Many L.A. Unified school libraries, lacking staff, are forced to shut In the sun-filled space at the Roy Romer Middle School library, thousands of books invite students to stimulate their curiosity and let their imaginations soar. There is classic “Tom Sawyer” and popular “Harry Potter,” biographies of Warren Buffett and Tony Blair, illustrated books on...

Via the Los Angeles Times | By Chris Megerian WEST SACRAMENTO — When the glass-sheathed headquarters of the California teachers’ pension fund opened five years ago, it was supposed to help anchor developments along the blighted riverfront on the capital’s outskirts. But as Jack Ehnes, the fund’s chief executive, looked out from a top-floor conference...

California senator proposes restoring bilingual education Sixteen years after California voters approved an initiative requiring public school instruction in English, state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) introduced a measure Thursday to repeal the requirement of Proposition 227. Lara’s proposal would place an initiative on the ballot that would give parents a choice to have their...

Defendants in Vergara v California told Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu this morning that they would file a motion later today, asking the court to dismiss the case. Treu suspended further testimony, saying he would dispense with the request before the defendants call a witness. The request for “summary judgment” is routine after plaintiffs conclude...

The LA Unified school board is busy today with two committee meetings, both chaired by school board member Bennett Kayser: 10:00 a.m.: Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee Meeting: (Agenda) 1:00 p.m. Early Childhood Education and Parent Engagement Committee Meeting. (Agenda) LA School Report, has livestream coverage: click LIVESTREAM LAUSD  

In a trial that began in late January and was supposed to take 20 court days, plaintiffs in Vergara v California used the first 16 to put on their case, as Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu heard from 22 witnesses through yesterday. Testimony from several others became part of the case record through their depositions....

More than 600 L.A. school buildings need quake evaluations, retrofits The Los Angeles Unified School District still has hundreds of school buildings in need of detailed seismic evaluations and strengthening to withstand a major earthquake, according to district data. The Times requested an update of the school district’s inventory of its buildings in need of...

Via CBS Los Angeles Frustrated parents converged on a Woodland Hills charter school Wednesday over what they described as a failure by the school’s principal to tackle campus issues. Parents of students at Woodlake Elementary Community Charter located at 23231 Hatteras Street say they have complained to principal Jacque Kampschroer about several issues, including increased...

Updated: Feb. 19, 2014 Thirteen candidates — two of whom signed up within minutes of the 5 p.m. City Clerk deadline yesterday — have declared their intention to run for LA Unified School Board in June’s special election, in what appears to be the most crowded race in recent school board election history. The District...

L.A. Unified names caretaker for vacant board seat The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday appointed a former district administrator to oversee the seat left vacant by the death of member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte in December. In a closed-door meeting, the board selected Sylvia Rousseau, a USC professor and former local superintendent in L.A....