The LA Unified school board is holding several open session meetings today, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., with a closed session in-between. Items up for discussion include an exploration of why certain charter schools operate on split campuses and a vote on the future of the closed Highlander campus in the San Fernando Valley,...

The LA Unified school district is analyzing why certain charter schools operate on split campuses. In a report being presented to the school board at a meeting today, the staff found 24 charters using shared facilities on two traditional school sites, and one-third of them are divided among three sites. Representatives of LA Unified charters...

By John Fensterwald  Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices were what news reports called hostile in their questioning of union lawyers Monday during arguments in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case that could undercut the financial stability and the political clout of public employee unions in California and nearly two dozen states Ten teachers in...

Who is new LA Unified Supt. Michelle King? If King has had nonconformist ideas about how to run the behemoth system or turn around lagging student achievement, she’s never made them widely known. Los Angeles Times, by Howard Blume Brown says it’s time to abandon API to judge schools’ performance Brown said the new federal...

* UPDATED After a three-month nationwide search, the LA Unified school board today kept it all in the family, naming Michelle King, a district teacher and administrator for nearly 30 years, to serve as its new superintendent. She succeeds Ramon Cortines whom she served as chief deputy until he stepped down last month. The 54-year-old...

Michelle King, the new LA Unified superintendent, is a district “lifer,” having worked all of her professional career in the district as a teacher, principal, magnet coordinator and top administrator. She also is a product of LA Unified, having attended Palisades High School. King, 54, served as senior deputy superintendent of school operations under former...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today in a case that could undermine the financial stability of teacher unions in California and 23 other states. The lawsuit, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, challenges the right of states to require public sector employees to pay compulsory dues to unions doing collective bargaining on their behalf. Even employees who...

*UPDATED One day later than the rest of the district, students from two schools in Porter Ranch impacted by a major gas leak are expected to begin classes tomorrow at two different schools miles away after LA Unified crews worked over the winter break to prep the sites. The 1,850 students from Porter Ranch Community School and Castlebay...

* UPDATED LA Unified’s selection of a new superintendent could end as early as this afternoon with the board announcing a successor to Ramon Cortines after a months-long search. The finalists are believed to be Michelle King, the current interim, and Kelvin Adams, superintendent of public schools in St. Louis. A special board meeting has been...