Via Los Angeles Times | By Steve Lopez Commentary: If Stuart Magruder knew how to play the game, he might still have his volunteer watchdog job today. But he just had to speak up. The arrogance, the temerity, the insolence. How dare he challenge the leadership of the Los Angeles Unified School District? Exactly what...

Teachers’ union leader blasts U.S. Education secretary over comments American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten sharply criticized U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan last week for his praise of a ruling by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge deeming certain job protections for teachers in California as unconstitutional. The ruling represents a major...

The LA Unified board meeting on June 17 might be more crowded than usual. UTLA, the teachers union, is planning a noon press conference outside the district’s downtown headquarters and handing out leaflets to call attention to the board’s demand for “a fair pay raise” for the coming years. The union’s activities come at a...

Via Edsource | By John Fensterwald A joke around Sacramento is that it takes a Ph.D. in Proposition 98 to understand how California schools are funded and governed. The truth is that agood short course is probably all that’s needed for the basics of California’s complex education policies. And now there is one – Ed100.org. Created by...

Via The New York Times | By Jesse Rothstein BERKELEY, Calif. — In his decision on Tuesday to strike down California’s teacher-tenure system, Judge Rolf M. Treu of Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that laws protecting teachers from dismissal violated the state’s constitutional commitment to provide “a basically equal opportunity to achieve a quality education”...

California teacher firing bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown Against the backdrop of a ruling declaring California’s teacher dismissal rules unconstitutional, the Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown legislation speeding the teacher firing process. Sacbee CA budget agreement is biggest expansion to early education in a decade Some of California’s...

Ever wonder how much money your local LAUSD school gets? Here’s a way to find out. Click here, and what you see is LA Unified’s $4.58 billion school-by-school spending plan for the 2014-2015 academic year. Each line item reflects a category and shows whether its funding is restricted, which means the money can only be...

Just in case parents around the country missed the decision in Vergara v. California, a union-watch group in Washington is spreading the word. The Center for Union Facts, a nonprofit, ran an ad in today’s USA Today that urges parents and school reform advocates to to follow Vergara’s lead and sue when teacher unions block reform efforts. Judge Rolf...

Teacher tenure ruling in California is expected to intensify debate The landmark court decision on Tuesday finding California’s teacher tenure laws unconstitutional is likely to lead to a flood of copycat lawsuits in other states, shifting the battleground on the issue from the legislatures to the courts. NY Times Why that ruling against teacher tenure...