This week: Recording from the Education Writers Association National Seminar, Louis and John discuss diversity in education and school discipline, two themes of the conference. Plus updates on CAs race for Governor and State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

This week: Michael Kirst's impact on California education, trouble-free Smarter Balanced assessments in math and English language arts, and the primary election for governor and state superintendent of public instruction heating up.

This week: Who is Austin Beutner and why was he chosen the next superintendent of Los Angeles Unified? For two different views of his appointment, Louis and John speak with Nick Melvoin, vice-president of the school board, and John Rogers, a professor of education at ULCA.

This week: how rural schools are bringing cutting-edge tech to their students, the wave of teacher strikes across the country and their implications for CA and the value of teacher diversity especially in a state where students of color now comprise three-quarters of public school enrollment.

This week: CA's push to get more young people registered to vote and to the polls, millions in pro-charter money pouring into the gubernatorial race is bringing K-12 education to the forefront & the implications of CA's shockingly high childhood poverty rate

This week: encouraging news for CA in this year's National Assessment of Education Progress or NAEP, two new school funding bills on the horizon, and an introduction to Gema Quetzal Cardenas, the next student representative on the State Board of Education

This week: Very high chronic absenteeism at continuation high schools serving at-risk students, upcoming State Board approval of the plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act; a preview of California Road Trip, a new podcast about California schools taking on difficult academic challenges.

This week: CA Charter Schools Association endorses Villaraigosa for Gov., a surprise increase in federal funding for child care and education in the new budget, the state's new plan to deal with disproportionate numbers of inexperienced and ineffective teachers in low-income schools & more

This week: candidates for state superintendent of public instruction discuss their visions for the future of public education in CA at a forum at USC.

This week: audio from student protests across the state during the National School Walkout; the politics behind gun control regulations and how they affect CA; the ongoing dispute between the fed government & CA over its state ESSA plan.