On Friday, the first hearing was held in Vergara v. California, a case that seeks to strike down five laws that could — for better or worse — end up being the most revolutionary education lawsuit in the history of California.  “What plaintiffs are asking for is far beyond scope of what the courts have...

Not taking any chances with tomorrow’s Board meeting, the advocacy arm of the California Charter Schools Association has been airing a radio ad blasting Steve Zimmer for his proposals to strengthen oversight for charter schools. Airing on KNX, KFI and KOST, the ad highlights the waiting lists for charters and decries Zimmer’s proposal for creating...

Don’t bother pitching KPCC’s Tami Abdollah your education stories much longer — the KPCCer is soon leaving the station and the beat for a gig with AP covering crime.  (See KPCC Education Reporter Shifting to AP Law Enforcement Beat Fishbowl LA.) She came onto the education beat just about a year ago, joining Adolfo Guzman-Lopez and has produced...

There were 28 state legislative contests pitting two Democrats against each other this year, according to this October 17 LA Times article. But the still-unresolved contest between incumbent Betsy Butler and challenger Richard Bloom for California State Assembly District 50 may be one of the only situations in which the state Democratic Party not only endorsed the incumbent Democrat but also...

Also on the Board agenda for Tuesday, November 13 will be LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy’s proposal to restore the district’s full 180-day academic calendar and repeal all scheduled staff furlough days. Deasy’s just-announced proposal is motivated by the November 6 passage of Prop. 30, whose approval means that LAUSD doesn’t have to cut $255 million...

Today’s deadline for LAUSD teachers to nominate themselves for UTLA’s House of Representatives raises two key questions: The immediate question is will there be enough nominees to require an actual election. In the last few cycles, the numbers have been so few that self-nomination was tantamount to election. The underlying question is whether the House of...

Following up on a comment made at the September Board meeting, LAUSD Board Member Bennett Kayser plans on introducing a resolution at Tuesday’s upcoming board meeting that would force board members to “automatically recuse themselves from voting on a charter contract if they have received campaign contributions six months prior to the vote.” Also on...

Several District 2 LAUSD Board Member candidates including Michelle “Hope” Walker, Robert D. Skeels, and Isabel Vazquez are scheduled to convene Thursday, November 15 at 6 p.m. in the Pico Union area of District 2 to participate in a candidate forum hosted by the District 2 Neighborhood Coalition. The event is endorsed* by the teachers union’s Political...

In a race that is still considered too close to call, Assemblywoman Betsy Butler is trailing her upstart opponent, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom, by just over 200 votes in Assembly District 50, which covers one of the wealthiest areas of the city from Beverly Hills to the ocean. In the end, the narrow margin...

Kate Anderson tells LA School Report that she plans on filing paperwork today to run for LAUSD school board, in District 4, where she will take on sitting board member Steve Zimmer. Anderson currently serves as the Los Angeles director of Children Now and sits on the board of the Mar Vista Community Council.  She had told us previously she was...