Board member Steve Zimmer said he expects to support the resolution at tomorrow’s board meeting that would subject any LAUSD grant application over $750,000 to school board approval (see: Board Members Aim to ‘Cuff Supt?) —  although he said he’s not “100 percent” certain. “My general feeling is that the Board of Education are the policy...

National teachers union head Randi Weingarten heaped praise on the tentative deal that LAUSD and UTLA announced last week. LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy touted it as historic (see: “This Has Never Been Done”). But elsewhere across the nation, the initial word about the deal hasn’t been so unanimously glowing. Today’s LA Times story about the deal highlights some of these concerns,...

A controversial item on the LAUSD School Board agenda this week proposes drastically limiting Superintendent John Deasy’s ability to seek funding for the district by applying for public or private grants. The resolution, initiated by School Board Members Richard Vladovic, Bennett Kayser, and Marguerite LaMotte, aims to give the school board veto power over grant...

Some of the most interesting items scheduled to be discussed and/or voted on at Tuesday’s monthly Board meeting are expedited removal of teachers accused of misconduct, the use of student achievement to evaluate teachers, and Board approval for large grant applications. Read below for more highlights.

Teachers Endorse Zimmer The union on Wednesday also endorsed candidates for the three school board elections scheduled for March. LA Times 15 Candidates File to Run for LAUSD School Board Seats Officials have 10 days to verify whether each has the signatures of at least 500 registered voters from the candidate’s district. LA Daily News LAUSD...

L.A. Unified Says Deal on Evaluations Meets Court Order The Los Angeles Unified School District filed court papers Tuesday asserting that a new tentative agreement with the teachers union has satisfied judicial orders to use state standardized test scores in instructor evaluations. LA Times LAUSD Board OKs Deal With Teachers Union on Performance Evaluations The...

Bill to Speed up Teacher Dismissals Is Revived Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) acted in the wake of a state audit concluding that current laws added excessive cost and time to the firing process. LA Times See Also: LA Daily News  Billboards Promote Law That Lets Students Leave Low Performing Schools The Open Enrollment Act became...

A tentative but potentially historic agreement was reached late Friday, November 30 between LAUSD and UTLA that will define how teachers are evaluated in the second largest school district in country. The agreement includes the use of individual student test scores as a part of the review process – a measurement that has been championed...

“Although it wasn’t recommended by the auditor, Deasy wants the Legislature to try again to pass a bill making it easier to suspend teachers accused of child abuse…. LAUSD said it is working with Sen. Padilla on that legislation. UTLA opposed last year’s bill, but Fletcher wouldn’t say what position the union would take on a new...

LAUSD Slow to Report on Teacher Misconduct Los Angeles school officials failed to promptly report nearly 150 cases of suspected teacher misconduct — including allegations of sexual contact with students — to state authorities as required by law, an audit released Thursday concluded. LA Times See also: LA Daily News, KPCC Teacher Says District Has...