School Districts

California lawmakers have moved forward with one of several bills introduced after the massacre of young students in Newtown, Conn. The measure would put panic buttons in the state's schools. Under the legislation, proposed by Assemblymember Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto), if federal funding becomes available to cover the cost, school districts would install panic buttons in each classroom, cafeteria, theater, gym and other regularly used space in a school serving grades K-12. Pressing the button would alert local law enforcement to respond to an emergency that could include an armed intruder on campus.

As Gov. Jerry Brown pushes his proposal to give school districts more flexibility in how they use state education funding, he is finding himself at odds with members of his own party. State Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge), chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, wants the state to retain some control over education money that is currently earmarked for specific programs. On Wednesday, the committee backed her legislation to extend the existing system of so-called categorical funding, which is set to expire next year.

WASHINGTON - A National Rifle Assn.-backed task force unveiled a sweeping set of proposed school safety measures Tuesday, the gun rights group's counterproposal to the spate of gun control bills introduced in the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., in December. Asa Hutchinson, a former Republican congressman from Arkansas and drug czar under President George W. Bush, announced the National School Shield task force findings in a Washington D.C. news conference amid tight security.

The Corona-Norco Unified School District was named as a finalist Thursday for the prestigious Broad Prize, which honors academic excellence by minority and low-income students in urban districts across the nation. The Riverside County district is one of four finalists for the prize to be announced in September. The winning district will receive $550,000 in college scholarships for seniors in the class of 2013. The other three will each receive $150,000 in scholarships. The other finalists are the San Diego Unified School District, Houston Independent School District and Cumberland County Schools in North Carolina.

On Thursday, when both Michigan and Michigan State played in the NCAA tournament, apparently a few too many students in one Michigan school district tried to watch the games on their schools' computers. The basketball craze in the Genesee Intermediate School District reportedly prevented some students from being able to access online instructional resources. Workers with Genesee Network for Education Telecommunication, or GenNET, were flooded with complaints, leading the school district to block access to college basketball games over its computers.

SACRAMENTO - California voters have yet to strongly embrace Gov. Jerry Brown's controversial plan to shift money from rich schools to poor ones, an ominous sign as he works to win support for the idea from skeptical lawmakers and the state's powerful teachers unions. A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found that 50% of respondents agreed with such a move, to help school districts that serve low-income children and English-language learners. But a significant minority, 39%, opposed the plan, which is embedded in the governor's budget blueprint and is the centerpiece of his education agenda.

SACRAMENTO -- For years, problems with California's pension fund for teachers and school employees have been growing. Now a new report says the fund needs an additional $4.5 billion every year -- more than Sacramento spends on both university systems combined -- to stay above water. Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) told reporters on Thursday that lawmakers can't ignore the growing costs. "This is a serious issue," he said. "We have to address it. " Steinberg said solutions may include forcing current teachers to contribute a larger share of their paycheck into the pension fund, known as CalSTRS.

A San Bernardino County school district allegedly discriminated against gay and lesbian students, including its apparent refusal to allow girls to wear tuxedos to the upcoming prom. In a letter Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the Hesperia Unified School District was notified that it faces legal action. The ACLU typically warns government agencies of impending litigation to give them time to make changes. The letter makes specific allegations against the faculty and administration of Sultana High School.

Areli Morris was frustrated that her poor English prevented her from helping her daughter in preschool. And she was embarrassed when the 4-year-old began correcting her pronunciation. Morris, who is from El Salvador, has vastly improved her language skills since she began attending Azusa Adult School. For nearly 60 years the campus has served as a community resource for those, like Morris, who needed English classes, dropouts seeking high school diplomas, immigrants taking citizenship classes and those pursuing career and technical training.

SACRAMENTO -- State Senate GOP leader Robert Huff of Diamond Bar says he has a way to reduce the annual practice of issuing preliminary pink slips to tens of thousands of California teachers who later are told they will not lose their jobs. But a teacher's group says Huff's SB 559 might make it harder for instructors who do lose their jobs to find other work. State law requires school districts that want to lay off teachers based on budgetary problems to issue preliminary pink slips by March 15 of each year and final notices by May 15. Because districts often don't know what state funding will be in March, they often assume the worst-case scenario and send out many more preliminary pink slips than turn out to be necessary, Huff said.