Topic

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.

January 29, 2019

Spate of lawsuits challenge teachers’ and other unions’ dues collections

The California Teachers Association and other public employee unions have turned to dues contracts to sustain membership revenues that the U.S. Supreme Court put jeopardy in the Janus decision. Now there's a new round of lawsuits.

John Fensterwald

January 29, 2019

Quality must be at the heart of expanding early childhood education in California

While access has to early childhood education has improved, quality still varies across the state.

Meera Mani

January 29, 2019

Oakland school board votes to close first of up to two dozen schools amid opposition

The Oakland school board voted Monday to close the first of up to 24 schools in the next five years due to budget constraints and low enrollment.

Theresa Harrington

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 27, 2019

Gov. Newsom proposes to chip away at mountain of pension liability and ease school districts' burden

The state will absorb $700 million of school districts' additional payments to CalSTRS for the final two years of the higher payments required to restore the pension fund's financial health.

John Fensterwald

January 24, 2019

Planned school closures in Oakland Unified have parents, teachers and community members on edge

Oakland Unified faces a budget deficit, in part because students are choosing charter and private schools. The district enrolls only 58 percent of the nearly 63,000 school-age children who live in Oakland.

Theresa Harrington

January 23, 2019

Building a system of support for California students — from the ground up

Partnerships and collaboration are key to achieving school improvement goals.

Tom Armelino

January 22, 2019

Los Angeles teachers return to class after voting to end strike

Left unclear is precisely how the dozens of provisions agreed to would be paid for.

Louis Freedberg

January 21, 2019

Required tests roadblock for many aspiring California teachers

Almost half of California’s potential teachers quit the profession before they even start because they can't pass one or more of the tests required for them to earn a credential, making it more difficult for the state to put a dent in a persistent teacher shortage.

Diana Lambert

January 18, 2019

Class-size conundrum at the heart of Los Angeles teachers strike

In most LAUSD middle schools, the largest core classes have 37 kids — and can sometimes be as large as 46.

Kyle Stokes LAist/KPCC

January 16, 2019

Beyond higher pay and smaller classes, charter debate is undercurrent of teachers strike in Los Angeles

Union leaders at Los Angeles Unified are concerned that the growth of charter schools has come at the expense of dollars for district schools and the teachers working in them.

Mikhail Zinshteyn

January 15, 2019

Help EdSource shine a light on challenges in rural education

Our newsroom wants to tell the stories of students and their families in rural California who are suffering from high rates of chronic absenteeism, and help in the search for solutions.

David Washburn

January 13, 2019

Will we step up for California public schools in 2019?

Former California secretary of education suggests 10 ways to help schools succeed.

Glen Thomas

January 11, 2019

Just days into governorship, Newsom a master of complexities of California budget

After years in the shadows as lieutenant governor, Newsom is back in his element shaping and making policy, this time not for one city but for the most populous state in the nation.