California special ed to get federal intervention The U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday that California special education programs need federal intervention, citing the lack of significant academic progress for students with special needs. California is one of three states, along with Texas and Delaware, designated for a one-year program of intervention. EdSource Lawmakers: Students...

Via Reuters | By Sharon Bernstein California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a law adding “egregious misconduct” to the list of fireable offenses for public school teachers, weeks after a judge said it was too hard to fire incompetent teachers in the most populous U.S. state. Both houses of the legislature unanimously passed the...

A bill that sought to create teacher tenure for California’s smallest school districts died in committee today when the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, could not generate enough support for passage by the Senate Education Committee. The bill would have required school districts with fewer than 250 students to grant tenure to teachers after three...

Via LA Times | Howard Blume California ranks in the bottom rung of states in the academic achievement of disabled students, according to new federal rankings released Tuesday. The new system rates only 18 states and U.S. territories as meeting federal standards, compared with 41 under the old rules for evaluating state programs. The prior...

The LA Unified school board decided yesterday to hold its annual election for president in the traditional fashion, with an Annual Meeting on July 1, when the six members will choose their leader for the coming school year. While that’s business as usual, it precludes the possibility that a newly-elected board member for District 1,...

Jerry Brown signs teacher pension fund bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday to begin paying down an estimated shortfall of more than $74 billion in the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, acting on the last of a raft of budget-related bills ahead of the July 1 start of the next fiscal year. Sac Bee...

*UPDATE The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a $6.4 billion budget for the 2014-15 school year, ending a tumultuous year for the district and Superintendent John Deasy. The budget represents the first in seven years that does not include cuts from the previous year. It reflects a $332 million injection of statewide...

The long road toward finalizing LA Unified’s budget for the 2014-2015 school year ends later today (maybe) when the school board votes to approve Superintendent John Deasy‘s $7.2 billion spending plan. The new budget reflects not only added support from the state but also new guidelines for how to use the money, which is earmarked...

Via KPCC | By Annie Gilbertson The union representing Los Angeles school employees — cafeteria workers, custodians, teachers’ assistants and others — is launching a pilot program to help students at four schools get access to counseling and health care. They say their workers can help provide a missing link. “Optimizing Access to Services, Inspiring...