Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
LAUSD settlement to change teacher layoffs
ACLU of Southern California lead counsel Mark Rosenbaum at Markham Middle School in Watts. He announced a lawsuit to stop L.A. Unified teacher layoffs that have disproportionately affected, the suit alleges, schools in low income neighborhoods. File photo.
(
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
)
Listen
0:53
LAUSD settlement to change teacher layoffs
LAUSD settlement to change teacher layoffs
L.A. Unified will change the way it lays off teachers amid budget cuts. That’s the result of a settlement today between the school district and civil rights lawyers.
L.A. Unified agreed to stop teacher layoffs at about 40 of the lowest-performing campuses in the school district — and to set up an incentive program to keep principals and teachers at schools in impoverished neighborhoods.
When the school district does carry out teacher layoffs, lawyers said, the proportion of teachers let go can’t exceed the district-wide average.
Last year, some schools in the Watts area lost about half their teachers to budget layoffs — a much higher proportion than schools in affluent neighborhoods. That sent education at those campuses into a tailspin, attorney Mark Rosenbaum says, because principals hired substitutes to fill in the gaps.
The settlement also establishes an incentive program that encourages principals and teachers to take jobs in working class neighborhoods.
Rosenbaum, of the American Civil Liberties Union, says the settlement stops schools in working class neighborhoods from losing a high proportion of teachers because of seniority-driven layoffs.
"Even more dramatically, this settlement ends, it ends disproportionate teacher layoffs, not only at these schools, the hard to staff schools. But all schools in the Los Angeles district and it does that by mandating that no school can suffer teacher layoffs greater than the district average," Rosenbaum said.
Sponsored message
He said the settlement is a victory for working class neighborhoods disproportionately affected by state funding cuts.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
