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| 4LAKids: Sunday, June 15, 2006 - Father's Day! |  | | | In This Issue: | | • | MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FINANCE: California School District Parcel Taxes + Parcel Tax Election Trends | | | • | EDUCATION COALITION HOSTS BUDGET BRIEFING | | | • | NEW REFORM GROUP OFFERS PLAN TO END DEFICIT SPENDING NY CALIFORNIA | | | • | Two Things to do on Tuesday: THE CALIFORNIA CHILDREN'S RALLY + YJE PTA NATIONAL LIVE WEBCAST! | | | • | HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources | | | • | EVENTS: Coming up next week... | | | • | What can YOU do? | |
Featured Links: | | | | I have a question for all of us - and for our lawmakers in Sacramento; it's a question right out of Wednesday's newspaper. Wednesday we learned the Board of Education was forced to cut $400 million from the district's budget - that's $571. per student in LAUSD. Also Wednesday it was reported that building housing in San Quentin Prison for 659 death row inmates is going to cost $400 million. We are shortchanging our children and building death rows. Education programs for our most challenged students are being cut. 500 people are being fired in LAUSD; they are closing schools in other districts.
Where are our priorities? Where is our outrage?
_______________
LET THE SCHOOL DISTRICT CUTTING BEGIN
by Jason Song in the LA Times Homeroom Blog
June 10, 2008 - The L.A. Unified school board is scheduled to work today to slash about $400 million from the district budget. The meeting starts at 1 p.m., and board members hope to make all of the cuts today -- with luck, before 5 p.m.
"We are expecting a very productive day," said the board's president, Monica Garcia.
_______________
Cutting $100 million dollars an hour from the futures of 700,000 schoolchildren strains the meaning of both the words "luck" and "productive"; Orwellian seems adjectively Pollyannaish.
_______________
Randy Ross, LAUSD Director of Educational Policy wrote on April 18, 2008 in an memo to the Board of Education describing the current budget mess titled "CUTBACK BUDGETING IN LAUSD: Lessons from the early 1990s":
"Current estimates are that the District will have to address a $460 million shortfall in anticipated revenue for the 2008-09 school year, which amounts to about 6.5 percent of the District’s General Fund budget for the current school year. In current dollars, this may be the largest fiscal challenge the District has ever faced. However, in relative terms, a review of historical documents reveals that in the early 1990s, the District had to address a 13 percent shortfall (twice the percentage facing LAUSD today)".
Ross contends that the cuts were relatively worse in 1990-91 - and he was writing before the May revise came out, lowering the projected current shortfall to something like $400 million. But LAUSD has never recovered from the cuts of the early '90's; not fiscally, not educationally and not in terms of staff morale.
'Things could be and have been worse!' being said, why did the Parent Community Services Branch - which serves ALL parent engagement / involvement / communication / service / education / support and interaction programs in LAUSD — not just in Central but in the Local Districts and at school sites — have its budget cut 26% on Tuesday?
26% is four times the 6.5% average proposed (across-the-board) cuts… and twice the horrific early 90's shortfall!
Onward! - smf
MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FINANCE: California School District Parcel Taxes + Parcel Tax Election Trends
FACED BY THE BUDGET CRISIS THE LAUSD BOARD OF ED IS CONTEMPLATING A NEW SCHOOL BOND AND/OR A PARCEL TAX ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT
►ORRICK, A Group That Runs School Finance Elections Says:
• Parcel Taxes are typically levied as a flat rate per parcel—hence, the name.
• But the popular name is not a limitation. Some districts levy a rate at a fixed amount per square foot of taxable land, and many include an annual inflation adjustment.
• Parcel taxes cannot be levied based on assessed property value - but a precedent-setting Parcel Tax in Berkeley "split the rolls" and charged a different rate for residential and commercial property.
• Senior citizens (taxpayers aged 65 or older) and recipients of social security or disability benefits can be exempted regardless of age.
►EDSOURCE, A School Finance Non-Profit Advises:
• wealthier communities are either better able or more willing to tax themselves to improve their schools.
• Just five districts that have passed parcel taxes since 2000—all in the Bay Area—serve a higher-than-average proportion of low income students.
SCHOOL BONDS can only fund capital improvement such as construction and modernization, PARCEL TAXES can fund or supplement day-to-day operation and/or maintenance.
Polling data suggests voters are move favorable towards bonds over parcel taxes. The concern is that while a bond measure, with 55% vote required may pass, a parcel tax requiring a 2/3 vote may fail —If both are on a single ballot it's easy for a "NO Campaign" to target and the voter to vote against both. Also, parcel taxes may appear on any regular ballot; a bond can only go on an even-year general election ballot (ie: the November presidential election) -smf
EDUCATION COALITION HOSTS BUDGET BRIEFING
June 9, 2008 - Today experts representing the Education Coalition provided a detailed analysis of the Governor’s May Revision budget proposal, showing how it would cut $4.3 billion from schools and students, and undermine critical programs that help student achievement, like class size reduction.
The panel also reviewed a series of charts, including one that showed how cuts would impact summer school, home-to-school transportation, art and music, school counseling, child nutrition and other critical programs.
“Continuing to balance this budget with a cuts-only approach hurts children and schools,” said Pat Dingsdale, Director of Legislation for the California State PTA. “The final budget agreement must include increased revenues as part of any approach to balancing the budget. We look forward to working with the Legislature and the Governor in passing a state budget that invests in the future of our students and our state.”
California already has some of the most overcrowded classrooms and the greatest shortages of librarians, counselors and other critical support staff in the nation. According to Education Week, California already ranks 46th out of 50 states in per-pupil funding. The Governor’s budget proposal keeps California at the bottom of those rankings.
NEW REFORM GROUP OFFERS PLAN TO END DEFICIT SPENDING NY CALIFORNIA
by George Skelton. Capitol Journal Column in the LA Times
June 12, 2008 — SACRAMENTO — A new reform group is proposing several fixes to Sacramento's red-ink budget writing. And one fix doesn't require a vote of the people or even legislators.
It requires only intellectually honest and civil discourse.
"Just a personal observation," says former Washington insider Leon Panetta, co-chairman of the group called California Forward. "Part of the problem across the street [at the Capitol] is that they don't spend a lot of time talking to each other."
Panetta laughs, but he can't be more serious.
The group's other co-chairman, Thomas V. McKernan, chief executive of the Automobile Club of Southern California, quickly adds that even among Capitol politicians lined up on the same side, there's not much productive dialogue.
Indeed, the Republican governor and GOP legislators don't get along. Relations between Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly have been chilly, heated or barely existent.
"They don't trust one another," chimes in Bill Hauck, a member of the group's leadership council and president of the California Business Round Table.
"I'm not one of these 'good ol` days' people," asserts Hauck, a longtime Capitol hand who has been a senior advisor to governors and legislative leaders of both parties. "But there was a time when you could get a group of legislators in a room -- Democrats and Republicans -- and you'd get eventually to 'the greater good of California.' Not always, but . . . today, given the lack of communication, lack of trust and the complications of California, we're not getting that enough."
One notorious result is the endless red ink flowing into a $15-billion budget deficit for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The trio had just returned, on an uncomfortably hot, windy day, from outlining their proposed budget reforms to legislative leaders and gubernatorial advisors. Panetta seems to have found the Capitol more depressing than he had envisioned.
"The reaction we've been getting," he reports, "is, 'Look, these [reforms] are important, but how do you think we could solve the budget problem this year?' "
Another laugh.
And what causes him to conclude that the politicians aren't talking enough to each other? "Because they were essentially asking us," 'What did so and so say? Where do you think this is headed?'
"It's like, wait a minute, we just came in for today."
Panetta adds: "In Washington, ultimately the only way this gets done is everybody gets in the room, puts everything on the table and has a degree of trust that there can be some give and take."
But, hey, give credit to the state lawmakers, many of whom lack political prowess because of term limits. They at least were seeking advice from an expert, experienced budget brawler. They'd be derelict not to.
Panetta, 69, is a former eight-term Democratic congressman from Monterey, a pragmatic moderate who chaired the House Budget Committee before becoming President Clinton's budget director, then chief of staff. He returned home in 1996 and created a think tank, the Panetta Institute, at Cal State Monterey.
California Forward was created by five foundations frustrated with the paltry performance of Sacramento politicians. They staked the reform group with $16 million and recruited Panetta and McKernan, a moderate Republican activist, as co-chairmen.
The group's first action in April was to endorse a November ballot initiative, sponsored by good-government groups and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, that would end the Legislature's infamous gerrymandering -- the blatant self-interest drawing of its own districts. The group hopes to raise big money for the fall campaign.
The budgeting proposals are California Forward's first package of reforms. The recommendations include:
* Requiring new or expanded programs -- whether created by the Legislature or ballot initiative -- to contain a specific funding source. That could be either new taxes or money gleaned from another program that is eliminated.
* Regularly examining spending programs to determine whether they should be revised, reduced or rubbed out.
* Also regularly reviewing tax loopholes to see if they're still needed: "Treat tax breaks like spending."
* Creating a rainy-day fund fed by unexpected tax gushes. When revenue dwindles, dip into the fund. Or use it for one-time public works projects or even tax rebates.
* Modernizing the tax system "to reflect the contemporary economy." Extend the sales tax to services while reducing the overall tax rate.
* Focusing on multiyear spending plans, rather than merely passing one-year budgets.
* Granting more power and responsibility to local governments.
* Changing the two-thirds majority vote requirement for budget passage. It wasn't suggested what the vote should be, but any change must be tied to "other reforms designed to improve performance, accountability and public trust."
Public trust is a huge problem, Panetta notes.
"We can't justify to the people that their tax dollars are doing what they're supposed to be doing," he says. "The fiscal management of this state is off-kilter.
"It's due to a series of things that have basically distorted the ability to exercise good government. The combination of initiatives, politics, gerrymandering, plus term limits. You put all of that together and it's very difficult for the governor and the Legislature. . . ."
He adds: "They can't break out of the political stranglehold that this town is in. When you've been in trench warfare as long as people here have, nobody likes to stick their head up out of the trench."
Laugh.
The reformers are prepared to take their proposals to the ballot in 2010 if they're ignored by the Legislature. But they're hoping the lawmakers will adopt at least incremental changes. A good time to start will be during this summer's budget negotiations. The reforms could "give Republicans a little comfort on spending and how tax dollars are used," Panetta theorizes.
But first the politicians have to start talking to each other.
Here's a suggestion: Turn off the BlackBerrys and cellphones.
Better yet, lock them in a desk. Look people in the eye. Smile. Sit down and deal.
Two Things to do on Tuesday: THE CALIFORNIA CHILDREN'S RALLY + YJE PTA NATIONAL LIVE WEBCAST!
…AND IF THE NEW i-PHONE WAS REALLY AVAILABLE (and your BlackBerry wasn't locked in the desk) YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO BOTH!
►Tuesday is the CALIFORNIA CHILDREN'S RALLY in Sacramento - where hopefully the legislators in the Capitol won't be hearing the conventional wisdom from the lobbyists and special interests because that cacophony of doom and gloom will be drowned out by the truth of the specially interested: the Kids themselves!
THE FIRST-EVER "CALIFORNIA CHILDREN'S RALLY":
of the Children, by the children, for the Children
10 A.M. TO 1 P.M. TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2008
AT THE SACRAMENTO CAPITOL (FRONT)
Mother on Fire SANDRA TSING LOH and her Merrie Band of Parent Pranksters promises no speeches from adults - just kids!
Tuesday, June 17 (suggested) Rally Schedule (to approximate nearest half hour–subject to change):
NOTE: All below are participatory group activities–family singing, musical instrument-playing, dancing, art-making encouraged
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. CHILDREN’S VISITS TO THEIR LEGISLATORS’ OFFICES, to present them with, among other items of their choice, an invitation to lunch downstairs at noon (which we can present on special biodegradable kid lunch trays). See additional page on how to identify one’s legislator. Also ongoing: others could stroll through Capitol gardens singing fab ’60s Peace and Protest songs (”We Shall Overcome,” with appropriate 21st updated California lyrics) with banners, etc. (Led by Todd Crowley, Virginia.)
THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOL SONGBOOK 11:00 - 12:00 noon Build Beth Elliott’s fantastic trash (clean, recycled!) elephant
ROCK BANDS: The Kids from Widney High, the Foremen, the Grateful Dads, the Angry Tired Teachers (from that existential state of mind that is Hayward, California)
PICNIC LUNCH: 12 noon - 1 p.m. The BARN DANCE! Squaredance Fiddlin’ and Autoharpmania! Evo Bluestein leads a BARNDANCE (including such traditional numbers as “Shortnin’ Bread” and “Skip to My Lou” from Fresno Migrant Scholar autoharpists). . . Everyone on the Capitol Quad is invited to learn to Square Dance! Surprises from the California Autoharp Gathering include “La Bamba” (Tina Louise Barr), ”Paint It Black,” and more.
More from the California Public School Songbook, giant group singalong with The Guitar Army (feel free to join), of such tunes as “This Land is Your Land” in (”the People’s”) key of G
Ending with a short Vaudeville sketch, including a special appearance by performance art troupe The Burning Moms, sweating periomenopausal public school mothers with an unusual political platform. Like California, they have unusual ways with cash.
End with a festive cheer and, of course, cake!
Sordid details: http://www.CaliforniaChildrensRally.com
________________________
►ALSO ON TUESDAY: PTA NATIONAL LIVE WEBCAST
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 2:00 PM Eastern/11:00 AM Pacific
In today’s fast-paced society it seems our responsibilities and our children change and grow daily. A little advice and direction can go a long way! That’s why PTA is offering a LIVE webcast for parents and families about addressing every day issues to enhance children’s health, safety and educational success.
Featuring PTA NATIONAL PRESIDENT JAN HARP DOMENE, and a very special guest, viewers will have the opportunity to ask questions via email and have them answered during the live webcast. From quick parenting tips to ideas on parent involvement, this LIVE webcast will be a one stop shop for parents and families looking for answers on these topics and more! The live webcast will take place just days before the 112th Annual PTA National Convention & Exhibition, June 20-23, in San Diego.
The webcast offers parents who can’t attend the convention an opportunity to reap the benefits of asking the experts. We welcome you to join us in watching this LIVE event webcast right here!
Please register for the webcast below. Thank you!
Have a question for the experts? Please email: webcast@westglen.com
To register for this event, please go to http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=48895
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
►This Just In: UTLA DUES RESTRUCTURING AND ACCOUNTABILITY AMENDMENT DEFEATED 2 to 1
The results of the UTLA membership election on the Constitutional Amendment to raise dues by 39% are now on the UTLA website here. There are vote counts listed by the eight UTLA areas.
TOTAL
Yes 33.36%
No 66.64%
The UTLA Board of Directors had recommended a "Yes" vote by 35 to 1.
The UTLA House of Representatives had recommended a "Yes" vote by about 67% to 33%.
►EDUCATION COALITION UPDATE
Education Coalition Hosts Budget Briefing
Today experts representing the Education Coalition provided a detailed analysis of the Governor’s May Revision budget proposal, showing how it would cut $4.3 billion from schools and students, and undermine critical programs that help student achievement, like class size reduction.
The panel also reviewed a series of charts, including one that showed how cuts would impact summer school, home-to-school transportation, art and music, school counseling, child nutrition and other critical programs.
►Survey: PASADENA UNIFIED VOTERS PREFER BOND MEASURE TO PARCEL TAX
06/11/2008 PASADENA - Voters in the Pasadena Unified School District slightly prefer a bond over a parcel tax to pay for campus improvements, according to recent surveys.
►TWO CAPTAINS AND ONE SHIP EQUALS A SHIPWRECK
from the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles weekly update -week of June 9, 2008: The Beaudry Ship (some might say ark) is commanded presently by two captains.
One steers the ship from the 24th Floor while the other one guides from the 11thFloor.
►South Africa at a Crossroads: APARTHEID INEQUALIITIES LINGER IN SOUTH AFRICA SCHOOLS
...the story, smf observes, sounds eerily familiar
►THE TEACHERS UNION AND STUDENTS
Tim Schlosser, an English teacher at Southeast Middle School in South Gate, writes the Times Homeroom Blog
►JORDAN HIGH SCHOOL RALLIES AROUND DISMISSED TEACHER DEEMED TOO 'AFRO-CENTRIC.'
June 12, 2008 - Students and fellow educators are rallying behind a fired Jordan High School teacher they say was sacked for encouraging political activism among her students.
►The Rooney Case - LAUSD ADMINISTRATOR ACCUSED OF WITHHOLDING EVIDENCE IN SEX CASE: Hubbard, 49, Will Be Arraigned Friday, Officials Say
June 12, 2008 - LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles Unified School District administrator was in custody Thursday to face charges that he withheld evidence against another a colleague charged with sex-related crimes involving three girls.
►MUCH NEEDED LAUSD HIGH SCHOOL BREAKS GROUND: Glassell Park area high school will relieve Eagle Rock, Franklin, and Marshall High Schools when it opens in 2011.
Tractors descended on the old Taylor Yard property this Wednesday as construction began on a brand new high school for Glassell Park.
►Letters to the editor | LA Times | re: Teachers Budget Protest
June 12, 2008 - Re "Thousands of teachers leave classrooms for budget protest" June 7
►LA ARTS HIGH SCHOOL BRINGS PRESTIGE, BUT HIGH COST
10 June, 2008 - LOS ANGELES (AP) — A steel tower wrapped in a spiraling ribbon is one of the most striking features of a new arts high school set to open next year.
Its $230 million price tag is another.
►A UNIFORM LAUSD POLICY FOR UNIFORMS?
06/10/2008 - Wading into what has become a politically sensitive issue across the country, a Los Angeles school board member will join with the City Attorney's Office today to explore whether students should be required to wear uniforms.
►PROP. 13 PROPERTY TAXES IN THE VOTERS' HANDS: As good a short history as any.
Friday, June 6, 2008-- Thirty years ago today, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13 as a way to keep seniors from losing their homes to skyrocketing property taxes. But the 1978 vote also ignited a revolution that dramatically changed the way people across America look at government and taxes.
►IF IT'S A "PARTNERSHIP", HOW COME ONLY ONE PARTY GETS BILLING?
...isn't it the understanding that the Mayor's Partnership for Los Angeles Schools is an independent 501 (c)(3) non profit corporation ...not an entity of city government?
►L.A. UNIFIED TO CUT 500 JOBS
June 10, 2008, 8:39 PM PDT - The Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to slash about $400 million from the state's largest school system by cutting 507 administrative staff and clerical workers and requiring that all employees take a four-day unpaid leave.
►BUDGET DUEL INEVITABLY HITS SCHOOLS
By Dan Walters - Sacramento Bee columnist
June 10, 2008 - Sooner or later, every battle over the state budget boils down to how much money to spend on schools, and this year is no exception.
►PROP 13 | CLAMPING THE JUMPER CABLES ON THE THIRD RAIL: A reader writes to 4LAKids, many write to The Times about Prop 13 @ 30
The debate over a face lift or haircut for Proposition 13 continues. 4LAKids reader and Westchester parent/blogger David Coffin suggests changing the formula for multi-unit housing (condos and apartments). LA Times reader-letter writers are all over the place.
►BUDGET KILLS LAUSD DREAMS
06/08/2008 - Facing massive proposed state budget cuts, Los Angeles Unified schools chief David Brewer III is weighing a mandatory, unpaid furlough program for all district workers - including teachers.
►SCHOOL FUNDING'S TRAGIC FLAW: Report shows poor states, communities, and children persistently get the short end of the stick in school funding.
"At every level of government, policymakers give more resources to students who have more resources, and less to those who have less."
►THIRTY YEARS AFTER PROP 13, CALIFORNIA VOTERS SUPPORTED TAX INCREASES IN TUESDAY’S ELECTION
June 5 - Voting just three days before the 30th anniversary of the passage of Proposition 13, the landmark Jarvis-Gann initiative that cut property taxes and triggered a tax revolt across the country, voters in the primary election approved dozens of tax increases in local communities around the state.
►LAUSD BOARD APPROVES SCHOOL COMMUNITY PARKS RESOLUTION
June 8 - The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education unanimously adopted a resolution that would open school playgrounds to community use in the afternoons, on weekends, and during school vacations.
►LAUSD POLITELY DENIES CITY COUNCIL REQUEST FOR SEX ABUSE CASE BRIEFING
It would be “inappropriate” for school district officials to brief members of the City Council on the case of an assistant principal charged with molesting students, the school board president said in a letter responding to the panel’s request, which was officially made yesterday.
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
Monday Jun 16, 2008
Valley Region Elementary School #8: Groundbreaking Ceremony
Ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m.
Valley Region Elementary School #8
12441 N. Bromont Ave.
Sylmar, CA 91340
Tuesday Jun 17, 2008
Dr. James Edward Jones Primary Center (aka Manual Arts New PC #2)
Construction Update / Meet the Principal Meeting
3:30 p.m.
Dr. James Edward Jones Primary Center
Multi-Purpose Room
1017 W. 47th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90037
Wednesday Jun 18, 2008
South Region Elementary School #2: Pre-Construction Meeting
6:00 p.m.
Miramonte Elementary School - Auditorium
1400 E. 68th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Wednesday Jun 18, 2008
Valley Region High School #9: Pre-Construction Community Meeting
6:30 p.m.
Fulton College Preparatory
7477 Kester Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91405
Thursday Jun 19, 2008
South Region Elementary School #9: Meet the Architect/Schematic Design Meeting
6:00 p.m.
Stanford Elementary School - Auditorium
2833 Illinois Ave.
South Gate, CA 90280
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: MEETS THIS WEDNESDAY JUNE 18 IN THE LAUSD BOARDROOM @ 10AM
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-893-6800
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383
Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• Register.
• Vote.
| |  |
| Scott Folsom is a parent and parent leader in LAUSD. He is immediate past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represents PTA as Vice-chair on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee. He is a Community Concerns Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on various school district advisory and policy committees and is a PTA officer and/or governance council member at three LAUSD schools.
• In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
• FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
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