The state Board of Education put a stamp of approval Thursday on a list of 1,000 schools deemed so bad that parents will have the right to transfer their children to a better school in their district or any other district - this school year.
The list fulfills a new state law passed in January requiring districts to provide parents an easier way out of the state's worst schools.
But the list is likely to leave many parents scratching their heads.
That's because not all of the 1,000 schools on the bad schools list are bad. In fact, several are actually pretty good.
The new law left state officials little wiggle room in creating the list. No one district can have more than 10 percent of their schools on the list. As a result, schools that perform at a higher level had to be added to get to the mandatory number.
On the list: Fremont's Grimmer Elementary School, with above-average test scores and an Academic Performance Index of 801, exceeding the state's good-school goal by one point.
Not on the list: Oakland's Hoover Elementary School, with test scores in the bottom 10 percent statewide and an API of 672.
That isn't very fair, said school officials.
"It mischaracterizes a school that is doing what the state has asked it to do," said Fremont Unified Superintendent James Morris. "In our community, the schools on that list have demonstrated strong and steady progress in meeting the state API standard of getting to 800."
In fact, Grimmer and Cabrillo Elementary, another high-scoring Fremont school on the bad schools list, were recognized as distinguished schools by the state and federal government.
"I have all kinds of parents trying to transfer into those schools," Morris said.
State education officials acknowledged the problem, saying their hands were tied by the law. While the list is preliminary and subject to change to address any errors, the formula is set and schools on the final list won't be able to appeal their status.
The intent of the law is to provide every child a quality education, said Teala Schaff, spokeswoman for state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, the measure's author.
"We agree the legislation isn't perfect," she said, adding that she expects any problems to be brought forward so the Legislature can address them in the future.
SBX5 4 was the byproduct of efforts to make California more competitive for federal Race to the Top funds earlier this year. The measure, however, failed to draw favor with federal officials who rejected the state's application.
Supporters, however, say the measure gives families more power to pull their children out of failing schools.
"Parents get one chance to give their children the education they need," said state board member Ben Austin. "If the school is that good, then the parents won't leave."
After the list is finalized this summer, districts will be required to notify families by Sept. 15 of their right to transfer.
Current law already allows transfers out of certain low-performing schools, and many districts already have open transfer policies both within their district and to neighboring districts.
For the 2010-11 school year, the new law allows children in any of the 1,000 schools on the list to apply to any school with a greater API score than the one they want to leave. But for this one year, outside districts won't be required to accept incoming transfer students. Participation is voluntary.
District officials must accommodate students wishing to transfer within the district and use lotteries if schools have more requests than seats, state officials said.
San Francisco and Oakland school districts already have policies that allow such transfers.
Still, the schools are well attended because parents are opting to stay in the city's so-called bad schools, said San Francisco Deputy Superintendent Richard Carranza.
"Schools are much more than the sum total of their API score," he said. "This is an unfortunate part of the No Child Left Behind legacy of vilifying and identifying schools and almost beating schools into improvement."
The complete preliminary list of schools can be found at sfgate.com/ZJZM.