Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Legislative Updates

A quick update on a couple of laws that crossed Jerry Brown's Desk recently.

AB484 was signed, which allows the State to suspend API (STAR Testing) for this year.  With the broader move to Common Core, using an outdated test didn't make much sense.  Indeed, LASD has already seen that our own teaching is more in line with the future (Common Core) and so the older assessments are not as relevant.

AB375 was vetoed, which is also a good thing.  This bill was touted as a reform to the teacher dismissal policy, but the final version really weakened the ability of school districts to address performance issues.  I'm pleased to say that our relationship with our staff has meant that this isn't typically an issue in our District, but it's good to see public education headed in the right direction overall.

Neither of these is earth-shaking, but they are relevant, and we do occasionally get asked about what's going on at the state level.  These are two bills we'd been tracking, so I thought I'd share with everyone.