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Fraud Allegations Swirl Around Firm Run by Two LA Candidates
Two would-be candidates for the Los Angeles school board have accused a campaign consulting firm — run by two contenders for city office — of botching their efforts to get on the ballot. LA Times
Contested UTLA Panel Elections Signal Internal Fissures
Some union members fear outside groups that encouraged teachers to run for UTLA’s House of Representatives, its official decision-making body, will try to influence policy. LA Times
Police Visiting LAUSD Schools in Wake of Connecticut Shooting
The Los Angeles Police Department, as well as the L.A. County Sheriff’s department and other law enforcement agencies planned to have officers visit the Los Angeles Unified School District’s more than 500 public elementary and middle schools on a daily basis. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News, KPCC
LAUSD School Tickets Still High Despite Reforms
Last spring, L.A. Unified released arrest and citations numbers for the first time. What they revealed was alarming. Kids had been issued more than 10,000 citations in a year, more than any other district in the country. KPCC
Watch: John Deasy Talks LAUSD Budget
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy addresses how the passage of Prop. 30 impacts the district budget. ABC LA
Federal Officials Reject California’s No Child Left Behind Waiver Request
The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter on Friday to the president of California’s Board of Education denying the state’s request to be exempted from the most onerous requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law. KPCC
11 States Get Failing Grades on Public School Policies From Advocacy Group
StudentsFirst gave California the low rating despite the fact that it has a so-called parent trigger law that the advocacy group favors. Such laws allow parents at underperforming schools to vote to change the leadership or faculty. NY Times
Why California Must Lead the Way in Closing Underperforming Charter Schools
Many of California’s charter schools are among the best public schools in the state, if not the nation, but some are also among the worst. EdSource Commentary
Teachers Irate as Bloomberg Likens Union to the N.R.A.
Of all the polarizing things Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has said and done over the years, from banning large sugary drinks to supporting congestion pricing, few have generated the sort of viral backlash that has unexpectedly mounted after his weekly radio show on Friday. NY Times
LAUSD Culinary Teams Vie to See Their Dishes Served in Cafeterias
Six small teams of chefs from the culinary-arts programs of as many schools are cooking up original entrees in a contest this month whose winners will see their signature dish added to next year’s LAUSD menu rotation. Daily Breeze
Los Angeles Wants to “Reconstitute” Pioneering High School Despite Major Gains
In a letter to faculty, Superintendent John Deasy blamed four years of “less than adequate progress in the achievement of Crenshaw’s students.” Labor Notes
Do Armed Guards Really Make Schools Safer?
Additionally, many large school districts operate their own police departments, with the Los Angeles Unified School District having the largest such force in the nation with more than 350 officers. Capitol Weekly