chief Inspector would have too much power--a 10-year term with no legislative confirmation.

  • Classroom funds would be diverted to triple the size of the educational bureaucracy.

(Analysis prepared by the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund.)


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Last updated: August 30, 1998
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