blog post Video: Reopening K–12 Schools—A Conversation with Linda Darling-Hammond By Mary Severance Aug 19, 2021 The president of the California State Board of Education talks with PPIC’s Mark Baldassare about key challenges and opportunities as students return to school for the fall term.
blog post For California’s Educational Data System, Public Support Will Be Key By Jacob Jackson Jul 9, 2021
blog post K–12 Enrollment Declines Vary across Districts By Julien Lafortune, Emmanuel Prunty Jun 16, 2021 Public school enrollment in California declined by nearly 3% between 2019–20 and 2020–21. Drops in enrollment vary across school districts, though there is little evidence that the size of the decline is related to reopening, demographics, or other district-level factors.
blog post Digging into Enrollment Drops at California Public Schools By Julien Lafortune, Emmanuel Prunty May 14, 2021 Statewide, public K–12 enrollment declined nearly 3%—or over 160,000 students—in 2020–21, with kindergarten numbers falling the most.
blog post Seven in Ten Californians Support State-Funded Preschool By Deja Thomas May 6, 2021 With most Californians saying preschool education is important but expensive, a strong majority believe the state government should fund voluntary preschool programs for all four-year olds.
Report California’s Future: Education By Laura Hill, Hans Johnson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Niu Gao ... Jan 15, 2021 California has begun moving toward a “cradle to career” approach that connects early childhood, K–12, and higher education more closely. But COVID-19 has disrupted learning, funding, and progress toward improving student outcomes and has exacerbated racial and economic equity gaps.
blog post Commentary: To Help Address Learning Disparities, Boost Internet Access for Low-Income Students By Niu Gao, Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill Jan 6, 2021 Since the COVID-19 pandemic began last spring, California has made substantial progress in expanding access to digital devices needed for K–12 distance learning. But inequities in access to broadband internet remain a challenge.
Report Funding California Schools When Budgets Fall Short By Julien Lafortune, Radhika Mehlotra, Jennifer Paluch Oct 5, 2020 Even as districts prioritize safety amid COVID-19, they face hard choices as they try to maintain services and balance budgets. By examining district reserves and spending, this report aims to understand how the Great Recession affected K–12 funding and how prepared districts are now to manage future cuts.
Report Improving K-12 School Facilities in California By Niu Gao, Julien Lafortune Aug 5, 2020 Amid a statewide spike in coronavirus cases, most California schools will start the year remotely. When in-person classes do resume, cleanliness and safety will be paramount. But four in ten students attend schools that do not meet minimum facility standards.
blog post Enrollment Changes May Create Winners and Losers in K–12 Budget Deal By Julien Lafortune, Radhika Mehlotra Jul 14, 2020 Because the new state budget funds school districts based on enrollment from the prior year, growing districts could receive less funding per student this year.
