Green Dot, based in L.A., plans to open schools in other states Green Dot Public Schools, a locally based group of charter campuses, announced this week it has set up a national organization to manage expansion into Tennessee and Washington. Green Dot has been one of the best known local charter organizations and one of...

Final ruling in Vergara could be years in coming Vergara v. California, in which a Superior Court judge struck down California’s teacher tenure, layoff and dismissal laws, may be headed for a lengthy appeals process. A clue to how long may lie in another far-from-resolved education lawsuit. This month marks three years since Alameda County...

Firing bad teachers: A superintendent and a union official debate Commentary: Dr. John E. Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, supports the California lawsuit against the state’s tenure, layoff and termination rules. He believes that the current system has a disparate impact on the quality of education offered to poor students and...

Obama alums join anti teachers union case Teachers unions are girding for a tough fight to defend tenure laws against a coming blitz of lawsuits — and an all-out public relations campaign led by former aides to President Barack Obama. The Incite Agency, founded by former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and former Obama campaign...

California special ed to get federal intervention The U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday that California special education programs need federal intervention, citing the lack of significant academic progress for students with special needs. California is one of three states, along with Texas and Delaware, designated for a one-year program of intervention. EdSource Lawmakers: Students...

Jerry Brown signs teacher pension fund bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday to begin paying down an estimated shortfall of more than $74 billion in the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, acting on the last of a raft of budget-related bills ahead of the July 1 start of the next fiscal year. Sac Bee...

Parent-trigger efforts: At a crossroads? A standstill? A dead end? Parent-trigger campaigns have spurred changes at six schools in southern California, only one of which involved a full charter school conversion. Every successful parent union had the backing of the Los Angeles-based Parent Revolution, the nonprofit group formed to promote the law, teach parents how...

Program helps L.A. County foster youths become high school grads A program in Los Angeles County has been aiming to reverse against aspirant graduates living in the foster care system. It began as a pilot program in Supervisor Gloria Molina’s Eastside district in 2008 and expanded countywide two years ago. Under the initiative, a group...

Charter schools’ $100,000 opposition helps sink district’s bond measure Earlier this month, and for the first time, the political arm of the California Charter Schools Association campaigned heavily against a proposed school construction bond in a district that hadn’t agreed to share the proceeds with charter schools. EdSource One more push for pesticide control on...

Report: Economic prosperity relies on boosting immigrant education Home to one-quarter of the nation’s immigrants and a top-destination for incoming refugees, California must significantly improve educational outcomes for immigrant youth if the state – and the nation – are to stay economically competitive, according to a new report. EdSource Appeals tie up teacher misconduct cases...