Judge restricts layoffs of teachers at 3 struggling Los Angeles middle schools

From The Los Angeles Times: The Los Angeles Unified school district cannot for budgetary reasons lay off teachers at three of the city's worst-performing middle schools, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled. Several civil rights groups sued L.A. Unified and the state last year on behalf of students at Samuel Gompers, Edwin Markham and John H. Liechty. The complaint contended that students were denied their right to an education because of the high number of budget-related layoffs at the schools. Between half and three-quarters of the teachers on those campuses were laid off last year, leading to a shortage of permanent and qualified instructors, while schools in more affluent areas had far fewer dismissals, the suit asserted.