SEE PAGE 3 for final ruling on tenure in california schools
SEE PAGE 2 FOR holden truancy bill heads to governor MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 14, 2014
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1 in 10 California workers is an illegal immigrant, study suggests by Jennifer schlueter
study on data from the census, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor. Their research explored “a variety of ways the estimated 2.6 million immigrants living in California without permission participate in state life,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Co-director of USC’s Center for the Study of Immi-
The defendants below each pleaded guilty to one or two misdemeanor counts each of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution or agreeing to engage in prostitution. The defendants were each sentenced up to three years informal probation, up to 10 days in jail with Please see page 4
Please see page 2
grant Integration and USC sociology professor Manuel Pastor describes the illegally working immigrants’ integration into California’s workforce: “It’s a population deeply embedded in the labor market, neighborhoods and social fabric of the state.” The study found that Please see page 2
Five men convicted of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution and/or agreeing to engage in prostitution The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) convicted five men in August 2014 of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution and/or agreeing to engage in prostitution. The defendants in these cases approached a woman, whom they believed to be a prostitute, in areas known for prostitution and human traffick-
ing. Some agreed to engage in commercial sex with a woman and were subsequently arrested by law enforcement. The Santa Ana Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) investigated these cases. Deputy District Attorney Tina Patel of the HEAT Unit prosecuted these cases.
State Board commends higher education’s endorsement of Common Core and comprehensive, coordinated approach for implementation In an unprecedented action, the four systems of higher education announced their endorsement of Common Core standards and have engaged in a comprehensive, coordinated approach for implementation that links the K-12 system with higher education on standards, assessments and teacher training. The leaders of the University of California, California State University, California Community Colleges, and Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities outlined their endorsement of Common Core standards in a letter to the State Board of Education. The announcement is part of the California State Board of Education’s National Governors Association grant for K-12/ higher education collaboration. “This endorsement reinforces other significant actions by higher education to align standards and assessments with Common Core including major revisions to the PSAT and SAT, updates to the a-g requirements for the University of California and California
Immigrant march -Photo by Erika Paz
Last Wednesday, the Pew Research Center released a nationwide study on immigrants. A simultaneously published report by the University of Southern California (USC) on the same subject focused solely on California. USC and the California Immigrant Policy Center joined forces and based their
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Common Core Continued from page 1
State University, improvements to teacher preparation, and collaboration on the Early Assessment Program and Smarter Balanced assessments for 11th grade,” explained California State Board of Education president Mike Kirst. “The implementation of the Common Core standards and aligned assessments has the potential to dramatically improve college readiness and help close the preparation gap that exists for California students,” wrote Janet Napolitano, Timothy White, Brice Harris and Kristen Soares. The system leaders note the “transforming promise of these new standards” as more students master them and more teachers, students and parents are given clear and consistent messages about college and career readiness. The letter states that “Common Core standards provide teachers and districts a roadmap to developing courses that cultivate the deep understandings required for college preparation. In concert with this transition, the a-g requirements for CSU and UC admission, specifically areas ‘b’ (English) and ‘c’ (Mathematics), have been updated to align with the Common Core standards and the message is being transmitted to schools, parents and students.” The system leaders also highlight the Early Assessment Program and higher education’s
participation in teams working on the performance standards for the Smarter Balanced 11th grade assessments. The “partnership California has built over the last 10 years to implement the Early Assessment Program has helped to define the national effort to measure college and career readiness in the 11th grade, and it places California in an optimal position to successfully transition to the new system of standards and assessments.” “Collaborative efforts will help ensure that the tests measure standards that our K-12 and higher education systems all agree address appropriate expectations for the preparation of high school graduates who are ready to succeed…. These assessments align with our commitment to new learning outcomes to ensure our graduates are ready to succeed in an increasingly complex global environment,” the letter notes. The link between K-12 and higher education starts with teacher preparation, according to Napolitano, White, Harris and Soares. Accordingly, “higher education systems are aligning teacher preparation programs and content with the Common Core standards.” More information about California’s implementation of Common Core standards can be found at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ re/cc/index.asp.
Holden truancy bill heads to Governor The California Legislature has given final approval to Assemblymember Chris Holden’s legislation to collect more complete records on absences and intervention strategies to help identify the effectiveness of school truancy programs. AB 1672 is part of a package of measures sponsored by the Attorney General to address chronic truancy and now goes to Governor Brown for signature. “With this slate of bills we are not putting more students in the juvenile justice system, but inviting the community to intervene before students end up in the penal system, which is why I am happy to be a part of this effort,” said Assemblymember Holden. “The bill has been amended to lower costs,
lower any burden on schools, and keep the information local where it is needed the most.” If enacted, School Attendance Review Boards will have to report important information like the number of students referred to them, how that student’s issues are addressed and whether that student is doing better. It also requires that information to be disaggregated by subgroups like race, gender, low income status and English language learner status. AB 1672, which passed the Senate Wednesday, had already passed the Assembly earlier in the session, but returned to the Assembly for approval of Senate amendments. The Assembly vote was 55 to 14.
Illegal immigrant workers Continued from page 1
this population of illegal immigrant workers makes up almost 10% of California’s laborers. The LA Times reports that, according to the research, “immigrants who are in California illegally make up 38% of the agriculture industry and 14% of the construction industry statewide.” Thus, it is no surprise that illegally working immigrants in California account for $130 billion of the state’s gross domestic product per year. However, despite these profits, proponents of immigration laws want to see a stricter enforcement of them. Steven Camarot, of the Center for Immigration Studies, told the LA Times that “a bigger economy doesn’t mean the people are richer.” Apparently, the GDP earnings do not cover schools and other government services accessed by illegal immigrants. Reshma Shamasunder, executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, disagrees, according to a press release: “Every one of California’s immigrants helps shape
our state’s economic and civic vitality, but the daily threat of deportation casts a shadow over California’s undocumented residents—and their loved ones and communities.” She asks President Obama to limit deportations and “honor these contributions and advance economic prosperity.” Narrowing data down to the greater Los Angeles area, the study found that 1 out of 4 immigrants resides in here without permission. These illegal immigrants account for $57 billion of the area’s annual GDP. The USC as well as the Pew study both came to the conclusion that most illegal immigrants in California as well as nationwide have been in the U.S. for more than 10 years, ¾ live in households with U.S. citizens, and about four million have U.S.-born children, who are thus U.S. citizens. The Pew Research Center estimated that the same number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2009 and 2013: 11.3 million.
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Vergara v. California ruling; state officials appeal Judge Treu’s final ruling on tenure in California schools By terry miller Last week, California Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown appealed a recent state judge’s ruling that ends tenure and other union protections for public school teachers. The appeal, filed Friday, contends that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rulf Treu’s final decree lacks detail and fails to provide the legal basis for his verdict. Treu issued the final ruling Thursday, after directing in June that tenure protections for California teachers violate the state constitution, depriving some of the state’s 6.2 million students of a quality education, specifically minorities and those from low-income families. The lawsuit, Vergara v. California, was brought by Beatriz Vergara and eight other students claimed incompetent teachers let classrooms get out of control, came to school unprepared and demeaned and humiliated students. State Superintendent of schools Tom Torlakson issued a press release last week on Vergara Lawsuit and said… ‘’No teacher is perfect. A very few are not worthy of the job.” He added, “The people who dedicate their lives to the teaching profession deserve our admiration and support. Instead, this ruling lays the failings of our education system at their feet. “We do not fault doctors when the emergency room is full. We do not criticize the firefighter whose supply of water runs dry. Yet while we crowd our classrooms and fail to properly equip them with adequate resources, those who filed and support this case shamelessly seek to blame teachers who step forward every day to make a difference
for our children. “No teacher is perfect. A very few are not worthy of the job. School districts have always had the power to dismiss those who do not measure up, and this year I helped pass a new law that streamlined the dismissal process, while protecting the rights of both teachers and students. It is disappointing that the Court refused to even consider this important reform. “In a cruel irony, this final ruling comes as many California teachers spend count-
less unpaid hours preparing to start the new school year in hopes of better serving the very students this case purportedly seeks to help. “While the statutes in this case are not under my jurisdiction as state Superintendent, it is clear that the Court’s ruling is not supported by the facts or the law. Its vagueness provides no guidance about how the Legislature could successfully alter the challenged statutes to satisfy the Court. Accordingly, I will ask the Attorney General to seek appellate review.”
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Beheading of second American journalist by ISIL condemned by lawmakers Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement in response to reports of the killing of American journalist Steven Sotloff by ISIL: “Reports of ISIL beheading a second American journalist, Steven Sotloff, are another gruesome reminder of the evil that now controls a large swath of Iraq and Syria.
All of America sends its heartfelt condolences to the Sotloff family, who have been living with this nightmare for a year and only wished for their son to be returned home unharmed. ISIL must be confronted and destroyed. And I am confident that no matter how long it takes, those who murdered Steven Sotloff and James Foley, and so many others, will be made to face justice.”
Workshop: “Cybersecurity – Protecting Your Business Accounts and Assets from Cybercriminals” Just a reminder to mark your calendars and RSVP for the City of Cypress’ joint BRACE and AGENT Program Workshop which will be held on Wednesday, September 10, 2014 from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Cypress Community Center (5700 Orange Avenue, Cypress). The presentation topic will be “Cybersecurity – Protecting Your Business Accounts and Assets from Cybercriminals”. The featured speakers will be James Vaughn from iDis-
covery Solutions and Gordon Calhoun with the law firm of Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith. This FREE event is held in partnership with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Paul Smith from the SBA will act as moderator for the program. Please register early as space is limited. To register, email Steve Clarke, the City’s Redevelopment Project Manager, at sclarke@ci.cypress.ca.us or call (714) 229-6728.
Five men convicted in prostitution cases Continued from page 1
the possibility of Caltrans in lieu of jail, and must also submit to AIDS testing and education. Some defendants must also submit to DNA testing and are required to donate up to $100 to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund plus penalty assessments. Carlos Gonzalez, 54, Anaheim Minh Van Nguyen, 53, Mission Viejo John Michael Ray, 55, Dana Point Alan Garcia Rodriguez, 28, Orange Jeffrey Allen Turlis, 42, Huntington Beach
These cases were prosecuted by the OCDA Human Exploitation And Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, which targets perpetrators who sexually exploit and traffic women and underage girls for financial gain, including pimps, panderers, and human traffickers. Commercial sex trafficking is the second most lucrative criminal enterprise behind narcotics trafficking. Often the perpetrators are gang members and/or career criminals. Members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF) and
OCDA work proactively to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. These cases were investigated by OCHTTF, a partnership between the Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Huntington Beach Police Department, OCDA, OCSD, and community and non-profit partners. Proposition 35 and HEAT In November 2012, California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 (Prop 35) was enacted in California with 81 percent of the vote, and over 82 percent of the vote in Orange County, to increase the penalty for human trafficking, particularly in cases involving the trafficking of a minor by force. A component of the OCHTTF is the OCDA’s HEAT Unit, which targets perpetrators who sexually exploit and traffic women and underage girls for financial gain, including pimps, panderers, and human traffickers. The HEAT Unit uses a tactical plan called PERP: Prosecution, to bring justice for victims of human trafficking and hold perpetrators responsible using Prop 35; Education, to
provide law enforcement training to properly handle human trafficking and pandering cases; Resources from public-private partnerships to raise public awareness about human trafficking and provide assistance to the victims; and Publicity, to inform the public and send a message to human traffickers that this crime cannot be perpetrated without suffering severe consequences. Under the law, human trafficking is described as depriving or violating the personal liberty of another person with the intent to effect a violation of pimping or pandering. Pimping is described as knowingly deriving financial support in whole or in part from the proceeds of prostitution. Pandering is the act of persuading or procuring an individual to become a prostitute, or procuring and/or arranging for a person work in a house of prostitution. The OCDA announced in April 2013 that he will publicize the names of defendants convicted of sexually exploiting women or children by soliciting sex acts as part of the campaign to reduce the demand of human exploitation and trafficking.