LA School Report

With a recently balanced $7.8 billion budget in place, two new board members sworn in and Steve Zimmer elected as the new president, the LA Unified board is turning to the hiring of a superintendent to follow Ramon Cortines as, perhaps, its highest priority. The pronouncement to start the search was among the first orders of...

This is a bittersweet day for LA School Report. After two years as our lead reporter, Vanessa Romo is leaving us to pursue a fellowship at Columbia University in New York. She is among three journalists who were selected as the school’s Spencer Fellows in Education Reporting, for a program that provides participants the time...

By Cindy Chang and Frank Shyong It started as an ordinary spat among high school girls, sparked by an unpaid restaurant bill. At an ice cream parlor in Rowland Heights, the dispute took a dark turn. Three girls ganged up on Yiran “Camellia” Liu, forcing her to kneel and use her hands to wipe cigarette...

High school exit exam may be suspended immediately The California High School Exit Exam may be suspended immediately, possibly letting off the hook thousands of seniors who need to pass it to graduate. Ed Source Beverly Hills Unified will pay $685,000 to settle ex-principal’s suit The settlement resolves a lawsuit by Carter Paysinger in which...

One week after it appeared Richard Vladovic was destined to serve as president of the LA Unified board for a third consecutive term, the members unanimously today elected Steve Zimmer as its new leader, giving the district its most teacher union friendly president in more than a decade. Zimmer, who began his career with the district...

Two new LA Unified board members and two former board members took their oath of office today during a ceremony in which they vowed to bring unity and collaboration to the district and with each other. For each member, it was the start of a five-and-a-half year term, following a change in the city’s voting...

* UPDATED A lawsuit filed today accuses the LA Unified school district of planning to deprive low-income, foster youth and English language learners of $2 billion in funds that should be directed to their education. The lawsuit, filed by ACLU SoCal, Public Advocates and Covington & Burling LLP on behalf of Community Coalition South Los...

LA Unified board member Steve Zimmer was unanimously elected today to become the new board president, giving the board its strongest pro-teacher president in more than a decade. Zimmer, vice president for the last two years, succeeds Richard Vladovic, who served as president since 2013. The vote played out without a motion from any other board...

The LA Unified school board is meeting today at 1 p.m. Today’s meeting is sure to be an interesting one, as it will feature two newly sworn in members, Ref Rodriguez and Scott Schmerelson. The new board will also be voting for a new president, which has so far included plenty of palace intrigue. Click here...

By Chris Hofmann As a fourth grade teacher in East Los Angeles, I know firsthand that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and its Title I provisions aren’t just extra federal dollars. They are those extra “Weird School” books in my classroom library that got Ricky* excited to read. They are the laptops and...