LA School Report

A bill that sought to create teacher tenure for California’s smallest school districts died in committee today when the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, could not generate enough support for passage by the Senate Education Committee. The bill would have required school districts with fewer than 250 students to grant tenure to teachers after three...

Via LA Times | Howard Blume California ranks in the bottom rung of states in the academic achievement of disabled students, according to new federal rankings released Tuesday. The new system rates only 18 states and U.S. territories as meeting federal standards, compared with 41 under the old rules for evaluating state programs. The prior...

The LA Unified school board decided yesterday to hold its annual election for president in the traditional fashion, with an Annual Meeting on July 1, when the six members will choose their leader for the coming school year. While that’s business as usual, it precludes the possibility that a newly-elected board member for District 1,...

An extraordinary year for LA Unified came to an extraordinary end yesterday as the school board unanimously approved —  and with minimal debate — its largest budget in seven years. The six board members played musical chairs congratulating one another and Superintendent John Deasy for a job well done. Members were especially complimentary of the...

Jerry Brown signs teacher pension fund bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday to begin paying down an estimated shortfall of more than $74 billion in the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, acting on the last of a raft of budget-related bills ahead of the July 1 start of the next fiscal year. Sac Bee...

*UPDATE The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a $6.4 billion budget for the 2014-15 school year, ending a tumultuous year for the district and Superintendent John Deasy. The budget represents the first in seven years that does not include cuts from the previous year. It reflects a $332 million injection of statewide...

The popularity of calculus classes at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES) has skyrocketed, thanks in large part to a unique calculus camp that combines learning with outdoor fun and adventure. Every year, seniors and juniors at LACES, a high-performing school that serves grades 6-12 and has an API of 897, attend the camp,...

The long road toward finalizing LA Unified’s budget for the 2014-2015 school year ends later today (maybe) when the school board votes to approve Superintendent John Deasy‘s $7.2 billion spending plan. The new budget reflects not only added support from the state but also new guidelines for how to use the money, which is earmarked...

The Curriculum Instruction and Assessment Committee of the LA Unified School board will meet today starting at 10 a.m., followed by a special board meeting at 4 p.m., where the board will adopt the District’s Final Budget and the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). For Curriculum and Assessment meeting agenda, click here, and materials, here. For Special Board...