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Policy Brief

Policy Brief: Achieving Digital Equity for California’s Students

By Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao, Vicki Hsieh

Unprecedented investments during the pandemic led to great strides in digital access for California’s students. But progress stalled in spring 2021 and major equity gaps remain for low-income, Black, and Latino households. Learn what steps the state can take to achieve the goal of affordable broadband and devices for all.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, Deja Thomas

Key findings from the current survey include: Nearly six in ten likely voters say they would vote to keep Governor Newsom in a recall election. Most Californians have positive views of the state’s vaccine distribution, but African Americans and Latinos are less likely than others to be vaccinated. Majorities approve of the governor’s proposals to provide Californians with another round of stimulus checks and help with overdue rent and utility bills. Seven in ten support extending civil rights laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Alyssa Dykman, Lunna Lopes

Key findings from the current survey: Four in ten Californians approve of Governor-Elect Newsom’s plans and priorities; half say they want him to take a different policy direction from Governor Brown. Majorities see new state spending on universal health coverage and free community college as high priorities; fewer prioritize high-speed rail. Californians view jobs and the economy as the most important priority for the state’s future; many believe that children will be worse off than their parents.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Nicole Willcoxon

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Fifty-three percent of Californians support Governor Brown’s special election proposal to extend tax and fee increases.
  • Majorities would be willing to raise taxes to spare K–12 education, higher education, and health and human services from cuts.
  • The share of residents who see the state as going in the right direction—a minority—is up 22 points since October.

Job Approval Ratings:
Governor Brown [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
Governor Brown
[XLS]
California State Legislature [XLS]

Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [PDF]
Economic Outlook for California [PDF]

Time Trends for the Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [XLS]
Economic Outlook for California [XLS]

This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.

Policy Brief

Policy Brief: Dual Enrollment in California

By Olga Rodriguez, Niu Gao, Mary Severance

Key takeaways from a report on promoting the equitable expansion of dual enrollment, which provides opportunities for high school students to take college courses and earn college credit.

Report

School Finance

By Margaret Weston

There is broad consensus that California's school finance system is inequitable, inadequate, and overly complex. In response to these critiques, this year Governor Jerry Brown proposed an overhaul of our school finance system. Also, two initiatives on the November ballot asked voters to increase education funding through tax increases: voters approved Proposition 30, which was integral to the governor's budget plan, and rejected Proposition 38, a citizens' initiative.

Despite the passage of Proposition 30, California faces many school finance challenges. This report provides an overview of the state's school finance system and outlines some longstanding school finance issues that may be in play next year.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education

By Mark Baldassare, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner, David Kordus

A solid majority of Californians favor tax-funded vouchers that would allow parents to send their children to any school they choose. At the same time, most rate the quality of their local public schools positively and view state funding for public schools as inadequate. Many are concerned about the impact of increased federal immigration enforcement efforts on undocumented public school students and their families.

Crosstabs:
All Adults [PDF]
Likely Voters [PDF]

Time Trends:
All Adults [PDF]
Likely Voters [PDF]

This research was supported with funding from the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation.

Report

From Blueprint to Reality: San Diego’s Education Reforms

By Julian Betts, Andrew C. Zau, Kevin King

During the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 school years, the San Diego Unified School District introduced a focused set of reforms to improve San Diego students’ reading and literacy skills called the Blueprint for Student Success. The changes the district implemented included new teaching materials, double- and even triple-length English classes where necessary, additional teacher training, and more classroom time for reading practice and instruction. This report presents the first student-level evaluation of that effort and shows that the Blueprint reforms in large part accomplished what they set out to do: reading scores at elementary and middle-school level improved among students who participated in Blueprint activities, and achievement gaps among different racial and ethnic, language, and socioeconomic groups narrowed.

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