LA Unified School board member Tamar Galatzan had hoped to sway her colleagues to change the way the district distributes Title 1 funds for low-income students. But her motion, co-sponsored by Monica Ratliff, failed to get majority support at yesterday’s board meeting. The vote was split, 3-3, with Galatzan, Ratliff and Steve Zimmer, all of...

The LA Unified school board re-calibrated its push for technology in the classroom last night, voting to continue into a second phase of its iPad plan but also to launch a pilot test of laptops among high school students. Further technology plans will depend on the outcome of a study. The decision — approved by...

An effort to censure LA Unified Board President Richard Vladovic for allegations that he violated the district’s ethical code failed today as a resolution from board member Tamar Galatzan did not get a “second” to put it before the board for a vote. The resolution sought to censure Vladovic for complaints of sexual harrasment and...

Check back here at 1pm PST today to watch live coverage of today’s LA Unified School Board meeting.  On the agenda (in addition to the censure motion of school board president who has accused of sexual harassment, and the future of the iPad rollout) are a number of renewals and approvals of various charter schools,...

The LA Unified school board will grapple with three separate resolutions regarding the district’s ambitious iPad project at its meeting today, but only Monica Ratliff’s proposal has the potential of drastically changing the course of the district’s ed-tech revolution. Ratliff is recommending that the district hold off on starting the second round of iPads distribution...

LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy is expected to attend the school board tomorrow, following his absence from the special meeting last Tuesday that focused on technology issues. He had a legitimate excuse: His ownership of stock in Apple, Inc., created a conflict of interest, precluding his participation in conversations about the district’s on-going use of...

Currently, more than 64,000 students are enrolled in LA Unified magnet schools. That number is almost guaranteed to climb. The application deadline to enroll in one of the district’s 191 theme-based magnet schools for the 2014-15 school year is fast approaching. Online information and applications are available at echoices.lausd.net, with paper applications available at local...