blog post Video: Californians and Education By Mary Severance Apr 19, 2024 Researchers Deja Thomas and Dean Bonner discuss key findings from the latest PPIC Statewide Survey, which examines Californians’ views on the quality of K–12 public education, school funding and resources, and state officials’ handling of the K–12 system.
blog post Newsom’s Budget Advances Long-Overdue Education Data System By Jacob Jackson Jan 29, 2021 The governor’s proposed state budget includes $18.8 million in funds to move forward with a “cradle to career” data system that would provide valuable information for educators, policymakers, students, and parents.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha Apr 25, 2012 Some findings of the current survey: California’s likely voters favor raising income taxes on the wealthy to increase funding for public schools, but they oppose raising the state sales tax. Just over half of likely voters—54%—would vote yes on Governor Brown’s proposed tax initiative and a strong majority oppose automatic cuts to K–12 education if the initiative is rejected. An overwhelming majority prefer local control over state funds for schools. Job Approval Ratings: Governor Brown [PDF] California State Legislature [PDF] Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings: Governor Brown [XLS] California State Legislature [XLS] This survey was supported with funding from The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, and The Silver Giving Foundation.
blog post What’s Ahead for Education Recovery in California? By Niu Gao, Julian Betts, Bruce Fuller, Laura Hill Oct 20, 2022 National test scores show that the pandemic caused major disruptions to student learning, with especially large effects on Black, Latino, and low-income students. In the coming months and years, we will be studying strategies that the state’s school districts use to help students recover, and recover equitably.
Fact Sheet Californians and Early Childhood Education By Mark Baldassare, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner, David Kordus Apr 20, 2016
Report Federal Formula Grants: Education Programs for Disabled Children By Tim Ransdell Sep 1, 2003 This report first examines the structure of the three grants used to allocate the bulk of federal funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to states and school districts. It then reviews recent program funding history and, finally, it discusses the operation of funding formulas and applies various funding-change scenarios to illustrate alternative state allocations.
blog post Debate over How Special Education Is Funded By Laura Hill, Patrick Murphy, Paul Warren Apr 18, 2017 A series of meetings demonstrated the difficulty of improving special education in this large and diverse state.
Report Higher Education in California: New Goals for the Master Plan By Hans Johnson Apr 23, 2010 California’s Master Plan for Higher Education defined a strategy to meet the state’s needs in 1960—but today, California faces new challenges. By 2025, the state will have one million fewer college-educated workers than the economy will require, according to PPIC projections. Updating the Master Plan is crucial to closing this skills gap. This report proposes that the plan set explicit new goals in several key areas, including UC and CSU eligibility levels, community college transfers to four-year institutions, and college completion rates. Supported with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as part of the California 2025 project on the state's future challenges and opportunities.
blog post Civic Education Is Essential to California’s Future By Tani Cantil-Sakauye Aug 28, 2023 Today’s students are tomorrow’s voters, leaders, and problem solvers. PPIC president and CEO Tani Cantil-Sakauye reflects on the importance of civic education in preparing young people to engage with elections, public policy, and other elements of a democratic society.
Report Rethinking the State-Local Relationship: K-12 Education By Margaret Weston Jun 30, 2011 Governor Brown’s administration has sparked renewed interest in "realignment”—that is, in changing how the state and localities divide responsibility for programs and services. This study examines the tradeoffs between state and local control of education finance, focusing on the state’s funding system for categorical programs. Thoughtful revisions to this system would be a good first step toward improving California’s approach to school finance. This report is part of a PPIC series on rethinking the state-local relationship. The other reports in this series include: An Overview of Realignment Child Welfare Services Corrections Local Economic Development This work is supported by funding from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and by contributions of unrestricted support to PPIC’s Donor Circle.
