Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Suit filed to make L.A. teacher evaluations include student data - latimes.com

Suit filed to make L.A. teacher evaluations include student data - latimes.com:

Suit filed to make L.A. teacher evaluations include student data

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy

Advocates went forward Tuesday with a lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Unified School District has failed to comply with state laws requiring that teachers and principals should be evaluated, in part, on student academic progress.

The suit, filed by the Barnes & Thornburg law firm in conjunction with the Sacramento-based advocacy group EdVoice, asserts that L.A. Unified must comply immediately with the Stull Act, which established guidelines for assessing teachers and principals after its passage in 1971.

“The district has never obeyed the Stull Act's mandate,” the suit states, while blaming both the school system and unions representing teachers and administrators. (In the litigation, both types of employees are referred to