LA school board candidate responds to questions about credentials L.A. Unified school board candidate Genethia Hudley-Hayes is fighting allegations she falsified her academic credentials. She is one of seven candidates vying for the seat of former board member Marguerite LaMotte, who died in December. KPCC California schools are rolling out new standardized tests Schools across...

Ready, set … California schools finally start new computer test this week The new Common Core tests are one of the biggest transitions in state public education in recent memory. California schools have spent nearly two years preparing for this moment: buying computers, upgrading internet access and in some cases hiring extra IT workers. But...

Delays would mean bigger costs for shoring up teacher pension fund The longer California’s leaders delay shoring up the cash-strapped teacher pension fund, the more money it will cost taxpayers in the long run, according to an analysis presented to lawmakers on Wednesday. If lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown eliminate the fund’s $71-billion shortfall over the...

Community Groups Call For LAUSD To Spend $1B On Poorest Students A coalition of Southland community groups was expected Tuesday to deliver thousands of petitions to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board demanding that $1 billion in state funding over the next seven years be used to help low income students, English learners...

L.A. Unified’s decision to move students sparks furor Officials didn’t take into account long-standing rivalries when they decided to transfer about 280 students from Boyle Heights to Lincoln Heights, critics say. The two schools are a two-minute drive apart in similarly low-income, largely immigrant neighborhoods. But to hear students tell it, the two places might as...

State decides no API for schools until 2016 Faced with a complete sea change of its K-12 education system and having been relieved of its duty to meet some federal accountability requirements, the State Board of Education on Thursday temporarily suspended its school performance measurement tool known as the API. As a result of this...

L.A. school board approves amended contract for Supt. Deasy Los Angeles Unified schools Supt. John Deasy has a newly modified contract that includes an annual buyout of unused vacation days and new performance measures that require him to bring in revenue and enroll more students. He will also pay his own pension deduction for the...

Cost grows for proposal to expand transitional kindergarten A Senate proposal to expand transitional kindergarten to all 4-year-olds would be more expensive than originally predicted, according to a new analysis. At full rollout in 2019-20, Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg’s proposal would cost $1.46 billion in addition to the $901 million already being spent...

Rise in elementary school truancy prompts raft of bills Warning that truancy has reached a crisis level in California elementary schools, state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris and half a dozen lawmakers proposed a raft of bills Monday aimed at keeping kids in school. Harris said 30% of elementary school students were truant in the...