Students in Los Angeles have staged walkouts at 10 schools to protest a plan by teachers not to report first-semester grades to district officials.
The United Teachers of Los Angeles has asked its members to decline to transmit the grades--due over the next two weeks--as part of a job action that has been going on since their contract expired last summer.
Students will receive an unofficial report card issued by teachers. But many high-school seniors are concerned that their chances for admission to college will be jeopardized if they do not have official transcripts, according to district officials.
“The union, in essence, is holding the grades hostage,” said Diana Munatones, a spokesman for the district.
Union officials maintain, however,6that admissions officers they have contacted at the University of California and elsewhere have indicated that they will accept transcripts sent out by school counselors, who will have verified the teachers’ report cards.
Since the union’s policy became known last month, students at nine high schools and one junior high school have staged walkouts. Late last week, some 200 students from five schools staged a peaceful protest in front of the district’s main building and met with district officials and members of the school board.
One student has been arrested and two have been suspended in incidents relating to the walkouts.
The teachers are seeking a one-year settlement with a 12 percent pay raise. The district is offering a 17.4 percent increase over three years.
