Escuela Popular, a San Jose charter school that has been serving all ages for 40 years, may be forced to close its doors because of teacher credentialing issues.
The East Side Union High School District oversees the site and says the school is out of compliance, but staff say they just need a little more time and insist everything they’re doing is within the education code.
Claudia Gonzalez spent much of her time as an immigrant from Mexico at Escuela Popular. She went on to earn her high school diploma and began teaching English at the school to other immigrants.
“I learn English at this school and a lot of students learn English at this school,” she said.
But then the law changed for charter schools.
“Prior to 2019, charter schools could have non-core elective classes taught by non-certificated teachers,” Escuela Popular CEO Patricia Reguerin said.
Schools had five years to comply. Since June 2025, a new law requires that even those teaching ESL classes need a state certificate. To comply with the law, Escuela Popular pulled Gonzalez from the head of the classroom and has been bringing in 30-day certificated substitute teachers to comply with the education code.
With the current teacher shortage, it’s difficult to fill every classroom with certificated instructors, the school said.
The district said it met with the school’s human resources department in January to work on the process but saw few results, suggesting 66% of the teachers at Escuela Popular are out of compliance.
The school says 67% of its teachers are fully credentialed to teach K-12.
Reguerin fears the district will end the school’s 40-year legacy of educating students and teaching English to thousands of immigrants.
“My mother founded the school,” Reguerin said. “It’s extremely difficult. I love my mother and the legacy and everything she put here for everyone. But it’s about the families, the families that come to school every day.”
Escuela Popular said it needs more time and has been requesting sit-down meetings with the district to go over certifications, teacher by teacher, to prove it’s in compliance with the state code.
Source: NBC Bay Area