Collection Guide
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Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education records
LSC.1923
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education records
Creator:
Los Angeles (Calif.). Board of Education
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1923
Physical Description:
1362.4 Linear Feet
(2792 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1875-2012
Abstract: The Los Angeles City Board of Education serves as the governing, policy-making body for the Los Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD). The collection spans from 1875-2012 and consists of Minutes books, Board and committee reports, administrative guides,
annual reports, bulletins, classification reports, index cards, financial records, school and teacher directories, maps, publications
and subject files.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS UNPROCESSED AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audiovisual materials are not currently available for access and will require
further processing and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email spec-coll@library.ucla.edu.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, 2011 and 2015.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9969119863606533
[Identification of item], Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education records (Collection 1923). UCLA Library Special
Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processed by Kelly Besser, Alyssa Loera, and Megan Hahn Fraser, 2012. Most materials are in their original folders and retain
their original folder titles and organization. Additions processed by Kelly Besser, 2016.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit
feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form
located on our website:
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Collections.
The Los Angeles City Board of Education serves as the governing, policy-making body for the Los Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD), which was previously composed of three districts: the Los Angeles City School District that served kindergarten through
8th grade and formed on September 19, 1853; the Los Angeles City High School District that served grades 9 through 12 and
formed in 1890; and the Los Angeles City Junior College District formed in 1931. As a result of the school unification election
of June 7, 1960, the elementary and high school districts merged to form the LAUSD on July 1, 1961. Since July 1, 1969, the
Los Angeles Junior College District has been governed by a separate Board of Trustees.
The first ordinance establishing public schools in Los Angeles was passed by the Common Council on July 25, 1853. This ordinance
provided for the Council's appointment of three Commissioners of Public Schools to serve as a City Board of Education with
the chairman to serve as the Superintendent of Schools.
At the next meeting of the Council, J. Lancaster Brent, Lewis Granger and Stephen C. Foster were appointed members of the
Board of Education. J. Lancaster Brent served as chairman of the Board and Superintendent. Stephen C. Foster assumed the office
of mayor in May 1854 and during his inaugural address, urged the necessity of increased school facilities as the city did
not yet own a school building.
Foster recommended the building of two school houses, the revision of the ordinance governing the schools, and the appointment
of a school superintendent and school marshal. At the next Council meeting, an ordinance was presented and passed, providing
for the Council's appointment of three school trustees, a superintendent and a school marshal on the first Monday of June
each year.
Before the close of the school year, School House No. 1, a two-story brick building located on the corner of Spring and Second
streets was completed and opened on March 19, 1855. School House No. 2, a two-room building located at the junction of North
Main and Los Angeles streets was built in 1856.
From 1853 to 1866 the Common Council appointed the members of the Board of Education and the school superintendents. From
1866 to 1870 the three member School Boards and the Superintendents were elected by popular vote at the city elections. In
1870 when it was discovered that there was no legal authority for the office of superintendent, this office ceased to exist
from 1870 to 1873.
In 1872, a special act of the legislature created a City Board of Education, consisting of five members elected at large,
and gave it the authority to appoint a superintendent of schools. Although not required, from 1873 to 1889 the Board members
held partisan offices.
A new city charter adopted in 1889 authorized a nine-member Board, one member from each political ward of the city and the
Board maintained its authority to appoint a superintendent. During the period of 1880-1890, the population of the city increased
from 11,000 to 50,000.
After a period of general unrest and dissatisfaction with the ward system, charges of bribery were made against certain Board
members during 1897-1898 and citizens demanded changes. As a result, the ward system was abolished in 1904 and a new city
charter restored the at-large, non-partisan Board of Education and reduced its nine members to seven.
From 1904 to 1978, each member was chosen by the entire electorate of the LAUSD. Although during the latter years of this
period, each Board member was assigned an Office number (Offices No. 1 through 7), the entire electorate still chose each
member for each office.
With the passage of a City Charter Amendment, Proposition M on November 7, 1978, the District was divided into seven geographical
areas or Districts. These Districts were also numbered 1 through 7 but did not coincide with the old Office numbers, nor was
there any relation between the two.
The election for odd-numbered Districts was held in the spring of 1979 and members were seated July 1, 1979. The election
for even-numbered Districts was held in the spring of 1981 and members were seated July 1, 1981. Thus, the term "Office" when
used in connection with a Board of Education seat became obsolete with the beginning of the school year on July 1, 1981. Board
of Education members were then spoken of as representing a numerically designated District.
Today the LAUSD is still governed by a seven-member Board of Education elected directly by voters of its seven Districts.
Board members are elected for terms of four years and elections are held every other year with three members chosen at one
election and four at the next. The Board appoints a Superintendent for a four-year term who serves as the chief executive
officer of the Board and the school system.
The District encompasses approximately 710 square miles, includes virtually all of the City of Los Angeles, many other cities
and several unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The LAUSD is the largest public school system in California based
on pupil enrollment and the second largest public school district in the United States.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education records range from 1875-2012. The collection consists of Minutes
books, Board and committee reports, administrative guides, annual reports, bulletins, classification reports, index cards,
financial records, school and teacher directories, maps, publications and research files.
The first series, Minutes, and the third series, Subject Files, comprise the bulk of the collection. The Minutes (also called
Board Reports) span 137 years and are the District's official record of business. The Subject Files cover 759 subjects and
are records that serve as supporting documentation for the Minutes.
The Board Secretariat or Executive Officer of the Board, formerly the Clerk of the Board, was responsible for the stewardship
of these records. The Board Secretariat's File and Minutes Units maintained these records for use by the Superintendent, Board
members, District staff and the public.
The enduring value of the LAUSD Board of Education records lies within the evidential and informational records maintained
by the Board. These records contain historical evidence of the Board's organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures,
and operations which speak to the origins of its existence, its work and achievements. These records provide essential information
on all matters with which the Board dealt including staff, students, parents, organizations, land matters, politics, events,
programs, war emergencies, natural disasters and civil unrest.
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Minutes, 1875-2009
- Series 2: Annexed School Districts' Minutes and Ledgers, 1889-1932
- Series 3: Subject Files, 1913-2012
- Series 4: Personnel, 1921-2000
- Series 5: Index Cards, circa 1875-1997
- Series 6: Budget, circa 1935-2008
- Series 7: Rules and Regulations, 1898-2010
- Series 8: Bulletins, 1923-2010
- Series 9: Superintendent's Annual Reports, 1903-1955
- Series 10: Classification Reports, 1926-1984
- Series 11: Publications, 1884-2009
Records before 1875, called the Common Council Minutes, were not part of this accession, and are kept by the Los Angeles City
Records Center and Archives at the Piper Technical Center at 555 Ramirez St, #320, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Forty Years in Education in Southern California (1904-1944) [oral history transcript] / Arthur Gould, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1965. UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University
of California, Los Angeles.
I'm Home Free [oral history transcript] / Ellis A. Jarvis, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1966. UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University
of California, Los Angeles.
Interview of James Taylor [oral history transcript] / James Taylor, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 2010. UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University
of California, Los Angeles.
Interview of Owen Knox [oral history transcript] / Owen Knox, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 2008. UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University
of California, Los Angeles.
Interview of Rita Walters [oral history transcript] / Rita Walters, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 2011. UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University
of California, Los Angeles.
Interview of Sidney Thompson [oral history transcript] / Sidney Thompson, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 2011. UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University
of California, Los Angeles.
American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California Records (Collection 900). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Augustus F. Hawkins Papers (Collection 1642). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Paul Egly Papers (Collection 1282). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Los Angeles School Monitoring Committee (Collection 1291). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Helene V. Smookler Papers on School Integration (Collection 1547). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Julian Nava Papers (Collection 400). Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
School districts -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives.
Los Angeles Unified School District -- Archives.
Los Angeles (Calif.). -- Board of Education -- Archives.
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