LA School Report

California’s plan to improve its schools received some of the toughest criticism in the nation from the federal Department of Education, which came as no surprise to parents and education advocates, who will get another chance this week to tell the state how they want their schools improved. On Tuesday, the state has invited the...

Updated Jan. 5 LA Unified Superintendent Michelle King announced Friday afternoon she will be retiring from the district by the end of June as she undergoes treatment for cancer. King, 56, has been on a medical leave of absence since Sept. 15 after feeling weak during a long school board meeting three days earlier. In...

While 2017 was undoubtedly a huge year for education in national politics and in Los Angeles, 2018 has the potential to bring big changes to education across California. A new governor, who will appoint a new state Board of Education, will have a significant impact on how education is funded and what students are learning. Here are seven things to...

*Updated Jan. 8 In California, Latino students face many challenges to succeed academically at the same level as their white or Asian counterparts, but it’s even tougher for Latino English learners, according to “The Majority Report” from Education Trust—West, which details ways they can be supported and lists examples of school districts and organizations that...

*Updated Jan. 3 2017 was a big year for education news in Los Angeles, drawing national attention to the most expensive school board race in U.S. history, the looming fiscal cliff exacerbated by declining enrollment, and a new state accountability system that has sparked sharp criticism from parent groups across the state and education advocates...

It’s been a big year of big numbers at the nation’s second-largest school district. 2017 saw the most expensive school board race in U.S. history, new graduation highs, and soaring employee benefit costs. The lows included a steeper drop in enrollment than predicted, a steady march to a structural deficit, and further financial losses because more students...

Parents and teachers have become so frustrated with excessive paperwork, filing fees, and unexpected costs to use school rooms that holiday events have been canceled, fundraisers postponed, and special programs tabled throughout LA Unified. The district cracked down this fall on long-overlooked procedures meant to protect its liability, after an internal report last June showed...

Weeks after fighting over tax reform — including pitched battles involving several education issues — GOP leadership released a final compromise late last week. On higher education, the bill ultimately didn’t include provisions that alarmed college and university leaders the most, like taxing graduate students’ tuition benefits. It does include a tax on university endowments,...

*UPDATED With a crushing $13 billion in unfunded healthcare liabilities, LA Unified and its employee unions return to the negotiating table Monday still far apart — unions want increases in health benefits, the district wants to stop the bleeding — so the district is coming prepared. This month it secured the blessing of the school...

At their last meeting of 2017, the LA Unified school board beefed up sexual harassment policies, reversed support for a state bill that charter schools considered a threat, discussed how to handle upcoming retiree costs of nearly $14 billion, and got a little good news on the budget. BUDGET NEWS More cash is coming from the...