Education

Gov. Brown shakes up CA Dems on preschool

California Democrats have been put back on their heels once again by Gov. Jerry Brown, whose approach to preschool education has departed from party orthodoxy. “Brown wants to combine three state-funded early education programs, strip their requirements and let each

Union funding endangered by pending Supreme Court case

Steve Miller January 23, 2016

The average K-12 teacher in California pays at least $30,000 in union dues over the course of a 30-year career, at a minimum of $1,000 a year. But not all teachers want to pay that much; 12,212 teachers in 2014

New LAUSD chief avoids district’s grim fiscal picture

Chris Reed January 18, 2016

Michelle King was promoted to superintendent of the massive Los Angeles Unified School District last week and has since spoken about her hopes for educational improvements, her interest in single-sex schools and her doubts about philanthropist Eli Broad’s goal of

SCOTUS hears CA Friedrichs case

James Poulos January 14, 2016

After years of mounting controversy over compulsory unionization, public pensions and other labor issues, California has sent the Supreme Court a case that could change the power of unions in America overnight. As the court hears oral arguments, the challenge has made

CTA expects to lose landmark Supreme Court case

Chris Reed January 10, 2016

The most recent State Worker column by Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee said 2016 was “perhaps the most significant year for government workers in decades” because of the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case, which the U.S. Supreme Court

CA schools pass weakened assessments

James Poulos January 6, 2016

Californians troubled by the public school drive toward statewide standardized testing now face a reformed — but weaker — system of assessment. Two separate policy changes fueled the about-face. At the federal level, Congress turned its back on No Child Left Behind,

Education sector bond spending continues to spike

Steve Miller January 5, 2016

Schools and universities from the smallest unified school district to the top-tier university systems in the state issued more bonds in 2015 than they had in any year since the boom times of 2005, before the Great Recession. The result

Education debt debate heats up

James Poulos January 4, 2016

With the start of a new year, a fresh array of political, economic and legal developments promise to sharpen California’s ongoing debate over the costs and consequences of its current education system. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, one of

Broad gets ammo in push to expand L.A. charter schools

Chris Reed January 1, 2016

As a huge fight draws near over charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District between the California Teachers Association and billionaire philanthropist and school reformer Eli Broad, a massive new study by UC Berkeley researchers gives Broad ammunition

UC drops investments in response to activists’ gripes

Chris Reed December 31, 2015

For the second time in three months, University of California pension administrators have ended their investments in specific industries after receiving complaints from student activists, spurring criticism that investments should be focused on returns — not on making political or