Troubled L.A. School Roiled by Protests Over Principal

Students, teachers say AP classes scrapped without warning; officials back administrator.

A Los Angeles school with a reputation for violence is embroiled in another type of controversy—this time involving some of its teachers and highest-achieving students.

The storm erupted in mid-July when, according to students and teachers, Vincent Carbino, the principal of Santee Education Complex, dropped or changed numerous courses—including some Advanced Placement offerings—in the middle of the semester, even though some students will need those classes in order to graduate.

Teachers allege that the principal cancelled the courses without warning in advance of a scheduled inspection required by state legislation known as the Wiliams settlement, because textbooks for the courses had never been ordered and teachers...