L.A. board acts to streamline abuse investigations of teachers

The Los Angeles school board has voted to streamline and improve the investigations of teachers accused of serious physical abuse or sexual misconduct. The Los Angeles Daily News says the board has directed administrators to create a plan for hiring professional investigators to look into abuse claims. The district will tighten the time line for handling the cases, and teachers will have to be told why they're being pulled from their classroom, unless doing so would compromise a police investigation. Under the system that many educators call "teacher jail," those accused of misconduct are housed in district offices while administrators investigate misconduct allegations and decide their fate. The process typically drags on for months.