History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
The Latest from IDEA
A newsfeed on the most current research, news, and events at IDEA.
July 21: HS students interview state legislators
Summer seminar students learning graduate-level research tools will interview state legislators this week as part of their research project with IDEA's Council of Youth Research.
The local high school students and recent graduates will speak with Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, today. On Friday, they will speak with the district directors for both Assemblyman Isadore Hall, III, D-Compton, and state Senator Curren Price, D-Los Angeles.
The topic of the summer seminar are the changes seen and unseen since the 2004 settlement of Williams v. California. The Williams case, which was filed 10 years ago, was a class action suit on behalf of the state's schoolchildren for equal access to school resources, safe and secure campuses and qualified teachers.
July 18: Parcel tax fairness again makes headlines
IDEA Director John Rogers was quoted in yet another news article about the propensity for school districts to turn towards parcel taxes as a means of recovering funds they have lost from the state.
The Diego Union-Tribune reported that between 2001 and 2009, 132 districts placed parcel tax measures on the ballot and 83 received the needed two-thirds vote to pass them. Most were smaller districts in affluent neighborhoods. Last month, Los Angeles Unified failed to pass a $100 annual parcel tax that would have generated about $92.5 million annually over four years for the arts, class size reduction and maintenance.
"The pain of budget cuts is felt across the state and across income levels," Rogers was quoted. "But students will get a different level of education depending on where they live and whether it is in a community that can afford to pass a parcel tax."
The 131,000-student San Diego Unified School District is seeking to pass a five-year parcel tax that would raise $50 million annually.
Read full story here.
New Youth Research council begins
The 2010-11 Council of Youth Research kicked off this week as students from five Los Angeles high schools began a summer seminar at UCLA.
During the five-week course, about 35 new and returning students from Crenshaw, Locke, Roosevelt, Wilson and Manual Arts high schools will learn graduate-level research methods and critical social theory, skills that will be employed during their year-long research project.
This year's research topic focuses on the 10th anniversary of the Williams case. Williams v. California, a class action suit filed in 2000 on behalf of the state's schoolchildren, charged that the state's educational agencies failed to provide equal access to instructional materials, safe and decent school facilities and qualified teachers. It was settled in 2004.
Council students will consider the changes they have seen or haven't in the wake of the Williams settlement. Also, they will highlight "educational acts of courage."
June 26: Parcel taxes help some communities combat cuts
IDEA Director John Rogers was quoted in an Associated Press article over the weekend that discussed the role parcel taxes have taken as local communities attempt to deal with diminishing budgets and deeper cuts to education.
Parcel taxes are levied on individual parcels of property. So far this year, more than 20 school districts have held elections and 16 have met the minimum two-thirds requirement to pass them. They are mostly winning in smaller, wealthier communities.
"Across the state, the pain is felt everywhere, but because of the unequal distribution of wealth, some areas are able to respond," Rogers said.
To read the full story, click here.
June 22: A-G Policy Brief by the Labor and Education Collaborative
The LAUSD A-G Life Prep Curriculum and College Access for the Children of Labor Union Members
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