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The tables are turning on education for California parents who once felt trapped by school administrators at low performing schools.

The California State Assembly passed two comprehensive bills that advance education reform.  The new legislation would position the state to be eligible for a slice of the Obama Administration's $3.4 billion Race to the Top grant. The application deadline is Jan. 19.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass held a conference call with the media Tuesday to outline the bills, adding that the Assembly "took time to conduct in-depth negotiations with the Senate and the Schwarzenegger Administration." Bass said the bills would provide "higher standards for math and language, new evaluations for principals, real tools for teachers at low-performing schools, increased intervention for consistently troubled schools, stronger parental involvement and greater ability for students in the lowest performing schools to transfer to higher performing schools. The legislation also makes it easier to fire bad teachers and replace up to 50% of teachers in the lowest performing schools."

To increase accountability, teachers' performance would be linked to that of their students. Race to the Top bases 25% of a state's score on a governor's school improvement plan. Actions on Tuesday will send a signal to Washington that California is on the path of improving school performance.  The state senate was expected to take action on Tuesday.  In his final State of the State address, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to sign the legislation into law "as soon as it hits my desk."

Contained in the bill is a provision that requires changes in school operations if a petition is signed by at least 50% of parents.  The California Teachers Assn. is not pleased, and one representative has accused lawmakers of pushing legislation through just to get one-time federal funding.  Teachers fear the measure would divide parents and teachers, and leave behind some children whose schools may not be affected by reform.  The reform would affect 1,000 of the state's worst-performing schools. The governor sees the measure as a way out for good students trapped in a bad school environment: "Now, for the first time, parents (without the principal's permission) have the right to free their children from these destructive schools. That is great freedom. Also in the past, parents had no power to bring about change in their children's schools but that will now change too. Parents will now have the means to get rid of incompetent principals and take other necessary steps to improve their children's education."

More than half of the school districts in the state have agreed to make the necessary reforms, according to state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.