The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has made preliminary proposals to provide classroom space in district facilities for more than 25,000 charter school students.
In the preliminary proposals sent to 74 charter schools, the district offered more than 1,000 classrooms. In addition, the district already has reached alternative agreements with several other charter operators. Some charter schools received preliminary proposals to share about 100 campuses with traditional district schools.
The district says the offer of instructional space is the largest the district had made to charter organizations.
"Our goal is to work within the law to provide space to all charter schools that have made appropriate requests," says Parker Hudnut, executive director of the Innovation and Charter Schools Division. "To find room for charter schools, district staff conducted detailed evaluations of more than 650 LAUSD campuses."
In California, local school districts are required to share district facilities with charter schools because of Proposition 39, a ballot measure passed by voters in 2000.
Charter schools make requests each year for space, and school districts are required to make preliminary proposals by Feb. 1 and final offers by April 1.
