In March we posed the question to our elected officials: Would they have the courage to embrace a bill that would give parents more choices in their children's schooling and not cost taxpayers a dime?

On Wednesday we got the answer: No. They didn't have the courage.

Weak-kneed lawmakers caved under the power of teachers' unions this week, forcing the author of AB 1464 to postpone a vote for at least a year. We can only hope that when it returns, elected leaders in the state Capitol will stand up for something that would really make a difference in the educational system.

AB 1464 would have allowed authorized nonprofit groups, universities and colleges, and big-city mayors to authorize the establishment of charter schools. The legislation is necessary because under the state's 11-year-old charter- school law, only school districts can issue charters.

It hasn't been a problem in Long Beach, which is generally receptive to charter schools. But other districts in the state have been less welcoming, if not outright obstructionist, seeing charter schools as competition rather that valid alternatives to failing neighborhood schools.

A fully empowered charter school can deliver the advantages of a voucher system, such as parental choice, innovation and engaged communities, without the drawbacks. Charter schools are publicly funded and operate under a specialized charter as opposed to state and local regulations.

From the beginning, AB 1464 faced a tough passage in a Legislature dominated by Democrats with ties to local teachers' unions. Unions have long had it out for charter schools, fearing competition to the public-school monopoly. And sure enough, political pressure from the Democrat- controlled Assembly Education Committee forced AB 1464's author to withdraw it. Assemblywoman Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, promised to reintroduce it next year.

The sad irony is that unions should be supportive of AB 1464, since they complain regularly that school bureaucracies impinge on teacher's ability to lead schools. If AB 1464 became law, unions could establish their own schools and run them entirely as they see fit.

Their opposition to charter schools shows more desire to preserve the status quo, and their own power, than to truly improve education.

AB 1464 would have put teachers and parents in control. It was an opportunity for elected leaders to step forward and really make a difference.

Yet lawmakers cowered under the pressure. Let's hope that in a year's time they find the courage to stand up for children, and not powerful campaign donors.