Veteran substitute teachers win back seniority rights in L.A. Unified
Blog by Howard Blume/LA Now/Los Angeles
Most of California's largest school districts are increasing class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, eroding the most expensive education reform in state history. California Watch surveyed the 30 largest kindergarten through 12th grade districts in the state and found that many schools are pushing class sizes to 24 in some or all of the early grades. Other districts have raised classes to 30 students, reverting to levels not seen in more than a decade. The changes at more than two-thirds of the districts surveyed have parents and teachers concerned that the academic performance of millions of children will suffer. California already ranks 48th in the nation in terms of student-to- teacher ratios. And new measures are in place that will allow districts statewide to raise class sizes even higher and still receive more than $1 billion in state aid, money that was originally intended to reward schools that kept class sizes low. (more...)