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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, September 11, 2013

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State Senate approves student testing plan over federal objections




Education Headlines

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Boy, 8, forgotten on school bus

An 8-year-old special needs student was inadvertently left behind on a Kern County Superintendent of Schools bus for more than five hours Monday.

Lakeside school board tables bond vote

In order to have more time to explore other options for paying down its debt, the Lakeside Union School District Tuesday night tabled a vote on a controversial bond issue. The district has more than $10 million in debt coming due in June 2014 and no way to pay it.

Fillmore district fails to score a budget hit with sports donations

Contributions from athletes’ families are failing to make up a budget gap faced by the Fillmore Unified School District’s sports program, school board members were warned Tuesday.

Union: Flourishing Lodi Unified too cheap

Lodi Unified teachers are going public with demands that the district fully restore pay cuts and rescind furlough days they accepted in 2010 to help bridge multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls.

Freedburg: Arne Duncan unsuccessful in 11th-hour effort to block state legislation

Veteran education watchers in California could not recall a presidential cabinet officer ever attempting to block state legislation and certainly not in the heavy handed way U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan attempted to do on Monday night.

Walters: California school test conflict heating up

A bill backed by the unions, their perpetual ally, state schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson, and Gov. Jerry Brown would suspend almost all academic testing immediately and then, the sponsors say, reinstate it in alignment with Common Core in a couple of years. Thus, were the legislation to be enacted, everything that stems from testing and that the unions dislike would also be suspended and, it’s widely believed, be quietly killed.

Jerry Brown pushes school testing delay despite federal threats

State officials are pushing forward with a plan to suspend mandatory school testing for a year despite U.S. Department of Education threats to withhold federal funds.

Moraga to pay $1.8 million to abused student

The Moraga School District has agreed to pay $1.8 million to a former student who accused a science teacher of sexually abusing her, officials said Tuesday.

District tries new program to modify behavior

A new way to modify student behavior, pioneered at Hans Christensen Middle School, is being implemented in most Menifee Union School District sites this year. The “Positive Behavior Intervention and Support” program — called PBIS — replaces the age-old rewards and punishments method with critical assessment training to help students make the right choice, regardless of consequences.

California schools could lose federal funding over STAR test suspensio

Hesitating to fully embrace a nationwide campaign to bolster schools' accountability, California has turned up its nose at federal carrots and now wants a reprieve from Uncle Sam's stick -- an entreaty that has so infuriated the Obama administration that it is threatening to withhold federal money from the state's schools.

LAUSD moves to facilitate screening for parent volunteers

Trying to encourage more parents to volunteer at local campuses, the Los Angeles Unified school board approved a plan Tuesday to make it easier to get necessary fingerprinting and tuberculosis screenings, although the South L.A. representative asked that her schools be excluded from the plan.

L.A. school board approves new parent trigger rules

Pioneering guidelines to help Los Angeles Unified school staff and parents navigate the complex and controversial process to overhaul failing schools under the state parent trigger law were approved Tuesday by the school board.

LAUSD teacher evaluation system prompts state labor board complaint

The state labor board has issued a complaint charging Los Angeles Unified with implementing a new performance evaluation system without first negotiating key provisions with its teachers union.

Fensterwald: Bill reforming process of firing teachers resurfaces with amendments

A highly contested bill that potentially would make it quicker and less costly to dismiss teachers has risen from legislative purgatory with significant changes that could lead to passage by the Legislature this week.

LA Unified's plan to implement Common Core standards put on hold

The Los Angeles Unified School District's Board of Education on Tuesday delayed approval of the district's proposed $113 million budget to implement standards for Common Core – California’s new English and math standards shared with 46 other states.

State Senate approves student testing plan over federal objections

California lawmakers pushed ahead Tuesday with a new state testing plan despite a threat by the Obama administration to withhold federal education funds unless substantial changes were made.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Fensterwald: Duncan threatens repercussions if California ends state tests for all students

Hours before a key vote in the Legislature, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has warned California not to administer a partial practice or field test on the Common Core standards to some students in lieu of giving the existing tests on state standards to all students next spring – or face consequences.

Ex-San Juan administrator alleges schools chief defamed and bullied her

A former San Juan Unified administrator has become the first to file a tort claim with the school district alleging that a superintendent currently on administrative leave subjected her to harassment, bullying and emotional distress.

Now on school menu: Meatless Mondays

Cafeterias at elementary schools across the San Diego Unified district went vegetarian Monday, eliminating cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and other popular meaty meals from their menus. They instead offered garden veggie burgers, cheese pizza, salad bars and sunflower-seed butter and jelly sandwiches.

Stockton USD toughens truancy policy

Multiagency cooperation and an influx of new cash are putting teeth into battling truancy in the Stockton Unified School District this year.