By Howard Blume

The federal government made it clear again Monday that California will get no relief from education mandates that officials across the country consider a burden.

The point was made as the U.S. Department of Education announced that it granted three more states waivers to No Child Left Behind, the bipartisan legislation that is closely associated with the administration of George W. Bush.

No Child Left Behind required virtually every U.S. student to be academically proficient by 2014. Schools unable to progress steadily toward that goal have been labeled as "failing." These schools are subject to various sanctions over time, including being shut down. Some states responded by lowering academic standards so more students would meet them, but still fell short.

Monica Ratliff and Antonio Sanchez Throw Support Behind Current Superintendent and Creating Quality School Options, Split on Approach to Teacher Retention and School Improvement Strategies

May 13, 2013 (Los Angeles)— School board candidates Monica Ratliff and Antonio Sanchez both expressed their support for Superintendent Deasy but split on how they would approach transforming low performing schools and retaining talented teachers and leaders at hard-to-staff schools, in an exclusive interview made available today by Educators 4 Excellence Los Angeles and EdVoice. With just one week remaining until Election Day, the run-off candidates participated in a podcast interview to lay out their visions for Los Angeles’ public schools.

“This is a critical moment for public education in Los Angeles and the winner of this run-off election will be a deciding vote when it comes to the future direction of our schools. Residents in the Valley have exciting choices—Monica, a teacher in LAUSD, and Antonio, a graduate of LAUSD, who bring very different perspectives and approaches on leadership,” said Ama Nyamekye, Executive Director of Educators 4 Excellence - Los Angeles. “We broadcasted this interview so that our members and the public could all access the candidates to better understand their choices for School Board.”

Listen to the podcast here.

By Beau Yarbrough

LOS ANGELES -- A group of parents appear ready to force the Los Angeles Unified School District to enact sweeping changes at their elementary school.

Monday in Watts, the Weigand Parents Union announced LAUSD officials had confirmed they had gathered enough signatures to invoke California's 2010 parent-trigger law. The law enables parents to force schools to make dramatic changes if they can gather signatures equal to 50 percent plus one of the families enrolled. The group reportedly gathered signatures from 61 percent of eligible families.

The law has been successfully invoked twice this year, first in Adelanto in the High Desert and later at 24th Street Elementary in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. Unlike those efforts, the Weigand Elementary parents are not looking for a charter school to take over or manage the school. Instead, they seek to oust the school's administrators.

By Barbara Jones

In a series of interviews, Superintendent John Deasy chronicled the cases of classroom employees in Los Angeles Unified fired for misconduct over the last 15 months.

The following is a compilation of the files, including when the accusation was made and when the teacher was terminated.

Deasy declined to identify the teachers or where they taught but did provide information on the Educational Service Center area where the school is located and, when available, the year the educator was born.