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Policy & Finance

California, under Gov. Jerry Brown, has shifted control over budgeting and decision-making from the state to local districts. But Sacramento – through the State Board of Education and the Legislature – and Washington, D.C., still retain authority over setting broad education and school finance policies. EdSource Today is tracking the development of the Local Control Funding Formula, California’s new school finance system, and how districts are implementing this reform.
August 16, 2018

One California charter school's struggle for approval and a building close to its parents

Promise Academy disagreements with San Jose Unified mirror tensions escalating statewide over charter schools.

John Fensterwald
August 15, 2018

California gets high grade in measuring teachers’ reading instruction skills

Linda Darling-Hammond, chair of teacher credentialing commission, calls the state assessment out of date and not a good predictor of classroom performance.

John Fensterwald
August 15, 2018

Youth in California’s Central Valley are reclaiming region's activist roots

Youth activists are mobilizing students from Bakersfield to Stockton with hopes of making an impact in the age of Trump.

David Washburn
August 14, 2018

Community colleges try new ‘pathway’ to student success

California colleges are pursuing a bold effort to improve graduation and transfer. Could its ambition be a stumbling block to success?

Karin Fischer
August 13, 2018

Gary Hart, author of California’s charter school law, reflects on its impact

Although former Sen. Gary Hart never imagined there would be 1,200 charter schools, overall he’s pleased. He would set up a different appeals process for charters whose applications have been rejected.

John Fensterwald
August 9, 2018

Oakland Unified may eliminate nearly 340 positions in one year to stay fiscally solvent

District adopts revised three-year budget after Alameda County Office of Education rejected budget adopted in June.

Theresa Harrington
August 8, 2018

Support builds to create longitudinal data system to track student progress in California

Educators and the public do not have data that "in my view greatly improve students' performance and their ultimate employment," said Sen. Steve Glazer (D – Orinda), chair of the select committee on student success in the Senate.

Mikhail Zinshteyn
August 5, 2018

After quarter century of rapid expansion, charter school growth slowing in California

The slowdown could increase competition among parents and students to get into the most sought-after charter schools.

Louis Freedberg and John Fensterwald
August 1, 2018

Many charter schools fail to disclose spending on low-income students, report says

Out of 70 LCAPs selected, Public Advocates couldn’t find 27 online and most of the 43 reviewed lacked key spending data and evidence of parent involvement.

John Fensterwald
August 1, 2018

California districts can renovate, build kindergarten classrooms with help from new funding

There is $100 million in new state funds to help districts build and renovate classrooms to expand full-day kindergarten. The funds are available to all districts but priority will be given to districts that are struggling financially.

Ashley Hopkinson
July 31, 2018

California's soda tax ban stalled a grassroots movement, but didn't kill it

Though still angry over the deal Sacramento lawmakers made with the sweetened beverage industry, children's health advocates are busy plotting a new course.

David Washburn
July 27, 2018

California high school grad rate drops with new methodology

Corrected for problems with past years’ calculations, 82.7 percent in the Class of 2017 got their diplomas compared with 83.8 percent the year before.

John Fensterwald
July 26, 2018

California kids who didn’t learn to read to get day in court

The lawsuit demands that the state improve reading and writing instruction in schools serving low-income students of color.

John Fensterwald
July 19, 2018

More student borrowers may be eligible to cancel federal student loans than have applied for relief

Amid for-profit college closures, more student borrowers apply to the U.S. Department of Education to cancel their federal education loan debts.

Solomon Moore
July 18, 2018

Federal spending on children projected to drop substantially over next decade

An Urban Institute reports finds entitlements for the elderly, rising payments on national debt and spending caps on safety net programs will squeeze investments in America’s next generation.

John Fensterwald