LAUSD agrees to state mandates

The Los Angeles Unified school board agreed in principle Tuesday to accept new state accountability standards for teachers, principals and schools, potentially making the district eligible for millions of federal dollars.Connie LLanos in the Daily News.

At least 800 other school districts statewide have also agreed to implement new reforms in exchange for a shot at the $4.35 billion available in competitive federal "Race to the Top" grants. Those reforms could include using test data to evaluate teachers and pushing for the shutdown of low-performing schools - policies long opposed by teacher unions.

The board's approval came as the state Legislature also voted on two bills to change state law to allow some of the controversial reforms required by the Obama administration to qualify for the grants.