A Metro Schools official says the so-called “parent-trigger” law should be a moot point. Alan Coverstone told members of the Metro Council on Monday night that schools should be responsive long before anyone brings a petition for a complete overhaul.
Under Tennessee’s current law, if 60 percent of parents or teachers aren’t happy with their public school, they can petition to convert it into a charter. Coverstone, who oversees charters for Metro, says such a groundswell wouldn’t come out of nowhere.
“We would imagine that conversation regarding conversion would begin long before a petition arrived at our door – although I could imagine that a petition might arrive at our door – but by the time you have 60 percent of the families or 60 percent of the teachers in a school interested in significant, revolutionary change, we feel like we would be involved in that conversation.”
Coverstone says if there are concrete changes people want, they should tell the principle or the district. And he told about a dozen council members most changes parents could ask for are doable without a charter conversion.