Via KPCC | By Annie Gilbertson William Johnston, who was superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District during the 1970s, is urging officials to stop using bond funds to buy iPads – leading an oversight committee to take up the issue Thursday. “I believe the current purchase of iPads with school bonds is illegal,”...

LA Unified, the second-largest school district in the country, is getting the largest amount of any school district in California in the latest round of funds from Prop 39, the 2012 California Clean Energy Jobs Act. The measure makes changes to corporate income taxes, providing $550 million annually for five fiscal years beginning with the...

State lawmaker makes new bid to change teacher dismissal rules A state lawmaker introduced a bill Wednesday that would attempt to streamline the process for dismissing California teachers accused of misconduct. The proposed bill by state Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) also would strive to make the dismissal process less expensive. Recent attempts to change...

Plaintiffs today in Vergara v. California, a case challenging state teacher laws, submitted their opposition to the defendants’ motion for judgment, which was filed with the California Superior Court last week. Defendants are asking the court to throw out the case for a lack of evidence. The plaintiffs’ response emphasizes the “compelling and overwhelming evidence” that...

LA Unified took another step today toward completing the roster of parents who will serve on an advisory panel charged with helping set spending goals for new state money coming into the district through the Local Control Funding Formula. In recent days, meetings of parents and guardians at the district’s five Educational Service Center areas...

Teachers: LA schools’ arts budget ‘a step in the wrong direction’ A plan by the Los Angeles Unified School District to cut the time elementary school children are taught orchestra in half is angering teachers – many of whom learned about it only after KPCC reported on the arts budget, which was released unexpectedly at...

George McKenna, a former LA Unified administrator, has become the first of thirteen school board candidates vying in the special election for the District 1 seat to submit a nominating petition. The Los Angeles City Clerk’s office requires at least 500 signatures to qualify for a position on the ballot. The filing period, which began...

The LA Unified school board holds a committee meeting today, chaired by LAUSD trustee Monica Ratliff. Among other items, the Curriculum Instruction and Assessment Committee is set to discuss the new ‘smarter balanced‘ assessments which will be administered this year on computers and tablets, taking the place of traditional standardized tests. 1:00 p.m.: Curriculum, Instruction...

New funding law puts focus on translation for non-English speakers School districts with high concentrations of English-learner students are facing a new challenge in ensuring that parents who need language translation are informed of their role under the funding formula for schools. California’s new Local Control Funding Formula emphasizes the importance of parental involvement in...

Via the Washington Post | By Sarah Blaine Commentary: We all know what teachers do, right? After all, we were all students. Each one of us, each product of public education, we each sat through class after class for thirteen years. We encountered dozens of teachers. We had our kindergarten teachers and our first grade...