The Brief

California is failing to provide a high-quality education to students in the juvenile justice system by not addressing the inadequacies of academic data collection practices, according to a recent report from the national Youth Law Center. Current collection practices, the report authors argue, do not accurately measure student needs and outcomes.

“A failure to design better metrics would be a disastrous choice on the part of California stakeholders to keep these students out of sight and out of mind,” the report’s authors wrote.

The report, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” is a follow-up to a 2016 report that similarly found the state to be failing in its mission of providing students in juvenile detention with high-quality education via its disproportionate representation of multiple student populations, high rates of chronic absenteeism, low high school graduation rates, inaccurate or incomplete data, and more.

The most recent report highlighted data from two school years — 2018-19 and 2021-22 — using publicly available data from the California Department of Education as well as public records requests sent to 10 county offices of education that oversee court schools, which are education facilities for youth in the juvenile justice system. Students enroll in court school as they await adjudication or disposition, after they’ve been committed to a juvenile facility, or if they’re in a home placement under the supervision of probation.

During 2018-19, nearly 20,000 students attended court schools in the state. In the 2021-22 school year, the number dropped to 10,891. This decrease likely reflects the lower number of youth in the juvenile justice system, which has trended downward in recent years, per the report.

California’s current academic data system does not capture one crucial data point — that the majority of students attend a court school for less than 31 instructional days, the report noted. This means that few students attend for an entire school year, which is typically the time frame that data collection practices are based on.

What’s more, currently available data does not distinguish between academic needs and outcomes of students who spend days or weeks attending a court school versus those who attend for years.

The report highlighted that it has long been anecdotally understood by researchers, probation staff and others working in education within the juvenile justice system that student attendance is often transitory given the dynamic nature of the legal system. The report’s authors argue that instructional programming should reflect this knowledge by calculating any partial credits earned by recording them in student transcripts once they leave juvenile detention. Students also need additional services to more seamlessly move back into their local schools.

While the report’s authors acknowledge that less time in the juvenile justice system is most beneficial, they maintain that the time youth do spend attending a court school should be as minimally disruptive as possible to their education. Minimizing disruption, they said, could include a heightened focus on the transition process out of juvenile detention.

An ongoing challenge with inadequate data collection is that improvements are difficult to highlight. For example, the report authors found that the college-going rate at 10 court schools exceeded the average for the state’s alternative schools.

“The data doesn’t really care if it’s positive or negative. The limitations exist on both sides,” said Chris Middleton, an Equal Justice Works fellow at the Youth Law Center and a primary author of the report. “And I think here where a really positive story could be told, there’s still a set of limitations that’s very evident.”

Much of the data contained in the report reflects a dire reality.

For example, the overall number of youth in the juvenile justice system decreased significantly from 2018 to 2022, yet the number of students with disabilities rose from 20.1% to 29.8%.

The report suggests a few potential reasons: improved screening and identification, improved communication between schools regarding disability status, or a failure to capitalize on the systemic changes that drove the decrease in youth detention statewide.

The report’s authors also found that foster youth are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system.

While foster youth represent less than 1% of all students enrolled in California schools, in 2018-19 they made up 21.44% of court school enrollments; by 2021-22, they were almost 31 times overrepresented in court schools versus traditional schools. This data was either redacted or unavailable for 27 of 51 court schools.

“The extremely high rate of disability status and the extremely high rate of foster care overlap,” Brady said. “We have long known that young people with disabilities are more likely to be impacted by the juvenile justice system. … The numbers for foster care were still surprising.”

Similarly, high rates of students experiencing homelessness were found at some court schools, but the data for this population of students was particularly unclear; much was either redacted or unavailable. While foster youth status is centrally tracked by the state, homelessness is largely screened by school districts — an identification process that has only in recent years improved through legislation and enforcement.

Regarding chronic absenteeism, the rate was 12.9% among court schools and 12.1% statewide during the 2018-19 school year, and by the 2021-22 school year, that rate was 16.8% among court schools and 30% statewide.

Though lower than the state average, this was alarming for the report’s authors.

Students who attend a local education agency for less than 31 days are not eligible to be considered chronically absent, which indicates that the true rate of chronic absences is much higher, given that most court school students attend for less than 31 instructional days, the report authors wrote.

Additionally, the authors found while some students refuse to attend class, some cannot attend due to decisions made by probation staff. Two examples shared in the report include a practice in Los Angeles County “of barring entire living units of young people from attending school if one of them misbehaved” and refusal by probation staff to provide “timely transport” of students to school.

According to the report, “A necessary element of addressing chronic absenteeism in court schools must include better documentation of missed instructional time and the reasons why students are absent from class.

“Additionally, efficient and effective coordination between probation and school staff is critical to ensuring the basic educational responsibility of students being present in their classrooms is met.”

While the rate of chronic absences was lower among court schools during the 2021-22 school year, it should be noted that the percentages across court schools varied. Some schools reported a rate of over 30% while other schools reported 0%.

One recent allocation of $15 million toward post-secondary education programs for youth in the juvenile justice system might turn the tide on better understanding outcomes. The funding will create and expand community college programming inside juvenile facilities, and a portion is intended to go toward evaluating such programs.

This ongoing funding “is the single most positive and exciting thing that’s going on in the area of juvenile justice and education right now,” said Lauren Brady, managing director of the legal team at Youth Law Center.

Many of the issues with data collection that researchers found were due to unavailable data or redactions — when a group includes fewer than 10 students, data is withheld to protect student privacy.

“We can’t tell the complete story. That’s where we’re at right now. … In order to truly transform the experience for students and to give them the best chance to have a brighter future, we have to be able to measure what they’re experiencing,” report co-author Middleton said. “And I think that we have the capability. I have faith in California and our institutions that we are able to properly develop these measures and ensure that the data’s actually being reported.”

L.A. County health officials Wednesday confirmed the county's seventh measles case this year — a traveler who passed through Hollywood Burbank Airport on the morning of June 17.

They're warning people who may have come in contact with the person of possible exposure to the highly contagious virus.

What you should know: Public health officials say the infected traveler arrived on Southwest Airlines Flight 4245 Gate A4 on June 17 at the Hollywood Burbank Airport. Anyone who was at that gate between 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. may have been exposed.

Officials also noted that people who were at the Thrifty Rental Car Service on June 17 from 9:20 to 10:20 a.m. and on June 18 from 10:25 to 11:25 a.m. may have been exposed. That's located at 2627 N. Hollywood Way in Burbank.

What if I was on the flight? Public health officials say passengers sitting next to the traveler will be notified by local health departments and should monitor for symptoms. Keep in mind those symptoms could appear up to three weeks after you were exposed.

Symptoms to look out for: Common symptoms include runny nose, fever cough, or a rash. It's also important if you develop these symptoms, don't just walk into a health care center without calling ahead first.

For people exposed on June 17, the last day to monitor for symptoms is July 8. For those exposed on June 18, the last day to monitor for symptoms is July 19.

How can I protect myself?: It's important to check if you are vaccinated against the measles. As health officials noted in the news release reporting the latest case: "The most effective way to protect yourself and your family is with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine."

The Los Angeles Unified Board voted unanimously to appoint Andres Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent days after his predecessor resigned.

 “This board's decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait's leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition,” said board President Scott Schmerelson.

The board met privately to discuss the district’s top job three days after Alberto Carvalho resigned. Carvalho wrote in a letter that he was leaving “because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction.”

The board placed Carvalho on paid administrative leave following FBI searches of his home and district office in February and appointed Chait acting superintendent. Carvalho has not been charged with a crime and has maintained his innocence.

Who is Andres Chait?

Chait rose through the ranks from teacher to administrator at LAUSD over nearly three decades. The responsibilities of his most recent role, chief of school operations, included overseeing school safety, athletics and the district’s office of emergency management.

Chait thanked the board, the community and his family after the announcement Wednesday and reflected on his first day as a kindergarten teacher 30 years ago. “ I was probably more nervous than the kids were, but I knew then that this was a place where I could make a positive difference in the lives of students and families,” Chait said. “I've always known that there is no greater accelerator of change and opportunity than the schoolhouse, and that is still true today.”

Under Chait's interim leadership, the district successfully negotiated new contracts with its largest labor unions — avoiding a massive strike by teachers, principals and staff — and passed a significant reduction-in-force plan and fiscal stabilization plan.

Chait is the first district staff member to be selected as full-time superintendent since Michelle King in 2016.

What is the superintendent responsible for?

LAUSD is the country’s second-largest school district, employs 83,000 people and enrolls more than 400,000 students across more than 1,000 schools. Despite recent gains in student test scores, the majority of students are not proficient in reading and math skills for their grade level. The district also faces looming financial challenges from declining enrollment — which is tied to state funding — and federal investigations into programs designed to help underserved students succeed.

A former state parks superintendent who oversaw Orange County beaches was charged Wednesday with secretly filming naked male lifeguards and other workers inside the locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The former superintendent, Kevin Pearsall, is also accused of sending some of the images to two other men.

What charges does he face?

Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, faces five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 18 years and eight months behind bars.

Scott C. Thomas, a defense attorney representing Pearsall, declined to comment in the wake of the charges being announced by the Orange County District Attorney's office. Pearsall is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 6 and could enter a plea at that time.

Details of the investigation

In July 2025, a California State Parks officer discovered a USB stick with a hidden camera in the men's locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters. The officer contacted California Highway Patrol, which launched an investigation.

The investigation found Pearsall allegedly had recorded numerous secret videos in the locker room over an 11-month period beginning in August 2024, according to the DA's announcement. Pearsall retired from his job shortly after CHP served search warrants in the case. He turned himself in earlier this week.

State Parks reaction

Marty Greenstein, a spokesperson for California State Parks, told LAist the agency “takes these charges very seriously and has fully cooperated with law enforcement through every step of the investigation.” Greenstein declined to comment further, citing the active criminal investigation.

Making your way through South Coast Plaza — the sleek consumer cathedral in Costa Mesa, a sort of mall of malls — past Uniqlo window displays and Pop Mart blind boxes, there's a good chance you'll eventually land at Tiny's, the new casual restaurant from Chef Sang Yoon.

The burger shack-meets-Asian convenience store is the latest from Yoon, best known for Father's Office, the Los Angeles institution where he's spent two decades running one of the city's most uncompromising kitchens — no substitutions, no exceptions.

Tiny’s marks Yoon’s first venture into Orange County — a deliberately accessible entry point for a chef who has spent decades at the top of L.A.'s gastropub scene.

The concept

Tiny's is the place Yoon wanted to exist as a kid.

Inside, you're greeted by shelves stocked in the style of a konbini, the beloved Japanese convenience corner store, with cilantro-flavored Doritos from China, elote-flavored Turtle Chips from Korea and, for the purists, the requisite Japanese Kit-Kats and Pocky too.

At the counter, a friendly employee greets you beneath a letterboard menu anchored by Yoon’s signature 30-day dry-aged beef burger. Starting at $9 for a plain burger, up to $12 for the Tokyo Dog dressed in bonito flakes and furikake, there's also salt and vinegar tots, french fries, miso mac 'n' cheese and soft serve that runs from Straus vanilla to Pineapple Dole Whip, available as a swirl, cup, cone or float. That's the menu, streamlined by design.

Chef Sang Yoon's cheeseburger and Tokyo Dog at Tiny's, his new fast-casual concept inside South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa

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Courtesy Tiny's Burger

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For Yoon, the son of Korean immigrants who grew up between two worlds, the idea of opening a burger stand with a konbini was about tapping into the happy place of his memories: after school with friends, trying out the latest snacks to hit the market to Friday nights with the entire family celebrating after a long week of grinding it out with burgers and chili fries.

"The corner burger stand is where life happened. ... What if those two of my favorite things were under one roof?" said Yoon.

Tiny the dog

Inspiration for the name Tiny’s came from a somewhat unlikely place: Yoon’s beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Yoon describes her as appearing extremely cute and friendly, but in reality, she was actually sassy and judgmental. Illustrations bearing Tiny’s "don't mess with me" vibe can be seen throughout the restaurant.

“People would rather hear this from a sassy, cute dog than me. So I decided that we should channel Tiny. And let this belong to her," Yoon said.

The food

The cheeseburger itself is simple: a thin patty topped with melted American cheese and Tiny's signature sauce — a blend of Kewpie mayo, caramelized gochujang, ssamjang and tomato — finished with pickle chips and a bed of lettuce.

What sets it apart is what you can’t see, the same 30-day dry-aged chuck Yoon has used at Father’s Office for over 25 years.

“I still don’t think there’s any product superior to that for the purpose of a hamburger,” he said.

The spread at Tiny's includes the cheeseburger, miso mac 'n' cheese, chicken nuggets, tater tots, fries and a jammy egg sando — a konbini staple in Japan.

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Courtesy Tiny's Burger

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The nuggets ($10) had a crispy, craggy exterior finished with visible seasoning crystals, a small but deliberate touch, and came with a fresh herbaceous dipping sauce. As for the chili fries ($8), the chili itself was sufficient as an L.A.-style chili (think Tommy's), but since Lao Gan Ma chili crisp was promised in the name, I was expecting that distinctive, crunchy, fermented kick — but left wanting more of it. It felt more like a whisper than a statement.

The miso mac 'n' cheese ($6) was a highlight of the meal, especially for someone who doesn't usually order mac 'n' cheese. Fresh ridged elbow pasta with a proper chew in each bite, and salty morsels of miso folded into a tight cheese sauce had me picking up forkfuls until it was mostly gone. Consider my position reconsidered.

Encouraged, I went back and ordered a Dole Whip ($7). The electric, tangy flavor, paired with the soft creaminess, served as a suitable exclamation point for my lunch that day.

With Tiny's, Yoon has built his most personal restaurant — accessible in price, but uncompromising in intention.

Could mall food now be on a new trajectory? Perhaps we've finally transcended corn dogs at Hot Dog on a Stick and cinnamon rolls at Cinnabon.

After dining at Tiny’s, all signs point to yes.