LAUSD BOARD TO DECIDE ON OUTSIDE GROUPS TO RUN SCHOOLS

 Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | KPCC

Monday Feb. 22nd |6:00 a.m. | The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education plans a vote at its regular meeting tomorrow that some observers say will do more to reform the school district than other recent efforts.

At its core, the plan is to let groups that don’t answer to the district run public schools. The school district superintendent has sent the board a list of three dozen groups he’s recommending to handle curricula and budgeting for 12 low-performing and 24 new campuses.

The superintendent said he picked those groups based on proposals that have worked elsewhere, included collaboration with outside agencies, and emphasized strong research and data-based models.

Charter school operators, the L.A. Mayor’s education nonprofit, and other outside groups got the nod to run more than half a dozen schools. Now it’s up to the school board to give the final approval.

United Teachers Los Angeles calls the policy a giveaway of public schools. The union has helped teachers submit reform plans at the same time that it filed a lawsuit to stop the process.