An estimated 400 LA Unified seniors without their high school diplomas this summer may have already graduated … or they may not have, and there is nothing they can do about it at the moment. The state’s decision to suspend the July California High School Exit Exam (CASHEE) while the state Legislature debates its future...

The nonprofit Youth Policy Institute (YPI) and LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today the establishment of 94 new AmeriCorps members who will serve LA-area youth. The new positions were made possible by three grants, totaling $4.4 million, enabling the AmeriCorps members to work with youth in low-income schools and community centers all around Los Angeles. “Los...

* UPDATED A lawsuit filed today accuses the LA Unified school district of planning to deprive low-income, foster youth and English language learners of $2 billion in funds that should be directed to their education. The lawsuit, filed by ACLU SoCal, Public Advocates and Covington & Burling LLP on behalf of Community Coalition South Los...

The Supreme Court announced today it will hear a case that could deal a major blow to the financial power of public sector unions. The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, involves 10 California teachers who say their being forced to pay union dues violates their right to free speech. The teachers are asking the...

The investigation by LA Unified officials into acclaimed elementary school teacher Rafe Esquith includes allegations that he sexually abused a child 40 years ago. Esquith, a best selling author who has also received national awards and media attention for his work at Hobart Avenue Elementary School, was removed from the classroom in April in response...

An appellate court ruling in the landmark Vergara v. California case moved closer to an end date today with the attorneys for the nine student plaintiffs filing their appeal brief. The brief is a response to the appeal arguments made by the defendants in the case, the State of California and its two largest teacher...

If opponents of LA Unified’s controversial disciplinary process known as “teacher jail” were looking for an ideal case to fight it, both in a court of law and in the court of public opinion, they may get it. High-profile attorney Mark Geragos, representing one of the most famous active teachers in the country, Rafe Esquith,...

* UPDATED In a move that the California Center for Parent Empowerment (CCPE) is calling a first, a majority of teachers and staff at an LA Unified elementary school are publicly supporting a group of parents in a “parent trigger” campaign against the school’s principal. Over 30 teachers and staff at Fishburn Avenue Elementary School signed a...

Responding to a wave of media attention this week surrounding the suspension of Hobart Boulevard Elementary teacher Rafe Esquith, LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines said today “serious issues” have been raised in the briefings he has seen and that he supported the district’s continued investigation of the case. Esquith, who has received national recognition and is...

Judith Perez‘s 46 years with LA Unified came about through a random encounter in her early 20s. “I was not one of those people who knew at age five I would be a teacher,” she told LA School Report. After moving to Los Angeles in her early 20s and bouncing around a few unsatisfying jobs,...