LA Unified announced today a final agreement with Pearson, the software company, that will bring $6.45 million back to the district as reimbursement for the content and services delivered under a technology partnership. The settlement ends one aspect of the district’s iPad program, that was built upon a deal with Apple and Pearson and was...

By Carolyn Phenicie Discussion of education issues was slim and scarce again at Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate, with only two brief mentions of education as a civil rights issue and a solitary question devoted to higher education. However, the two frontrunners, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, did address education...

Educators try to come to terms with low math scores on Smarter Balanced tests Only one-third of California students in grades 3-8 and grade 11 met the math standard – compared to 44 percent of students who met the standard in English. EdSource, by Fermin Leal ‘Redskins’ ban angers fans of California schools still using...

If you’re eager to have a say in the selection of LA Unified’s next superintendent, here’s your chance. Starting next week, the district is holding scores of meetings to enable members of the public to express opinions. Whether they will actually influence the decision is another matter, but in the spirit of community involvement, the...

The LA Unified school board is scheduled to meet today at 1 p.m. although they are running about an hour late. Two o’clock seems more reasonable. Among the items up for discussion is approvals and five-year renewals of 15 charter schools, the creation of two magnet schools in the Valley and final offers to charter school organizations seeking...

Most readers responding to the latest LA School Report poll said they want a new superintendent for LA Unified with experience, above all, and if the choice emerges from within the district, that’s fine, too. The poll asked straight-forward questions about what was most desirable in the successor to Ramon Cortines, who is expected to...

By Conor Friedersdorf When M.S. was 13, her math teacher at Edison middle school in Los Angeles invited her to be friends online. Soon the 8th grader was receiving sexually explicit messages. That winter, she was called into a classroom and told to shut the door. The teacher, Elkis Hermida, kissed and hugged the student....

California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes ethnic studies bill The measure would have directed the California Department of Education to form an advisory panel to develop the curriculum. Los Angeles Times, by Stephen Ceasar A roundup of Gov. Brown’s actions on key education bills Brown vetoed AB 787, which would have banned the operation of charter...

Nearly 90 percent of Los Angeles residents support improving the city’s public education system, and almost three quarters of them favor expanding charter public schools, according to a poll commissioned by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) released this morning. Conducted over 10 days through Oct. 1, the poll comes...

By Tom Torlakson California’s education system is transforming in positive ways. Replacing the high school exit exam with more modern and meaningful measures is a critical part of that work. Governor Jerry Brown recently signed Senate Bill 172 into law, eliminating the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) as a requirement for high school graduation....