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Policy & Finance
Topic

Federal Education Policy

The federal government provides about 8 percent of K-12 dollars, primarily through Title I funding for children from low-income families and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Obama administration sought to expand leverage over states through the Race to the Top competition, but a deadlock in Congress over reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act has left federal policy in flux.
August 2, 2019

School lunch could be slashed for thousands of California children under new proposal

Families who would no longer qualify for food stamps under a new proposed rule will also lose their automatic eligibility for free or reduced-price school meals.

Zaidee Stavely
July 24, 2019

My memorable year teaching as Berkeley integrated its schools

Former teacher recalls hopeful time half a century ago in a newly integrated middle-school classroom.

Miriam Kurtzig Freedman
July 2, 2019

Charter school movement in a "battle for survival," charter school leader says

National gathering of charter educators and supporters comes at a time of slowing growth and increasing resistance by teachers unions and in state Legislatures.

Louis Freedberg
July 1, 2019

For many, attending racially mixed schools has been a life changer

Abandoning school desegregation as a top priority was a mistake, UC Berkeley professor says.

David Kirp
April 23, 2019

Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to forgive student loans for 42 million Americans

Plan would forgive loans of up to $50,000 for 42 million Americans — for every person with a student loan and a household income of less than $100,000. It would be paid for by a tax on the wealthiest Americans.

Louis Freedberg
March 26, 2019

Kamala Harris's plan to boost teacher pay would cost $315 billion over 10 years

The goal would be to boost salaries of every teacher who is paid less than workers in other professions with comparable credentials and experience in their respective states.

Louis Freedberg
February 6, 2019

California quietly publishes list of 781 lowest-performing schools

Convinced that stigmatizing “bad schools” and dictating improvements didn't work, state officials are counting on district-led solutions to low achievement.

John Fensterwald
February 6, 2019

Trump renews call for 'school choice' legislation in State of the Union speech

He makes no mention of the fate of undocumented students currently in legal limbo in the United States, including about 75,000 enrolled in California's public colleges and universities.

Louis Freedberg
January 29, 2019

After eight years, Democrats assume power over education policy in House of Representatives

Rep. Bobby Scott, the new chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, says he will seek bipartisan support for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act.

Louis Freedberg
January 28, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris calls for universal preschool and 'debt free' college education

The former California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney also touches on gun violence in schools and law enforcement practices that could have fatal consequences for young people.

Louis Freedberg
January 9, 2019

School districts will be required to verify they’re fixing California’s lowest-performing schools

The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to identify and improve student achievement in the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools. Districts with those schools will explain how in a new section of their Local Control and Accountability Plans.

John Fensterwald
December 19, 2018

Trump administration’s school safety report met with harsh criticism in California

The report strongly recommended rescinding the Obama policies that both emphasized alternatives to suspensions and expulsions and highlighted data showing that students of color and those with disabilities were more likely than white students to face these punishments.

David Washburn
November 28, 2018

Plans come into focus for California schools ravaged by wildfires

Officials have identified three elementary schools that will take Paradise Unified students displaced by the deadly Camp Fire and are close to securing a site for middle and high schoolers.

David Washburn And Diana Lambert
August 31, 2018

The price of punishment — new report shows students nationwide lost 11 million school days due to suspensions

The report, based on federal government data from 2015-16, also found that racial disparities in suspensions remain an acute problem. Nationwide, African-American students lost five times as many days as white students.

David Washburn
August 23, 2018

Renewed push to offer SAT and ACT as California's 11th-grade test

Superintendents say free college readiness testing for all would raise SAT/ACT scores and boost college admissions. Opponents say AB 1951 would undermine the usefulness of high school testing.

John Fensterwald