Giving Compass' Take:

• Two reports released in June urge the Los Angeles Unified School District to move faster with acquiring and allocating funds intended to help the neediest students, according to Esmeralda Fabián Romero. 

• How can philanthropy help facilitate the budgeting process? What are the best uses for the money intended to help the neediest students?

• Read five things you need to know about California's ESSA plan. 

Two reports released in June urge the Los Angeles Unified School District to start making tough choices to boost student achievement — and to move faster in delivering additional funds to the schools serving the neediest students.

The first study found that LA Unified has been slow to secure increased state funding for the schools serving students with the highest needs, particularly in elementary and middle schools. The fourth annual “Report Card: Progress in Los Angeles Schools — Rigor, Fairness, and Engaging Families,” released by United Way Greater Los Angeles and UC Berkeley, indicates that district officials may not be meeting their legal obligation in allocating the money generated for that purpose.

After four years of state legislation that shifts billions of dollars to students with the highest needs, LA Unified “has taken just tiny steps in funding needy schools” and lacks a plan to change that, the study says.

Also in June, the LA Unified School District Advisory Task Force released its fourth report, titled “Hard Choices,” which also calls on the district to create a budget focused on students’ needs rather than just balancing numbers, and with real input from the community.

Read the full article about Los Angeles schools by Esmeralda Fabián Romero at The 74.