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LAUSD Board Votes to Improve Abuse Investigations
With 278 Los Angeles Unified educators sitting in “teacher jail,” the school board voted Tuesday to streamline and improve the investigations of those accused of serious physical abuse or sexual misconduct. LA Daily News
See also: LA School Report, LA Times
L.A. Unified Board Ratifies ‘Parent-Trigger’ Partnership
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday ratified a partnership between the school district and a charter school to take control of struggling 24th Street Elementary under a controversial parent-empowerment law. LA Times
See also: Color Lines, LA School Report
School Board Renews Contract for Ivy Academia Charter
The petition by Ivy Academia Entreprenurial Charter School was renewed with little discussion, less than two weeks after a jury convicted its founders of grand theft, embezzlement and other charges. LA Times
See also: LA School Report
L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Challenges on Schools
Unions and other elements of the education establishment strongly backed Antonio Villaraigosa’s steps up the political ladder – until he became an advocate of charter schools, parental empowerment, modifying teacher seniority and tenure and other reforms that the establishment despises. Sac Bee Opinion
State’s Budget Fakery Takes a Toll on Charter Schools
Because state funding is often deferred for months, charter schools must take out bridge loans to pay the bills. The interest costs come at the expense of pupils. LA Times
See also: EdWeek
More Than Half of Suspensions Are for “Willful Defiance” of School Authorities
More than half of all suspensions and a quarter of expulsions in California schools are for “willful defiance” of school authorities, according to a new database that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is scheduled to release this Friday. EdSource
A More Confident System
Educators 4 Excellence recently interviewed members for their input on this “Vote of No Confidence” process, the approach to engaging teachers in critical conversations about leadership, and how it could be improved. We heard three overarching themes. Huff Po Op-Ed
Upcoming EdSource Symposium to Tackle State Education Reform
As California embarks on a slate of reforms that could drastically change the face of public education, an upcoming symposium sponsored by EdSource will help the public and policymakers make sense of the complex issues facing educators. EdSource
Senate GOP Leader Revives Parent Trigger, Open Enrollment for Second Act
Two lasting educational imprints from the Schwarzenegger years – the Open Enrollment Act and Parent Trigger – are set for remakes this session under legislation offered by Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff. SI&A Cabinet Report
School Board Transparency a Challenge in Digital Age
School board members are struggling to interpret laws that govern where and how they do business now that as many conversations take place digitally as they do face to face. EdWeek
Children’s Books With Minority Characters Are Hard to Find
Veteran educator Louise Derman Sparks has written volumes on what she calls “anti-bias education” for children. Sparks firmly believes that children can start absorbing an anti-bias message just from what we read to them because children’s books are one of the first ways we introduce infants to the world. KPCC