House leaves ‘No Child’ education law behind The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bipartisan K-12 education bill. Washington Post, By Lyndsey Layton Leaves of absence tighten school labor pool Teachers taking months-long breaks from schools have steadily increased over the past decade, according to a report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Cabinet...

By Howard Blume Nearly $2.3 million in donations made by charter school supporters during this year’s Los Angeles school board races were shielded from disclosure until after the election was over, a review of records shows. Those contributions — from philanthropist Eli Broad, heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg...

Parents upset over cell tower possible being installed near WeHo school Parents said radiation from the cell tower will have harmful effects on their children. ABC7, by Mayde Gomez Judge rules district not liable in arrest of special ed student in drug sting In 2012, it was called Operation Glasshouse, an undercover drug investigation at...

The LA Unified school board is holding a special meeting  at 9 a.m. today to fine-tune the one-page list of “Desired Characteristics” for the superintendent that they hope to hire by the end of the year. The open session will have representatives of the search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates reviewing the Leadership Profile Report. Then, the...

By Emma Brown Federal lawmakers on Monday released the final text of a compromise bill to rewrite No Child Left Behind, including closely watched language outlining how the nation’s K-12 schools would be judged — and how struggling schools would be improved — if the legislation passes. The bill, dubbed the Every Student Succeeds Act, would largely shift authority from...

California leads drive to reverse focus on standardized tests California is on course to have a major impact on reshaping the national discourse – and practice – on this issue. EdSource, by Louis Freedberg Who’s afraid of Campbell Brown? Brown’s new endeavor is all about kickstarting her ambitious plans to reshape the education debate in...

By Teresa Watanabe Just before 8 a.m. at Peary Middle School in Gardena, a boy was refusing to leave his mother’s car. The school police officer on duty could have barked orders at him to get to class. He could have written him up for truancy. He could have forcibly moved him — as a South...

Study: State should increase, overhaul school construction bonds “California must bolster – not recede from – its role in the state-local funding partnership for K-12 school facilities,” concluded the paper. EdSource, by John Fensterwald Rethinking ‘ultra-safe’ playgrounds Playgrounds have drastically changed over the years. Most no longer offer the same sensory and motor challenges as...

By Daniela Gerson Priscilla Farinas, an English teacher at Social Justice Humanitas Academy in San Fernando, faced her 31 students recently and made an announcement that seemingly violates official Los Angeles Unified policy. “This is the one and only time I will have you take out your cellphones,” she said, instructing the students to share their definitions of...