In its quest to decide what to do about daily weapons searches, LA Unified is preparing an expansive survey for the entire school community for December to explore whether changes are needed to one of the most rigorous search mandates of any school district in the country. After an information session last week, acting Superintendent...

*UPDATED It took a series of violent crimes on and near school campuses to spur LA Unified’s strict policy requiring every secondary school conduct random daily metal detector searches. Daily searches have been required for more than six years, but the policy is now being reevaluated as the district called this year for principals to...

LA Unified’s daily random weapons searches get mixed reviews from the students themselves. Saisha Smith from Dorsey High says it’s a violation of her civil rights that “wastes valuable teaching time when all they’re doing is taking away my hand sanitizer and cough drops.” But student school board member Benjamin Holtzman from Hamilton High says,...

Weapons found on or near LA Unified school campuses increased by 2.7 percent last year, to 568. The number of rifles and shotguns more than doubled. Those numbers for the 2016-17 school year were revealed last Tuesday at a special meeting of the school board to review the district’s policy of mandatory daily random searches...

Despite record-breaking rainfall over the past week in Los Angeles, the number of leaks and flooding issues at LA Unified schools is minimal and administrators credit the preparations they did for last year’s rather wimpy El Niño.  As of Monday morning, there were 2,000 open service calls for issues throughout the district, but only 20...

A 15-page report that details the dramatic 24 hours of the largest one-day shutdown of a school district in U.S. history shows some serious need for equipment and communications upgrades. The report released late Friday afternoon by LA Unified shows how agencies coordinated well during the safety threat, but also revealed a need for updated computer systems and...

One year ago today, the second-largest school district in the country made a decision to shut down all its schools. At 6:25 a.m. the call went out after LA Unified school board President Steve Zimmer received an email that threatened students and staff with weapons and bombs. The district was between superintendents. Ramon Cortines had actually...

While students in Los Angeles face growing anxiety over the Donald Trump presidency, there’s increasing pressure to end the school district’s random searches that go on every day at middle and high schools. Momentum is greater than ever to end the mandatory practice at LA Unified after the election of an administration that threatens to deport undocumented students, punish sanctuary...

By Hannah Bartlebaugh In the days following the election of Donald Trump, there have been incidents across the country of increased harassment and bullying that have made students feel unsafe and unwanted in their public schools. As we move into the era of a Trump presidency, it’s more important now than ever to address bullying....

*UPDATED Students in East Los Angeles on Monday morning walked out of classes from at least five high schools to protest in the wake of Donald Trump‘s election as president. Walkouts at school campuses began last week following Trump’s victory on Tuesday. Students at Garfield, Mendez, Roosevelt, Wilson and Lincoln high school walked out of...