LA Unified is suing some of its insurers for $200 million, claiming the companies refused to cover the cost of its defense of the Miramonte sex-abuse scandal. Former elementary school teacher Mark Berndt was convicted in 2013 of sexually abusing 23 of his students and is serving a 25-year sentence. Dozens of former students of...

LA Unified is appealing a decision that threw out its lawsuits against three major banks it had accused of racially biased mortgage lending, according to Reuters. The district argues that the lending practices led to foreclosures in the Los Angeles area and a reduction in tax revenue for the district. Last month, U.S. District Judge Otis...

Only two LA Unified school board members hold law degrees: Tamar Galatzan and Monica Ratliff. But Steve Zimmer, a college professor, did a pretty good impression of a lawyer last night. Zimmer presided over an ad hoc “committee of one” — no other board members attended — that was charged with defining the role and scope...

Two lingering issues are expected to hold center stage at the LA Unified School Board meeting tomorrow – the vacant District 1 seat and the Phase 2 iPad release. Now that the City Council has approved a June 3 election date to fill the seat left open by the death of Marguerite LaMotte, the board...

David Holmquist essentially agrees with board member Steve Zimmer. It’s just not right, Holmquist said, that existing laws keep the LA Unified District 1 board seat vacant until after a special election in June, denying families equal representation for months. But if Zimmer is expecting Holmquist, LAUSD’s General Counsel, to navigate around the LA City Charter, he is...

While American Federation of Teachers affiliates are holding a “National Day of Action” today, UTLA is planning four vigils in support of “housed” LA Unified teachers, those caught between allegations of misconduct and final rulings on their employment status. Currently 260 such teachers are caught in so-called “teacher jails,” the consequence of what UTLA President Warren...

John Deasy‘s tenure as superintendent of LA Unified School District is continuing as the school board today gave him a “satisfactory” performance evaluation and extended his contract to June, 30, 2016. The announcement, after nearly five hours of a closed door meeting at the district’s downtown headquarters, ended five frenetic days of uncertainty that began with...

LA Unified’s chief lawyer said today the investigation into harassment charges against School Board President Richard Vladovic was complete, and board members were briefed on its findings. “We have concluded the investigation, which was conducted by an outside firm. We are in the process of providing individual board members with the findings of that investigation,” LAUSD General...

The Los Angeles Unified School District today blamed state laws for why it took the district so long to dismiss an El Sereno Elementary School teacher who is facing a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing students as long ago as 2007. David Holmquist, the district’s chief lawyer, said in a press release today Armando Gonzalez was removed from...