Parents "Pull Trigger" on School Reform in Compton

In a show of civic unity, parents in the South Central Los Angeles town of Compton have become the first to utilize the so-called Trigger Law to enact change in their local school.

Under the law, if they can collect the signatures of 51 percent of all the parents of the children attending the target school, parents can make decisions such as the firing of teachers and administration or completely shutting down a school.

In Compton, hundreds of parents have signed such a petition and are seeking to switch McKinley Elementary from a public to a charter school. The parents claim that their children’s math and reading deficiencies are the driving force behind the move.

"I feel like my son wasn't at the level of learning he was supposed to be," Marlene Romero, a McKinley parent, told NBC News. "One of the teachers told me, 'If I was you, I'd take my son out of this school,'" she added.

In addition to California, similar laws are currently in place in Texas and Mississippi. Twenty-two other states are considering the legislation.

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