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The deadline for the fourth round of school proposals for Public School Choice (PSC) is due next week, on October 31.

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has identified 13 low-performing schools to participate in what is called PSC 4.0.  This is a decrease from the previous year, when 33 schools were part of the process.

Only in-district planning teams, made up of union-certified current or former LAUSD employees, are allowed to compete to manage a school turnaround.

PSC began in 2009 as an initiative to reform failing schools by opening up management to alterative operators, such as charter groups or teacher-led groups. The idea behind PSC was that whichever team submitted the best plan to transform a failing school would be awarded the chance to operate it.

According to this recent LA Times editorial (New schools = better student performance), PSC may have been a part of the academic improvements in LAUSD.

But as of last year, non-union operators were prohibited from participating in the PSC process after the teachers union won that as a key stipulation in its labor negotiations with LAUSD.  (See also KPCC: LAUSD & UTLA Reach Agreement Granting Wider Autonomy to All Schools on Teacher Placement and Budgets, and LAT: Individual Los Angeles Schools Gain New Autonomy.)

New plans for four additional schools will be submitted because Superintendent Deasy rejected last years’ proposals.  Click here for a list of schools that have participated in PSC over its history.