Kim Baldonado reports for NBC4 News on a shift in policy at LA Unified (LAUSD)  where teachers accused of misconduct will no longer spend days at district offices while awaiting review of allegations.

“That’s how CTA infamously killed a [2012] law to fire sex-pervert teachers, SB 1530,” LA Weekly writer Matthew Mullins wrote. “A badly watered-down version, AB 375, is alive — because CTA backs it,”

What the LA Weekly didn’t note was that the “badly watered-down” bill moving through the state legislature was amended last week or that LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has proposed several further changes to make sure that districts have a stronger role in the dismissal process and that teachers who review dismissal cases can be removed if necessary.

In an April 19 letter sent to the bill’s sponsor, Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo), Deasy takes note of the School Board’s recent vote in support of her bill’s intent — and then suggests seveal amendments to strengthen it.

Deasy’s key suggestions include giving districts more discretion on dismissing teachers and loosening eligibility requirements for the people who review dismissal cases on the Commission on Professional Competence. (Read the full letter here.)

In particular, LAUSD wants a bigger role for school districts who employ teachers accused of sexual misconduct. A previous teacher dismissal bill, SB 10, would have given school boards the final decision on dismissals.

In particular, Zazueta says Deasy wants to be sure the teacher dismissal legislation make it easier to find the teachers who serve on the professional competence review panel.

Current law (and the new bill) have limited, very specific requirements about what kind of teachers can review misconduct cases. “Time and time again the biggest hurdle and delay is finding these people. We feel they could improve that and make it easier,” Zazueta said.

LAUSD isn’t the only one looking to modify the Buchanan proposal.  Other education advocates remain skeptical of the bill even if they still haven’t concluded whether they support it or not — in part because it’s already being amended in Sacramento.

“At face value, some amendments to the bill seem like they’re working on our concerns,” EdVoice CEO Bill Lucia told LA School Report, referring to a series of amendments that were adopted last week.  “But we still have concerns, so I can’t say at all whether we’re leaning toward support.”

Previous posts: Assemblymember Bloom Opposes Teacher Dismissal Bill; Mixed Reactions to New Teacher Dismissal Bill; Teacher Misconduct Proposal Wins Unexpected Support

A Student With Promise, a Teacher Who Had to Help
Brought to the U.S. as a baby, Itzel Ortega had no way to get financial aid to become an architect. Then a former teacher, recalling her own story, stepped in. LA Times

L.A. Unified Teacher Arrested for Alleged Child Porn Possession
Douglas Randolph Collins, 46, of Valencia, was taken into custody at the Van Nuys Education Center, where he had been sent after being removed from the classroom after authorities began investigating child porn allegations in October. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News, HuffPo

LA Mayor’s Race: How the Candidates Stand on Your Issues
Even though the mayor doesn’t have any direct authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District, many voters said they want the next major to play a role in education. Neither Greuel nor Garcetti has indicated they would follow Antonio Villaraigosa’s lead. KPCC

Five Gates Millennium Scholars Selected From Paramount High School
Five Paramount High School students have been selected as Gates Millennium Scholars — a rare achievement among high schools. Funded in 1999, the minority scholarships pay for up to 10 years of study, room and board. KPCC

Pasadena Unified Plans to Slash 48 Additional Jobs Across District
Pasadena school board members voted Tuesday to slash 48 jobs — this on top of 94 teacher, librarian and counselor pink slips in March — in their ongoing struggle to close a projected $8.8-million budget gap. Pasadena Sun

Thousands of Los Angeles County Fifth-Graders Enjoy a Day at Music Center
More than 18,000 fifth grade students from schools throughout Los Angeles County experienced the power of live performing arts beginning Tuesday and going on though Thursday at The Music Center. Pasadena Star News

Panel Moves to Include Grad Rates As Part of the API
A state advisory panel got its first look Tuesday at a new formula that will integrate graduation rates into the state’s school accountability system but asked staff to circulate the proposal among stakeholders and bring it back before they will contemplate a final recommendation to the Legislature. SI&A Cabinet Report

Democratic Senators Offer Alternative to Brown’s Funding Formula
Democratic leaders of the state Senate want to delay Gov. Brown’s sweeping plan for changing how schools are funded by a year and will recommend significant changes to it in a bill that they will reveal on Thursday. EdSource

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

The LAUSD Board, via LA Times

The agenda for today’s School Board meeting is packed with hot-topic resolutions, including a plan to streamline LAUSD’s teacher misconduct investigation process, a call to work with state legislators to pass a new teacher dismissal bill, and a plan to reduce student suspensions and discipline for “willful defiance” in LA schools.

These topics have received scads of media coverage and statehouse activity in recent months. LAUSD Board members have obviously been paying attention, and the media is getting behind their resolutions.

Board Member Tamar Galatzan penned an op-ed published Monday in the Huffington Post that explains the rationale behind her resolution to streamline investigations of teachers who have been accused of misconduct in the classroom.

And the LA Times published an editorial piece Tuesday morning urging the School Board to approve Board President Monica Garcia’s resolution that would update schools’ discipline policies across the district and cease the suspension of students for “willful defiance.”

Read on for more details on the resolutions up for vote at today’s School Board meeting.

As Galatzan writes in her op-ed, a key part of her plan is for teacher investigations to be run by a “team of professionally-trained investigators who are beholden only to the truth.”

LA School Report detailed last Tuesday how the resolution is an attempt to reduce the number of LAUSD teachers who wait with full pay in “teacher jails” while the district goes through a lengthy — and costly — investigation process.

Board Member Bennett Kayser, who frequently sides with the teachers union, has signed on as a cosponsor of the resolution, along with Board President Monica Garcia. It’s rare when these three Board members agree with each other, so enjoy it while you can.

Kayser and Galatzan have joined forces on another resolution voicing approval for AB 375, the new teacher dismissal bill that is working its way through the State Assembly thanks to unexpected backing from the California Teachers Association and Senator Alex Padilla.

As we reported, some education advocacy groups have expressed concerns that AB 375 won’t be effective enough when dealing with teachers accused of sexually or physically abusing their students.

But a recent LA Times editorial says it’s a good proposal, and Galatzan and Kayser want Superintendent John Deasy to work with the bill’s author, Joan Buchanan, to make it happen.

Moving from teacher-related issues to student discipline, Board President Monica Garcia has a resolution to update discipline codes in schools across LAUSD to mirror state-level efforts to reduce student suspensions and limit gaps in disciplinary proceedings among different groups of students.

Under Garcia’s resolution, schools must pursue all alternatives to suspension before suspending students; students cannot be suspended for acts of “willful defiance”; and schools must begin implementing discipline policies centered in “restorative justice” techniques that use counseling and peer mediation to resolve discipline issues. (Read more of our coverage on school discipline policies here.)

Kayser will be a busy Board member this meeting: His postponed resolution that would create new rules for magnet schools and their approval process is back up for a vote. (Read about the magnet resolution here.) Kayser’s attempt to bar School Board members who received financial support from charters from voting on charter-related motions will be back up for discussion as well.

Also up for vote on the agenda are several charter renewals and proposals for new charter and pilot schools.

Click here to see the full Board meeting agenda, and remember to follow us at @laschoolreport for live coverage of the meeting.

Previous posts: Teacher Misconduct Proposal Wins Unexpected Support; “Rubber Room” Teachers Rarely Return; Suspension Rates Vary Widely Among Schools; Kayser’s New Magnet Proposal

Assemblymember Joan Buchanan

AB 375, a new bill meant to streamline teacher dismissals, could be headed for quick passage after clearing the State Assembly’s Education Committee with a 7 – 0 vote Thursday.

The bill’s chance at passing is undoubtedly aided by the announcement last week that the state’s largest teachers union, the California Teachers Association, was joining forces with Assemblymember Joan Buchanan and Senator Alex Padilla to support AB 375.

But the alliance of Padilla and Buchanan and the quick pace of action in the statehouse have left some observers confused and concerned. Is AB 375 a watered-down teacher dismissal bill? Or have the unions, legislators, and education advocates finally come to a working compromise that will help streamline the teacher dismissal process?

Edgar Zazueta, the director of government relations for LAUSD, praised AB 375 as a “step in the right direction.”

But he also expressed reservations.

“I think we’d argue that there’s more consideration to be done here. We thank [Buchanan] for moving in the right direction, but we think we could push envelope a little further,” Zazueta said.

LAUSD, StudentsFirst, EdVoice, and Democrats for Education Reform have expressed a mix of praise and concern.

To be sure, the CTA, Padilla, and Buchanan are unlikely allies.

The union vehemently opposed both of Padilla’s teacher dismissal bills (SB 10 and last year’s SB 1530), and when SB 1530 was up for vote in the Assembly last year, Buchanan helped kill the bill when she voted against it. Yet Padilla has shelved SB 10 and teamed up with Buchanan to help pass AB 375.

According to CTA spokesperson Frank Wells, the union supports AB 375 because the bill “does the things we wanted.” He cited how Buchanan’s bill leaves the final dismissal decision in the hands of a Commission on Professional Competence made up of two fellow teachers and an administrative law judge.

In SB 10, Padilla planned to limit the commission to having only an advisory role, instead giving the local school board the final decision on whether to fire a teacher. Padilla also wanted to exclude the teachers from the commission, reducing it to a lone judge. It was this plan to limit the commission to an advisory role that “was a major sticking point” for the CTA with SB 10, Wells said.

Reform-minded Gloria Romero, head of Democrats for Education Reform in California, is skeptical the bill will accomplish much. (Read her critical review of the CTA’s involvement with AB 375 in an O.C. Register column here.)

EdVoice and StudentsFirst praised Buchanan for lifting the statute of limitations on evidence that can be used against a teacher during the dismissal process. (Current law prohibits the use of evidence from more than four years ago.)

However, both groups said they are still reviewing the bill and deciding just what they think.

In a letter sent to Buchanan, EdVoice expressed specific concerns that AB 375 won’t effectively improve the dismissal process for teachers who have sexually or physically abused their students.

EdVoice CEO Bill Lucia told LA School Report that he has several issues with the bill. “There’s no question whatsoever that SB 10 was more streamlined than AB 375 in terms of dealing with people who are child predators on the payroll at taxpayers’ expense,” Lucia said.

Lucia’s main concern clashes directly with the CTA’s praise for AB 375: The bill maintains the current law that gives the Commission on Professional Competence the final dismissal decision for teachers accused of “immoral conduct” such as sexual and physical abuse.

“To maintain the same process for someone who can’t teach and for someone who is a child molester is unacceptable,” Lucia said. “That kind of behavior is criminal, not a matter of professional competence.”

Lucia also takes issue with AB 375’s revised timelines, which have been extended longer in some cases than the timelines SB 10 proposed. While SB 10 would have required hearings to begin 60 days after a teacher asked for it, AB 375 allows the hearing to start within six months; and while SB 10 required that the Commission reviewing the case to choose its three members within seven days, AB 375 extended the time to 45 days.

The CTA’s Frank Wells defended the new timelines: “Padilla’s bill may have had a shorter timeline, but it was less fair. We want to streamline process, but we also want to give people adequate time to prepare their cases.”

Both EdVoice and StudentsFirst say they’re in the process of carefully inspecting AB 375 and meeting with stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and community members, to decide whether or not AB 375 has enough force to merit their support. They expect to decide by the end of the month.

To read the full text of AB 375, go here; for SB 10, go here.

Previous posts: Lawmaker Supports Former Opponent’s Teacher Dismissal Bill; Report: Teacher Dismissals Costly, Lengthy; Commentary: Implications of a Bloom Win

Now, Padilla plans to join forces with Assemblymember Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo), head of the Assembly’s Education Committee, who introduced her own alternative teacher dismissal bill this week.

Buchanan might seem like an unexpected ally for Padilla, given that Buchanan voted no (along with fellow Democrat Tom Ammiano) on the previous version of Padilla’s bill, SB 1530, which was endorsed by LAUSD and opposed by UTLA.

Buchanan and Padilla say they will work together to pass AB 375, which shares some of SB 10’s key provisions, such as permitting teacher dismissal during the summer and allowing the use of evidence that is older than four years.

In a statement released to LA School Report, Buchanan said she opposed SB 1530 last year because its focus on teachers who abuse students was too limited:

“The dismissal process takes too much time and is too costly for all types of dismissals.  We need a better process that works for everyone – one that is fair, ensures due process, and can be done in a timely and cost-effective manner.”

It remains unclear at this point whether the Buchanan legislation is as rigorous as the Padilla proposal. EdSource has a good analysis of the two bills; read the story here. Or, see the full text of SB 10 here and the draft text of AB 375 here. However, cooperation between Padilla and Buchanan could mean AB 375 has a better chance of passing.

Previous posts:  Richard Bloom Criticizes Betsy Butler For SB 1530 Vote; Where’s UTLA Stand on Teacher Removal?;

L.A.’s Mayoral Rivals Walk Fine Line in Dealing With Labor
Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel are Democrats with long histories of supporting organized labor. But the competition for labor support has upended conventional thinking about the candidates. LA Times

L.A. Unified Officials Let Abuse Allegations Slide, Lawyers Say
Two high-level district employees heard but failed to act on accusations of sexual misconduct by an elementary school teacher, according to attorneys representing alleged victims. LA Times
See also: KPCC, KTLA

LA Unified School Board Blocks Current President From Another Term
The term limit may be the first sign that fewer members on the board of education may support the reform agenda. KPCC

Gage Middle School Students Fight Back with Kale and Yoga
After an article posted by L.A. Weekly and headlined “Huntington Park Has the Fattest Kids in California; Manhattan Beach has the Skinniest,” many parents and students spoke out in the comments section. Gage Middle School has decided to try and cut the fat. LA Weekly

Teacher Pension Problems Catch Lawmakers’ Attention
For years, problems with California’s pension fund for teachers and school employees have been growing. Now a new report says the fund needs an additional $4.5 billion every year to stay above water. LA Times

Oakland to Close 3 Charter Schools
Three of the state’s highest-performing schools must shut down at the end of this school year after administrators failed to acknowledge and address illegal activity and serious lapses in financial and administrative oversight, the Oakland school board decided Wednesday night. SF Chronicle

Resident Enrollment to Carpenter Closes at Midnight Tonight
At midnight Friday night, it’s the deadline for families to apply to the charter-affiliated school that is reaching its capacity enrollment. Studio City Patch

Which Path for the Common Core?
As educators across the country implement the Common Core State Standards, we see two paths emerging … and diverging. EdWeek Commentary

LAUSD Charters Would Lose Funding Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s Budget
Wilbur Elementary got $230,000 in state grants when it converted to a charter last fall. Now, administrators at Wilbur and other affiliated charters, nearly all of them in the San Fernando Valley, are struggling with the news that they stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants if lawmakers approve Gov. Jerry Brown’s new formula for funding public education. LA Daily News

L.A. Charter School Aims to Toss Out Students With Fake Addresses
Officials at Carpenter Community Charter, a top-notch elementary, think 120 children are enrolled fraudulently. They want to make room for students who live in the neighborhood. LA Times

Try a Different tack: Hold Teachers Responsible for Education Quality
The logic of the reformers seems to be that teachers unions are so wrongheaded, and the citizenry sufficiently tired of fights about seniority and teacher evaluation, that putting forward a slate of school board candidates is the way to change the balance of power in the school district and mute the pesky union.  But the strategy hasn’t worked. EdSource Opinion

Over-Praising Preschool
Obama wants the government to fund a free year of pre-kindergarten, but studies don’t back up his claims of long-term benefits. LA Times Opinion

L.A. Schools Falling Apart, Literally
Years of budget cuts have meant many repairs simply aren’t getting done. There are at least 35,442 unresolved calls for service and repairs, with about 1,100 more coming in each day. LA Times Column by Steve Lopez

State Board to Discuss Districts’ Request for NCLB Waiver
The State Superintendent of Public Instruction and members of the State Board of Education will speak publicly this week for the first time on the effort by a consortium of California school districts to seek their own waiver from some regulations and consequences of the federal No Child Left Behind law. EdSource

Sequestration Special Education Cuts May Put Disabled Californians at Risk
The potential impact the sequester will have on the daily lives of the more than 36,000 K-12 students with disabilities in California show how the across-the-board budget cuts can have harrowing implications for millions in the U.S. HuffPo

Defining Bullying Down
The March 3 death of Bailey O’Neill, a 12-year-old boy in Upper Darby, Pa., was widely attributed to bullying, based on allegations that a classmate hit the boy in the face in January. NY Times Op-Ed (Emily Bazelon)

No Pay to Play or Learn at Public Schools
Public schools must provide the clay used in art class, but they can charge a student for taking home his or her finished sculpture. Playing sports is considered part of the educational mission, so schools have to cover all the costs – including uniforms – but attending a game is just for fun so students can pay admission. EdSource

Brown’s School Funding Formula Lauded, Then Picked Apart at Hearing
To a person, every Assemblymember at a committee hearing Tuesday and the six superintendents who testified at it praised the principles behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed school finance reforms: simplicity, clarity and equity ­­– more money for the state’s neediest children. EdSource

Waiting for Recovery: U.S. Public Schools Continue to Lose Jobs
Since the peak in local public school employment in July 2008, about 361,000 jobs in the sector have been eliminated, roughly half of the 725,000 government jobs lost overall in the same period, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. Reuters

Teachers’ Ratings Still High Despite New Measures
High teacher rating results, among the first trickling out from states’ newly revamped yardsticks, paint a picture of a K-12 system that remains hesitant to differentiate between the best and the weakest performers—as well as among all those in the middle doing a solid job who still have room to improve. EdWeek

School Principals Who Fail to Report Abuse Are Rarely Prosecuted
Principal Irene Hinojosa and teacher Robert Pimentel worked together for years, and she thought highly of Pimentel as a teacher. So when parents complained that he’d been touching girls, district officials said she disregarded the complaints. KPCC

L.A. City Workers’ Union Doesn’t Endorse Garcetti or Greuel
Members of six locals of the Service Employees International Union questioned City Controller Wendy Greuel and City Councilman Eric Garcetti, two top contenders in the race, for at least half an hour. Neither was recommended for an endorsement. LA Times

Seriously, a Bar Exam for Teachers? This Is Not the Answer
Pearl Arredondo, the founder of a pilot middle school in Los Angeles, feels more student teaching is the best way to prepare new teachers. Take Part Op-Ed

East L.A. Murals Come to Life in School Plays
Students at Monterey Continuation High School write and perform one-act skits about the wall art in their neighborhood. LA Times

Green Dot Continues to Make Improvements at Locke High School
Moving proactively to address the growing needs of its students, Green Dot Public Schools today announced the next step in the evolution of the management structure at Locke High School. LA Sentinel

Educators Celebrate First Six Months of Transitional Kindergarten
Transitional kindergarten, the new grade level for children whose fifth birthdays fall early in the school year, is 6 months old in February. EdSource

The Obama No Child Waiver Gambit: It’s Time for It to End
A few things are clear after today’s Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee hearing on the Obama administration’s move to eviscerate the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. And, for the most part, it didn’t reflect well on the gambit. Dropout Nation Opinion

Another Trophy in the Case for Long Beach Unified
The state’s third-largest school district was named Thursday one of the five top school districts in the world by Battelle for Kids, a Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit organization that counsels school districts on school improvement and innovation. EdSource

LAUSD Sues Insurance Companies for Garfield Repairs
Los Angeles Unified has sued its property insurers for at least $13 million for allegedly balking at paying to reconstruct the James A. Garfield High School auditorium ravaged in a fire almost six years ago. City News Service

Charter School Petition Goes Before LAUSD
The effort to bring a new elementary school to Downtown could take a big step forward next week. LA Downtown News

Why Educators’ Wages Must Be Revamped Now
Some districts are spending more than they need to spend, based on what other districts show is possible. But does this excess spending imply that we can simply cut back on spending without harming students? EdWeek Commentary

Glendale Unified, Police Settle Suit Over Racial Profiling
The ACLU of Southern California announced Wednesday that it had reached settlements with the city of Glendale and the Glendale Unified School District on behalf of eight Latino students who alleged that officials engaged in racial profiling and illegal searches during a 2010 incident at Hoover High School. LA Times

Districts Must Return to 180-Day Instructional Year by 2015-16
Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature agree: The state should again require a minimum 180-day school year, starting in 2015-16. EdSource

LAUSD Hired Other Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse, Despite Warnings
Turns out, Joseph Piña is not the only Archdiocese employee with a questionable past and a link to L.A.’s schools. KCET
See also: LA Times

Call for Digital Textbooks Back Before the Legislature
Lawmakers appear poised to test Gov. Jerry Brown’s new commitment to online learning with legislation that would require textbook publishers to make available a digital version of the content material. SI&A Cabinet Report

Small Study Says Gender Stereotypes May Still Play Role in Who Chooses to Teach
In a small study, university scholars found that gender stereotypes play a role when men discount going into teaching. Certainly that’s not the case in California, right? KPCC

Should Doctors and Teachers Protect Their Own?
I cannot support the idea that incompetent teachers should be able to keep their jobs any more than I believe that incompetent surgeons should be allowed to keep operating. Sac News & Review Commentary

Ex-Miramonte Teacher Could Face More Charges
Mark Berndt is already facing 23 counts of lewd conduct involving students. K-NBC LA

California Wants to Ramp up Its Technical Education and Career Training Programs
California education officials want to expand and promote career and technical education classes offered by public schools. KPCC

Education Miracles That Aren’t
In seeking reform models, L.A. Unified should be cautious about untested solutions. LA Times Editorial

Detectives Investigating Ex-Priest’s Conduct With Girl, Then 16
Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives have launched an investigation of an ex-priest and L.A. school district employee about a sexual relationship he allegedly had with a 16-year-old in the late 1980s, The Times has learned. LA Times

Why Education ‘Research Wars’ Leave No Winners
There isn’t a day that goes by that someone in the world of education isn’t issuing a report, data point or other form of research to make a point that conflicts with another point that also has a report, data point or other form of research to back it up. WaPo Op-Ed

Watch: the Story of 24th Street Elementary School
On January 17, more than 150 parents and children associated with the 24th Street Elementary School in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles delivered a “Parent Trigger” petition to LAUSD. This is their story. Parent Revolution

Giving Kids a View to a Better Future
In one year, Vision To Learn, a nonprofit mobile eye lab, has given eye exams to 5,000 students and handed out 4,000 pairs of glasses. ‘A $20 pair of glasses can change your life,’ its founder says. LA Times – Steve Lopez Column

Forbidden Fruit Roll-Ups: USDA Plans to Restrict School Snacks
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing regulations to keep the nation’s students from buying gummy bears, fruit roll-ups and cheese puffs from vending machines and at campus snack bars during the school day. EdSource

Teens in Stable Condition After Fingers Severed in Tug-of-War
Two South El Monte High School students whose fingers were severed during a game of tug-of-war were in stable condition Tuesday after undergoing surgery to re-attach the fingers, officials said. LA Times

Meet the Youth Voices Student Producers from ArtLAB High School
For their first multi-media assignment, Youth Voices student producers at ArtLAB High School were asked to create a Power Point presentation that features visual representations of who they are, what they feel, and what they believe. KCET

States Lack Data on Principals, Study Says
While principals increasingly are moving to center stage in national debates over school improvement, a new study finds most states have little or no information about how their principals are prepared, licensed, supported, and evaluated. EdWeek

Senate Investigative Team Focuses on Schools’ Misuse of Cafeteria Money
The illegal but common practice at some California school districts to use federal student meal funds on non-nutritional expenses has caught the attention of investigators working for Senate leader Darrell Steinberg. SI&A Cabinet Report

L.A. Mayoral Candidates Talk Education
Los Angeles’ mayoral candidates took a break Sunday from the acrimony that has marked their race in recent days.   Instead, the candidates took part in an education forum, skipping the halftime show to discuss their plans as mayor to help the city’s beleaguered schools. LA Times

A Brief Overview of Teacher Evaluation Controversies
Why is it so hard to determine what makes a good teacher? The answer is both complicated and polarizing. In recent education reform history, judging teacher evaluations has become as much an issue as how to evaluate student achievement. NPR

L.A. Archdiocese Says It Warned LAUSD Not to Hire Former Priest
L.A. Archdiocese spokesperson Tod Tamberg said the diocese has sent notices to the LAUSD regarding people accused of misconduct who either have current or former ties to the district, and have offered to share information over the phone. KCET
See also: LA Times, LA Daily News

Parent Trigger Shifts Balance
The nation’s third invoking of a Parent Trigger, in Los Angeles, disproves the charges of many critics of the 2010 California law. OC Register Op-Ed

California Drops Algebra Requirement for 8th Graders, Dismaying Educators
If an 8th grader anywhere in California walks into a classroom at 1.5 miles an hour to solve a quadratic equation, what are the chances that she will get into a top-tier university? KPCC

Tarzana-Area LAUSD Teacher Charged With Molesting Three Girls
City prosecutors charged a Tarzana-area middle school teacher Monday with more than half a dozen counts of misdemeanor child molestation in connection with alleged sexual battery of three girls, authorities said. LA Times
See also: KPCC

Jerry Brown’s Tax Allies on Proposition 30 Outspent Foes 4 to 1
Gov. Jerry Brown and his allies spent nearly $54 million passing Brown’s November ballot initiative to raise taxes, about four times the opposition, according to year-end campaign finance reports. Sac Bee

Researchers Critique Final ‘Measures of Effective Teaching’ Findings
The recommendations in the final Measures of Effective Teaching work products may not be supported by the project’s hard data, the National Education Policy Center contends in a review of the project. EdWeek

Chatsworth Hills Academy Student to Represent L.A. County at National Spelling Bee
After a 14-round contest that lasted more than five hours, an eighth-grader from Chatsworth Hills Academy took honors as Los Angeles County’s top speller and will compete this spring at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. LA Daily News

Goldberg: Education Spending That Isn’t Smart
Education is important and necessary for a host of reasons. But there’s little evidence it drives growth. LA Times Op-Ed

Granada Hills Charter and Marshall High Tied for First Place During Academic Decathlon Super Quiz
Teams from the rival schools each scored 67 out of a possible 72 points in the only public event of the decathlon. Franklin High School in Los Angeles came in third, with 65 points, followed by El Camino Real Charter in Woodland Hills with 64. LA Daily News

L.A.’s First Hebrew-Language Charter School Raises Questions
Lashon Academy is to teach modern Hebrew, have no religious component and aim for a diverse student body. But some worry that dual-language charters blur the line between public and private schools. LA Times

Teachers Union Is Backing Garcetti With Words, but No Money
The union that represents Los Angeles Unified School District teachers has weighed in on the city’s March 5 municipal election and backed Eric Garcetti for mayor. KPCC

School Turnarounds Prompt Community Backlash
The federal government’s push for drastic reforms at chronically low achieving schools has led to takeovers by charter operators, overhauls of staff and curriculum, and even school shutdowns across the country. AP

LAUSD Looking Into How Priest Accused of Molestation Was Hired
A former priest and suspected child molester who left the Los Angeles Archdiocese for L.A. Unified schools will no longer be employed by the district, Supt. John Deasy said. LA Times
See also: AP

LAUSD League Unites Students With, Without Disabilities
The Los Angeles Unified School District/Special Olympics Unified Basketball League aims to help students of all capabilities interact with one another. LA Times

Slower Population Growth Means Teacher Shortage Likely Averted
New population estimates released last week by the governor’s Department of Finance may give relief to planners worried about a potential teacher shortage, as a modest increase in school age children by 2020 was set to collide with mass retirements of educators in the coming decade. SI&A Cabinet Report

Performing Well at This Decathlon Is the Smart Thing to Do
High school students gather at the Roybal Learning Center for the last leg of L.A. Unified’s regional Academic Decathlon. This year’s theme: Russia. LA Times

States Soon to Weigh Science-Standards Adoption
California may well be an early adopter of the standards, which promote depth over breadth in science instruction and call on students to apply their learning through scientific inquiry and the engineering-design process to deepen understanding. EdWeek

New System Allows More Students to Get College Cal Grants
For some high school seniors, applying to college is stressful enough. An added layer of having to search for their grade point average and Social Security number was enough for thousands not to bother seeking financial aid.  Now, Los Angeles Unified School District students can breathe a little easier. LA Times

L.A. Unified Students Face Off in Healthful Cooking Contest
Teams from six high schools whip up balanced meals following rules on calories, fat, sodium and simplicity. The winners advance to the national level, and their creations will join the district menu. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News

L.A. School District Sued Over Sexual Abuse of Students
The Los Angeles Unified School District was sued for failing to prevent the alleged sexual abuse of students by an elementary school teacher who was arrested last year. Bloomberg

As Other States Seek to Increase Preschool Budget, California Stays Flat
Starting at the White House and kindling in governors’ offices nationwide, there’s a move underfoot to increase access to early childhood education programs. Except in California. KPCC

Ex-LAUSD Teacher Charged With Additional Molestation Felony
A former Los Angeles Unified schoolteacher has been charged with an additional felony in connection with the alleged molestation of a child in Orange County eight years ago. LA Times
See also: KPCC

Los Angeles River School Students Map Elysian Valley
Last Friday, as part of our Youth Voices media literacy program, students from the Los Angeles River School, a member of the Sotomayor Learning Academy, embarked on a field trip to nearby Elysian Valley, a neighborhood that many of the students call home. KCET

New Name Sought for Arts High School
What’s in a name? In the case of the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts on Grand Avenue, a lot.  A group of parents and students have launched a campaign to rename the school before graduation in the spring. LA Downtown News

Poll: Counselors Are More Important for School Safety Than Police Officers
To improve school safety, Californians overwhelmingly believe that having guidance counselors in every school would be more effective than deploying armed police officers. EdSource

L.A. Schools Supt. Deasy, 4 Predecessors Named in Miramonte Lawsuit
The lawsuit alleges that the superintendents created an environment in which administrators were advised to dismiss complaints of misconduct, shielded teachers from scrutiny and kept allegations from being reported to state authorities and law enforcement. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News, AP, ABC LA

Applying for Kindergarten: What to Do If Your Child Is Too Young
It’s that time of the year when parents of four and five year old’s are busy with school tours and applications to secure a kindergarten spot. KPCC

In 2013, California Needs to Make Education a Top Priority
This year, my hope for our state is to fix our broken educational funding system. Yahoo News (editorial)

School Board Members to Arne Duncan: Back Off
After four years in office, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan still hasn’t won over local school board members. EdWeek

Teachers Get Hands-on Instructing Algebra to at Risk Middle School Students
There was a time when Mike Moser’s math classes at Park Middle School in Antioch would probably have looked a lot like every other in America. SI&A Cabinet Report

Organizing and Partnering for School Change in East Los Angeles
For more than 80 years, no new school was built in East Los Angeles. In the past several years, the efforts of a community organizing group, a dedicated group of teachers, an array of community partners, the students, and the parents converged to demand change — and to make it a reality. HuffPo Editorial

State Ordered to Pay Back Districts $1 Billion for 20-Year-Old Mandate
A state commission has ruled that the state must reimburse school districts about $1 billion in mandated special education costs dating back 20 years. EdSource

When You’re Black in America, School Choice Matters
Education reformer Howard Fuller shares why we ‘must not depend on any one strategy to achieve the goal of educating our young.’ Take Part Op-Ed

LAUSD to Compete With Charters to Run ‘Parent Trigger’ School
The parents at 24th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles Unified will have plenty of choices for an operator to take over their school under the “parent trigger” process they initiated this month. One of the contenders will be the district itself. EdSource
See also: LA Weekly, KPCC

Former State Senator Martha Escutia Calls for LAUSD Probe
In the wake of yet another sex abuse arrest in the Los Angeles Unified School District, former state Sen. Martha Escutia came to a Wilmington elementary school Monday to call for an LAUSD investigation into what she believes is a pattern of such abuse against Latino youth by teachers in low-income areas. LA Daily News
See also: LA Times

Second Parent Says Principal Ignored Concerns About Accused Teacher
Maria Zacapa, whose child is now in the eighth grade, said her son told her four years ago that Robert Pimental had touched a girl in his fourth-grade class in a way that made Zacapa’s son feel uncomfortable. LA Times

Crenshaw High Group Opposes Reform Plan and School Closings
Parents, students and teachers rallied Monday in front of Crenshaw High School to protest a plan to restructure the low-performing campus and require teachers to reapply for their jobs. LA Times

Linked Learning Comes of Age in California With New Pilot Programs
The California Department of Education has selected 63 districts and county offices of education – many of them working together in consortia – to pilot “linked learning” programs in their high schools beginning next fall. EdSource

Remembering the “One Laptop” Debacle
Need any reminders of what an edtech bubble looks like — the hype, exaggerated promises, enormous influxes of cash and media attention and wastes of time — then refresh your recollection of the 2005 One Laptop Per Child phenomenon in which Nicholas Negroponte said he was going to transform the world by giving poor kids low-income laptops. This Week in Education

Legislation Would Put Enforcement Teeth Into School Safety Plan Requirement
As a national debate continues to simmer over the best methods for protecting students from gun violence, a state senator from Southern California points out that a large number of school districts are failing to develop or update school safety plans – as required by law. SI&A Cabinet Report

Ed. Dept. Raises Evidence, Research Ante in Grant Awards
The U.S. Department of Education is taking the next formal step to make research and evidence far more important factors as it awards competitive grants. EdWeek

L.A. Unified’s College-Prep Push Is Based on False Data
San Jose’s school district, which requires all students to pass the classes necessary to apply to California universities, initially reported strong results. But its success was overstated. Those results should raise warning flags for other school systems, including Los Angeles Unified, that based key policy decisions on San Jose’s misreported data. LA Times

LAUSD Plans to Add 1,000 New Campus Aides for Security at Elementary Schools
The Los Angeles Unified School District plans to make more than 1,000 new hires to bolster security at hundreds of campuses in a move some critics have called “security on the cheap.” LA Daily News
See also: KPCC, LA Times

State Legislators Seek Crackdown on Expensive Form of School Finance
Two state lawmakers moved on Friday to crack down on a costly method of finance that hundreds of school districts have been relying on to pay for new construction. LA Times

Teachers Flip for ‘Flipped Learning’ Class Model
When Timmy Nguyen comes to his pre-calculus class, he’s already learned the day’s lesson – he watched it on a short online video prepared by his teacher for homework. AP

Days of Small K-3 Classes Look Done for in California
California embarked on an ambitious experiment in 1996 to improve its public schools by putting its youngest students in smaller classes. Nearly 17 years later, the goal of maintaining classrooms of no more than 20 pupils in the earliest grades has been all but discarded. KPCC

Students Struggling With English Not Getting Help
More than 20,000 California students struggling with English are not receiving legally required services to help them, setting them up for academic failure, says a report by two civil rights groups. LA Times

Arrest of LAUSD Teacher May Bolster Lawmaker’s Case to Speed up Dismissals
In California, school districts can remove a teacher accused of serious misconduct from the classroom, but must put them on paid leave through the dismissal process — and during appeals — if the employee contests the action. KPCC

Attorney: Alleged LAUSD Abusers Mostly at Low-Income Schools
Attorney Martha Escutia said in a statement that the public deserves to “know why LAUSD is unable to protect children and why a majority of alleged sex abusers appear to end up teaching at economically disadvantaged schools.” CBS LA

Calif. Agency Takes Months to Review Misconduct
Months after the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing was notified of a Los Angeles Unified elementary school teacher suspected of molesting at least a dozen students and a principal who failed to report him to authorities, the agency has not taken action on the cases. AP

North Hollywood High’s Cyber Patriot Team Heads to National Finals
North Hollywood High School is one of three Los Angeles Unified campuses that will send teams to the National High School Cyber Defense Competition in Washington, D.C. in March. LA Daily News

Russia Is Topic as LAUSD Academic Decathlon Begins
The topic is Russia for the more than 500 students from 58 high schools gathered at Roybal Learning Center in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday for the Los Angeles Unified School District Academic Decathlon. LA Times

LAUSD Principal Failed to Report Alleged Molestation by Teacher
A now-retired principal twice failed to report accusations of sexual misconduct by a teacher who this week was charged with molesting 12 students at a Wilmington elementary school, officials said. LA Times
See also: Daily Beast, CS Monitor, LA Daily News, KPCC

Teachers Union Joins Suit Against Release of Ratings
The teachers union for the L.A. Unified School District was granted court permission Thursday to join a Los Angeles Times lawsuit seeking access to teacher ratings so it can argue they are based on an unreliable mathematical formula and should not be disclosed to the public. LA Times

Gov. Brown Uses State of the State Speech to Push Education Reforms
As if speaking from a pulpit, Brown warned of fire and brimstone if bureaucracy and inequity isn’t wiped clean from the state education system. KPCC

Calif. Districts Team Up to Push School Improvements
Frustrated by their own state’s pace and direction of school improvement, eight California districts have banded together to move ahead on rolling out the Common Core State Standards and designing new teacher evaluations based in part on student performance. EdWeek

South L.A. High School Gives Dropouts Another Chance
Free L.A. is a partnership between the John Muir Charter School, Youth Justice Coalition and the Work Investment Act. It was founded with the motto, “Escape the school-to-jail track.” Neon Tommy

Brown Lashes out at Regulators and Testers, Makes Case for His Reforms
With a caustic critique of excessive testing and overregulation and a fervent call for respecting the “dignity and freedom of teachers and students,” Gov. Jerry Brown laid out the case for returning primary control of education to local hands and distributing state money equitably in his State of the State address. EdSource

L.A. Mayoral Candidates’ Education Proposals Explained
While the five mayoral candidates vying for incumbent Antonia Villaraigosa’s position campaign across Los Angeles, one issue trumps most, no matter the neighborhood: education. Neon Tommy

Roosevelt’s Future Uncertain: School Scrambles to Meet LAUSD Deadline
A feeling of urgency and uncertainty is in the air at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, where teachers, parents and students are mobilizing for a possible whirlwind of change coming their way. EGP News

Plan to Supply LAUSD Students With Tablet Computers Wins Key Vote
Los Angeles Unified students may be closer to stepping into classrooms of the future where much of the world’s knowledge is right at their fingertips. LA Daily News

Listen: Is the ‘Parent Trigger’ Finally Being Given a Chance?
For the first time since the era of school reform began, the Los Angeles Unified School District has accepted a petition from angry parents demanding “immediate and significant” change in a public school. KCRW

LAUSD Board Candidate Iris Zuniga Drops out of Race for Nury Martinez Seat
Iris Zuniga, one of five candidates to succeed LAUSD board member Nury Martinez in the East San Fernando Valley, announced Wednesday she has dropped out of the Distrct 6 race. LA Daily News
See also: LA Times, LA School Report

ACLU: State, School Districts Failing English Learners
More than 20,000 students whose first language isn’t English are not getting proper instruction according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which threatened California education officials with a lawsuit Wednesday. KPCC

The Feds’ Education Power Grab
It’s time to have a conversation about the issue before we find that the executive branch, or even the entire federal government, has become our national school board. LA Times Op-Ed

State Department of Ed Names Model Schools for At-Risk Students
The model schools program is designed to identify the top quality schools and encourage teachers and administrators at other continuation high schools to contact and visit them and apply those practices on their own campuses. EdSource

LAUSD OK’s English-Hebrew Charter School
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has given a green light to a proposal for a dual-language charter elementary school to be located in Van Nuys offering classes in English and Hebrew. Jewish Journal

State’s D in Teacher Prep Nearly Average
California received an overall grade of D on the 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook released by the National Council on Teacher Quality.  No, that’s not great, but it may be easier to bear knowing that the national average was a whopping D+. EdSource

LA School PD Has ‘No Plans’ to Keep High-Powered Weapons on LAUSD Campuses
The Los Angeles School Police Department has no plans to keep high-powered weapons on campuses despite the Fontana Unified School District’s decision to purchase 14 AR-15 assault rifles to protect its students. CBS LA