The laws of math, language and technology have no jurisdiction when the LAUSD is intent on spin.

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Earlier this year, I detailed the case of a Nobel Charter Middle School parent who had received what the LAUSD calls a "disruptive parent letter" from Principal Derek Horowitz. The parent had been active in pushing for change at the school and felt that this letter had been issued in attempt to silence her. When reviewing the state-mandated Local Control and Accountability Plan and Annual Update Template, it became apparent that this may be a district-wide problem as one of the requests made by the Parent Advisory Committee was for "a formal District policy which includes authentic impartial fact-finding and an appeal process to be utilized by parents who have any unresolved issues with site administrators, or who experience mistreatment, discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in any form, including the issuance of a 'disruptive parent letter' against them." In attempt to learn how many of these letters were issued within the LAUSD during the last school year I submitted a Public Records Act request to the district.

In my new blog at the K-12 News Network I detail how far the LAUSD will go to avoid divulging information to its stakeholders. This includes ignoring the deadlines specified in the law, using 1984ish doublespeak to avoid answering questions, and overstating the technical requirements needed to search records in order to delay the release of information. Despite these efforts, one fact was released that betrays the district's stated goal of enabling "parent and community engagement;" they do not capture "specific data on disruptive parent letters."

Since Disruptive Parent Letters specifically limit a parent's involvement in their child's education, including the ability to become an authorized volunteer, the Superintendent's office has an obligation to track if these letters are being used to keep students safe, or like teacher jail, have morphed into a way to bully stakeholders into blind obedience. At the very minimum, the district should understand how many of these letters have been issued and if some schools are using them more than others, but the Office of the General Council's response demonstrates that this is not being done.

For the complete story, please visit http://thewire.k12newsnetwork.com/2015/10/06/attempting-to-obtain-information-through-a-looking-glass/

Authors Website: http://www.changethelausd.com/

Authors Bio:

Carl Petersen is a parent, an advocate for students with special education needs, an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council, a member of the LAUSD's CAC, and was a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race. During the campaign, the Network for Public Education (NPE) Action endorsed him, and Dr. Diane Ravitch called him a "strong supporter of public schools." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.

Carl Petersen is a father of five, including two daughters who are on the autism spectrum. His involvement in education issues began when the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) refused to provide services that his daughters' teachers agreed they needed. It was then that his family was forced to sue the District.

At the end of two days of mediation at the District's headquarters, he turned to his wife, Nicole, and said: "somebody has to change this." His wife replied, "What about you?" He accepted the challenge and has run twice for a position on the LAUSD School Board. His platforms included advocacy for special education issues and strong support for public education. In his last election he was endorsed by Americans for Democratic Action Southern California, SFV/NELA Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and Network for Public Education (NPE) Action, a group co-founded by Dr. Diane Ravitch.

When Carl is not working or engaging in activism, he enjoys hanging out at theme parks with his family. He took his oldest daughter to Woodstock '94 when she was two and used to play in several local bands. If he is at his home in Northridge, California, there is a dog at his feet and he is probably writing one of his blogs which have been published in OpEdNews, Medium, Patch, and K-12 News Network.