A review of policy shifts and past research on major change efforts in the district
In an effort to better understand the impact of Los Angeles Unified policy shifts over the last two decades, we’ve pulled together past research that highlights the impact these policy shifts have had on students, educators, and families across Los Angeles Unified.
These findings reveal the Los Angeles Unified community and Board of Education have been incredible catalysts for change over the last two decades. It also highlights the significant role those reforms have played in improving academic outcomes and enriching learning environments for students, families, and educators. We hope this brief serves as a tool for advocates and local leaders to reflect on what has worked and where the district should focus efforts to have the greatest impact on students going forward.
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Key Findings
- Over time, the Board of Education pushed for more equity-oriented policies with the explicit aim of closing opportunity gaps.
- The Board of Education worked in partnership with advocates and grassroots leaders to shape major policy decisions.
- The Board of Education has put an intentional focus on the importance of recruiting and retaining high-quality educators and diversifying the ethnoracial make-up of the teacher and administrator workforce.
- The Board of Education’s support of advocacy efforts to decentralize school governance created a strong network of high-quality alternative school choice options, like the Partnership for LA Schools.
Recommendations
1
Authentically partner with civic leaders and find ways to make schools community hubs.
2
Further institutionalize and expand funding allocated to the Student Equity Needs Index (SENI).
3
Expand school models that have a proven track record of success for students.
4
Develop a sustainable teacher pipeline from existing district support staff by creating incentives and opportunities for school staff to stay in the district, advance in their careers, and pursue further credentialing.
Methodology
Our goal included reviewing solutions passed by the Board of Education, as well as the academic and policy studies done on Los Angeles Unified School District. Academic literature was retrieved from a topic search of all research done about Los Angeles Unified since 2013, excluding research done outside of the social sciences. Non-academic research, such as studies published outside of peer-reviewed journals and by organizations known to lead research about Los Angeles Unified, were also included. We also used our database of resolutions from our Resolutions Insights report to identify resolutions. We included any “Adopted†or“Adopted as amended†resolutions.
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