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District Spending of One-Time Funds for Educational Recovery

By Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill, Niu Gao, Joseph Herrera ...

To address COVID-19 disruptions to education, federal and state programs directed billions in stimulus aid to K–12 schools. These programs allocated greater funding to lower-income and high-need districts—and California districts applied their early funds to health, safety, and technology. More recently, spending has prioritized learning recovery.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

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

Californians name economic conditions, homelessness, and housing as the most important issues facing the state today. A majority of Californians favor changing state environmental regulations as a way to increase housing affordability.

blog post

Exploring the Spike in Chronic Absenteeism among K–12 Students

By Laura Hill, Emmanuel Prunty

Nearly one in three California public school students were chronically absent in 2021–22, a share that is almost triple that in 2018–19. Rates of chronic absenteeism were highest among Black, Native American, and Pacific Islander students.

Explainer

Is College Worth It?

By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Cesar Alesi Perez, Vicki Hsieh, Hans Johnson

Rising college costs and a reluctance to take on debt lead many students and families to wonder if college will actually yield a brighter future with higher earnings and better jobs. In this explainer, we explore whether the benefits of a college degree outweigh the costs.

Report

English as a Second Language at California’s Community Colleges

By Olga Rodriguez, Laura Hill, Daniel Payares-Montoya

Colleges began implementing reforms aimed at improving English as a Second Language pathways in fall 2021—during a historic pandemic. We cannot yet disentangle the impact of reforms from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, but an analysis of early implementation finds that colleges have made significant progress.

Policy Brief

Policy Brief: COVID-19 Emergency Funding and California’s Higher Education Systems

By Jacob Jackson, Kevin Cook, Darriya Starr, Chansonette Buck

Just before the pandemic hit, state funding for higher education was high and increasing, student outcomes were improving, and programs for students in need were robust. COVID-19 sent shocking changes through these educational institutions’ means and methods of operating.

Report

COVID-19 Emergency Funding and California’s Higher Education Systems

By Jacob Jackson, Kevin Cook, Darriya Starr

Federal dollars offered timely, substantial support to the state’s higher education systems during the worst of the pandemic. Funding for students, online instruction, and social distancing measures made up key spending allocations.

blog post

What’s Ahead for Education Recovery in California?

By Niu Gao, Julian Betts, Bruce Fuller, Laura Hill

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.

Report

The Effects of COVID-19 on Transfer-Intending Students in California’s Community Colleges

By Cesar Alesi Perez, Jacob Jackson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Olga Rodriguez ...

The pandemic disrupted enrollment, persistence, and course success for many transfer-intending students at California community colleges, especially those from vulnerable and underrepresented groups. Yet critical pre-pandemic reforms as well as actions taken by colleges and faculty may have helped limit the pandemic’s impact for some who stayed enrolled.

blog post

Commentary: How Rural Schools Survived the Pandemic

By Niu Gao

Educational disruptions caused by the pandemic presented unique challenges for rural schools in California. Still, some rural districts and schools have made significant strides in bridging the digital divide, addressing teacher shortages, and supporting English learners.

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