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Proposal Would Provide More To Troubled LA Schools

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Unified School District has tentatively agreed to provide millions of dollars in added staff and other resources to 37 underperforming schools to settle a lawsuit brought by the teachers union.

Representatives for both sides said Tuesday the agreement calls for adding school counselors and administrators, establishing a mentor program for teachers and providing other educational resources to schools saddled with high teacher turnover rates, high student drop-out rates and whose students do poorly on state-mandated tests.

"The youth in greatest peril at these schools will benefit tremendously from the additional administrative and teacher support provided under this program," Superintendent John E. Deasy said in a statement.

The agreement, the result of months of negotiations, resolves a suit brought against the nation's second-largest school district by the American Civil Liberties Union and United Teachers Los Angeles.

It requires final approval from the court and the Los Angeles Board of Education. The latter is scheduled to consider it at a meeting later this month.

The suit, Reed v. State of California, et al., was filed in 2010 to address troubles that plaintiffs said budget cuts triggered by the Great Recession brought to inner-city schools.

"UTLA recognizes that the agreement for additional resources does not address all of the factors that create high-turnover schools and that all under- resourced sites deserve extra supports," the union said in a statement. "But this agreement is a step in the right direction. It affirms that resources and support — not attacks on the Education Code, including seniority protections — are the solution for high-needs schools."

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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