United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is planning rallies at five locations on Nov. 20 with the duel purpose of demanding a new contract from the district and to participate in the National Day of Action that is being organized by the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools. UTLA is calling on all of its members to...

It’s shaping up to be a furious campaign next year. With a few late additions at Saturday’s filing deadline, four incumbents plus 14 other people are now competing for the four LA Unified school board seats coming up in 2015. The latest to enter the race are two more challengers in District 5 — James...

With tomorrow’s noon deadline approaching to file for next year’s LA Unified school board elections, the races are coming into view. Seats in four of the board’s seven districts — 1, 3, 5 and 7 — are up for grabs, making the elections hugely influential on future district policies. All four of the incumbents are...

While this year’s students fared better than last year, LA Unified kids scored below the state average on the California Physical Fitness Test. According to figures released yesterday by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, the LA Unified fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders who participated in the six-part test during the 2013-14 school year are significantly...

* UPDATED In a scathing critique of LA Unified’s implementation of its new student data tracking system, a team of independent analysts found problems from the beginning, including an overall “lack of communication or understanding of application stability” critical to the project’s success. In short, Arnold Viramontes, an outside expert hired by former superintendent John...

Attorneys for LA Unified asked the judge in the civil trial against the district involving the sex abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary School for a gag order, which would prevent anyone involved with the case from talking publicly about it, according to NBC Los Angeles. Jury selection in the case is expected to begin later this month. The case stems from...

In a new effort to gain wider perspectives for technology projects, LA Unified has formed a New Technology Advisory Committee, which includes representatives from the district’s various labor partners. As the district said in a statement, now on its website, the committee strives “to foster and strengthen relationships” with LA Unified’s labor partners, community members...

The bargaining session scheduled for today between LA Unified and the teachers union, UTLA, has been cancelled, due to an illness of a union staff member, a district official said. The agenda had included discussions of teacher support and evaluation, parent empowerment and adult education. What was not expected to be part of the dialogue...

After Tuesday’s two-hour MiSiS meltdown, Superintendent Ramon Cortines called for Microsoft to send in the cavalry and the Seattle-based company responded by sending a total of one — count ’em, one — expert to help with the glitch-plagued student data program serving 650,000 students. The system crashed when too many teachers logged on to update...