Today's Fresh Start, Inc. v. Los Angeles County Office of Education

Two decades ago, California became one of the first states in the country to authorize charter schools—public schools funded with public money but run by private individuals or entities rather than traditional public school districts. The Charter Schools Act of 1992 (Ed. Code, § 47600 et seq., added by Stats. 1992, ch. 781, § 1, pp. 3756-3761) authorized various public bodies to approve charters, supervise charter school operations, and revoke charters in the event particular standards and conditions were not met. But the original law did not specify the procedures that would accompany a contemplated charter revocation. In 2006, the Legislature remedied that omission, adopting provisions governing the hearing on, decision on, and appeal of a charter revocation. (Ed. Code, § 47607, subds. (c)-(k), as amended by Stats. 2006, ch. 757, § 1, pp. 6011-6014.)

In response to a writ petition by Today’s Fresh Start, Inc., an entity challenging its school’s charter revocation, we consider whether the procedures adopted by the Legislature are sufficient under the federal and state due process clauses. (See U.S. Const., 14th Amend.; Cal. Const., art. I, § 7, subd. (a).) The school…