News Digest News Digest (March 16, 2005)

No children left behind in Palo Alto

An error last week by the state Department of Education's Assessment and Accountability branch mistakenly included the Palo Alto public school district, and 48 others, on a list of those in need of federal assistance.

The flaw was cleared up late last week and Palo Alto Unified School District officials learned their schools were taken off the list.

At issue was a battle between California's school accountability system and the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). While the two systems tried to merge accountability models, 49 districts -- some among the highest achieving in the state -- were mistakenly included on a list of districts that will face sanctions if test scores aren't improved by 2007.

The problem was mostly centered on NCLB's requirement that school districts annually test 95 percent of all students in each sub-group, including those in special education and English learners. School officials say the rule is too stringent, especially when a particular sub-group's population is already small and parents can opt their students out of the standardized tests.

Palo Alto Unified was mistakenly placed on the list because the state Department of Education didn't think it tested enough special ed students.

-- Alexandria Rocha

Prosecution wins key pretrial motions in police case

Attorneys defending two Palo Alto police officers will not be able to present evidence that Albert Hopkins, the alleged victim of police brutality, engaged in sexual misconduct.

But evidence that one of the officers, Michael Kan, beat the man because he was trying to impress his superiors will be allowed in the high-profile trial.

Jury selection began on Monday. Opening statements were expected to begin on Wednesday, and the trial could last three to four weeks.

According to the officers' attorneys, Hopkins -- who was beaten by Kan and Officer Craig Lee on July 13, 2003 -- was fired in 1994 from a job at De Anza College because he sexually harassed three women.

In retaliation, Hopkins sued two of the women and the college for racial discrimination.

"There were people there who didn't want a black professor there," said Albert Hopkin's brother and attorney, Joe Hopkins. "We decided it was better for his career to just drop the lawsuits."

No criminal charges were ever filed with regards to the incidents. But after a separate incident in 2000, Albert Hopkins pled guilty for disturbing the peace for hugging and kissing a woman he had never met. Attorney Joe Hopkins insisted it was a misunderstanding.

Santa Clara County Judge Andrea Bryan ruled that none of those incidents were relevant to the trial last week.

The judge also ruled that Deputy District Attorney Peter Waite can present testimony that Kan missed a gun when he patted down a suspect. Kan was reportedly forced to undertake additional training after not engaging in a fellow officer's fight with a suspect.

Those incidents, Waite said, shows Kan's motive for beating Hopkins -- to prove to his superiors he was aggressive.

After the beating, Kan reportedly told a sergeant: "Hey, I took control out there."

Last week, the judge also prohibited witnesses from discussing the results of an internal investigation that cleared the officers.

-- Bill D'Agostino

Cap proposed for low-income subsidy

As a cost-saving measure, the City of Palo Alto could cap the discount low-income residents receive on community programs.

The city's Community Services Department currently gives a 75 percent discount to all low-income residents for classes and other programs.

But some residents, by taking numerous classes and enlisting in numerous programs, have received thousands of dollars in subsidies, according to city officials. One family, for instance, received $3,634 in discounts taking 42 programs last year.

Department administrators are proposing capping the maximum benefit any one person can receive to $300. A family can also pool its members' discounts, so a family of four would get a $1,200 discount it could distribute as it wished.

The city is also proposing a sliding scale so residents with varying income ranges would get 25, 50 or 75 percent subsidies, rather than an across-the-board 75 percent savings.

Last week, the Human Relations Commission recommended the City Council approve the changes. The proposal will go before the elected officials later this year, as part of the city's budget proposal.

"It seemed like there were a number of cases where a small group of people were way overusing the benefits," commission chair Jeffrey Blum said.

Commissioner Adam Atito was the lone vote against the proposal.

The city is facing a projected $5.2 million deficit for the next fiscal year.

-- Bill D'Agostino

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