A new report released by UCLA’s Civil Rights Project adds to a growing collection of data that makes the case against using suspensions and so-called “zero tolerance” policies to discipline middle and high school students. The new report, which looked at middle and high schools across the country, finds significant discipline gaps between white, black,...

Curious Grade for Teachers: Nearly All Pass Across the country, education reformers and their allies in both parties have revamped the way teachers are graded, abandoning methods under which nearly everyone was deemed satisfactory, even when students were falling behind. NY Times California’s Largest Teachers Union Now Backs Bill to Ease Firing Districts have long...

National School Board Group Seeks Curbs on U.S. Ed Secretary The National School Boards Association and its 90,000 members are sponsoring legislation aimed at curbing the authority of the U.S. Secretary of Education – an outgrowth likely stemming from the group’s chilly relationship with the Obama administration during the president’s first term. SI&A Cabinet Report...

L.A. School Board Targets Garcia With Term-Limits Vote A narrow majority of Los Angeles Board of Education members voted Tuesday to set a limit of two consecutive years for the school board presidency. Unless the new rule is rescinded later, the decision would end the six-year run of current President Monica Garcia in July. LA...

Man Arrested After Threatening to Shoot up L.A. Schools, Police Say A Los Angeles man was arrested Sunday in connection with a Facebook post that threatened to conduct shootings at multiple area elementary schools, people familiar with the investigation said. LA Times LAPD to Beef up Security at K-8 Schools LAPD Chief Charlie Beck announces...

State Audit on How LA Unified Handles Child Abuse Claims The results of a state audit on how L.A. Unified handles child abuse claims is set to be released Thursday morning. KPCC California School Districts Face Huge Debt on Risky Bonds Two hundred school districts across California have borrowed billions of dollars using a costly and...

The largest health foundation in the state, the California Endowment, is putting big money behind an issue not usually associated with health: student suspension and expulsion policies. Earlier this week, the Endowment ran a full-page advertisement in four major California newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, praising legislators for recently passing six statewide laws to...