News

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Thursday a comprehensive rewrite of the charter school law that will expand the authority of local school boards to reject new charter schools while requiring that they more clearly justify their reasons for doing so.

By Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell

It’s back to school time. As a parent, teacher, and your representative in Sacramento, I am committed to ensuring that we invest in our children’s success, which results in a better California. I serve as the Chair of the Assembly Education Committee and am well positioned to ensure that Long Beach and surrounding areas have a voice in how state education policy is shaped while addressing the issues I hear from parents and employers in the Assembly District.

The Times Editorial Board’s opposition to Assembly Bill 1951, which would allow school districts to swap the state proficiency exams for 11th graders for the SAT or ACT test instead, is misguided. This bill, currently awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature, is an opportunity for California to give greater control to local school districts and for students of all backgrounds to have a better chance at succeeding on the SAT, an exam already used by many colleges to help determine readiness for admissions.

For too many California families, the college application process is expensive and hard to navigate. Fortunately, there’s a solution that would propel more students to be eligible for college admissions.

Giving local school districts the power to choose how students are tested in grade 11 would improve access to college for students of every zip code, ability, and language proficiency level.

Among the torrent of legislation California lawmakers approved this week are bills mandating school safety plans and classroom door locks and a bill allowing school personnel to file a gun violence restraining order. They are now awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature — or veto.

California often leads the nation in innovation, including in our public schools. But in the key area of high school testing, several other states have progressed beyond California when it comes to making these assessments more relevant and meaningful to students and their families.

White sharks are being sighted off the California coast more than ever before. As the species interacts more and more with humans, researchers find themselves in need of more funding—and beachgoers will have to reevaluate their relationship with an animal most famous for its villainous role on the silver screen.

By ANDREW EDWARDS | aedwards@scng.com | Press-Telegram

PUBLISHED: March 9, 2018 at 10:12 am | UPDATED: March 9, 2018 at 7:57 pm

Community Medical Center Long Beach has stopped accepting emergency room patients receiving advanced life support care from paramedics.

Long Beach’s city government released a statement that said MemorialCare Health System, which operates the East Long Beach hospital, told city government on Wednesday that patients receiving advanced life support from paramedics would need to go to other hospitals as of Thursday.

By Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell

Schools must prepare students for college — or for work.

Every good paying job does not require a college degree and every student is not going to get a college degree. Statistics support these facts. Thankfully, California’s education policy is starting to support these facts as well.

By Amy Jesse, Elizabeth Oreck and Susan Riggs

Bringing a new puppy or kitten home should be a wonderful and rewarding experience, but consumers who purchase their new family member from a pet shop may not be getting the dog or cat they’ve been promised. Despite enticing claims that they only source from humane, small-scale breeders, pet stores across the country supply unsuspecting consumers with animals from puppy and kitten “mills.”