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Morning Read: Transgender student in Virginia cannot use boys’ restroom under Supreme Court emergency order
Supreme Court grants emergency order to block transgender male student in Virginia from using boys’ restroom The Supreme Court intervened for the first time Wednesday in the controversy over transgender rights and blocked a lower court ruling that would have allowed a transgender boy to use the high school restroom that fits his “gender identity.” In...
By Sarah Favot | August 4, 2016
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L.A. Unified school board member Monica Garcia dominates fundraising in re-election bid
Seven months out from the primary, L.A. Unified school board member Monica Garcia has already raised nearly 150 times more money than her opponent, including donations from former L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy and both charter school and L.A. district employees. Garcia, seeking her third term on the seven-member board, collected $119,858 in donations between...
By Sarah Favot | August 3, 2016
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Port Townsend goes to sea: A coastal town organizes its schools around climate change
When the wind blows hard through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, water whips against the old brick walls lining the main street of Port Townsend. Since its founding as a Victorian seaport 90 miles north of Seattle, this picturesque town on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula has been home to generations of sailors and boat builders....
By Heather McRae-Woolf | August 3, 2016
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Morning Read: Deaf and hard-of-hearing English learners make progress in special program
Special program for deaf and hard-of-hearing English learners closes reading, writing gap While deaf and hard-of-hearing kids often fall behind their peers academically, the challenge is even greater for those who are English learners. Like Centeno, many kids with hearing issues whose parents don’t speak English are not diagnosed promptly, according to experts. The delay in...
By Sarah Favot | August 3, 2016
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Tucker: Hoping Clinton rekindles the spirit that pioneered an innovative preschool program
Back when Hillary Rodham Clinton was still an education innovator, the Democratic nominee, then the young first lady of Arkansas, brought to her adopted home state an inspired program called HIPPY, which coaches less-affluent parents who want to prepare their preschoolers for first grade. Former President Bill Clinton gave the program a much-deserved mention in...
By Cynthia Tucker Haynes | August 2, 2016
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Violations found at all LA Unified preschools for disabled children surveyed by independent monitor
The independent monitor for special education at LA Unified found violations at all 13 Preschool for All Learners (PALs) programs visited, according to a new report. LA Unified has been under federal oversight since 1996 as a result of a class-action lawsuit that accused it of non-compliance with special education laws. As part of the settlement,...
By Craig Clough | August 2, 2016
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Morning Read: Proposed state, federal school accountability systems may be at odds
Proposed federal, state accountability systems could again clash The Legislature required and the California State Board of Education is designing a multidimensional school accountability system that will incorporate measures of school climate and students’ readiness for college and careers. But, according to a new analysis, proposed federal regulations would, in effect, prohibit states from using...
By LA School Report | August 2, 2016
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RNC, DNC Recap: 18 things education experts noticed at the conventions
This article wraps up our in-depth coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. For more analysis and backstage reports from Cleveland & Philadelphia, see our RNC and DNC archives. We knew from the first primary debates last fall that 2016 wasn’t likely to be the education election. Candidates had other pressing things to talk...
By Steve Snyder | August 1, 2016
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LAUSD has ‘lack of urgency’ and is $695 million short on plan to comply with Americans With Disabilities Act, report says
A court-appointed independent monitor (IM) of LA Unified’s special education programs estimates that the district’s plan to bring itself in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and disengage itself from federal court oversight is roughly $695 million short of what is needed, according to a new report. LA Unified has been under federal oversight since 1996 as...
By Craig Clough | August 1, 2016
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Morning Read: CORE districts ask for waiver to continue working on accountability system
CORE districts want state waiver to continue their work The six California school districts that designed their own school accountability and improvement model are asking the State Board of Education for permission to continue to develop their hybrid system in 2017-18 and beyond. The board will discuss and possibly vote on the proposal at its...
By LA School Report | August 1, 2016