A new report released by UCLA’s Civil Rights Project adds to a growing collection of data that makes the case against using suspensions and so-called “zero tolerance” policies to discipline middle and high school students. The new report, which looked at middle and high schools across the country, finds significant discipline gaps between white, black,...

What kind of fancy new technology can LAUSD preschools expect with the recent $7  million plan in security upgrades approved by the school board? It turns out that the preschools already have a basic security system in place , so the new funds will be used to modernize the schools that could use an upgrade or to...

Last week, the Coalition for School Reform announced a new spokesperson would be taking over for the May 21 runoff between District 6 candidates Monica Ratliff and Antonio Sanchez. The reform-oriented independent expenditure committee has also fired up its Twitter feed (@ReformLAUSD), begun training a new set of campaign organizers (pictured), and announced its first voter...

On Friday, School Board member Tamar Galatzan endorsed Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti. The moved represented the first major endorsement for Garcetti from a so-called “school reformer,” and was something of a surprise since most Valley-based politicians have been supporting Garcetti’s opponent, Wendy Greuel. Greuel, has been endorsed by three Board members: Monica Garcia, Nury Martinez and Dr. Richard...

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy spoke at Saturday’s TEDx event at Loyola Marymount University. Deasy’s remarks — initially delivered from one of those old-fashioned classroom desk/seat combinations — begin at the 54:00 mark.   Click here to see a list of other speakers.

Can’t live without education news between Friday and Monday? Check in here for news you might have missed or interesting tidbits that come in over the weekend: [widgets_on_pages id=”Twitter Live Posts”] As always, retweets (RTs) aren’t endorsements — just interesting items that we’re passing along.

Last week, the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit Vergara v. State of California, which seeks to overturn five education laws in California (seniority-based layoffs, teacher tenure, and three dismissal statutes that make firing a teacher so onerous). “This lawsuit is baseless and...

AB 375, a new bill meant to streamline teacher dismissals, could be headed for quick passage after clearing the State Assembly’s Education Committee with a 7 – 0 vote Thursday. The bill’s chance at passing is undoubtedly aided by the announcement last week that the state’s largest teachers union, the California Teachers Association, was joining...

Curious about how the parent trigger is evolving in Los Angeles and nationwide?  Here’s the audio from a Friday morning panel at Yale University on the parent trigger featuring Parent Trigger’s Ben Austin and former state Senator Gloria Romero, who authored the controversial law, along with the Fordham Foundation’s Adam Emerson and moderator Andy Rotherham....

Former District 4 (Westside/Hollywood) School Board candidate Kate Anderson sounded relaxed and content during a phone interview yesterday afternoon. The Mar Vista parent laughed easily and often, and said she was getting to see her children a lot more in the month since the March 5 primary. But she wasn’t without ideas and regrets in terms...