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California senator proposes restoring bilingual education
Sixteen years after California voters approved an initiative requiring public school instruction in English, state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) introduced a measure Thursday to repeal the requirement of Proposition 227. Lara’s proposal would place an initiative on the ballot that would give parents a choice to have their children receive bilingual education. LA Times

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Despite $20 billion in bond funds, 50,000 backlogged repair requests
A Los Angeles Unified school board committee on Thursday found a backlog of 50,000 neglected repairs at campuses – a number that is only expected to grow. School district officials said the budget for repairs has been slashed by more than 65% since 2008. Monica Ratliff, who joined the school board last year, said the public deserves to know why repairs are piling up. KPCC

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A deeply misguided lawsuit about teachers and students
Commentary: Vergara v. California, a lawsuit challenging three components of teacher employment law in California’s Ed Code that began on Jan. 27, has garnered considerable media attention. The plaintiffs’ legal team contends that due process rights for teachers, a cumbersome teacher dismissal process, and seniority-based layoffs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite the plaintiffs’ claims, this lawsuit unfortunately does not address the needs of low-income students. Washington Post

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Only 46 of 667 at-risk LA schools buildings get seismic evaluation
More than seven years after it identified hundreds of school buildings that presented a greater risk of collapse in an earthquake, the Los Angeles Unified School District has done comprehensive seismic studies on just a few dozen of the highest-risk structures, according to newly released data. KPCC

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Finding fairness in high school dropout accountability
As part of a massive restructuring of California’s school accountability system, a key state panel decided Thursday to formally consider changes to a longstanding policy that penalizes the last high school a student attended before dropping out. Administrators and advocates of drop-out recovery programs have long argued that the current system acts as a disincentive for districts to continue working with these at-risk students. SI&A Cabinet Report

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Alpine teachers launch strike
It’s the first teachers strike in San Diego County since 1996. The main disagreements between the Alpine district administration and the teachers union include how much state education funding the district expects to receive this year, how much of a salary reduction teachers should bear and how much the district should contribute to teachers’ health-care benefits. U-T San Diego