Today on AirTalk, we discuss the future of the LAUSD in light of recent budget approvals and the failure of Measure EE. We also take a look at the amended vaccine-exemption state bill; examine how LA city officials might change the way homeless encampments are cleaned up; and more.
With A Budget For The Next Three Years In Place, A Look At The Future Of LAUSD
The nation’s second-largest school district is at a crossroads.
Back in January, Los Angeles Unified school teachers went on strike and received widespread public support and the deal that ended the strike seemed to raise hopes of a new day in the LAUSD.
But two weeks ago, a proposed tax increase to fund it all, Measure EE, went down to defeat in a special election. Almost 600-thousand children attend public schools in L.A with a projected 470-thousand in LAUSD-run schools and another 120-thousand in charter schools. Most of those children in these schools qualify as low-income and nearly a quarter are still learning English.
Today on AirTalk, we’ve assembled a panel of experts to discuss the future of LAUSD in light of Measure E-E’s failure.
What caused Measure EE’s failure? Tax fatigue? Lack of voter engagement? A vigorous opposition? Are you a teacher, student or parent of a student in the LAUSD system? Why do you think Measure EE failed? And how should LAUSD move forward from that failure? Give us a call at 866-893-5722
With guest host Kyle Stokes
Guests:
Jackie Goldberg, LAUSD Board Member for District 5 which encompasses the Northeast communities spanning from Highland Park to East Hollywood, and the Southeast cities from Maywood to South Gate
Alberto Retana, President and CEO of Community Coalition, a nonprofit organization that works to help transform the social and economic conditions in South LA that foster addiction, crime, violence and poverty by building a community institution that involves thousands in creating, influencing and changing public policy; he tweets
Katie Braude, CEO and co-founder of Speak Up, an organization founded by LAUSD parents who want to change the dynamics of education policy and improve public education in California
Before Thursday’s Assembly Committee Vote, A Look At The Amended Vaccine-Exemption State Bill
California public health officials would have oversight of doctors and schools with high numbers of medical exemptions for vaccinations under a legislative compromise announced Tuesday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the bill's author disclosed the deal aimed at cracking down on fraudulent exemptions issued by sympathetic doctors.
The updated measure by Sen. Richard Pan removes a provision that would have required health officials to consider every exemption requested and expands the criteria for granting exemptions.
The California bill is aimed at deterring "doctor-shopping." Proponents said some doctors have been selling immunization exemptions since California ended non-medical exemptions in 2016.
The proposed bill would bar doctors from charging for filling out a medical exemption form and conducting a related medical examination.
Health officials would take a targeted approach on exemptions, concentrating on doctors who write five or more exemptions each year and schools with a vaccination rate below 95 percent.
Pan, a Democrat from Sacramento, agreed to the changes as the Assembly Health Committee prepares to consider the bill on Thursday. Busloads of opponents again plan to crowd what have become raucous public hearings.
The previous iteration of the bill cleared a Senate committee and the full Senate, riding on Democrats' overwhelming legislative majorities. It had no Republican votes.
With files from the Associated Press
With guest host Kyle Stokes
Guest:
Melody Gutierrez, Los Angeles Times reporter covering state government and politics in Sacramento who’s been covering the story
LA City Considers Cleaning Up Its Homeless Encampment Cleanup Process. Here’s How It Might Change
Los Angeles city officials are looking at fine-tuning how waste at homelessness encampments are cleaned up by hiring more people to help with the process and re-targeting exactly when and how often certain areas get swept.
Details emerged at a hearing on Tuesday during which city sanitation leaders also shared a report on issues with the existing process. The new process would deploy regional cleanup teams who would go to the same neighborhoods, the idea being to build a relationship between the residents and those experiencing homelessness in the community. Those teams will be triaged to areas as need dictates, and neighborhoods that are harder-hit will see teams more frequently. More surveillance to catch illegal dumping would also be part of the overhaul, as sanitation officials said during the hearing that they estimate only about 20 percent of what they clean up comes from homeless encampments versus the rest, which they say is from illegal dumping.
Homeless advocate groups, many of which are part of the Services Not Sweeps coalition are lauding the plan, saying it’s a welcome response to their lobbying for changes to encampment cleanups. They say the sweeps under the current process can set people experiencing homelessness back in the process of getting off the street when,for example, key documents are accidentally lost in the fray. Business leaders who have pushed back say the plan is well-intentioned, but is little more than housekeeping for encampments and time and resources should be spent on directly addressing the housing shortage. L.A. City Councilmembers will still need to approve the proposed changes before they are implemented.
With guest host Kyle Stokes
Guest:
Matt Tinoco, KPCC reporter covering housing and homelessness; he tweets
Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Call In And Tell Us About Your Hustle
Immigrants take big risks coming to California. When they get here, many decide to take another risk: launching their own company.
Immigrants are actually more likely to start a business than people born here. California consistently ranks as one of the states most reliant on immigrants for new business creation.
“California is very much a hotbed of immigrant entrepreneurship,” said Harvard Business School professor Bill Kerr.
Nationwide, about 25% of new companies are founded by immigrants, according to Kerr’s research. But that rises to about 42% in California.
Immigrants in California are starting everything from strip mall restaurants to some of the state’s largest employers — and they’ve shaped California’s economy in the process.
Nearly half of California’s Fortune 500 companies were started by immigrants or the children of immigrants. And that’s a boon for job creation and tax revenue throughout the state.
On a more local level, almost two thirds of L.A.’s “main street” businesses — think dry cleaners, restaurants and nail salons — are immigrant-owned, according to a 2015 study and immigrant owned businesses generate around $3.5 billion, or 45.6 percent of all self employed income in the city.
You can read more of David Wagner’s article here.
With guest host Kyle Stokes
Guests:
David Wagner, business and economy reporter for KPCC; he tweets
Chancee Martorell, executive director of the Thai Community Development Center in Los Angeles
Dan Kosten, Policy and Advocacy Assistant Director for Skills and Workforce Development at the National Immigration Forum, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that advocates for the value of immigrants and immigration to America