Charter school bill is about control

OPINION – As a dad, you learn to fight for your kids—especially in an inflexible system that isn’t really built for them. I’ve spent the past 15 years doing just that for my daughters. One of them has special needs, and like so many California families, we searched for an environment where she could thrive.

We found it in a public charter school.

There, she received individualized support, was seen and celebrated, and finally began to succeed—after struggling in a one-size-fits-all traditional system. Her story is not unique. Thousands of students with disabilities, learning differences, or trauma backgrounds are finding new hope and growth in personalized learning programs offered by charter schools.

But now, Sacramento politicians are threatening that hope.

Assembly Bill 84 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi is a sweeping proposal to create a whole new state bureaucracy to oversee public charter schools. This will divert more funding to bureaucracy and stifle the innovation and flexibility of special schools. It will also result in funding cuts for special needs students. The consequences are real—and deeply harmful to families like mine and students like my daughter.

AB 84 isn’t about accountability. It’s about control.

This bill would centralize oversight of charter schools into a massive new state agency—pulling decision-making away from local communities, draining resources from classrooms, and punishing schools that serve students differently. Worse, it creates a legal and financial framework that would cut funding for students with special needs who attend charter schools.

Let that sink in. At a time when families are desperately seeking more support and options, AB 84 does the opposite. It tells parents like me: “You found something that worked and was outside the traditional system—but now your child will get less.”

That’s not just bad policy. It’s cruelty disguised as reform.

What’s really behind this bill? Political ambition. Muratsuchi is widely rumored to be positioning himself for a future run for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. By creating a new bureaucracy, he consolidates power in Sacramento, weakens local school leaders, and builds a platform for greater statewide control—all at the expense of our most vulnerable learners.

Let’s call this what it is: a power grab wrapped in red tape.

Families like mine aren’t asking for special treatment. We’re asking that our children be treated equally—that their needs be recognized and funded, no matter which public school we choose. And we’re not alone.

According to recent polling, 76% of California voters say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction if they supported cuts to funding for students with special needs. That should be a wake-up call in Sacramento.

Education isn’t a political ladder. It’s a lifeline for kids who deserve a chance.

Assembly Bill 84 puts bureaucracy over students, politics over parents, and ambition over equity. I urge our legislators—and voters—to stand up for kids like my daughter and reject this harmful proposal.

Tab Berg is President of California Parents for Public Virtual Education. He and his wife live in Fair Oaks along with two daughters.