Some local school boards support public, independent charter schools as an educational option for parents and students; some don't. Even where school districts support them, charter schools often suffer benign neglect and get very little oversight due to limited staff or other difficulties.

Broadening sponsorship opportunities beyond local school boards would provide a welcome alternative for educators, parents and communities wanting to go the charter school route.

A bill authored by Assemblywoman Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, and Sen. Deirdre Alpert, D-San Diego, would allow University of California, California State University and California community college campuses to authorize charter schools. AB 2764 has the right elements to build bipartisan support.

If the bill passes, schools wanting to become charter schools could petition their local school board or a public college or university.

The bill would give priority to colleges or universities that approve schools offering teacher education programs and those that convert existing underperforming schools to charter schools.

The link between teaching colleges and schools marks a sort of return to the public laboratory school tradition. University-sponsored charter schools could provide a setting for creating, piloting and evaluating new curriculum materials and teaching strategies. They could provide valuable teaching experience for young teachers.

Targeting the struggling schools also is promising. Sacramento High is an example of a school converted to a charter school.

Seven states - Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin - allow colleges and universities to sponsor charter schools. Some also allow nonprofit educational organizations to sponsor charter schools. That's the next step for California.