LA School Report

A new report from the California Budget & Policy Center found that when adjustments are made for cost of living, California ranked 42nd in the nation in per-pupil spending for the 2014-15 school year. The low ranking comes even after a surge in education spending in the state has brought billions more into the K-12...

* UPDATED A week ago, the U.S. Senate proposed cutting 20,000 AmeriCorps positions that provide help to schools in unprivileged communities. Now, City Year, which has 309 AmeriCorps members in Los Angeles, is calling on the public to help stop the proposed cuts before decisions are made in the next week. The measure could result in...

By Erin Aubry Kaplan The long-running battle between charter schools and traditional public schools has heated up nearly to a boiling point, with business magnate Eli Broad recently unveiling a campaign to charter-ize public ed in L.A. once and for all. The drama is happening mostly at the top between the Broad camp and public school...

Analyst predicts another good year for school funding The Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting another healthy year for K-12 schools, with an average increase of about $530 per student in 2016-17. EdSource, by John Fensterwald Negotiators come to agreement on revising No Child Left Behind law A conference committee of members from the House and...

A court-appointed monitor of LA Unified’s special education has harshly criticized the district for a failure to bring its facilities into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). In the latest annual report, Independent Monitor David Rostetter accused LA Unified and its Facilities Services Division of mismanagement, a lack of clear direction, inaction, failing to act...

The latest annual report from a court-appointed monitor of LA Unified’s special education programs had praise for much of the district’s progress over the last year integrating its disabled students into general education classes. It also gave high marks for Superintendent Ramon Cortines‘ efforts to stabilize the troubled $133 million MiSiS computer system. However, the report...

The LA Unified’s Office of Inspector General told a school board committee this week that it needs an additional $570,000 to audit charter schools, according to a recent report. The OIG once had a staff of 83 and is now down to 57, according to Inspector General Ken Bramlett, whose office oversees a $7.6 million budget....

In what would appear to be a strategic shift, the organization leading an effort to open more charter schools in LA Unified now intends to expand its mission to support traditional public schools that serve low-income children. The organization, incorporated as Great Public Schools Now, is an outgrowth of a plan by the Broad and...

By Kerry Cavanaugh I am the parent of a Los Angeles Unified School District student, and I get robocalls from the district probably two times a week. These are not calls from my son’s elementary school. These are recorded messages from various district officials, informing me of some meeting or workshop or that parents should fill out some...

A growing split among parents over unionization efforts at Alliance charters  The fight to unionize the largest provider of charter schools in Los Angeles is beginning to divide parents. Los Angeles Times, by Joy Resmovits Prop. 98 guarantee could reach $80B by 2020 The minimum funding guarantee for K-12 schools and community colleges is expected...