In the wake of a crushing defeat for a landmark challenge to California’s teacher tenure laws, the battle for change has shifted from the courts to the state Legislature. While most parties agree that the inequities brought to light during the Vergara v. California trial must be righted, there’s a difference of opinion from those...

Last week’s election for California Schools Superintendent, was widely framed as a battle between the teacher unions that backed incumbent and victor, Tom Torlakson, and refomers who supported Marshall Tuck. But a new survey suggests voters were more interested in how public schools are funded. The poll, conducted by Lake Research Partners on behalf of the American...

Steve Zimmer was the only member of the LA school board with a public response to yesterday’s victory by Tom Torlakson, who won a second term as state Superintendent for Public Instruction. In it, Zimmer makes clear his disdain for the wealthy funders who backed the losing candidate, Marshall Tuck, congratulating the state teacher unions...

Tom Torlakson was re-elected yesterday as California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, with 52.1 percent of the vote to 47.9 for Marshall Tuck, making it the closest of all statewide races. This was his victory statement: “We knew it wouldn’t be easy. They were strong, but we were stronger. They were tough, but we were tougher. After...

According to a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, 28 percent of likely voters were still undecided on the State Superintendent of Public Instruction race going into today’s election. This is despite roughly $30 million in combined campaign spending for Marshall Tuck and Tom Torlakson, both Democrats, and with education as the top priority for many California...

In a race still too close to call, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction election between incumbent Tom Torlakson and Marshall Tuck may come down to an unlikely pairing of minorities and Republicans. “There’s going to be a coalition of Republicans and minority voters if Tuck is going to do well on election day,” said Michael Madrid,...

* UPDATED A new Field poll shows that the race for state Superintendent of Public Education is tightening. Some might say it’s now nip and tuck. A survey conducted over the last two weeks in August of 467 people who said they were likely to vote in November found that the incumbent, Marshall Tuck, a former...

* UPDATED The lower court’s final ruling in the Vergara case has pushed it into the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction as the latest proxy fight between supporters of reform and protectors of the status quo. Tom Torlakson, the incumbent, is urging the state to appeal. Marshall Tuck, the challenger, is urging the state not...

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) kicks off its annual convention in downtown Los Angeles tomorrow bringing more 3,500 national union delegates to the home of LA Unified, the second largest school district in the country. On the agenda: fending off what the union sees as its biggest threats, including billionaire money, an assault on...