blog post Good Timing for New Federal Education Law By Patrick Murphy, Paul Warren Dec 11, 2015 The new federal law replacing No Child Left Behind gives California a chance to prove that its approach to improving schools can work.
blog post Helping California Schools Open Safely By Laura Hill, Mary Severance Aug 25, 2021 We spoke with Dr. Naomi Bardach, head of California’s Safe Schools for All initiative, about how this cross-agency effort is helping K–12 schools to safely return to in-person instruction.
Report Assessing Transitional Kindergarten’s Impact on Elementary School Trajectories By Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill Oct 23, 2023 California’s Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program provides an early year of schooling within the K–12 system. Launched a decade ago with limited eligibility, TK will soon be open to all four-year-olds. Taking stock of the program’s impact so far—especially among multilingual and special education students—can help TK expansion succeed.
Occasional Paper, Report Funding Formulas for California Schools II: An Analysis of a Proposal by the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence By Jon Sonstelie, Ray Reinhard, Heather Rose, Ria Sengupta Bhatt Jul 8, 2008 In this paper, the researchers examine a finance system proposed by the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence which would consolidate a large number of current K-12 revenue programs into two programs: a base program serving the needs of all students, and a targeted program providing supplemental funds for disadvantaged students. This new approach would call for two fundamental changes in current policy: first, the state would have to transfer its revenue authority to local school districts; and second, the state would have to allocate a larger share of K-12 revenues to districts with high proportions of disadvantaged students. Governor's Committee on Education Excellence: Simulation Results (279KB, Excel)
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Examining the Reach of Targeted School Funding By Julien Lafortune, Joseph Herrera, Niu Gao, Stephanie Barton Sep 6, 2023 The Local Control Funding Formula gives California districts additional funds for low-income and other high-need students as well as flexibility around how to spend this money. But this flexibility has raised concerns over whether districts are spending in ways that reach the high-need students and schools who generate the added funds.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha Apr 23, 2014 Some findings of the current survey: Strong majorities of Californians support the Common Core State Standards and the Local Control Funding Formula. Nearly three in four say the state should fund voluntary preschool for all four-year-olds. About half still consider California’s budget situation a big problem for K–12 education and view state funding for local schools as inadequate. 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 S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation.
blog post One Step Closer to a Statewide Educational Data System By Jacob Jackson Jan 17, 2019 California is one of only a handful of states lacking a data system that follows students’ progress from K-12 through postsecondary education and into the workforce.
blog post Commentary: How Rural Schools Survived the Pandemic By Niu Gao Oct 12, 2022 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.
