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Brown signs bill limiting ‘willful defiance’ suspensions, expulsions
With the signing of AB 420, Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday made California the first state in the nation to limit suspensions and expulsions for the reason of “willful defiance,” a term critics call a catch-all phrase that can be hard to define but includes such categories as talking back, refusing assignments or violating the...
By Craig Clough | September 29, 2014
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LA Unified Suspension Rate Accelerating Down, to 1.5 Percent
The suspension rate in LA Unified has fallen to 1.5 percent — an impressive drop from the 8.1 percent of the 2007-08 school year. The rate of decrease has been even more pronounced since John Deasy was appointed Superintendent in 2011. In his first full school year in charge, the suspension rate fell to 3.7...
By Hillel Aron | October 14, 2013
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Deasy & Allies Prevail at May Board Meeting
Tuesday’s marathon School Board meeting included an ambitiously long agenda, simmering tensions among Board members, and no less than three different rallies going on outside the LAUSD headquarters on Beaudry Avenue throughout the day. Though the exchanges never quite rose to the level of outright acrimony, there were some dramatic moments as the Board members...
By Hillel Aron | May 15, 2013
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Morning Read: Progress for Bill Limiting Overuse of Suspensions
Bill Restricting ‘Willful Defiance’ for Suspending Students Moves Ahead With new data showing that more than half of all suspensions and a quarter of expulsions in California schools are for “willful defiance” of school authorities, the Assembly Education Committee voted 6-0 on Wednesday to move forward a bill that would restrict the use of the...
By Samantha Oltman | April 18, 2013
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Morning Read: Board Considers Speedier Teacher Investigations
L.A. School Board to Consider Faster Investigation of Teachers Sexual misconduct allegations at Miramonte Elementary School sparked a surge of investigations of Los Angeles teachers, pushing the ranks of those in “teacher jail” to more than 300 — and prompting officials this week to consider the rights of accused employees. LA Times See also: AP,...
By Samantha Oltman | April 16, 2013
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Morning Read: Teachers Vote “No Confidence” in Deasy
UTLA Delivers No-Confidence Vote to LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy LAUSD’s teachers union issued an overwhelming vote of no-confidence Thursday in the leadership of Superintendent John Deasy as he finishes his second year, while a rival survey released by civil rights groups showed strong support for his reform strategies and called for an even more aggressive...
By Samantha Oltman | April 12, 2013