Los Angeles parents demanded higher quality education for their children in the third year of pandemic learning, with an emphasis on recovering social-emotional and academic learning skills. In a poll conducted in the 2021-22 school year by GPSN and the Loyola Marymount University Center for Equity for English Learners, parents expressed the need to close...

The GOP-led House on Friday passed a bill that would force schools to offer parents far greater transparency about what their children learn, but that Democrats argue could lead to book bans and discrimination against LGBTQ students. The Parents Bill of Rights passed 213 to 208, with five Republicans voting against it. “Teachers unions and education bureaucrats...

Developing… A day after the end of a 72-hour strike that saw LAUSD custodians, cafeteria workers, teacher aides, special education assistants and bus drivers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 99 walk off the job, the school district announced an agreement on a new contract that “significantly increases salaries for close to 30,000 members.” ...

March 24 Update: LAUSD announced a new agreement with SEIU Friday that includes a 30% bump in wages and retroactive pay. See the full details.  Judging from the rain and official rhetoric, it was a dark Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. Officials at the Los Angeles Unified School District were predicting a rough three days...

Service Employees International Union Local 99, which represents roughly 30,000 custodians, cafeteria staff, bus drivers and other service workers at the Los Angeles Unified School District, walked off the job Tuesday. United Teachers Los Angeles, also in contract talks with the district, also joined the protest in support, beginning a three-day work action that should...

The Los Angeles Unified School District is poised to shut down classrooms beginning Tuesday, as Service Employees International Union Local 99, which represents roughly 30,000 custodians, cafeteria staff, bus drivers and other service workers, has announced plans for strike for three days. United Teachers Los Angeles, also in contract talks with the district, has announced...

8 p.m. Update: Los Angeles Unified workers will proceed with a strike early Tuesday morning after efforts to prevent the walkout fell apart Monday afternoon. News of a “confidential mediation” session leaked to the press before Service Employees International Union Local 99’s bargaining team knew about it, according to a union statement.  During an afternoon...

The battle lines over President Joe Biden’s education budget grew clearer this month as the most conservative wing of the House announced its intention to roll spending back to 2019 levels and cancel the president’s student loan forgiveness plan.  If Speaker Kevin McCarthy agrees to their demands, that would wipe out most of the administration’s...

Updated March 20 They sympathize with the workers. Some plan to join them on the picket line at LA Unified schools.  But when it comes to union and district leaders, LAUSD parents are skeptical and angry. SEIU Local 99, LAUSD’s 30,000-member union representing employees like custodians, bus drivers, and special education assistants, plans to strike...

It’s been nearly 11 months since Anastasiia Puzhalina and her family arrived in Tacoma, Washington, after a white-knuckled journey out of Ukraine. With no home, no income and no idea of how their children would adjust to a new school, they were consumed with worry. But, a year after Russia invaded its neighbor, upending the...