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...

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...

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 Chad Aldeman Congratulations, Democrats, we made it through the nominating process without hearing much about what our nominee, Hillary Clinton, will do on education. Aside from a passing mention of tuition — and debt-free college for the middle class — Clinton’s historic acceptance speech last night continued the two-week convention trend of little to...

Parent and anthropologist Courtney Everts Mykytyn surprised some charter and traditional LA Unified educators at her lectures last weekend when showing that schools in Los Angeles and across the country are more segregated than at any other time in the nation’s history. Mykytyn noted that Latino and African-American students in LA Unified are more segregated...

The year was 1993. President Bill Clinton had just beat Republican incumbent George H. Bush and the first family was facing an early political test: Where would they send Chelsea Clinton, their 12-year-old daughter and only child, to school? On the campaign trail, Bill Clinton had portrayed himself as an ardent supporter of public education. He...

How the relationship between LA Unified and charter schools is ‘like a middle school dance’ There are about 10 types of public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, many with their own admissions processes and schedules. To address that problem, the school district has discussed creating a “unified enrollment system,” a one-stop-shopping experience for choosing between...

LA Unified school board member Monica Garcia announced on her Twitter and Facebook accounts recently that eight district high schools will benefit from three Talent Search Federal Grants from the U. S. Department of Education in the amount of $908,160.00 annually for the next five years. The grants will be administered by the the University of...

By Hailly T.N. Korman The DNC kicked off last night with two parallel stories of immigration that are meaningful, especially for those closely watching education issues. Karla Ortiz — a 10-year-old American citizen — spoke along with her mother, Francisca Ortiz, who is undocumented. Another speaker, Astrid Silva — identified on the schedule simply as “DREAMer”...

By Caroline Bermudez Reflexive opposition to Teach For America (TFA) is commonplace and the arguments against the organization are recycled regularly: Corps members are ill-prepared, they don’t stay in the profession, or they primarily teach at charter schools. It’s rare to come across fresh or fair takes on TFA, much less from someone who is a...