LA School Report

* UPDATED UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl said the teachers union is planning an aggressive campaign to oppose Eli Broad and other wealthy foundation leaders who have announced plans for a major expansion of charter schools in LA Unified. In a wide-ranging interview that focused on the state of charters in the district, Caputo-Pearl was highly...

LA Unified said today its inspector general is “looking into” the possibility that nearly 100 district employees used district email addresses to contact ashleymadison.com, a website that promotes extra-marital affairs, calling itself “the most famous name in infidelity and married dating.” The district’s legal office has sent employees a memo yesterday, reminding them that the...

By Hanna Sanchez The Paper and Packaging Board has released a new survey that explored the use of paper by US-based educators, students, and parents, and its role in learning. Results revealed that despite the increasing popularity of digital technology in education, majority of Americans still prefer paper-based learning. The survey, “2015 The Annual Back-to-School Report,”...

Latinos struggle to close gap with whites in California ACT scores “I find it really disturbing,” said Mark Schneider, a vice president at American Institutes for Research. Los Angeles Times Bill protecting contractors in district leaseback deals dies in committee A bill aimed at protecting school construction contractors from financial losses if their “lease-leaseback” deals...

Close to 100 LA Unified email addresses were used to set up accounts at AshleyMadison.com, a website for people seeking extramarital sexual affairs, according to information that was posted online recently by hackers. Dozens of the email accounts appear to be connected to active employees, both men and women, including principals, teachers, athletic directors, athletic...

The AUP is becoming the RUP. “That’s to prevent unauthorized access and … to comply with CIPA, COPPA and FERPA. Furthermore, the RUP clarifies the educational purpose of District technology.” Got it? That’s an excerpt from a new document that parents and students were given last week for any plan of going online or using...

The California state Senate voted 37 to 0 yesterday to approve SB-725, which exempts 2015 seniors from passing the California High School Exit Exam, allowing them to receive their diplomas immediately. The state Assembly passed the bill last week, 77 to 1. The bill now goes to Governor Jerry Brown to sign into law. Because it...

By CBS Los Angeles Neighbors of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School in Westwood are outraged that the school has recently installed lush, green grass – in the midst of a historic drought. “I find this outrageous considering the Mayor of Los Angles has requested residents to remove their lawns or water as little as possible,”...

Marking a big turnaround managing teacher misconduct Three years after an audit found the average misconduct case could take 22 months, state officials reported that timeline has been cut almost in half. SI&A Cabinet Report Why some in education believe truancy deserves much more attention It’s difficult to pinpoint the size of the challenge because...