LA School Report

With the eyes of the educational world closely watching the Vergara v. California case as it awaits an appeal ruling, the libertarian-tilted publication Reason magazine is the latest national media organization to profile the issue. The magazine and its affiliated Reason.tv website interviewed a number of people involved, including 14-year-old Vergara plaintiff and LA Unified...

After days of silence, the California Charter Schools Association is defending a controversial campaign flyer targeting Bennett Kayser, who is running for reelection for the LA Unified District 5 board seat. Kayser, too, is speaking out about the flyer for the first time, calling its portrayal of him “a pack of vile misrepresentations.” Paid for...

Encino’s Super Bowl Town Hall draws education’s movers and shakers This year’s 18th annual Super Bowl Town Hall, hosted by philanthropist and Fulfillment Fund founder Dr. Gary Gitnick, drew some LAUSD school board members. Los Angeles Daily News LAUSD seeks $1,761 from activist parent, places lien on home The Los Angeles Unified School District is...

LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines said today President Obama’s proposed 2016 budget would provided strong benefits for the district if approved by Congress. At stake: $1 billion increase for Title I, which supports schools with a high percentage of low-income students and a $3 billion investment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math instruction, plus additional...

*UPDATED Four years after playing a major role in Bennett Kayser’s election to the LA Unified school board, an Encino-based political consulting firm is now working to defeat him. Shallman Communications in 2011 was paid more than $60,000 by the LA teachers union, UTLA, to help shape Kayser’s image. Through the union’s independent expenditures, it...

* UPDATED This is the next in a series of profiles on candidates running in the March 3 primary for the LA Unified school board. Today’s focus is Carl Petersen, a candidate for the District 3 seat.   If Carl Petersen does not win the crowded LA Unified school board race for District 3, it...

A campaign flyer implying that LA Unified board member Bennett Kayser is racist is drawing more fire, as two more would-be beneficiaries renounced its message, and an LA Times editorial accused the sponsoring organization of engaging in “slimy tactics on behalf of children.” Produced by an arm of the California Charter Schools Association, the flyer...

By The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board It’s not a big deal for a local political candidate to skip a debate or two during a campaign. But the last-minute disintegration of a planned three-man debate last Wednesday was another matter. Bennett Kayser, campaigning to retain his seat on the Los Angeles Unified school board, pulled...

Canoga Park High could be latest to become a charter school After more than 100 years with LAUSD, the western San Fernando Valley’s oldest high school could become an independent charter this fall. Los Angeles Daily News Commentary: Don’t punish other districts for L.A. Unified’s problems It’s very clear from readers that many don’t equate...

In the aftermath of the Miramonte Elementary sex abuse scandal, which has so far cost LA Unified roughly $170 million in settlements, was the creation of a special unit to handle all future sexual abuse allegations. The Student Safety Investigative Team passed its one-year anniversary of active investigations on Jan. 7, and to date has investigated...