Updated June 15 About one-fourth of LA Unified schools have just won a coveted freedom: the right to hire the best teacher for the job. However, the majority of Los Angeles schools are still shackled by a longtime districtwide policy that forces principals to hire from a “must-place” list of “displaced” teachers. But that could...

June 20 Update: The LAUSD board approved the 2018-19 budget as expected on June 19, and pledged support for a couple new initiatives, including college savings accounts and free college admissions tests. But again, senior district officials forecast that the district was headed towards financial catastrophe in just four years, when reserves are expected to...

LA Unified made a big commitment Tuesday: by 2023 all students will be college-ready, and — to make sure parents can hold the district accountable — it will now report two different graduation rates. Through unanimous approval of the “Realizing the Promise for All: Close the Gap by 2023” resolution, the board members “publicly commit” to...

As they progress through school, students are getting better at believing they can master challenging subjects, but they are getting worse at managing their behavior and empathizing with others. Those are highlights of a recent study of nearly 400,000 California students in some of the state’s largest school districts, which have collaborated over the past...

As LA Unified board members thanked Benjamin Holtzman for his service this school year as Student Board Member, Holtzman introduced his replacement: Tyler Okeke. Here are a few things to know about Tyler, who starts his new post in August. High school: Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, which at Tuesday’s board meeting was renamed after one of the...

*Updated June 14 While the nation is anxiously watching for a decision on Janus v. AFSCME, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could determine whether government unions can continue to charge non-members a fee for representing them, a federal appeals court in California tossed out a case Monday that could have had even...

As LA Unified school board members press ahead with how to improve the district’s lowest-performing schools, a vote is scheduled for Tuesday on a resolution with higher student achievement and graduation goals as well as ways to strengthen individual schools. Growing frustration by parents who have children in the bottom tier of LA schools led...

With the school reform-minded candidate knocked out of the race for California governor, and two remaining candidates on separate sides of the aisle, hot-button issues like immigration are likely to overshadow education in the months leading up to November’s general election. Now, the focus and energy around education will likely shift to the nonpartisan race...

Updated June 6 California voters swept Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom into a solid lead for governor, while Republicans rallied to push businessman John Cox into second place, setting up a blue-red contest in November’s general election, according to preliminary results from Tuesday’s primary. In the other statewide contest that will significantly impact California public school students, Marshall...

Two reports released Tuesday urge LA Unified to start making tough choices to boost student achievement and to move faster in delivering more funds to the schools serving the neediest students. The first study found that LA Unified has been slow to get increased state funding to the schools serving students with the highest needs, particularly...