Policy Brief Policy Brief: Assessing Transitional Kindergarten’s Impact on Elementary School Trajectories By Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill, Mary Severance Oct 23, 2023 Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program provides an early year of schooling within California’s K–12 system. Now that the program is being expanded to all four-year-olds, it is important to take stock of its impact so far—especially among multilingual students and students with disabilities, who might benefit from additional support early on.
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.
blog post Video: Examining the Reach of Targeted School Funding By Stephanie Barton Sep 22, 2023 All school districts in California saw large funding increases over the past decade, through the Local Control Funding Formula. PPIC researcher Julien Lafortune explores how districts managed these funds—and how they affected student outcomes.
blog post Did Pandemic Aid Narrow the Digital Divide? By Darriya Starr, Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao Sep 18, 2023 As part of a multifaceted package of pandemic assistance, the federal government in 2021 allocated nearly $7 billion to help schools and libraries expand access to digital devices and internet connectivity. We examine what this has meant for digital equity among California students.
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.
Report Examining the Reach of Targeted School Funding By Julien Lafortune, Joseph Herrera, Niu Gao Sep 6, 2023 Under California’s ten-year-old funding formula, districts with higher shares of high-need students receive additional dollars on top of base funding. Districts have flexibility around spending these funds, but when money is not fully directed to the intended students and schools, the impact on achievement gaps is diluted.
blog post Video: Funding Education in California By Stephanie Barton Aug 17, 2023 Ten years ago, California implemented the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in an effort to improve student outcomes and increase equity. PPIC president and CEO Tani Cantil-Sakauye and a panel of experts—Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary Ben Chida, Assemblymember Josh Hoover, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond—discuss what LCFF has meant for K–12 education and talk about key issues moving forward.
event Funding Education in California Aug 9, 2023 Ten years ago, California implemented a new funding plan for public K–12 education. The goal of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was to improve student outcomes and increase equity by providing more resources to districts with larger populations of low-income students, English language learners, and foster youth. How has this funding approach served our students? Following a brief presentation by PPIC research fellow Julien Lafortune, PPIC president and CEO Tani Cantil-Sakauye will moderate a conversation with a panel of experts, including Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction; Josh Hoover, assemblymember; and Ben Chida, chief deputy cabinet secretary, Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: District Spending of One-Time Funds for Educational Recovery By Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill, Niu Gao, Joseph Herrera ... Jun 28, 2023 States received billions in one-time stimulus funds to help recover from pandemic disruptions to education. California allocated much of its money to districts based on their shares of low-income students, which largely targeted schools with lower achievement levels rather than greater learning loss.
Report District Spending of One-Time Funds for Educational Recovery By Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill, Niu Gao, Joseph Herrera ... Jun 28, 2023 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.