LA School Report

Nearly 100,000 Los Angeles students are heading back to school without an elected representative because of the empty LA Unified school board seat in District 5. The District 5 seat — one of seven in the district, each with its own elected board member — was held by Ref Rodríguez, who pleaded guilty to money-laundering...

This interview was first published by Speak UP.  On the brink of what could potentially be the first LAUSD teachers strike since 1989, Speak UP sat down with LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner to discuss labor talks, parent power and how to solve the district’s financial crisis while putting the needs of kids first. The following...

Each week, we sit down with Los Angeles parents to talk about their students, their schools, and what questions or suggestions they have for their school district. (See our previous interviews.) Isabel Martinez is celebrating that her daughter is the first in her family to go to college. She graduated from Mendez High School in Boyle Heights...

Native American students’ unique needs for too long have been poorly served, but culturally relevant charter schools could help change that. And the federal government is poised to fund their expansion. A new handbook on how to open and sustain charter schools for these students shows how charters can work with Native communities to make...

*Updated July 27 Fewer than half of California’s high school graduates last year met the minimum requirements for the state’s public universities, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Education. That’s despite what the department calls a “significant upward trend” in graduation rates this decade. But that upward trend ended with Thursday’s...

As immigration issues drive more Latinos into political activism, education is a ripe opportunity for Latino parents to wield considerable influence. A panel of education experts at a national convention last weekend in Miami agreed that Latino parents have catapulted this year from being mostly silent on political issues to becoming a significant voice in...

Each week, we sit down with Los Angeles parents to talk about their students, their schools, and what questions or suggestions they have for their school district. (See our previous interviews.) Maria Cerda is an LA Unified parent who advocates not only for her children’s schools but also for the school where she works. Cerda, a cafeteria...

You have to go to school, but schools aren’t required to teach you to read and write. Now a judge has ruled that California can be put on trial for failing to give low-income students equal access to literacy instruction.  A ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos, which was made public Monday, means...

*Updated July 26 The ouster of Los Angeles Unified School District board member Ref Rodriguez — who resigned Monday after pleading guilty to money-laundering charges — means the remaining board members must now decide when and how to replace him. They have 60 days to decide a path forward, and the clock is ticking. Right...