An appellate court ruling in the landmark Vergara v. California case moved closer to an end date today with the attorneys for the nine student plaintiffs filing their appeal brief. The brief is a response to the appeal arguments made by the defendants in the case, the State of California and its two largest teacher...

The LA Unified school board yesterday approved a $7.8 billion budget that includes raises, pension increases, sustained health benefits, more money for school maintenance and expansion of programs for targeted students that nearly became extinct over the recession years. But in doing so, the district broke its one-year streak of no layoffs. Despite an increase of...

By Dan Gordon As the superintendent of Coachella Valley Unified School District (CA), where 80 percent of the children live in poverty and 70 percent are English language learners, Darryl Adams spearheaded a successful bond measure that funded a 1-to-1 iPad initiative for Coachella Valley Unified’s 20,000 students. The district then began putting WiFi routers on idle...

Two members of the LA Unified school board, losers in last month’s elections, joined their colleagues for the final time today, as Bennett Kayser got a 90-minute heartfelt and emotional sendoff and Tamar Galatzan walked away without so much as a goodbye or thank you from any of the remaining five members, including the out-going president,...

If opponents of LA Unified’s controversial disciplinary process known as “teacher jail” were looking for an ideal case to fight it, both in a court of law and in the court of public opinion, they may get it. High-profile attorney Mark Geragos, representing one of the most famous active teachers in the country, Rafe Esquith,...

A small coalition of community organizations rallied at LA Unified headquarters today, urging district leaders to invest in more restorative justice programs and alternative schools. The Dignity in Schools Campaign joined with leaders of the parent group, CADRE, Public Counsel and the teachers union, UTLA, to celebrate, what they called “a minor victory.” Beginning next...

* UPDATED In a move that the California Center for Parent Empowerment (CCPE) is calling a first, a majority of teachers and staff at an LA Unified elementary school are publicly supporting a group of parents in a “parent trigger” campaign against the school’s principal. Over 30 teachers and staff at Fishburn Avenue Elementary School signed a...

By Motoko Rich The new academic standards known as the Common Core emphasize critical thinking, complex problem-solving and writing skills, and put less stock in rote learning and memorization. So the standardized tests given in most states this year required fewer multiple choice questions and far more writing on topics like this one posed to...

New initiative for teacher development School boards must prepare plans for how they will spend their share of a $500 million block grant aimed at boosting teacher competency. SI&A Cabinet Report Court upholds LAUSD decision to offer Crenshaw facilities to charter school LAUSD did not violate the state’s charter school law by offering school facilities...

Despite assertions by Superintendent Ramon Cortines that the 2015-16 balanced budget — up for approval tomorrow by the LA Unified school board — included more than 600 job cuts, it appears that district officials are rescinding some of those layoffs. In March, the board passed a fiscal stabilization plan that triggered 609 Reduction in Force notices to...