author: Bocanegra, Portantino
co-author: Acosta
AB 1217 was a hastily written to curry favor with a wealthy billionaire donor. It would have created a state-run STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) school in Los Angeles despite the fact that LA already has 97 STEM programs in its school district. Many opponents — including the state superintendent who would have overseen the school — explained that the bill was attempting to essentially create a charter school without going through the local jurisdictions where the school would be placed. The bill had been rushed through the legislature with very little information on who would even be governing the school. Ultimately, AB 1217 would have eliminated local control of the school, allowing the state to operate it far removed from the people it would have impacted. (This bill is now law.)