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Associated Press reporter Christina Hoag reports that parents from the Desert Trails Parents Union must return to court to force the Adelanto School Board to comply with a judge's order to convert the failing school into a charter school. The school board defied the judge's order to convert Desert Trails Elementary School into a charter school, a right granted to parents under California's Parent Trigger Law. This latest effort to enforce the will of the Desert Trails parents comes as PDK/Gallup releases a national poll citing 76% approval for Parent Trigger laws among public school parents.

Sadly, Desert Trails Elementary School is failing to serve its students, and has done so for many years. It ranks as the lowest performing elementary school in the Adelanto School District, as well as in the bottom 10% of all California elementary schools. Two-thirds of students who graduate are unable to read or do math at grade level.

Facing yet another year of unfulfilled promises, parents organized and demanded positive change. They filed a petition under California's Parent Trigger Law to take control of the persistently failing school from the school board and convert the school into a charter school.

Over a month ago, Judge Malone ordered the School Board members to accept the parents' petition and move forward with the charter conversion.

On Friday, August 17, 2012, the Adelanto School Board defied the court's order and refused to convert Desert Trails Elementary School into a charter school, per the parents' petition and the judge's order. DTPU parents will return to court to force board compliance with the judge's order.

Read the full article here.