LA Unified will begin phasing out polystyrene trays this month, replacing them with environmentally friendly compostable plates. The change comes as part of the district’s membership in the Urban School Food Alliance  (USFA), along with New York, Chicago, Miami-Dade, Dallas and Orlando. The cities have banded to implement healthier and more environmentally sound food choices while using...

A high-profile LAPD raid on Venice High School that made international headlines after 15 male students were arrested on charges of sexual assault has resulted in prosecutors’ decision not to prosecute anyone in the case. The large number of students arrested in mid-March and the high number of law enforcement personnel that descended on the...

Anyone who is staunchly in the pro-reform or pro-union camp on LA Unified school board issues is probably feeling a little ambiguous today. Despite two new faces coming to the board, the ideological balance of power remained the same, and reactions from the major players and supporters in the election has been mixed. Here is...

Gov. Jerry Brown‘s revised May budget has already received plenty of praise from school districts for showering California’s public education institutions with billions in additional funds. But the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) yesterday delivered additional sunny news estimating that revenues would be $3.2 billion more than Brown’s budget predicts. “Overall, we think the administration’s...

A new federal class action lawsuit accuses the Compton Unified School District of failing to adequately address the issue of childhood trauma in its schools, a violation of the federal rights of its students and staff. The lawsuit was filed by Public Counsel, a public advocacy law firm, and the private firm, Irell & Manella LLP. Mark...

There were precious few debates that featured a head-to-head matchup of the candidates facing off in Tuesday’s runoff election for LA Unified school board. But anyone still looking to make up their mind might want to check out the candidate questionnaire organized by #LAYouthVote, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles sponsored group that recently registered several thousand...

LA Unified has only one of the nation’s top 100 public high schools, but quite a few of the top charter schools, according to U.S. News & World Report. Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies ranked as the 84th best public high school in the nation, and 14th best in the state on the publication’s annual...

* UPDATED Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, which directs billions more toward schools over the next few years, has brought smiles to the faces of educational leaders around the state. The overall amount includes an additional $3.1 billion for the current academic year and $2.7 billion extra for next year and could mean as much as...

*UPDATED A recent panel discussion at the Milken Institute took on the issue of digital technology in the classroom under the assumption that “traditional education, built around books and classroom activities, no longer prepares students for today’s digital world or the job market that it has created.” As LAUSD looks to reboot its digital approach in...