[polldaddy poll=7642077] VOTE IN OUR POLL Should the LA Unified School board call a special election to fill the vacant seat left by the death of Marguerite Lamotte? Or should the board appoint a school board member? The board will take the matter up at its meeting on Tuesday, December 17. You can vote...

A deep split in the black community is emerging on the eve of a vote by the LA Unified school board on how to fill its vacant seat left by longtime trustee, Marguerite LaMotte. Today, a coalition of groups, led by US Representative Maxine Waters, launched a website and circulated a petition to build support for...

The LA Unified school board is back together tomorrow, with a long agenda highlighted by several high-stakes and, very likely, contentious issues. Foremost is the discussion and probable vote on how to fill the vacant District 1 seat. Marguerite LaMotte’s death on Dec. 4 has left the board with the options of filling the seat...

A California Superior Court judge today cleared the way leading to a trial in a case that seeks to overhaul state regulations that safeguard quality public education through rules governing teacher dismissals. Judge Rolf Treu finalized his ruling of yesterday, denying a request by defendants in the case, Vergara v. California, including the state and...

By Karen Bass, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Herb Wesson and John W. Mack The LA Times remembered Marguerite LaMotte last week as an unbowed and outspoken voice for our community and its students. She was all those things and more. To understand the depth of her conviction and the wellspring of her courage, one need only read...

LA Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu today denied a request to dismiss a lawsuit from students, seeking to strike down state regulations that they contend make it difficult for school districts to fire ineffective teachers In his ruling, Judge Treu said he found “sufficient evidence” to clear the way for a trial, which is schedule to...

An aerial view of Saturn Elementary School in Mid City reveals a giant asphalt rectangle – about 70,000 square feet – taking up two-thirds of a city block. There’s one tree on the playground, and the only patch of grass runs along the front of the school. It’s a bleak portrait of an era when...

Lawyers in the Vergara v. California case will be back in Los Angeles Superior Court tomorrow for Judge Rolf Treu to hear arguments from the defendants  to dismiss the case without a trial. Again. The lawsuit, known colloquially as the “Bad Teacher” lawsuit, has been brought by Students Matter on behalf of nine California students and...