California education news: What’s the latest?

Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 9:39 am

Link copied.New president selected to lead Stanislaus State

The California State University board of trustees announced Wednesday that Britt Rios-Ellis would serve as the next president of Stanislaus State.

Rios-Ellis is currently a provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at Oakland University, a public institution in Michigan. At Stanislaus State, she is replacing interim President Susan Borrego, who has held the position since Ellen Junn’s retirement in 2023.

“I am both honored and humbled to serve this outstanding university alongside the talented faculty, staff, administrators and students at Stanislaus State, and to be the first new president selected under the leadership of Chancellor Mildred García,” said Rios-Ellis. “I am eager to get to know the Turlock and Stockton communities and work together to ensure that the positive impact of our students’ and the university’s overall success is felt profoundly throughout the region.”

Prior to her work in Michigan, Rios-Ellis was dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Service at CSU Monterey Bay from 2014 to 2020. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish, a master’s degree in health and fitness management, and a doctoral degree in community health, all from the University of Oregon.

Rios-Ellis’s presidency will begin July 1.

Ashley A. Smith

Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 8:31 am

Link copied.Last push to save expanded child tax credit in Senate

The proposed child tax credit, part of a bipartisan tax package the passed the U.S. House in January, is projected to help 16 million children living in poverty, but hopes are now dimming that it will make it through the Senate, as The 74 reported. 

This expanded child tax credit, which would apply to 2023 taxes being filed this spring, is not as generous as one Congress passed in 2021, which expired. Still, experts say it would help fight child poverty, which has spiked since the larger pandemic benefit ran out just as inflation hit families hard on rising costs from housing to child care. 

“I think this is the best chance we have of passing the tax package this year,” said Elyssa Schmier, a vice president for government relations with MomsRising, an advocacy group, as The 74 reported.  “We hear from families every day that are struggling to afford child care, medicine for their children, groceries and rent.”

Conservatives have objected to key parts of the bill, which is now stalled in the Senate. 

 

Karen D'Souza

Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 8:31 am

Link copied.Child care sector gets some relief in newly approved bill

The child care crisis got a bit of relief in the latest funding bill approved by the White House, which contains a $1 billion increase for early learning and child care programs, as Marketplace reported. 

The funding includes an additional $275 million for the Head Start program and $725 million for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a roughly 30% increase.

“One way that states might choose to use this increased funding is to increase subsidy eligibility thresholds,” said Susan Gale Perry, CEO of the nonprofit Child Care Aware of America, as Marketplace reported. “More families would have access to help paying for child care. It may also be used for things like improving the rates that states pay for child care providers.”

Because even after that bump, programs will only serve a fraction of eligible families, according to Sarah Rittling, who runs the First Five Years Fund, a D.C.-based children’s advocacy group. Through Child Care and Development Block Grants to states, for example, she said,  “14% of eligible families are served with the $8 billion-plus that we have.”

Through Head Start, which helps low income children, “we’re serving roughly 36% of eligible families and 11% of eligible families in early Head Start, so we have our work cut out for us,” said Rittling.

Still, advocates are calling this a win, given the extremely contentious atmosphere and budget woes that put pressure on the final appropriations agreement.

 

Karen D'Souza

Tuesday, March 26, 2024, 11:25 am

Link copied.Whooping cough outbreak hits Marin County high school

An outbreak of whooping cough in southern Marin County has infected 93 people, a majority at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is spread when one person coughs into the air and someone else breathes in the droplets, county public health nurse Lindsey Termini told the Marin Independent Journal. It is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable bacterial respiratory disease that causes symptoms in five to 21 days after infection, she said.

Symptoms include a low-grade fever, runny nose, sore throat and sneezing. A person with whooping cough can develop a severe cough that can last weeks or months and can leave them gasping for air, Termini said. Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics.

The department started recording cases in December, and the first of the 65 cases at Tamalpais High School was reported in January. The high school’s administrators have sent notices to parents about the outbreak  but have not instituted a mask requirement, according to the article.

 

Diana Lambert

Tuesday, March 26, 2024, 9:37 am

Link copied.California lawmakers extend student aid deadline

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday to extend the state financial aid deadline to May 2 to give students stymied by technical problems in the federal application process an extra month to apply.

Assembly Bill 1887, authored by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, D-Corona, goes into effect immediately.

The bill was a direct response to the rocky rollout of an updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, this year, according to Cervantes. Technical difficulties and reduced staffing led to months of delays that left many students unable to apply for student aid, including the Cal Grant and Middle Class Scholarship offered by the California Student Aid Commission.

U.S. citizens who have parents without social security numbers were unable to complete the FAFSA. Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Education announced it has fixed the technical glitch.

“Making the path to fulfilling our students’ dreams of achieving higher education more affordable and accessible is among the highest duties of our state government, and Assembly Bill 1887 being signed into law is a way to honor that duty,”  Cervantes said. “This new law will give California students more time to complete the FAFSA and gain access to the financial resources they need to begin their college careers in earnest.”

Students who need help completing their FAFSA or California Dream Act applications can attend free workshops and webinars. Register here.

Diana Lambert


Monday, March 25, 2024, 5:55 pm

Link copied.Board takes step so Mexican border students can attend California community colleges for in-state tuition

Students who live in Mexico near California’s border could soon be eligible for in-state tuition at several community colleges in San Diego and Imperial counties.

The board of governors for California’s community colleges on Monday authorized the system’s chancellor, Sonya Christian, to negotiate an agreement with Baja California’s education secretary that would allow students living within 45 miles of the board to attend one of nine community colleges in the region.

The move comes after state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom last year approved Assembly Bill 91 to create such a program. But the bill only takes effect if the community college system enters a reciprocity agreement with an accredited university in Baja California allowing California students to attend that university as well. Monday’s action by the board allows Christian to take the next step toward such an agreement.

Each community college could enroll up to the full-time equivalent of 150 students from Mexico. The colleges are Cuyamaca College, Grossmont College, Imperial Valley College, MiraCosta College, Palomar College, San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, San Diego Miramar College and Southwestern College.

Mark Sanchez, the president of Southwestern College, said during Monday’s meeting that there are already more than 100 students on the waiting list at that college who want to enroll in the program.

“Once the process is operationalized, this will put students on a trajectory to a better career and life pathway,” he added.

Michael Burke

Monday, March 25, 2024, 3:23 pm

Link copied.Alameda educators to rally for better pay, smaller classes

Educators in Alameda will rally outside of city hall on Tuesday evening to advocate for better pay, quality resources, smaller classes, and caseloads.

The Alameda Education Association, which includes teachers, nurses, counselors, speech therapists, and psychologists, is rallying at 4:45 while the school board is in closed session. The union is negotiating with the Alameda Unified School District “for working conditions and compensation that honor our work,” union officials said in a statement. 

According to union officials, Alameda Unified educators are paid nearly 15% below average among Alameda County school districts. Educators want to keep working and “innovating” in Alameda but can only do that with fair pay, officials said.

“Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions” union officials said.

Monica Velez

Monday, March 25, 2024, 10:37 am

Link copied.New bill would require kindergarten before first grade

State lawmakers are once again attempting to make kindergarten mandatory. But this time, they’re allowing more choice for parents about where their kids attend kindergarten.

Assembly Bill 2226, introduced by Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, would require all children to attend kindergarten before enrolling in first grade. However, attending private or homeschool kindergarten would count.

Currently, children are not required to enroll in school until they are 6 years old and eligible for first grade. There have been several previous attempts to require children to enroll at 5 years old, when they are eligible for kindergarten, but they have never become law. Then-Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed one bill, saying parents should be able to choose whether to send their children to kindergarten. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a more recent bill, citing costs.

This bill would allow parents to wait to enroll children until they are 6, but if they did not attend kindergarten in any form, they would have to enroll first in kindergarten rather than in first grade.

Enrollment in public kindergarten dropped precipitously during the pandemic and has not fully recovered.

Zaidee Stavely

Monday, March 25, 2024, 10:33 am

Link copied.New basketball coach takes over at Stanford University

Stanford University hired a new men’s basketball coach to lead the team out of the Pac-12 conference and into the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Mercury News reported.

Kyle Smith will take over the Cardinal basketball team, which hasn’t played in the NCAA championship tournament in years. He’s returning to the Bay Area after leading the Washington State Cougars since 2019. 

Prior to moving to Washington, Smith was an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s in Moraga and a coach at the University of San Francisco. In San Francisco, Smith had three consecutive 20-win seasons.

“From my perspective, Stanford has the resources and reputation to attract the ideal student-athlete who is seeking the character development aspects of what our basketball program will offer,” Smith said in a Stanford news release. “Stanford has the capacity to provide a place where student-athletes can hone their leadership skills and intellect through hard work and team building.” 

Monica Velez

Monday, March 25, 2024, 10:00 am

Link copied.Bay Area school districts struggle to retain, recruit food workers

Several Bay Area school districts have been struggling to recruit and retain cafeteria workers, the Mercury News reported, and demand for these workers is at an all-time high. 

A statewide survey of nearly 200 school nutrition departments found that in the 2022-23 school year, 12% of food staff positions were vacant, which according to the Mercury News, is three times higher than vacant teaching positions across the country. Cupertino Union, San Francisco Unified, Fremont Unified and San Ramon Valley Unified are among the districts struggling to fill open food positions. 

There was a 3% increase in the number of students receiving school lunches and breakfast since 2022, when California became the first state to offer free meals regardless of income, the Mercury News reported. 

Low wages and inadequate hours are the greatest contributors to staff shortages, the Mercury News reported. The yearly turnover rate for food workers in schools is 12% in the Bay Area.

Monica Velez

Friday, March 22, 2024, 10:35 am

Link copied.UC Irvine and UC San Diego launch customized AI tools

Generative artificial intelligence tools are promising tools in higher education for faculty, staff and students alike. But universities worry there are few safeguards for users’ data privacy and security in commercially available tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT .

That’s the impetus behind both UC Irvine and UC San Diego launching their own customized AI tools.

UC Irvine’s ZotGPT Chat launched for faculty and staff in January, and student access is coming soon, according to a release from the university. UC San Diego’s TritonGPT is planning a campuswide launch soon following two months of beta testing.

Tom Andriola, vice chancellor for data and information technology for UC Irvine, said that ZotGPT “can be leveraged for teaching, research and redesigning work processes and can serve as an engine for facilitating collaboration.”

Key items in UC Irvine’s ZotGPT Chat are internet-enabled responses, image generation, custom chatbots with department data and the ability to integrate the tool in faculty and staff software programs.

Just a handful of universities have launched their own in-house generative AI tools. UC San Diego is unique in that TritonGPT is hosted on local infrastructure at the San Diego Supercomputer Center instead of relying on a commercial platform, such as Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service.

UC San Diego’s CIO Vince Kellen told the publication Government Technology this means “the data is completely under our control, and it never leaves our network border to go externally.” However, he adds that this does require the university to manage their own hardware and capacity — something the university was able to do because of its long experience with AI. Kellen notes that’s not something that many colleges and universities have the skill capacity or budget for.

TritonGPT aims to be “a personal assistant who knows a lot about UC San Diego, such as answering questions about campus policies or where to hang out. It also can help its users write or polish emails, generate a presentation slide deck, make suggestions for workflow or write job descriptions. A new tool that helps fund managers with financial policies, payroll and financial transactions is in the works.

Emma Gallegos

Friday, March 22, 2024, 10:04 am

Link copied.Lack of SAT testing centers in the Bay Area creates problems for students

There is a shortage of testing sites for the SAT, a standardized college admissions test, forcing some Bay Area families to travel to different parts of the state or other states altogether, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Even though the SAT became fully digital this month, students must still take the test at designated testing sites. 

Less than half of the schools that were testing centers before the pandemic have returned, the College Board, which runs the SAT, told the Chronicle. 

Some Bay Area students had to travel at least an hour, most often to Sacramento or Fresno, or to other states, parents, college consultants and test tutors told the Chronicle. 

“I get plenty of stories here of people having to travel to Barstow or Nevada or Oregon to take the test,” said Erin Billy who runs a San Francisco SAT tutoring center. “If you don’t jump on registration as soon as it opens up, all the (nearby) seats fill up.”

Not all families can afford that option, raising equity concerns, the Chronicle reported. 

The College Board has tried to persuade testing centers that closed during the pandemic to reopen and to ask current test centers to offer more seats, according to the Chronicle. The effort led to 3,000 additional seats at seven new locations in California this past year. 

The board has also set up pop-up testing centers to deal with the shortage of sites, the Chronicle reported. The organization’s School Day Program, which provides in-school tests during a school day, can help as well. 

Some colleges have made the SAT an admissions requirement again; other schools still consider the test optional. The University of California and California State University systems won’t consider the test. But according to the Chronicle, many prospective students believe the test scores can help their admissions chances, even where they’re not required to submit the scores.

Lasherica Thornton

Friday, March 22, 2024, 9:58 am

Link copied.State must identify children orphaned by Covid for state-funded accounts

California will start trust accounts for children from low-income families who lost a parent or guardian to Covid-19, the LAist reported. First, the state has to identify the eligible kids. 

The Legislature created the HOPE program in 2022 so that children who lost a parent or guardian to Covid as well kids in foster care with little chance of reuniting with their parents will have access to a trust account worth at least $4,500 once they’re 18 years old. The money will provide financial resources that would traditionally have come from parents, the LAist reported. 

Children in the foster care system will be automatically enrolled. But without a central database of who died from Covid and if they had children, the state does not have a list of kids whose parents died from the disease, according to the LAist. The Legislature estimates that at least 32,500 children lost a parent or guardian to the virus. 

The state is currently cross-referencing death certificates and tax records to try to identify the children. 

Through outreach and collaboration with community organizations and school districts, the state is working to find and enroll the eligible kids by the time the program starts next year, the LAist reported.

Lasherica Thornton

Thursday, March 21, 2024, 1:27 pm

Link copied.Small School Districts’ Association appoints new executive director

The Small School Districts’ Association (SSDA) has appointed Yuri Calderon to the role of executive director, effective June 1. 

Calderon has worked in public institutions and schools throughout the state for the past three decades. 

“I am very excited to have Yuri on board as our next SSDA Executive Director. I know under his leadership SSDA will continue to be the foremost association dedicated to students in the State of California,” said the association’s president, Eric Bonniksen, in a news release. 

“I am confident that Yuri is dedicated to continuing the strong support and advocacy for the small and rural school districts we have the pleasure to serve.”

Calderon is regarded as a visionary leader with strong skills in fiscal management, emergency management and team building, the release states. 

He also served as general and special counsel at various school districts, where he provided legal advice, worked on developer agreements and engaged in collective bargaining agreements. Calderon has also managed multimillion-dollar construction bond programs. 

“Yuri Calderon’s appointment as Executive Director comes at a pivotal time for the SSDA, as the Association looks to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the future with a renewed focus on excellence, quality, and value,” the release reads.

“His action-oriented philosophy and strong personal and business ethic are set to inspire and drive the SSDA community towards achieving remarkable successes in the service of public education.” 

Mallika Seshadri

Thursday, March 21, 2024, 10:00 am

Link copied.Financial struggles, enrollment declines cause five schools in Inglewood to close

Five schools in the Inglewood Unified School District will be shut down due to enrollment drops and lack of funding, NBC Los Angeles reported.

On Wednesday district officials announced Crozier Junior High, Hudnall TK-6 School, Highland TK-6 School, Kelso TK-6 School, and Morningside High School will be closing. According to NBC, protesters and parents were urging the district to reconsider the closures in the days leading up to the announcement. 

All the schools are expected to close in the 20245-25 school year, the announcement said. 

The announcement details the financial and mismanagement struggles Inglewood Unified has had since 2012. The district had to take out a state loan of $29 million and has been making annual payments of about $1.8 million since then. The district still has $21 million to go, the announcement said.

To read the full announcement, go to the district’s homepage and click on “special announcement.”

Monica Velez

Thursday, March 21, 2024, 9:47 am

Link copied.Dozens of errors cited in Stanford math expert Jo Boaler’s work, complaint alleges

A Stanford University professor considered one of the most influential people in K-12 mathematics is accused of “reckless disregard for accuracy” in her work, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported

An anonymous complaint was reportedly filed Wednesday with Stanford citing 52 instances in which Jo Boaler allegedly included incorrect information about outside studies in learning, neuroscience and math education in her articles, lectures and books, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Several examples were in a draft of the California K-12 math framework, a guidance document about best practices in teaching math that Boaler co-authored.

However, in a statement to The Chronicle of Higher Education, a spokesperson for Boaler said they have “no confirmation” a complaint was filed and Boaler “is confident in the integrity and expansiveness of the research that backs her work.”

“References that Dr. Boaler cites to support claims in her work do not actually support her claims,” the complaint said. 

The complaint also argues that wrong information was cited in early versions of the math framework but then removed, according to the report.

Boaler is a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education. She has received statewide and national awards for her work in teaching mathematics. She has been praised for her work but also has been the center of controversies around how to teach mathematics. 

Monica Velez

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 9:55 am

Link copied.​​Low-income children may be more likely to miss school for health reasons

Children from low-income families are more likely to be chronically absent due to health issues, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), as the Guardian reported. 

Several studies have shown that chronic absenteeism, a term defined as missing 15 or 18 days over the school year depending on the study, had nearly doubled between 2019 and 2022. This finding adds complexity to the fight against chronic absenteeism — a post-pandemic issue that has become a key concern.

“School attendance is associated with improved health not only in childhood, but into adulthood,” said Lindsey Black, a researcher with the NCHS Division of Health Interview Statistics, as the Guardian reported. With the recent spike in absenteeism, the NCHS wanted to dig into the details of which students were missing more school.

Karen D'Souza

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 9:32 am

Link copied.Does access to childcare help stabilize the workforce?

Childcare might be a good investment for employers seeking a stable workforce, research suggests, as Early Learning Nation reports. 

A new study found nearly $18 in benefits for every $1 spent on support for employees with children. Based on interviews with parents and a survey of 304 people, the study shows benefits for employers and caregivers alike.

The findings suggest that parent-friendly practices and policies help boost retention rates for employers as well as productivity.

Among the key findings: Roughly 67% of survey respondents said they had considered leaving their job in the past year, yet 42% stayed specifically because of their employer’s support for caregiving.

Overall, 59% of respondents said they’d be likely to stay with their employer for at least four years if they had backup or subsidized child care. That’s 14 months longer than the average millennial stays at a job.

“Caregiving support is not ‘bells and whistles,’ but a vital pillar of profitability, with calculable return on investment, that makes sense for all businesses and all employees,” according to the study, as Early Learning Nation reports. 

Karen D'Souza

Tuesday, March 19, 2024, 4:22 pm

Link copied.Dozens of California-based organizations receive millions in contributions from MacKenzie Scott

Nearly 80 California-based organizations are receiving millions from MacKenzie Scott’s latest round of contributions.

The philanthropist, who helped establish and grow Amazon, is donating $640 million to 361 organizations nationwide, she said in a post published on Yield Giving, her organization.

The organizations were chosen “for their outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles,” Scott wrote in her post.

The donations were announced after an open call, a detour from her organization’s typical process of privately researching organizations to donate to. After the open call was announced, Yield Giving received 6,353 applications.

This recent round of funding was initially going to include 250 awards of $1 million each, according to Lever for Change, Yield Giving’s donor partner. The amount was more than doubled, with 279 organizations receiving $2 million each and the remaining 82 organizations being awarded $1 million each.

The 76 California-based organizations include Foundation for a College Education, Next Generation Scholars, and Inner City Struggle. The organizations’ missions range from youth development to civic engagement to economic development, and more.

Betty Márquez Rosales

Tuesday, March 19, 2024, 1:32 pm

Link copied.LAUSD repeats vote in favor of charter co-location policy

The Los Angeles Unified School District school board voted again on Tuesday to adopt its charter co-location policy, which would prevent charter schools from sharing a campus with the district’s 100 priority schools, Black Student Achievement Plan schools and community schools.  

The school board originally adopted the policy, based on a resolution passed in September, in February. But, the California Charter Schools Association issued a letter to the district school board on Feb. 27, claiming the vote was invalid according to the Brown Act. 

Because of alleged Brown Act violations surrounding Board Member George McKenna’s virtual participation during the February vote, the letter argued the accurate vote was 3-3. 

The board reconvened March 19 at a special meeting and affirmed its previous decision in a 4-3 vote — with board members George McKenna, Rocio Rivas and Scott Schmerelson voting in favor of the policy, alongside board president Jackie Goldberg. 

Mallika Seshadri

Tuesday, March 19, 2024, 10:36 am

Link copied.Gender bias impacts work, well-being of female education leaders

Women in education leadership often experience gender bias that impacts their work and their general well-being, according to a national survey of school superintendents and other school leaders.

The inaugural Insight Survey by Women Leading Ed, a national nonprofit network of women in education leadership, was taken by 110 women over three months this winter.

 “The results of our first annual survey paint a clear and at times painful picture of the reality that women face in education leadership,” said Julia Rafal-Baer, CEO of Women Leading Ed.  “Bias continues to hold talented and capable women back and constrain their impact. It’s a reality so ingrained and accepted that it’s taken on the quality of wallpaper or background noise. The survey results expose just how little has truly changed, despite women gaining some entry into top leadership. We are in the same spaces, but women are still required to play a different game.”

Key findings of the survey include:

  • A majority, 82%, of the women surveyed report that they sometimes feel pressure to dress, speak or behave a certain way because they are women in a senior leadership role.
  • Almost all, 95%, say they have to make sacrifices their male colleagues do not.
  • More than half say they have been passed up for advancement or have had their salary negotiations impacted negatively because they are a woman.
  • Nearly 6 out of 10 say they are considering leaving their job because of stress.
Diana Lambert

Tuesday, March 19, 2024, 9:54 am

Link copied.Alum Rock fires superintendent, plans to close schools

Alum Rock Union School District Superintendent Hilaria Bauer was unexpectedly fired Thursday at the end of a meeting over potential school closures, according to the San Jose Spotlight.

Earlier that night Bauer had announced that five schools would have to close because of declining enrollment. She blamed the loss of students to families moving out of the area, low birth rates and competition from charter schools.

The school board postponed closing the middle school portion of Aptitud Community Academy at Goss after East San Jose families protested. Board members expressed concern that the $1.2 million in projected savings would not be worth losing additional students to other schools.

The district has lost 5,000 students in the last eight years and should be operating only about half of its schools, said Kolvira Chheng, assistant superintendent of business services.

It is not clear why Bauer, who had been the district’s superintendent for a decade, was fired. The board will hold a meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. to discuss naming an interim or acting superintendent.

Diana Lambert

Monday, March 18, 2024, 9:54 am

Link copied.The Temecula Valley Unified School Board’s balance could tip again in November

Three of the five seats on the Temecula Valley Unified School District school board will be up for grabs in November — including the seats of Allison Barclay and Steven Schwartz, who have consistently opposed measures taken by the board’s previously held conservative majority, The Press Enterprise reported. 

The seat previously held by Danny Gonzalez will also be on the ballot. If school board President Joseph Komrosky is recalled on June 4 and if the board does not appoint a replacement, his seat could also be selected by voters in November.

“The past two years on this board have shown me just how important it is to have board members who are willing to do the work it takes to keep our district running at a high level in the face of many challenges,” Barclay told The Press Enterprise in an email.

Both she and Schwartz plan to seek reelection. 

“We are truly looking forward to the election this November, as it will continue to show our state that the voters are strongly on the side of parental rights,” 412 Church Temecula Valley Pastor Tim Thompson, who played a major role in the movement to elect the board’s previously held conservative majority in 2022, said via email.

One Temecula Valley PAC — the political action committee that organized the recall effort against Komrosky — said they also plan to be active in the coming election cycle.

“We are excited and motivated at the prospect of replacing Gonzalez’s seat, and possibly Komrosky’s seat, when the recall on June 4 is successful, and electing candidates who will put the needs of students, staff, parents and stakeholders at the forefront of their decision-making and policy decisions,” PAC co-founder Jeff Pack told The Press Enterprise in an email.

Mallika Seshadri

Monday, March 18, 2024, 9:40 am

Link copied.Amid troubles with FAFSA rollout, fewer students applied for financial aid

Following a rocky rollout of this year’s FAFSA, roughly 5.7 million students applied for aid nationwide — compared to the average of 17 million applicants, The Hill reported. 

“Because the FAFSA became available so much later than it did in a normal year and there were so many glitches at the beginning of the process that needed to be resolved, some of those folks who would normally file a FAFSA earlier in the process may have decided to set it aside temporarily to wait for all of those things to be resolved and worked out before they come back to complete it,” Karen McCarthy, vice president for public policy and federal relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, told the Hill.

She also expressed doubt that the number of applicants will grow and make up for the lags. 

According to The National College Attainment Network (NCAN),  only 1.2 million high school seniors have completed their applications, marking a 34% drop in comparison to the previous FAFSA cycle. 

“We pushed back the starting line for students and families to submit and complete the FAFSA, but the finish line is in the same place, right?” Bill DeBaun, senior director of data and strategic initiatives at NCAN, told The Hill. 

“The fall semester is still going to start at the same time, and so we have a really compressed time frame to connect students with the financial aid that they need to matriculate to a post-secondary institution.” 

The U.S. Department of Education, however, said it is working to maximize student financial aid. 

“Doing what we have done in previous years is not going to be enough this FAFSA cycle to get us the results that we need and to ensure that post-secondary enrollment stays stable or increases,” DeBaun told The Hill.  

Mallika Seshadri

Friday, March 15, 2024, 2:54 pm

Link copied.UC Senate asks regents to reject policy to limit what faculty can say on websites

Following a systemwide review, University of California’s Academic Senate is asking the system’s board of regents to reject a proposal to limit the ability of faculty departments to share opinions on university websites.

Under the proposal, faculty and staff would be prevented from sharing their “personal or collective opinions” via the “main landing pages” of department websites, according to a draft of the proposal. Faculty would be able to share personal opinions elsewhere on those websites, with a disclaimer that the opinion doesn’t represent the department or university as a whole.

The Senate’s Academic Council voted unanimously, 19-0, in asking the regents to reject the policy, which is scheduled to go to the board for a vote next week.

The vote followed a systemwide Academic Senate review in which four committees as well as the Senate divisions across all 10 UC campuses submitted comments on the proposed policy.  

“Each of the campus divisions and the four systemwide committees expressed serious reservations about various aspects of the policy,” including its ambiguity and the potential for it to limit free speech, Senate leaders wrote in a letter Friday to regents chair Richard Leib. Their other concerns include how the policy would be enforced and that it suggests an “overly broad and simplistic approach” to addressing a complicated issue.

“We ask the regents to reject the policy outright, or at least delay consideration to provide time for clarification and for analysis of consequences and implementation challenges,” the Senate leaders wrote. 

The regents are scheduled to consider the proposal on Wednesday afternoon during their meeting in Los Angeles.

Michael Burke

Friday, March 15, 2024, 12:39 pm

Link copied.Senators demand answers on major loan servicer’s ‘egregious’ business practices

The chief executive officer of a prominent federal student loan servicer must “immediately act to remedy the harm that has resulted from their egregiously unacceptable business practices,” stated a letter co-signed by eight U.S. senators and published Friday.

The loan servicer in question is Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, most commonly referred to as MOHELA, and its CEO is Scott Giles.

MOHELA is the only servicer for borrowers in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, known as PSLF; as of last year, it oversaw student loan accounts for nearly 8 million borrowers.

In the letter, the senators demand a response by April 1 to questions regarding the business’s alleged scheme to deflect borrowers’ calls, which they say “intentionally directed borrowers away from customer service representatives even though many loan services, such as resolving disputes and issuing refunds, require a customer service representative.”

The list of nine questions also requests information about the backlog of 800,000 unprocessed loan forgiveness forms, steps they’re taking to address alleged miscalculations of payment amounts, how many people’s forgiveness applications were denied and the reasons for denials, and more.

The letter is in response to a recent report from the Student Borrower Protection Center and the American Federation of Teachers.

The senators who co-signed are Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

Betty Márquez Rosales

Friday, March 15, 2024, 11:24 am

Link copied.Cal State projects to receive $12.2 million in new federal funding

The California State University system announced several projects that will receive funding through new federal funding in the $459 billion omnibus spending bill signed last week by President Joe Biden.

The projects include:

  • $5 million for the Titan Gateway Bridge at Cal State Fullerton.
  • $3.4 million for capital improvements for the Child Development Center at Cal State Long Beach.
  • $963,000 for the California Regenerative Aquaculture Hub at California  State  University, Northridge.
  • $963,000 for the Strength United’s Domestic Violence Community Policing and Advocacy Project at CSUN.
  • $963,000 for the Tech and Workforce Hub project at Cal State San Bernardino.
  • $963,000 for the Transmission Electron Microscope at San Diego State University.

“This visionary funding package is a wonderful example of how, with the support of our California congressional delegation, we can develop innovative and effective programs that benefit not only our students, but also our campus communities and our state,” Cal State Chancellor Mildred García said.

Ashley A. Smith

Friday, March 15, 2024, 10:58 am

Link copied.State legislators could extend student aid deadline this year

California legislators may give college students a reprieve from the upcoming deadline to apply for state financial aid.

The bill would extend the deadline from April 1 to May 1 to give students stymied by technical problems in the federal application process more time to complete those applications, which are required to apply for state aid, according to CalMatters.

U.S. citizens who have parents without social security numbers had been unable to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Earlier this week the U.S. Department of Education announced it has fixed the technical glitch.

Assembly Bill 1887, authored by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, D-Corona, would begin immediately if it is passed.

The bill will be heard for the first time at 3 p.m. Monday in the Assembly Education Committee.

Diana Lambert

Friday, March 15, 2024, 9:29 am

Link copied.UC Merced sees 12% rise in applications

UC Merced received nearly 33,000 applications from prospective students for the fall 2024 semester — a 12% increase from last year, the University of California campus said in a media release this week.

According to the statement, other double-digit percentage increases within the applicant pool, compared to 2023 numbers, include: 29,351 first-year students, a 14% rise; 1,539 out-of-state students, a 21% rise; and 4,121 international students, a 58% increase. 

“It is clear that the word has spread far and wide about UC Merced’s culture of innovation, our world-changing teaching and research, and all the exciting opportunities we offer students and families,” Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz said.

Across the UC system, UC Merced also received the highest percentage of first-year applications from low-income students (51%), first-generation students (53%) and students from underrepresented groups (53%), including Hispanic applicants, who made up 46% of UC Merced’s prospective student body, also a systemwide high.

UC Merced, opened in 2005, has added new academic majors and initiatives such as the campus honors program. New programs account for the overall increase in prospective students, said Dustin Noji, the college’s admissions director, via the media release. 

Lasherica Thornton

Thursday, March 14, 2024, 5:37 pm

Link copied.LAO recommends more spending transparency for county offices of education

The Legislative Analyst’s Office is recommending that county offices of education be required to expand reporting on their spending. The public, particularly parents of students who attend county-run schools, deserve more transparency, the LAO said in a report, which the Legislature had requested. It was released Thursday.

The 58 county offices, one for each county, have a range of responsibilities. They operate  court schools within juvenile halls for incarcerated students and community schools for expelled students or those seeking an alternative to a comprehensive school setting.  They also are responsible for overseeing fiscally unsound school districts and helping districts with poorly performing student groups designated for academic assistance. Since the passage of the Local Control Funding Formula, their oversight roles have broadened.

Their state funding reflects their size, from tiny offices serving one school district in Alpine County, to Los Angeles with 80 districts. On top of a uniform base grant they get extra money tied to the number of districts and student enrollments. They also operate optional programs, including career technical education, child care, migrant education programs and adult education.

County offices have discretion over how to spend state money.  “However, this flexibility also makes state oversight of (county office) activities more difficult,” the LAO said. For example, the Local Control and Accountability Plans, which counties must write detailing goals and actions for the schools they run, cover only a slice of funding they receive, the LAO said.

The LAO’s recommendations include:

  • Requiring county offices to write an annual report summarizing their major activities, services, and policy initiatives.
  • Establishing county office-specific outcome metrics for county-run schools. Some state accountability measurements, such as standardized test scores and graduation, rates, don’t fit county schools whose students attend short-term. Alternative measures might be pre‑ and post‑tests of skills, and program credits while enrolled, the LAO said.
  • Requiring an expenditure report encompassing multiple sources that would break down spending by program. The format should enable cross-county comparisons, the LAO said. This type of reporting, which fiscal accountability groups have long called for, would establish a precedent. The administrations of Govs. Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom have opposed uniform accountability codes as an encroachment on local control.

Derick Lennox, senior director of Governmental Relations & Legal Affairs for the California County Superintendents, said his organization was receptive to the report’s recommendations.

“I give the LAO credit for naming ways county offices of education can increase our visibility and accountability to the general public,” he said in a statement. “While COE budgets and spending are already publicly available, the information can be quite complex. Similarly, the current LCAP requirements make it challenging to clearly describe the services and supports we provide to our students enrolled in our juvenile court and county community schools.”

John Fensterwald

Thursday, March 14, 2024, 10:24 am

Link copied.House passes bill to ban TikTok if app isn’t sold

The U.S. House passed a bill Wednesday that would require the Chinese owner of TikTok to either sell the app or have it banned in the U.S., The New York Times reported.

The bill had broad bipartisan support despite the efforts of TikTok to mobilize its millions of users, many of them young people,, according to The Times. The Biden administration argued that Chinese ownership of the video app poses national security risks to the U.S., such as meddling in elections.

The bill still needs to pass in the Senate, and according to The Times it could be difficult. The majority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, has not committed to sending the bill to the floor for a vote. Some senators have said they would fight the bill, and even if passed, it’s likely to face legal challenges, The Times reported. 

TikTok has been under threat since 2020. Lawmakers have argued that Beijing’s relationship with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, raises national security risks, according to The Times. The bill aims to get ByteDance to sell TikTok to non-Chinese owners within six months. If the sale does not happen the app would be banned in the U.S.

Monica Velez

Thursday, March 14, 2024, 9:54 am

Link copied.Contra Costa County educators picket, demanding higher wages

Contra Costa County Schools Education Association (CCCSEA) members picketed Tuesday evening for wage increases that match the cost of living.

Educators gathered in front of the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) to tell Superintendent Lynn Mackey that their current contract offer will prevent hiring and retaining educators, according to the California Teachers Association (CTA). The county office of education is offering 4.5% increases even though they have more than $27 million unrestricted dollars, CTA said.

“We must stand up for student success and push the superintendent to stand with us so that our CCCOE students receive a quality education,” said CCCSEA President Soula Nikolakopoulos. “Hoarding money is not the way to serve our students.”

Monica Velez

Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 8:31 am

Link copied.Can learning science and social studies help kids read better?

School leaders have long been under great pressure to boost test scores. That’s why they often double down on time teaching reading and while slashing science and social studies. 

Now, a new study suggests that those cuts have come at a cost, further undermining reading achievement instead of improving it, as the Hechinger Report notes. As researchers discover more about the science of reading, it may well turn out to be that more time on science, social studies and other key content areas is what kids need to become good readers. While the concept of knowledge building, popularized in Natalie Wexler’s 2019 best-selling book, “The Knowledge Gap,” is not new, it has been building momentum of late. 

James Kim, a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, led a group of researchers to study the impact of going deep with content on a large urban school district in North Carolina where most of the students are Black and Latino and 40% are from low-income families. The results show compelling causal evidence that building background knowledge can translate into higher reading achievement for low-income children

Timothy Shanahan, a literacy expert and a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who was not involved in this research, praised the study. “The study makes it very clear (as have a few others recently) that it is possible to combine reading with social studies and science curriculum in powerful ways that can improve both literacy and content knowledge,” as the Hechinger Report notes. 

 

Karen D'Souza

Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 8:30 am

Link copied.Biden budget plan includes $8 billion for learning recovery

Even as districts brace for the expiration of federal relief funds, the Biden administration on Monday proposed a new $8 billion grant program to sustain successful programs to help students recover from pandemic learning loss, as The 74 reported.

The Academic Acceleration and Achievement Grants, part of the administration’s $7.3 trillion 2025 budget plan, target three strategies Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has put forth — combating chronic absenteeism, high-impact tutoring and extended learning after school and during the summer. 

In a call with reporters, an Education Department official said the competitive grant program would help put the recovery efforts districts launched with relief dollars “on an even faster track and sustain the improvements that states have put into place.” 

The announcement of the grant program follows extensive data showing most students haven’t caught up to pre-pandemic performance levels. But with the current fiscal year budget still delayed by partisan debate over spending for defense and the IRS, advocates admitted that passing any substantial new program will be difficult,  the 74 reported.

Karen D'Souza

Tuesday, March 12, 2024, 10:35 am

Link copied.New law would offer schools guidelines on active shooter drills

A California Assembly bill would standardize active shooter drills in schools.

Assembly Bill 1858, introduced by Assemblymember Christoper Ward, D-San Diego, would prohibit simulated gunfire during an active shooter drill, require that drills be age appropriate and that a schoolwide announcement be made before one begins. Schools must also notify parents in advance and after an active shooter drill, and provide any resources families may need after a drill, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The legislation would require the California Department of Education to provide updated guidance on active shooter drills to schools.

Although the legislation is meant to be mindful of students’ mental health, other organizations have recommended against active shooter drills, saying they are associated with an increase in depression, stress and physiological health problems in students, teachers and parents, according to the Los Angeles Times report.

Diana Lambert

Tuesday, March 12, 2024, 10:05 am

Link copied.College pays off, according to new research

An analysis of the incomes of 5.8 million Americans found that completing a college degree is a good investment, according a study published in the American Educational Research Journal.

The study used U.S. Census data to compare the earnings of college graduates to people who had only finished high school, as well as the costs of college, and found that a college degree earned a rate of return on investment of 9-10% annually throughout a person’s career.

The findings come as skepticism about the value of a college degree grows amid rising college costs, a decline in college enrollment  and a changing economy, according to a news release from the American Educational Research Association.

“Our cost-benefit analysis finds that, on average, a college degree offers better returns than the stock market,” said study co-author Liang Zhang, a professor at New York University. “However, there are significant differences across college majors, and the return is higher for women than men.”

Women do not have higher overall earnings then men; rather, the gap between the pay of high school graduates and college graduates is greater for women than men.

Engineering and computer science majors had the highest median returns, exceeding 13%, followed by business, health, and math and science majors, with returns ranging from 10-13%, according to the study.

Diana Lambert


Monday, March 11, 2024, 9:53 am

Link copied.UC Berkeley under federal investigation for reports of discrimination

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating potential discrimination connected to the conflict between Israel and Hamas at UC Berkeley, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. 

UC Berkeley is one of many California campuses being investigated by education officials since Hamas’ attack on Oct.7, including Stanford University, UCLA and UC San Diego. 

While the department investigates cases of alleged discrimination having to do with shared ancestry and ethnicity, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that it is unclear why UC Berkeley is specifically being investigated. 

The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment. 

The Times of Israel, however, reported that the investigation comes as a result of a protest on Feb. 26 that some said was “anti-Israel” and resulted in the cancellation of a lecture by Ran Bar-Yoshafat, an attorney and former Israel Defense Forces member. 

While Ben Hermalin, UC Berkeley’s executive vice chancellor and provost, did not speak directly to the protests, he said in a statement on March 4 that campus groups “have the right to host events and speakers regardless of content. We will do what we can to fiercely protect this right.” the Chronicle reported.

He also said, “We also want to clarify that protesting an event due to its political nature does not make the protest activity inherently antisemitic or Islamophobic.” 

A Jewish organization on campus has expressed plans to protest UC Berkeley’s response to the protest on Monday. 

UC Berkeley did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment. 

Mallika Seshadri

Monday, March 11, 2024, 9:30 am

Link copied.Documentary about LAUSD’s musical instrument repair shop wins Oscar

The Los Angeles Times took home its first Oscar Sunday night for “‘The Last Repair Shop,” a film about four people who repair and service instruments for music students across LAUSD

The largest of its kind in the country, the shop maintains roughly 80,000 instruments, the Los Angeles Times reported 

“Music education isn’t just about creating incredible musicians — it’s about creating incredible human beings,” said Kris Bowers, one of the film’s directors, who won Sunday’s award for documentary short, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

Mallika Seshadri

Friday, March 8, 2024, 9:57 am

Link copied.Santa Cruz school district approves plan to cut positions

The governing board of Live Oak School District approved a plan Wednesday to eliminate or alter job positions in order to address its ongoing budget crisis, Lookout Santa Cruz reported

According to Lookout, among the district’s list of cuts are seven elementary school teachers, a school psychologist, one full-time-equivalent special education instructional aide, the equivalent of 1.5 full-time recess coaches, 3.93 full-time-equivalent reading/math instructional aides and the equivalent of over four full-time family liaisons. 

The approved plan also includes decreasing a director of curriculum and instruction position to part time and reducing the hours of two administrative roles: a fiscal analyst and an education services worker. 

In January, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education advised Live Oak School District that it needed to cut millions of dollars, the Lookout reported. Last month, the school district approved a plan to eliminate as many as 51.29 full-time-equivalent positions, including those in the classroom. 

The district will submit its plan and its latest budget report to the county education office for review and issue the preliminary layoffs by March 15.

Lasherica Thornton

Friday, March 8, 2024, 9:46 am

Link copied.Some community colleges offer free basic dental care to students

California’s community colleges serve students’ basic needs in a variety of ways, including help with food, housing, transportation or funding for laundry, utilities or books; some colleges have added free dental care to the essential services, the LAist reported

The community colleges partner with local dental clinics or their own resources to give students access to dental care, which is still rare among basic needs services, the LAist reported. 

According to the LAist, Antelope Valley College, through an ongoing partnership with a clinic about 15 minutes from campus, provides students with a voucher for dental work, including free X-rays, oral exams, teeth cleanings and other basic dental services. All students, regardless of insurance or legal status, can get a voucher each semester. 

In a one-time partnership last year, Long Beach City College provided off-campus oral care for students through a local clinic’s day-of service, the LAist reported. The college plans to host similar events in the future. 

The LAist reported that other colleges, such as Pasadena City College and West L.A. College, offer in-house services through on-campus clinics. For example, Pasadena City College has a dental hygiene clinic that provides low-cost services for students and community members. The teeth cleanings, X-rays and sealants are performed by dental hygiene students. 

Lasherica Thornton

Thursday, March 7, 2024, 10:19 am

Link copied.Vallejo educators to rally for more pay, student success

Members of the Vallejo teachers union will be rallying and addressing board members at Thursday night’s regular meeting to push the district to better serve students and increase pay.

After five months of negotiations, the Vallejo Education Association (VEA) and the Vallejo City Unified School District (VCUSD) declared an impasse at the end of February and have a state-appointed mediator, according to the California Teachers Association (CTA). The first mediation will be next week.

“VCUSD management refuses to invest in students by prioritizing educators in their budget, despite record school funding increases” during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, CTA officials said. “While the district is experiencing declining student enrollment, management has budgeted more in services, operating expenses, materials, supplies and consultants, but almost no additional investment in educators.”

Vallejo educators are some of the lowest-paid among nearby counties, including Solano, Napa and Contra Costa. According to CTA, management is refusing to agree to a “meaningful” and competitive cost-of-living raise.

“We are tired of losing experienced teachers to surrounding districts,” VEA President Kevin Steele said in a statement.

The Pittsburg Education Association (PEA) also held a rally this week calling for improvement in safety conditions for students and staff, no more top-down decision making, more pay, support and preparation time for adult education educators, and dedicated time to complete report cards and progress reports.

“Since August 2023 we have been bargaining with Pittsburg Unified School District management for the schools our students deserve, and we will not settle for anything less,” President Celia Medina-Owens said. “They deserve the tools and resources necessary to thrive, which includes a permanent and qualified educator in every classroom.”

Monica Velez

Thursday, March 7, 2024, 10:00 am

Link copied.Here’s how expensive private schools are in the Bay Area

Although San Francisco has the highest rate of private school enrollment in the Bay Area and one of the highest in the state, tuition still isn’t the highest there, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The Chronicle created a database that shows private school tuition rates in the Bay Area. Tuition rates have skyrocketed in recent years and are increasing at a higher rate than family incomes, the data shows.

Average tuition across religious and secular schools in San Francisco is on average about $23,000 for elementary school and just more than $42,000 for high school, according to the Chronicle. Marin County surpasses those costs even though they have fewer rates of students enrolled in private schools, about 21%.

The average tuition in Marin County is about $26,600 for elementary and nearly $48,000 for high school, the Chronicle reported. The most expensive school to attend in the Bay Area is also in Marin, San Domenico School, which is $78,650 for boarding school and $62,500 for regular day school in high school grades.

San Mateo County is behind Marin and San Francisco with an average cost of $22,000 for private school, according to the Chronicle’s analysis.

Monica Velez

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 10:55 am

Link copied.UC sees increase in applications due to more transfers

The University of California saw an uptick in applications for fall 2024 admission, driven mostly by more transfer students seeking admission.

Overall, UC received a total of 250,436 applications, up 1.5% from last year, the university announced Wednesday. Applications from first-year students essentially stayed flat, but applications from transfer students were up significantly. The number of transfer students seeking admission grew by more than 10%, a significant majority of which were California community college students.

Among first-years, the number of California residents applying also increased by 1.2% from last year. UC also touted increases in the number of Black, Latino and Native American students who applied.

“We are pleased to see such an outstanding pool of students from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences apply to the University of California,” UC President Michael Drake said in a statement. “Prospective students and their families recognize that a degree from the University of California sets them up for lifelong career success.”

Michael Burke

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 8:50 am

Link copied.California legislators propose paid pregnancy leave for teachers

Amid the teacher shortage, new legislation would provide paid disability leave for pregnant educators to improve teacher retention, as K-12 Dive reported.

Authored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Davis, and co-authored by members of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, the proposed leave would provide full pay for a maximum of 14 weeks. 

Currently, pregnant teachers and other school employees do not receive paid pregnancy disability leave and have to tap into other reserves for leave after giving birth or to manage their pregnancies. They are entitled to four months of unpaid leave under state law. 

“Teachers must be able to afford to stay in the profession and start a family,” said California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who is co-sponsoring the legislation with California State Treasurer Fiona Ma,  as K-12 Dive reported

This new push is the latest attempt to improve work-life balance for teachers, amid a stark shortage of educators. Introduced last month, the proposal would “make critical strides toward retaining great teachers to address the staffing crisis in California’s classrooms.” It is slated to be heard in committee later this month.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a parental leave measure in 2019, saying it would “result in annual costs of tens of millions of dollars.” Newsom instead wanted the issue tackled through collective bargaining or as part of the state budget.

Karen D'Souza

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 8:49 am

Link copied.Algebra measure endorsed by San Francisco voters

San Franciscans voted Tuesday to solve the problem of algebra by demanding that the district bring the subject back into middle schools under Proposition G, as the Chronicle reported.

San Francisco Unified pulled algebra from its middle schools 10 years ago in the name of equity. Critics said this education experiment squandered opportunity for advanced students to excel in math while doing little to close the achievement gap. 

Early election returns showed nearly 85% of voters backing the algebra measure. It was largely seen as a victory for parents, students and community groups that have been fighting to allow eighth graders to take the math course, a foundational step toward a STEM pathway.

“The citizens of San Francisco have spoken, publicly, with their votes that Algebra 1 must be offered to eighth graders,” said Rex Ridgeway, grandfather of a San Francisco Unified student, as the Chronicle reported. “And, it’s about time, after a decade of damage.” 

The measure, which needs a majority to pass, was largely symbolic by election day. The school board had already voted in mid-February to begin a three-year process to reinstate Algebra 1 after years of parent protest.

Karen D'Souza

Tuesday, March 5, 2024, 4:29 pm

Link copied.Dartmouth men’s basketball team votes to unionize

The men’s basketball team at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire voted Tuesday to unionize, a first step toward forming what would be the first labor union for college athletes.

The players voted 13-2, in an election that was supervised by the National Labor Relations Board, to join Service Employees International Union Local 560.

“Today is a big day for our team. We stuck together all season and won this election. It is self-evident that we, as students, can also be both campus workers and union members. Dartmouth seems to be stuck in the past. It’s time for the age of amateurism to end,” said players Cade Haskins and Romeo Myrthil, according to The Associated Press.

Prior to the vote, the college filed an appeal to the full National Labor Relations Board, hoping to overturn an earlier decision made by a regional officer that classified the players as employees. The college also could take the case to federal court.

In a statement, the college said unionization would be inappropriate for the athletes.

“Classifying these students as employees simply because they play basketball is as unprecedented as it is inaccurate. We, therefore, do not believe unionization is appropriate,” the college said.

Meanwhile in California, the NLRB is hearing a separate complaint that asks for the University of Southern California’s football and basketball players to be recognized as employees.

Michael Burke

Tuesday, March 5, 2024, 7:44 am

Link copied.Tornado causes minor damage to Madera County elementary school

Staff at Berenda Elementary School in unincorporated Madera County cleared branches and debris from the campus Sunday, after a tornado touched down there on Friday afternoon, according to ABC7.

A portable classroom and a fence were damaged, but no students or staff were injured.

School had already been dismissed for the day, but students in an after-school program were on the campus when the tornado hit. They were taken to the cafeteria and their parents notified to pick them up.

Sisters Emely and Eilyn Soto were coloring in the cafeteria when the tornado touched down. They spoke to a ABC7 reporter about their experience.

“I just heard everyone screaming and branches and trees just falling down,” said Emely, a fourth grader at the school. “The teachers tried to close the door and they couldn’t. They finally did and grabbed everyone to go on the floor.”

Diana Lambert

Tuesday, March 5, 2024, 7:44 am

Link copied.Legislation would require California schools to have armed officer on campus

Legislation recently introduced by Bill Essayli, R-Corona, would require school districts and charter schools to hire an armed law enforcement officer to patrol each of its campuses whenever students are present.

Current state law allows school districts to determine whether to hire or contract for armed law enforcement officers or unarmed security officers. The current law asks districts to consider using resources allocated for police officers for pupil support services and professional development for school employees on cultural competency and restorative justice if it is more appropriate for their students.

Essayli’s legislation would remove all options for school districts except to hire or contract with officers authorized to carry a loaded firearm to staff each of their campuses.

Assembly Bill 3038 could be heard in the education committee on March 18, according to the state website.

If the bill becomes a law it would be a state-mandated local program, requiring the state to reimburse each district for its cost.

 

Diana Lambert

Monday, March 4, 2024, 4:18 pm

Link copied.Life-without-parole sentences upheld for young adults ages 18-25

The California Supreme Court today upheld life-in-prison sentences without the possibility for parole for young adults ages 18-25 in a 5-2 decision, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The 2013 state law upheld today allows for life-without-parole sentences, often referred to as LWOP, for young adults ages 18 to 25 in cases involving “multiple murders or those committed during a rape or robbery or as a gang member.”

Justices Goodwin Liu and Kelli Evans filed dissenting opinions.

“The LWOP exclusion disproportionately impacts Black and Brown youth. It perpetuates racial disparities in LWOP sentences for youthful offenders,” wrote Justice Evans. “While perhaps unintentional, it nonetheless embodies racial bias that has plagued our criminal and juvenile justice systems since their inception.”

Betty Márquez Rosales

Monday, March 4, 2024, 12:10 pm

Link copied.Study finds racial, socioeconomic disparities in dual enrollment participation

There are big racial and socioeconomic disparities in dual enrollment participation across California, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis and PACE.

Across grade levels, Asian students were the most likely to take dual enrollment classes, followed by white students, Latino students and Black students. The overall participation in dual enrollment was lowest among ninth graders but also the most equitable: The gap between Asian and Black students who participated in ninth grade was 4 percentage points. Among 12th graders, who participated in dual enrollment at the highest rate of any grade level, the gap between Asian and Black students was 14 percentage points.

Sonya Christian, the statewide chancellor of California’s community college system, has said she wants every ninth grader to participate in dual enrollment.

There are also participation disparities across socioeconomic lines, although that varies by grade level, the study found. Among ninth graders, 5.3% of both socioeconomically disadvantaged students and other students participated in dual enrollment. Among 10th and 11th graders, students who aren’t socioeconomically disadvantaged participated at higher rates. That trend flips, however, among 12th graders, when enrollment rates were higher for socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

Michael Burke