Look Out Teachers' Unions, Here Come Parents' Unions

Two dispatches from the education front, both speaking to underperforming students and angry parents:

• In Compton, California: Parents are trying to take advantage of a new state law to force their chronically awful school to be taken over by a charter operation. Advocates easily got the necessary 51% support of parents. The case is being closely watched because it essentially creates a "union for parents" to go up against teachers, explains the New York Times. It would be the first such action in the nation, and education chief Arne Duncan is in favor. Full story here.

• In Chicago: A parents' group is suing the city school district because "thousands of children every year" get held back for failing standardized tests, the Tribune reports. The flunking policy disproportionately harms minority students, says the complaint lodged with US education department's civil rights office. It also wastes money and makes kids more likely to drop out, argues the group, which calls for an overhaul of promotion rules. Full story here.

(More education stories.)