Districts seeking reimbursement for Common Core test cost The state could be liable for as much as $1 billion per year in costs. Ed Source 2 of 3 candidates for L.A. school board seat don’t show up for debate Absenteeism was a big problem Wednesday night at a forum for Los Angeles Unified school board...

* UPDATED If endorsements mean anything, the incumbents running to hold their LA Unified board seats have gotten a boost from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, the umbrella organization for more than 300 locals, representing about 600,000 workers. The group is supporting George McKenna in District 1, Tamar Galatzan in 3, Bennett...

It was supposed to be the first debate of the LA Unified school board races, but it wasn’t: Only one candidate showed up. With board member Bennett Kayser and challenger Andrew Thomas pulling out, the floor for the District 5 forum belonged to candidate Ref Rodriguez, who had all the time he liked last night to...

The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles and LA Unified reached an agreement last week to consolidate two positions into one. The role of “assistant principal” and “instructional specialist” as of July 1 will be merged into the role of “assistant principal elementary” or “assistant principal secondary.” The change was explained by AALA in its weekly...

Schools don’t track whether under-vaccinated kids get all of their shots In some L.A. Unified schools, 60, 70, and even 80 percent of incoming kindergartners were enrolled conditionally in the 2013-14 school year. KPCC Teachers ask high court to hear union dues case Attorneys for teachers who are challenging the right of the California Teachers...

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, a charter group in LA Unified, said today Dan Katzir will join the organization in March as CEO and President. He replaces Alliance’s founding CEO, Judy Burton, a former LA Unified associate superintendent of innovation and instruction, who returned to the district last month to serve as chair of what is...

Hours after criticizing LA Unified School Board Member Bennett Kayser for dropping out of today’s District 5 campaign forum, one of his challengers, Andrew Thomas, announced that he, too, is pulling out. That leaves the stage to the only other candidate in the race, Ref Rodriguez, who is promising to attend. The forum is the...

UTLA, the teachers union, is helping raise money for the family of a 14-year-old boy who was killed outside Griffith Middle School in east LA last week. The family is seeking donations to help pay for his funeral expenses and remains short of the $15,000 needed as of today. Steven Cruz, a student at nearby Garfield High...

This is the next in a series of profiles on candidates running in the March 3 primary for the LA Unified school board. Today’s focus is Lydia Gutierrez, a candidate for the District 7 seat.  Although she has no major endorsements and little campaign money, Lydia Gutierrez is expecting to make a big splash in LA...

The debating season kicks off tomorrow night with the first of several scheduled candidate forums for those running in the three contested LA United board districts. But it’s starting with a buzzkill. After committing to appear, board member Bennett Kayser has withdrawn from the first of the District 5 debates, scheduled at the Goodwill Community Enrichment...