Monday, July 8, 2013

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Calif. lawmakers pass K-12 transgender-rights bill







Education Headlines

Monday, July 8, 2013

Schools laud new education funding formula

The state budget the governor just signed pumps some much-needed money to schools that have taken a financial beating since the recession, but local districts are guarded about the impact on their beleaguered finances.

Significant changes at top of Stockton USD

When Dan Wright's demotion from assistant superintendent to K-8 principal became official one month ago, the longtime Stockton Unified official provided a succinct explanation. "The superintendent is building his Cabinet," Wright said, referring to Steve Lowder. "He wants his own people."

Debate over state windfall at Lodi Unified could get heated

Lodi Unified classrooms will open in the fall with a few minor tweaks to class sizes and the addition of teachers in some schools that have combination classes. To put it simply, things will look similar at school this coming year. The boardroom, however, could get heated.

Stockton USD plans major shift

With details still being fine-tuned about only five weeks before the start of the new school year, Stockton Unified is embarking on a multiyear effort to standardize and improve its special-education programs throughout the district.

Redlands schools chief denies officials failed to report alleged sexual abuse

Schools Superintendent Lori Rhodes on Saturday denied that school officials failed to report allegations of a sexual relationship between Citrus Valley High School teacher Laura Whitehurst and a male student to police.

Schwinn resigns from Sacramento County Office of Education board

Penny Schwinn, a charter school advocate who won a hotly contested race for the Sacramento County Office of Education board, has stepped down after just one year. She said she left the post because she took a new job as a Sacramento City Unified administrator, and state law prohibits school employees – except for those at charters – from sitting on the county board. Her resignation was effective Wednesday.

New traditional middle school would be on the Natomas High School campus

The Natomas Unified School District announced last month that it plans to create a traditional middle school on the Natomas High School campus, which would allow students who live in the neighborhood to attend class near their homes.

'More with less' trip for 61 questioned

Oceanside Unified School District is spending more than $100,000 in funds earmarked for the education of low-income students to send more than 60 administrators and teachers to a four-day conference in Washington D.C.

San Ysidro document burning probed

San Diego police and the FBI are investigating what appears to be the suspicious burning of public records in a maintenance yard operated by the San Ysidro School District that may involve former Superintendent Manuel Paul.

Calif. lawmakers pass K-12 transgender-rights bill

California lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that would require public K-12 schools to let transgender students choose which restrooms they use and which school teams they join based on their gender identity instead of their chromosomes.

Contract extension for Modesto schools chief eyed

Modesto City Schools board members will hear about grant-writing success at tonight's meeting and consider extending the contract of Superintendent Pam Able

New Byron superintendent is Debbie Burnette

Debbie Burnette has hit the ground running. Within days of being hired as Byron Union's new superintendent, Burnette, 61, was on the job Monday and is already interviewing candidates for an empty elementary principal position.

City College of SF to lose accreditation in 2014

Beset by mismanagement and unable to convince overseers that it had repaired extensive problems, City College of San Francisco will lose its accreditation a year from now and its elected Board of Trustees will be stripped of decision-making powers, the college learned Wednesday.

Federal judge sets hearing on Sacramento City school closures

A federal judge in Sacramento today granted a July 11 hearing on a lawsuit that parents and students filed to block closure of seven elementary schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

New Oakland schools Superintendent Gary Yee faces high hurdles

Gary Yee, 67, stepped down from his position as a school board member and was appointed by the board in April to take over the $250,000-a-year position from Tony Smith, who is moving to Chicago.

Some schools must scramble to feed low-income kids during summer

Various meal programs have remained unfunded even as others are restored. It has meant forming partnerships with other entities to get L.A.-area children fed.

School gardens in Bell Gardens feed a community

The Environmental Garden Club operates an urban farm at every public school in the city. For many of the city's poor Latino residents, the farms are the only source of organic produce.

Lawmakers to end excessive bond practice

California lawmakers are on the verge of passing sweeping legislation to rein in school districts that raise money for construction projects by using an expensive and once-obscure financing tool.

Supt. John Deasy faces rocky relationship with new LAUSD president

Supt. John Deasy threatened to resign over the election of board President Richard Vladovic. Now the two must find a way to work together.

Fensterwald: Effort to shorten process of firing teachers faltering again

For the second straight year, legislation to quicken and simplify dismissal procedures for teachers is in danger of running aground.

Don Brann's biggest challenge yet: saving Inglewood schools

The former administrator has revitalized struggling school districts before, but he has never faced the massive financial burdens of Inglewood Unified.

GED test changes have students scrambling

Across the state and nation, adults are racing to earn their GED high school equivalency certificates by December -- or start all over again with tougher, computerized tests next year.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Encinitas stretches the First Amendment

Toward the end of his legal blessing of Encinitas school yoga, Judge John Meyer said one aspect of the case troubled him. The money.

Antioch Unified in line for additional state funding

Antioch Unified expects to receive significant funding through the state's new local control funding formula plan, which is aimed at helping those districts with sizable low-income and Spanish-speaking student populations. It's uncertain how much it will receive.

Mongeau: Transitional kindergarten enrollment varies widely across districts

Local control and parental prerogative, two hallmarks of the state’s new transitional kindergarten program, led to large variations in enrollment rates across the largest school districts in the state during the first year the program was available, according to an EdSource survey.