The State of LA's Public Schools

President Obama's Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, told a recent labor-management conference that, in these very tough economic times, school districts and teachers' unions can solve problems best by working together. In Los Angeles, that idea may be facing a major test. Late last month, LA Unified, the state and the ACLU settled a lawsuit by agreeing that when layoffs are required 45 of the district's lowest-performing schools will not be subject to the rule that the most recently hired teachers must be the first to go.