page PPIC Events Apr 30, 2017 Our events feature viewpoints across the political spectrum, promoting constructive, thoughtful, and respectful dialogue on the issues that matter most to California.
Report Low-Income Students and School Meal Programs in California By Caroline Danielson Mar 12, 2015 School nutrition programs help improve nutrition among vulnerable children. In so doing, they help build a better future for these children and the state. Now that California is implementing the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), there is additional reason to make sure all students who are eligible for free or low-cost meals enroll in these programs. Along with English Learners and foster youth, low-income students—in other words, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals—are targeted for additional funds under the LCFF. This renewed focus on enrollment could also prompt further consideration of participation in school nutrition programs. This report looks at factors that might be linked to variations in student enrollment and participation in free or reduced-price meals. Not surprisingly, we find that districts with higher poverty rates identify higher levels of eligibility than wealthier districts. Low-income high school students appear to be enrolled at levels comparable to younger students, but students in elementary school districts are much more likely to participate in lunch programs than students in other types of districts. We also find that schools in districts with higher shares of foreign-born residents have modestly lower participation levels (but not identification of low-income students). Finally, we find evidence that schools with smaller enrollments are more successful than larger schools at identifying and serving low-income students. One way to further the goal of full enrollment among low-income students is to cut the large share of low-income students who must submit applications for free or reduced-price meals. Achieving this objective is arguably an important part of a larger state effort to integrate social safety net programs and services.
event Statewide Survey: Californians and Education Apr 24, 2014 About the Program The 10th annual PPIC Statewide Survey on Californians and Education examines views on two major changes to the state's K–12 system: the Common Core State Standards and the Local Control Funding Formula. It also measures support for universal preschool and tracks opinions of educational quality and state and local school funding. PPIC researcher Sonja Petek will discuss these and other important findings. This study was conducted with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation. SPEAKER Sonja Petek, research associate, PPIC
press release Los Angeles County: A House Divided, Racial, Political Groups Have Different Take On Present, Future Mar 17, 2004
Report Arranging and Paying for Child Care By Margaret O’Brien-Strain, Laura Moyé, Freya Lund Sonenstein Dec 18, 2003 This two-part study examines the current state of child care in California. The authors first look at the general use of child care across a broad range of settings: structured care in programs such as child care centers, nursery schools, and Head Start programs; family day care provided to a group of children in the provider's home; care by relatives in the child's home or the relative's home; and nanny or babysitter arrangements where an unrelated caregiver regularly provides child care in the child's home. The authors then shift their attention more specifically to the role of child care in promoting early childhood education, focusing their analysis on the preschool enrollment of children ages 3 and 4 and investigating the implications of expanding access through universal preschool programs.
