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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

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L.A. Unified students want one of their own on school board


Education Headlines
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

Central San Joaquin Valley schools begin new computerized state tests

After months of prepping for California's new computerized state assessments, called the Smarter Balanced Consortium Field Tests, schools across the Valley are now rolling out the high-tech exam. State officials report schools have run into few problems -- good news for the state, which has invested $1.25 billion to help prepare for the tests.

Grant High parents press for campus improvements

Frustrated with aging facilities at 82-year-old Grant Union High School, Del Paso Heights community members on Monday asked school and political leaders to install campus HVAC units and consider other improvements such as filling the swimming pool.

South Bay underwriter gets lesser charges

A former bond underwriter who was a key figure in the corruption investigation at South County school districts was sentenced to probation and almost $8,000 in fines Monday.

Sweetwater break ends, bargaining resumes

Students in the Sweetwater Union High School District returned from spring break Monday with no agreement between the district and teachers’ union

Dozier-Libbey High teachers seek injunction of Antioch Unified's charter petition

In the latest twist in the dueling petition efforts for the medical high school, supporters of an independent charter high school last week filed a temporary restraining order against the Antioch school district's efforts to turn it into a dependent charter.

Apple Valley teachers infringed on rights of Christian students, district says

Apple Valley Unified has agreed that two of its teachers infringed on the rights of Christian elementary school students by stopping them from distributing plastic coins with Bible verses imprinted on them.

Frey: Districts develop goals for foster youth

As districts set their goals for the next school year and allocate funding under the new California school finance system, they have to consider for the first time a small, highly at-risk subset of students: youth in foster care.

Students arrested in videotaped fight with Santa Monica teacher

District Superintendent Sandra Lyon called the incident “utterly alarming” and acted swiftly, placing the teacher on leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

L.A. Unified wins $7 million in grants for career tech programs

The Los Angeles Unified School District will receive $7 million in federal grant funding to expand career programs at three high schools in the fields of healthcare, technology and business and finance, the district announced Monday.

L.A. Unified students want one of their own on school board

The Los Angeles Board of Education is expected to vote on a proposal that would allow a student advisory member on the school board.

Groups protest LAUSD spending priorities

Several hundred students protested Los Angeles Unified’s proposed budget Monday, claiming poor pupils and schools will receive too little funding.Several hundred students protested Los Angeles Unified’s proposed budget Monday, claiming poor pupils and schools will receive too little funding.
Monday, April 7, 2014

Reed schools seeking parcel tax increase

Looking for ways to accommodate its continually rapid growth, the Reed Union School District is seeking to increase its parcel tax income.

Eureka City Schools, teachers association ratify agreement

The Eureka City Schools District and Eureka Teachers Association ratified a labor agreement this week, making the terms effective immediately.

Parent claims in lawsuit that Newport-Mesa teacher harassed daughter

Administrators in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District are being accused of violating a student’s civil rights in a lawsuit after a student complained to the district that a teacher and staff at Newport Heights Elementary School harassed her.

Google scans of student emails reboot privacy concerns

Every day, thousands of Orange County students log in to their school-assigned Google accounts to work on lessons and send emails to teachers and classmates. What many parents and teachers don’t know is that Google is scanning and indexing every email that those students send and receive.

Teacher faces possible deportation, Twin Rivers blamed for paperwork goof

Lilian Velazquez Acosta, 54, said she lost her teaching position and a chance at becoming an American citizen because officials at Twin Rivers Unified School District failed to send a letter to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services acknowledging she worked for them. She learned too late that the misstep caused her work visa to expire in September 2012.

What went wrong with Santa Clara County's $300,000 school leader

After bouncing out its third superintendent in seven years, the Santa Clara County Office of Education is now seeking to chart a new course and refocus on its work serving the county's 400 public schools.

Santa Clara County Office of Education sent out at least dozens of incorrect paychecks

Of the problems that beset Xavier De La Torre in his brief tenure as Santa Clara County Office of Education superintendent, the yearlong unraveling of the payroll department may have been his undoing.

New LAUSD budget proposal calls for spending on disadvantaged students

As he offered his 2014-15 budget proposal for Los Angeles Unified, Superintendent John Deasy on Friday also unveiled a three-year plan to help students who are poor, in foster care or learning English.

Deal announced on teacher dismissal bill that governor would support

Signaling the resolution of an acrimonious issue, Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, introduced a bill Friday to make dismissing teachers charged with severe misconduct quicker, easier and cheaper.

Deasy's proposed budget includes 1,200 new staff positions

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy on Friday proposed spending nearly half of the district's new targeted state money on special education next year - but that's not an increase in the program, rather a recalibrating of where the funds are coming from.

Parents defend Santa Monica teacher who fought with student

Parents of several Santa Monica High School students are coming to the defense of a teacher who was placed on leave Friday after he was recorded on video in a physical altercation with a student.

Tiny Marin County district clings to struggling school

Despite the state's economic recovery, a Marin County school district is struggling to make ends meet and is planning to cut teachers, administrators and special programs in the coming months.

How public health advocates are trying to reach non-vaccinators

Whooping cough made a comeback in California last year, which researchers have linked to vaccine refusals. And with new measles outbreaks in Southern California, New York and British Columbia, the debate over vaccination is also spreading.

Adams: Under new law, school nurses aim to stop rise in vaccination opt-outs

Under a state law that took effect Jan. 1, parents are required to consult with a health practitioner – doctor, naturopath or credentialed school nurse – before they’re allowed to obtain a personal-belief exemption from their child’s required immunizations.