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Commentary: A promising bill on teacher effectiveness is gutted in backroom deal
By Ben Austin Last month, my organization, Students Matter, issued its support of California’s AB 934 – a state bill that, though imperfect, honestly attempted to address the grave defaults in the...
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6 top education news stories in Los Angeles in the first 6 months of 2016
(Photos courtesy of iStock) The first half of 2016 brought high stakes and high drama to Los Angeles’ education scene, from dire budget predictions to heated charter debates to attempts at overhauling...
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Commentary: How to weed out bad-apple teachers? Ask parents
By Lindsay Sturman The epic battle over how to improve public education in California grew more stratified last week when a bill to mildly reform California’s onerous teacher employment laws was gutted...
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With Vergara’s demise, heat’s on California Legislature to take up teacher...
Assemblymembers Shirley Weber, left, and Susan Bonilla. In the wake of a crushing defeat for a landmark challenge to California’s teacher tenure laws, the battle for change has shifted from the courts...
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Vergara-inspired lawsuit turns to federal courts
David Welch, StudentsMatter founder, speaking at a press conference after a Vergara decision. The attorneys involved in Vergara v. California, a landmark case that challenged teacher tenure laws,...
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Commentary: Vergara’s dissenting justices write for history
In the long struggle to make the United States more just and perfect, court majorities have made some horrific mistakes. When that happens, the burden falls on dissents to provide hope for the future...
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Analysis: Vergara approaching time for Treu judgement
Judge Rolf Treu Closing arguments are scheduled for tomorrow in Vergara v California. Lawyers for the nine public school children who are the plaintiffs will speak from 10 to noon, followed by their...
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Laws must be struck down, plaintiffs say in their closing
Via The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — An attorney representing nine California public school students told a judge Thursday that laws making it too hard to fire bad teachers and retain good ones are...
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Vergara case inside court, dueling press conferences outside
Elizabeth Vergara, at the press conference As lawyers in the Vergara v. California case made their closing arguments inside the court room for the benefit of an audience of one – Judge Rolf Treu –...
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Vergara trial ends, with CA teacher laws hanging in the balance
Plaintiffs’ lawyer Ted Boutrous Lawyers from both sides in Vergara v California — the state’s most significant teacher rights case in two decades — unleashed their final arguments today, in a last...
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Commentary: Standing with Beatriz against Vergara
Steve Zimmer Just over a year ago, I won re-election to the Los Angeles Unified School District board. It was an unlikely victory in what may have been the most expensive school board race in U. S....
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Deasy at USC: Vergara is the next big civil rights case
John Deasy, with fellow panelist, Susan Estrich More than two months ago LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy took the stand as the first witness for the plaintiffs in Vergara v California, a lawsuit...
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Vergara-like ballot initiative pulled until 2016, report says
A state ballot initiative aimed at regulations governing teachers that was headed for the November ballot has been pushed to 2016, according to a report by ABC affiliate KXTV in Sacramento. The...
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Commentary: An extraordinary effort for extraordinary need
Ben Austin LAUSD School Board Member Steve Zimmer’s recent commentary “Standing with Beatriz” hit the nail on the head on one key issue: for our children, the stakes are high. Let me acknowledge first...
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Citing Vergara, union watchdog group urges parents to sue
Just in case parents around the country missed the decision in Vergara v. California, a union-watch group in Washington is spreading the word. The Center for Union Facts, a nonprofit, ran an ad in...
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Analysis: CA’s season of change (maybe) for public education
Here’s one vision of the future for California public schools: Every teacher is effective. Schools are free of child molesters. Schools provide quality instruction time to every kid in every classroom....
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Vergara appeal moves forward, but final decision may be 1 year away
Student plaintiff Elizabeth Vergara at a press conference An appellate court ruling in the landmark Vergara v. California case moved closer to an end date today with the attorneys for the nine student...
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Supporters of Vergara lawsuit file ‘friend of the court’ briefs
Student plaintiff Elizabeth Vergara at a press conference A group of of education chiefs from around the nation, as well as some teachers, parents, student groups and business organizations, lended...
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State appeal court sets arguments in Vergara case for February
The California Court of Appeal, Second District has scheduled for Feb. 25 oral arguments in the landmark Vergara v. California lawsuit. The appeal decision will be closely watched throughout the state...
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5 things you need to know about Vergara as CA appeals court hears arguments...
The California Supreme Court could be the next step. (Credit: Paul Sakuma-Pool/Getty Images) Nearly two years after the trial in Vergara v. California first began, the case is set to move forward as...
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