By David Leonhardt The University of California is struggling with budget woes that have deeply affected campus life. Yet the system’s nine colleges still lead the nation in providing top-flight college education to the masses. At many other colleges, poor and truly middle-class students remain a distinct minority. Affluent students predominate at liberal-arts colleges like Oberlin and...

Girl says LAUSD bullied her after she alleged sexual assault A student who alleged she was sexually assaulted has filed a claim with the district for negligence, bullying and “outrageous conduct.” Los Angeles Times Lawsuit: Schools failed to inform parents of right to opt out of tests Concerned Parents of California filed the lawsuit against Walnut...

By arguing in court that a 14-year-old girl was partly responsible for her own sexual abuse at the hands of her teacher has not only brought LA Unified a string of negative press, it has backfired terribly and now bought on a new trial. The state Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial in...

Los Angeles Unified School District represents a “rare bright spot” in hiring of minority teachers in both district and charter schools, according to a study released yesterday from the Albert Shanker Institute comparing nine urban school districts. The study shows that as schools are getting higher levels of minority students, there are fewer minority teachers,...

* UPDATED A group of education experts and organizations supporting the state’s two largest teacher unions’ appeal of the Vergara lawsuit have filed amici curiae, or “friend of the court” briefs with the California Court of Appeals while former California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed in with their own briefs opposing the unions....

By Gary Walker The new Common Core state standardized test results are in, and they don’t look great for LAUSD. Nearly a year after the departure of Supt. John Deasy, the school district still awaits new permanent executive leadership. Traditional public school enrollment is declining as charter schools pick up more students and move into empty...

While LA Unified may still be struggling to integrate its iPads and other digital devices into the classroom, its police department has found a few useful things to do with theirs. Members of the Los Angeles School Police Department, working collaboratively with Haystax Technology, developed a school safety assessment tool that specially trained officers are using...

In what seemed to be a routine agenda item last night, the LA Unified school board found itself debating a fundamental issue: When you have a few extra bucks do you save for a rainy day or do you pay off your debts right away? The question arose when the board was trying to figure...

Among all the subgroups of LA Unified students who took the state’s new Smarter Balanced standardized tests, English language-learners (ELL) produced especially disappointing results, finishing behind the state average for ELLs and near the bottom compared with the state’s 11 other large districts. LA Unified has the most English learners of any district in the...

Even before the superintendent search team passes out the first public survey, members of the LA Unified school board yesterday raised questions over questions that they want the community to consider in finding a successor to Ramon Cortines. The board held most of the discussion in a closed meeting last night with the search team...