“Although it wasn’t recommended by the auditor, Deasy wants the Legislature to try again to pass a bill making it easier to suspend teachers accused of child abuse…. LAUSD said it is working with Sen. Padilla on that legislation. UTLA opposed last year’s bill, but Fletcher wouldn’t say what position the union would take on a new...

According to yesterday’s state audit (above), LAUSD has been required to pay $3 million in salaries to 20 teachers who have been ‘housed’ (removed from site) the longest while being investigated for misconduct — including one who’s been housed for 4.5 years.

Superintendent John Deasy said this morning that he expects a tentative agreement with UTLA over a new system of teacher evaluations, as mandated by the court in Doe v. Deasy, at some point in the next four days — just before the deadline set by the judge. “I’m not a betting or predictive kind of guy,...

While changes in district policies governing charter school oversight seem to be off the table for now, today’s SI&A Cabinet Report reminds us that the state may well take up the issue on its own. New legislation likely to be considered in the near future would require authorizers like LAUSD to consider charter schools’ performance in...

Many schools already require students to wear IDs with pictures, ID numbers, and class schedules on them. Now, a Texas high school student is on the verge of being transferred out of her magnet program to another school because she’s refused to participate in the pilot RFID tracking program in which plastic ID badges being...

The deadline set by Judge Chalfant for LAUSD and UTLA to agree on a teacher evaluation system that satisfies the requirements of the Stull Act is December 4 — less than a week away. Neither side is saying how the negotiations are going – other than, well, “they’re going.” That sounds good, but the district and...

Wasting no time, the local branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has been a big spender in recent LAUSD elections, will hold a town hall meeting on Tuesday, December 4 to select and endorse LAUSD Board candidates running for three seats in the March 2013 board election. The town hall will take...

So far, just three school board candidates have turned in their signatures for review and approval: sitting school board President Monica Garcia in District 2, Kate Anderson in District 4, and Maria Cano in District 6. (See: City Clerk filing status list) Pictured above on the left, the 42 year-old Cano is running for District...

Remember a few weeks ago when UTLA refused to sign onto LAUSD’s Race to the Top application, and Superintendent John Deasy sent it in anyway (along with a press release)? Well it took the US Department of Education about five minutes to reject LAUSD’s application, and — thanks to 300 peer reviewers — it took...

The teachers union has a new communications director – its third since June, and LAUSD’s much-hyped “social media director” is moving on to greener pastures. Suzanne Spurgeon, former CNN Vice President, replaces Kim Turner, who replaced Marla Eby in the summer. LAUSD, meanwhile, no longer employs Stephanie Abrams, who served briefly as their social media...