The ten candidates for president of the Los Angeles teachers union will square off in a debate tonight in Boyle Heights.

One of the issues they all agree on is their disapproval of the school district's use of so-called "teacher jails" to discipline teachers who are under investigation for misconduct. That's according to a survey of the candidates conducted by the group that's putting on the debate, Educators 4 Excellence.

The union's current president, Warren Fletcher, who's also running, vowed yesterday to file federal and state age discrimination complaints over the disciplinary system that he says unfairly targets older teachers.

LA Times education reporter Howard Blume joins us to talk about the "teacher jail" controversy.