Headlines
FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.
Jan 17, 2020
The Santa Rita Union and Salinas Union High school districts are asking for a court order to halt the City of Salinas' West Area Specific Plan (WASP) to add thousands of homes to the north side of town.
Jan 17, 2020
At least 70% of Oroville’s high school students are considered socioeconomically-disadvantaged. In Chico, Between 400 and 500 children are categorized as housing insecure at any time during the Chico Unified School district’s school year.
Jan 17, 2020
Fed up with a growing achievement gap between African American students and all others in a San Francisco Bay Area school district, a group of parents is declaring an “educational state of emergency” and demanding improvement.
Jan 17, 2020
This Proposition 13 would authorize a $15 billion bond for school modernization and construction projects. Here’s how it would break down: $9 billion for K-12 schools, and $2 billion each for community colleges and the state’s two public university systems, the California State University and University of California.
Jan 17, 2020
State Sen. Connie Leyva, a Chino Democrat and former president of the California Labor Federation, introduced Senate Bill 796 this month to remedy what she called an archaic mistake that’s left teachers unnecessarily on the hook for their substitutes’ wages.
Jan 17, 2020
Moreno Valley school board member Jesús Holguín and Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora are being sued for harassment by a former assistant principal.
Jan 17, 2020
Redlands Unified School District notified parents Thursday, Jan. 16, that victims of a former teacher who was convicted on sex abuse charges more than 14 years ago plan to bring a civil suit against the district.
Jan 17, 2020
The superintendent in West Contra Costa United says his district is losing enrollment as students finish sixth grade. Rather than move on to middle school, they often jump to charter and private schools.
Jan 16, 2020
The newly minted teachers union at Gompers Preparatory Academy in southeastern San Diego is still without a contract a year after formation and now faces a challenge that could mark its end.
Jan 16, 2020
Will the Huntington Beach City School District close one of its seven elementary schools? Will it kick out the 750 students who transferred from other districts? Will it lay off dozens of teachers?
Jan 16, 2020
The incident resulted in skin irritation and other minor injuries to more than 60 children and staffers at a handful of Los Angeles-area schools, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said on Wednesday.
Jan 16, 2020
Piedmont Unified School District board trustees at their recent meeting approved a salary boost for some 30 adult education instructors.
Jan 16, 2020
Fed up with a growing achievement gap between African American students and all others in a San Francisco Bay Area school district, a group of parents is declaring an “educational state of emergency” and demanding improvement.
Jan 16, 2020
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday agreed to pay more than $25 million to settle lawsuits over alleged sexual misconduct.
Jan 16, 2020
California Democrats blocked a contentious bill on Wednesday that would have required parents to sign permission slips for their younger kids to attend sex education classes in school.
Jan 15, 2020
For nine months, teachers at the small Cucamonga School District held picket signs and marched in front of schools weekly, braving the early morning chill. If the mediator doesn’t bring about a settlement, both sides will be mandated to open their financial books by order of an independent fact-finder. If that fails, the teachers could go on strike.
Jan 15, 2020
When Frank Foggiano steps onto the Grossmont High basketball court several times a year, he’s more than just a coach. He’s also playing host to tournaments that cost his teams and others hundreds of dollars to play in.
Jan 15, 2020
More homeless families are sleeping in a temporary shelter inside a public school gym in San Francisco’s Mission District compared to about a year ago, when officials threatened to close the little-used facility.
Jan 15, 2020
An airplane returning to Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday morning dropped jet fuel onto a school playground, dousing several students at Park Avenue Elementary School in Cudahy, officials said.
Jan 15, 2020
When State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond took office in 2019, he announced that recruiting more male teachers from diverse backgrounds would be one of his top priorities.
Jan 14, 2020
Students at C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento raised money for a senior gift in 2017, only to have the account depleted two years later then replaced after teachers realized the money was missing.
Jan 14, 2020
Starting this semester, Paso Robles parents must pay nearly $400 per year for each student to ride the bus to school — a large price increase caused by a driver shortage and a need to cut routes in the coming year.
Jan 14, 2020
On Jan. 10, 2020 Gov. Gavin Newsom presented his proposed budget for California for the fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1, 2020. As a public service, EdSource is providing a lightly edited transcript of Newsom’s remarks on his K-12 budget proposals.
Jan 14, 2020
Vulnerable students could suffer the most when the district makes nearly $50 million in cuts to close its budget gaps for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, says a coalition of advocates.
Jan 14, 2020
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to find a way to send every California 4-year-old to preschool, but he says the state just can’t afford the cost — yet.
Jan 13, 2020
Voters in McFarland and Wasco will decide the fate of three school bond measures in March that, if passed, will lead to the construction of new facilities and revitalization of several schools.
Jan 13, 2020
Due to statewide teacher shortages, many of California’s approximately 800,000 special education students are being taught by teachers who haven’t completed teacher preparation programs or have received only partial training.
Jan 13, 2020
Vowing to support “all students and families” in its jurisdiction, trustees of the Sausalito Marin City School District extended the timeline for creating a unification plan by six weeks, to the March 12 board meeting.
Jan 13, 2020
Frank Foggiano is both requesting and signing off on tournament expenses out of the Grossmont High basketball account, which comes from donations, concessions, ticket sales and student fundraising.
Jan 13, 2020
The Cajon Valley Union School District sued one of its five school board members last month, alleging wrongdoing including stealing office supplies, harassing employees and disclosing confidential school board information.
Jan 13, 2020
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed Friday to provide $20,000 stipends for teachers who teach at a high needs school for four years, eating up $100 million of the state’s budget for the next fiscal year.
Jan 13, 2020
Gov. Gavin Newsom is moving forward on his promise to offer subsidized preschool to all low-income 4-year-olds and is proposing to consolidate most other subsidized child care programs in California in a new Department of Early Childhood Development.
Jan 13, 2020
Anticipating nearly $4 billion more in revenue for K-12 schools and community colleges in the next state budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday proposed to continue massive investments for teacher recruitment and training and for transforming special education.
Jan 13, 2020
After nearly a decade of school discipline reform in California, the suspension rate for African American students continued to decline last year, according to recently released state data.
Jan 13, 2020
We analyzed some of the most popular social studies textbooks used in California and Texas. Here’s how political divides shape what students learn about the nation’s history.
Jan 10, 2020
Arrests of students who fight at Moreno Valley Unified School District campuses will continue despite the belief by district officials that putting students in the criminal justice system is the wrong solution.
Jan 10, 2020
Residents of one San Francisco Bay Area school district are struggling to understand how a budget deficit nearly quadrupled in a matter of months — and are questioning why the district board and public weren’t alerted sooner about the magnitude of the problem.
Jan 10, 2020
Due to statewide teacher shortages, many of California’s approximately 800,000 special education students are being taught by teachers who haven’t completed teacher preparation programs or have received only partial training.
Jan 09, 2020
The Lincoln Unified School District has voted to reject Aspire Public Schools’ petition to open a charter school in the district in a meeting that went late into the night.
Jan 09, 2020
School districts across California have taken a variety of approaches to this issue, including requiring students take a six-course curriculum on Saturdays or assigning them a research paper on the dangers of vaping in lieu of suspension.
Jan 09, 2020
Last year, nine traditional public schools performed poorly enough to make the state’s list. This year, 11 traditional schools will automatically be added to the list, according to the new data reviewed by Voice of San Diego.
Jan 09, 2020
As changing demographics shrink the number of students enrolling in public elementary schools in the area, the Ravenswood City School District is set to vote Thursday on closing two of its five elementary schools to deal with a massive fiscal deficit.
Jan 09, 2020
Though barely a week old, 2020 is shaping up to be the year that policy makers and legislators force school districts to be more accountable for how they spend money they receive from the state’s funding formula.
Jan 09, 2020
The San Diego Unified School District is suing Juul Labs, a giant in the electronic cigarette industry, for the company’s role in fostering vaping among children, a trend that has disrupted learning at schools throughout the district, the lawsuit states.
Jan 09, 2020
Galvanized by a state audit that criticized California’s lax oversight of school spending, legislators are ringing in the new decade with proposals that would require the state to follow the money that districts get to educate disadvantaged kids.
Jan 08, 2020
The Lincoln Unified School District Board of Trustees will vote Wednesday on a petition by Aspire Public Schools to open a charter school in the district.
Jan 08, 2020
The protracted case of Ontario-Montclair school board member Alfonso Sanchez is expected to resolve next week when the state’s political watchdog agency considers assessing Sanchez a $17,000 penalty for multiple campaign finance violations, records show.
Jan 08, 2020
Last week, Priest Rivera's family filed a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court against the Encinitas Union School District citing negligence and negligent supervision and training.
Jan 08, 2020
A California law that took effect Jan. 1 giving traditional school districts more power to deny charter applications is credit positive for both traditional school districts and charter schools, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
Jan 08, 2020
The Los Angeles County Board of Education voted Tuesday to close an Inglewood charter school with a lengthy history of financial problems and mixed academic performance that illustrated flaws in California’s oversight system.
Jan 08, 2020
A ransomware attack left schools in the Pittsburg Unified School District without email or internet servers when educators returned to work from the winter break Monday.
Jan 08, 2020
A state program that recruits classroom aides, food service workers and bus drivers — who are already on campus and invested in local schools — and trains them to become teachers is one innovative way California is trying to combat its teacher shortage.
Jan 07, 2020
Sunnyvale School Benjamin H. Picard will retire at the end of June, setting off the search for a new head of the 6,600-student school district. Picard, 69, was unanimously appointed superintendent in 2009.
Jan 07, 2020
California lawmakers returned to work on Monday to tackle a daunting list of challenges that include climate concerns, education issues and a growing homeless population — problems complicated by election-year politics.
Jan 07, 2020
As the California State Legislature reconvened on Monday, Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) introduced legislation that would repeal the 40-year-old California law requiring public school employees—including teachers—to pay for the cost of their substitutes.
Jan 06, 2020
El Rancho Unified’s Assistant Superintendent of Business Alejandro Rojas, placed on administrative leave last month, said he plans to fight his way back into the job.
Jan 06, 2020
The language of professional educators is a rattle bag of indecipherable jargon and acronyms: SELPA, ELIRT, “integrated multi-tiered systems,” “student centered coaching cycles” and SpEd CAC are just a few.
Jan 06, 2020
Months after advocacy groups sued the Sacramento City Unified School District for discrimination against students with disabilities and black students, the district and the plaintiffs may seek a settlement.
Jan 06, 2020
Churches and corporations that were paid tax dollars to educate A3 charter school students are asking a judge for $1.8 million they say they are owed by the network, which was shut down last year after A3 leaders were indicted for an alleged fraud scheme.
Jan 06, 2020
Three months after Cornerstone Academy leaders and parents were left dumbfounded by a decision that could potentially close the high-performing San Jose charter school, the community is holding out hope that their worst fears will not become a reality.
Jan 06, 2020
In the months since his death, later ruled a suicide, deep troubles have been unmasked in this tiny school district that serves mostly low-income Latino students.
Jan 06, 2020
Some Antioch voters will soon be asked if they’re willing to pay for a $105 million bond to upgrade aging schools — the third bond in 13 years.
Jan 06, 2020
A county-appointed consultant has been paid more than $135,000 in the past year to help Sweetwater Union High School District fix its finances, an ongoing expense that will now fall increasingly on the district as it grapples with a budget crisis.
Jan 06, 2020
Let’s get to work on on education predictions for 2020. The scale ranges from 1 to 5 “Fensters,” with 1 meaning no chance and 5 meaning highly likely.
Jan 06, 2020
In his first year in office, Newsom partially made good on education positions he highlighted on his website and in a questionnaire for EdSource.
Jan 06, 2020
As North County school districts contend with difficult budget choices, they must determine how to pay teachers competitive wages while also trimming spending.
Jan 06, 2020
The Orange County Human Relations Commission will join the county Department of Education in presenting two public forums this month exploring the impact of hate-driven incidents among students, schools and their communities.
Dec 27, 2019
The San Ysidro School District may need to cut between $1.5 million and $2 million from next year’s budget to address deficit spending.
Dec 27, 2019
The candidates are confirmed and the upcoming Los Angeles school board races are all but certain to make for a high-stakes election cycle that will pit teachers and their allies against backers of charter schools for influence over the nation’s second-largest school system.
Dec 27, 2019
The Mt. Diablo Unified School District is trying to collect money it mistakenly overpaid retired non-teacher employees who have been working as substitutes.
Dec 27, 2019
The number of teachers of color in California isn’t keeping pace with the diversity of its student body. Changing that is top of mind for Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He has made closing the achievement gap for students of color a central part of his mission, and he says diversifying the teacher workforce is key.
Dec 26, 2019
A recent study out of University of California Los Angeles, across the state, found that more than 200,000 students -- 3.3% of the student population -- are experiencing homelessness.
Dec 26, 2019
The number of Monterey County schools eligible for additional assistance for low performing student groups has gone down this year, which is a sign of progress local education officials say.
Dec 26, 2019
Taking part in an act normally reserved for much older politicians, University City High School sophomore Zachary Patterson recently started his term as the first student trustee to serve on San Diego Unified School District’s board.
Dec 20, 2019
Grossmont officials have pledged to reduce the district’s overall expulsion rate by 2020, but have so far not acknowledged problems in their expulsion rate for black students.
Dec 20, 2019
The Sacramento City Unified School District’s Board of Education reported it will not meet its minimum reserve requirements for the current and next two fiscal years before the board is set to approve its first interim financial report at Thursday’s school board meeting.
Dec 20, 2019
The amount of money that prosecutors say a former Corona-Norco school district official embezzled could be more than twice what was originally reported, a new report says.
Dec 20, 2019
Teacher strikes, wildfires and a college admissions scandal made for a tumultuous year for California education. And new legislation in Sacramento had a big impact on charter schools and early childhood education.
Dec 20, 2019
With pennants, campus tours and bilingual workshops on financial aid, some schools in the San Joaquin Valley have embraced college preparation for students. And are starting to see success.
Dec 20, 2019
Despite the wide range of challenges at the Richmond K-6 school — low academic performance, poor attendance, high suspension rates and teacher turnover — Theresa Griffin and the newer teachers are working together to turn it around.
Dec 20, 2019
While eight out of 10 students from rural areas graduate from high school, many are not ready for college. Educators around the state have been working hard to reverse the trend.
Dec 19, 2019
The Sausalito Marin City School District will spend nearly $150,000 on a facilities consultant to help figure out how to bring the district’s two campuses together.
Dec 19, 2019
Christopher Steinhauser, who has been the superintendent for the Long Beach Unified School District for 18 years, announced his retirement at the school board meeting Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Dec 19, 2019
The Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education approved an interim budget with no expected shortfalls on Tuesday, and awarded 3 percent raises to all employee groups except classified.
Dec 19, 2019
The Redlands Unified School District is looking into the feasibility of putting a bond on the November 2020 ballot to pay for upgrades and repairs to facilities, as money from previous bonds runs out.
Dec 19, 2019
The Dublin Unified School District is one step closer to opening a second comprehensive high school after purchasing land for the school, more than a year after starting the process.
Dec 19, 2019
Thanks to the overwhelming passage of Measure H in the Nov. 5 special election, which raised $2.6 million to enhance teachers’ and other school employees salaries, Piedmont teachers will receive a 2% salary increase retroactive to July 1.
Dec 18, 2019
The California Department of Education (CDE) and the State Board of Education (SBE) have released the California School Dashboard, a website that gives parents, students and educators access to valuable school and district data.
Dec 18, 2019
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the Ocean View School District debuted its Central Kitchen, built from the ground up on Warner Avenue near Beach Boulevard. Everything about it is colossal, from the 30-gallon skillet to the 60-gallon kettle.
Dec 18, 2019
Sweetwater Union High School District may have to cut as much as $26 million from its budget next year to make ends meet, according to the district’s latest budget projections discussed at a board meeting Monday.
Dec 18, 2019
A proposal meant to protect kids from unnecessary discipline by banning expulsions for disobedience in California schools passed out of the Assembly this week, moving closer to becoming a law.
Dec 18, 2019
With public health officials scrambling to understand a mysterious lung affliction linked to electronic cigarettes, a new survey of American teens suggests that the behavior tied to the deadly illness has spread at a historic rate.
Dec 18, 2019
San Francisco Unified School District and four other Bay Area school districts have joined a growing number of school districts around the country in suing Juul, seeking unspecified damages allegedly incurred by schools seeking to stop students from vaping.
Dec 18, 2019
Small rural schools have long had a hard time competing for state school bond money, even as neglect shuts down classrooms. That may change with the state bond on the California ballot in March.
Dec 17, 2019
In March, local voters will weigh two parcel taxes — measures T and U — that would raise a combined $6.9 million annually for Santa Cruz City Schools.
Dec 17, 2019
The Vallejo school district has reached a tentative agreement with the non-teaching district employees for a two-percent salary increase and a one-time $500 bonus to each employee covered by the California School Employees Association (CSEA).
Dec 17, 2019
The Sacramento City Unified School District has been successful in adding an ethnic studies program to its curriculum. Now activists are trying to make it happen in Elk Grove schools.
Dec 17, 2019
A school district has struck a deal that clears the way for a new school in Mountain View amid huge expansions by Silicon Valley tech titans that are driving the need for more housing and education facilities.
Dec 17, 2019
It could soon get a lot harder to find out how many preschoolers were suspended more than once in California or how many children of different racial and ethnic groups have access to preschool.
Dec 16, 2019
While the Pasadena Unified school board may have been looking at the same midyear budget report as district staff, members had dramatically different answers when it came to the state of the district’s fiscal health.
Dec 16, 2019
School leaders within Inspire — a homeschool charter network targeted for a state audit into alleged fiscal malfeasance — recently described how it’s difficult to ensure students meet statewide learning standards because parents choose which curricula and resources to use.
Dec 16, 2019
Oceanside parents are keeping pressure on the school district to preserve a school bus line from the Crown Heights neighborhood to local schools, after the district announced plans to cancel the route.
Dec 16, 2019
Dozens of Los Angeles high schools will soon host clinics providing sexual and mental health services for teenagers as part of a wellness program that officials say is a groundbreaking model of comprehensive on-campus care.
Dec 16, 2019
Burbank Unified school officials have removed a mural of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi from a local campus, the action coming the same week that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate appeared at the International Court of Justice to denounce genocide charges levied against her country’s military.
Dec 13, 2019
The program — announced Wednesday and launched in partnership with the school district and county health department — is believed to be the most ambitious effort in the country to bring these types of services to at-risk students in public schools.
Dec 13, 2019
Fewer California school districts were flagged as needing support for academic improvement, according to statewide ratings released Thursday. Annual state ratings assign colors for how schools and student groups performed in several categories.
Dec 13, 2019
Significantly fewer school districts will require county help this year for poor performance on the state’s school accountability tool, the California School Dashboard, reflecting what State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond called “steady — albeit slow — progress in important areas.”
Dec 13, 2019
Six years after it implemented the policy, L.A. Unified officials, advocates and students say they’ve seen dramatic improvements in campus culture at many schools, providing lessons for California as it attempts to reshape school discipline across the state.
Dec 13, 2019
Kamiah Brown is an example of a student who benefited from the San Francisco Unified School District’s effort to help more students graduate. Nine high schools — out of the district’s 16 total — added African American Success Liasions, like those who helped Brown.
Dec 12, 2019
It was standing room only during a special meeting for the Lincoln Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday night, where a public hearing was held on Aspire Public Schools’ petition to open a charter school in the district.
Dec 12, 2019
Paso Robles High School’s football and swimming coaches are out of their jobs after an audit revealed the district did not adhere to proper hiring processes.
Dec 12, 2019
San Diego Unified will again consider laying off an unknown number of employees to help close a $70 million budget hole expected next year following across-the-board raises, according to new projections presented to school board trustees Tuesday night.
Dec 12, 2019
Cajon Valley Union School District Trustee Jill Barto has filed a lawsuit against her fellow board members and the district’s superintendent, alleging they have restricted her rights and privileges as a board member after she complained about the superintendent’s travel costs and other issues.
Dec 12, 2019
Dale Marsden has resigned as superintendent of San Bernardino City Unified School District after seven years in the post, announcing his departure at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Dec 12, 2019
The California State Auditor says the Sacramento City Unified School District has done such a poor job with its finances and labor negotiations that the state Legislature should pass a law to keep the same thing from happening at other school districts.
Dec 11, 2019
Former Fresno Unified School District trustee Brooke Ashjian faces a fine of $23,500 from regulators for an alleged lack of disclosure and for decisions he made while on the board.
Dec 11, 2019
Cajon Valley Union School District Trustee Jill Barto has filed a lawsuit against her fellow board members and the district’s superintendent, alleging they have restricted her rights and privileges as a board member after she complained about the superintendent’s travel costs and other issues.
Dec 11, 2019
After months of controversy surrounding how the vacant seat on the Milpitas school board should be filled, the final decision will be made by voters in a special election on March 3, 2020.
Dec 11, 2019
A coalition of education organizations and school officials on Tuesday called on Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders to place one tax measure on the November 2020 ballot “solely focused on education: quality child care, pre-school, K-12 and higher education.”
Dec 11, 2019
The California state auditor painted a dire picture of Sacramento City Unified School District’s finances in a new report released Tuesday and suggested the district should consider trimming wages and benefits for teachers.
Dec 10, 2019
The parents of a 12-year-old girl who died by suicide last spring are suing her school district, school principal and counselor after they “failed and refused" to act when the girl expressed suicidal thoughts.
Dec 10, 2019
San Ysidro School District, which educates the region’s largest share of homeless students, now requires some families to submit paperwork every 30 days confirming they’re homeless. When a sixth grade student failed to comply, the district unenrolled her.
Dec 10, 2019
County officials have pulled back plans to award Census outreach money to the city of Santa Ana and Santa Ana Unified School District, prompting protests from city and school district officials that it’s retaliation for raising public concerns about a proposed county homeless shelter in their city.
Dec 10, 2019
A lawsuit by a girl who was sexually abused by an educator says San Diego Unified School district officials should have intervened sooner.
Dec 09, 2019
State officials overseeing the anti-bias settlement in the Sausalito Marin City School District have agreed to allow district funds to go to its charter school in Sausalito to stabilize operations there during the current unification process.
Dec 09, 2019
Over the course of several months, Folsom Cordova Unified School District considered shifting hundreds of students who were set to attend Vista del Lago to Folsom High. Some parents are not happy.
Dec 09, 2019
San Marcos parents who have protested changes to the district’s school site leadership will press the issue again at the next school board meeting, which will also include discussion of budget cuts to San Marcos schools.
Dec 09, 2019
Diane Perez was appointed superintendent in April 2013, after nearly nine years in the district. She resigned at the Wednesday, Dec. 4, San Jacinto Unified School District board meeting for personal reasons.
Dec 09, 2019
For years, sheriff’s deputies responded to 20 to 24 incidents of assault or battery on Moreno Valley campuses. But in 2018, the reports more than quadrupled.
Dec 09, 2019
Rey Lupian, who has a child attending John C. Fremont Elementary School in Merced, donated $1,525.25 to clear the outstanding school lunch debt for the entire school.
Dec 06, 2019
Reeling from a fire-ravaged autumn in which “disaster days” have already cost some 800,000 students days and even weeks of instruction, California educators are asking the state to address one of the most sweeping consequences of climate-fueled wildfire: the now-annual mass emergency closures of schools.
Dec 06, 2019
Walk into any classroom in Alpaugh Unified and you will see teaching and learning using the latest technology. Students collaborate on digital documents, give presentations on interactive whiteboards, conduct research and even apply to colleges on Chromebooks.
Dec 06, 2019
A new bill going on next year’s ballot is highly anticipated by local public schools to help fund repairs of old systems and infrastructure, as well as new building projects.
Dec 06, 2019
Without any major policy decisions on the agenda this week, the El Rancho Unified school board meeting ended up raucous just the same.
Dec 06, 2019
For the last two years, financial audit after financial audit has taken Montebello Unified to task for how it handles its money, but on Wednesday, the district’s own auditor told the school board the 2019 audit found improvements in many areas.
Dec 05, 2019
The Oceanside Unified School District Board of Education has revised its rules for public comment after the American Civil Liberties Union warned the district to stop restricting public speech.
Dec 05, 2019
A Marin County judge issued a tentative ruling Wednesday on the use of field lights at San Marin High School in Novato, but the decision does not offer a clear signal to flip the switch one way or the other.
Dec 04, 2019
One of 11 people indicted for the alleged A3 charter school scheme has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a crime.
Dec 04, 2019
The majority of the money is funding the salaries of mental health specialists at 19 high schools and middle schools, including nine in Oakland and San Leandro, for five years.
Dec 04, 2019
Gordon H. Beatty Elementary School will be converted into a 6th, 7th and 8th-grade middle school for the 2020-21 school year, signaling a long-term change for Buena Park’s northern school district.
Dec 04, 2019
It apparently took a partial collapse of Dublin Elementary School’s ceiling to finally convince all members of the school board to pour money into replacing it — a move that a vocal group of parents has been demanding for months.
Dec 03, 2019
Foster students miss the most school days of any group of students in the state. But school districts and county agencies are trying to improve attendance through various strategies.
Dec 03, 2019
U.S. math scores have not budged significantly since 2003 on the Program for International Student Assessment and the country ranks 31st among 77 education systems worldwide, according to a report on the fall 2018 results.
Dec 03, 2019
Started last year with just transitional kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade, the program was extended to second grade this year.
Dec 02, 2019
One of three charter school representatives on the unification task force in the Sausalito Marin City School District has dropped out, saying he “did not see a pathway through” thorny issues such as financing, governance and structure.
Dec 02, 2019
California schools undercounted their homeless students by at least 37 percent in 2017-18, failing to provide them transportation, counseling, connections to social services and other benefits they’re entitled to under state and federal law, according to a recent state audit.
Dec 02, 2019
The San Diego County Office of Education has taken up an unusual approach to engaging students in school — encouraging more video games.
Dec 02, 2019
Amid growing concern about mental health among teens, Oakland health insurer Blue Shield of California has committed $10 million to improve access to mental health services in the state’s public schools.
Dec 02, 2019
Debra Hendricks, Sylvan’s top administrator for six years, announced in October she will retire at the end of this school year. Sylvan Union is the third largest school district in Stanislaus County, with 8,300 students attending 10 elementary schools and three middle schools.
Nov 26, 2019
California schools are among the most segregated in the nation, according to a recent report from UCLA’s Civil Rights Project research program. They’re more segregated than schools in the deep South, said Gary Orfield, co-director of the program.
Nov 26, 2019
It turns out those across-the-board 3.7 percent raises for San Diego Unified’s 10,500 employees created a big new structural deficit – adding $45 million in annual operating costs for next year.
Nov 26, 2019
Two of south county’s biggest school districts are hoping they can get permission from voters in March to issue hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds to pay for updates and repairs to aging facilities.
Nov 26, 2019
Folsom-based PowerSchool made a major addition on Monday with the acquisition of Schoology, a learning management system software used by millions of students across tens of thousands of K-12 schools nationwide.
Nov 26, 2019
If the tax is approved by two-thirds of voters, property owners would pay 26.5 cents per building square foot. The owner of a 2,400-square-foot house, for instance, could expect to pay about $636 annually.
Nov 25, 2019
A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California, published last week, found that among likely voters surveyed, fewer than half — 48% — would vote for the state bond measure if the election were held today.
Nov 25, 2019
Less than a year into Gov. Gavin Newsom’s term, a variety of early childhood support programs have been outlined in the state budget. Still, universal preschool is a long way off.
Nov 25, 2019
A Sacramento-area school district allegedly threw away students' projects on the Black Lives Matter movement, calling the work too political and inappropriate, according to a new letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Nov 25, 2019
Colton Joint Unified School District trustees announced this week that Frank Miranda, assistant superintendent of business services, will succeed Jerry Armendarez as superintendent Jan. 1.
Nov 22, 2019
Despite strong objections from the public, trustees of the Tamalpais Union High School District have unanimously agreed to place a parcel tax renewal and increase measure on the March 3 ballot.
Nov 22, 2019
Nearly half of the teachers at the school are new to campus – and most are new to teaching altogether, a significant shakeup that could disrupt student outcomes.
Nov 22, 2019
The ACLU is demanding that San Juan Unified stop censoring students from political artwork after a teacher threw out art class signs supportive of Black Lives Matter.
Nov 22, 2019
After nearly a decade serving San Jose students, administrators of Summit Public Schools have announced that they will close Summit Rainier — one of their two charter schools in the city — due an inability to secure private facilities for both schools.
Nov 22, 2019
The announcement came just weeks after a former Newark Memorial High School principal sued the district and Sánchez, claiming he was wrongfully forced out of his job, though it’s unclear if the threat of a lawsuit had any part in Sánchez’s decision.
Nov 22, 2019
ASan Francisco Bay Area district has decided to go to the voters in March asking them to approve a $575 million construction bond measure so it can build and upgrade school facilities.
Nov 22, 2019
The most inexperienced and least qualified teachers continue to teach in schools with the highest-needs students in California — even though those students require the most expert teachers, and research has shown that the effectiveness of classroom teachers is the biggest in-school factor contributing to students’ achievement.
Nov 21, 2019
Poorer schools in San Diego tend to have less experienced teachers, a trend driven in part by labor laws that allow more senior teachers to bid out of those schools. Some places have experimented with pay increases at high-poverty schools to reverse the trend.
Nov 21, 2019
The Fresno Unified School District board voted unanimously Wednesday night to place a $325 million bond measure on the March 2020 ballot. The board chose the more conservative dollar amount after discussing two other amounts — $390 million and $500 million.
Nov 21, 2019
The Santa Ana Unified School District has a new superintendent: Jerry Almendarez, who comes to Orange County’s second largest school district from Colton Joint Unified in San Bernardino County.
Nov 21, 2019
The California Department of Education has sided with county officials in their latest budget dispute with the Sweetwater Union High School District.
Nov 21, 2019
In a standing room only session, parents told the school board they were angered by Superintendent Carmen Garcia’s choice to hire Emily Parra as principal of San Elijo Elementary School instead of promoting the assistant principal at the campus, Jimmy Miringoff.
Nov 21, 2019
Board members of Modesto City Schools are finding out that $131 million in bond funds won’t stretch that far in making repairs and upgrades to 26 elementary and middle school campuses.
Nov 21, 2019
K-12 schools and community colleges can anticipate a “moderate” 4.2 percent increase in funding in the 2020-21 state budget, instead of a long-anticipated recession, the Legislative Analyst’s Office predicted Wednesday in its annual fiscal forecast.
Nov 20, 2019
A former principal of Newark Memorial High School is suing the school district for wrongful termination and defamation, claiming the superintendent and other officials forced him out with no evidence he did anything wrong, according to a court filing.
Nov 20, 2019
Taking aim at the majority of charter schools in the state, the California Democratic Party has included language in its platform declaring that these schools should be overseen by publicly elected boards, in contrast to the self-appointed boards that run most of them.
Nov 20, 2019
California schools have beefed up their counseling staffs dramatically in the past few years, but the need for student mental health services — to address trauma related to fires, shootings and social media — has far outpaced counselors’ ability to keep pace with student needs.
Nov 20, 2019
Two weeks after the report found that African American students in San Diego Unified schools are half as likely to meet academic standards and more than twice as likely to be suspended than white students, student leaders said they weren't surprised by the findings.
Nov 19, 2019
Just as the dust was starting to settle in the Sausalito Marin City School District, another investigation is kicking up more.
Nov 19, 2019
The project, which is already months into construction, includes a one-story, 9,600-square-foot grounds maintenance and operations building and 30,300-square-foot parking lot.
Nov 19, 2019
With parents, students and school districts on edge after last week’s deadly shooting at a Santa Clarita high school, law enforcement agencies across the region have been fielding numerous reports of people who have threatened similar violence.
Nov 19, 2019
A San Francisco Bay Area superintendent whose job appeared to be in jeopardy was spared from termination after about a dozen community members asked the school board to keep him.
Nov 19, 2019
A new survey suggests that voters have yet to similarly warm up to the latest and heftiest proposal to come before them: a $15 billion state bond for public schools, community colleges and universities that will be decided on the March 3 presidential primary ballot.
Nov 18, 2019
The elephant in the Marin taxpayers’ living room — burgeoning teacher pension costs at local public schools — is the subject of a new report by a Stanford-based policy group.
Nov 18, 2019
The Kentfield School District has filed a lawsuit against the College of Marin, claiming a construction project is violating environmental law and endangering the health of students.
Nov 18, 2019
Bassett Unified plans to ask the voters for more bond money, this time $50 million, but critics say they haven’t fully seen the fruits of previous bonds.
Nov 18, 2019
Teachers in the most high-need schools in the district tend to have less experience than teachers in more affluent schools, according to a data analysis by the Voice of San Diego and the UC San Diego Extension Center for Research.
Nov 18, 2019
An assistant principal has filed a lawsuit against the San Ysidro School District that claims she was harassed over fake rumors of dating a former superintendent and discriminated against when she was twice passed over for promotion.
Nov 18, 2019
Alarmed by the deadly campus assault of a 13-year-old Moreno Valley boy in September and the suicide of a 10-year-old Santa Ana girl in October, some parents are demanding that Temecula schools boldly confront bullying.
Nov 18, 2019
Saying it's owed more than $1 million in back rent, the Antioch Unified School District has given a popular charter school 60 days to pay up about two-thirds of that amount. But both sides have agreed to enter mediation if they can't resolve their dispute.
Nov 18, 2019
California school districts have long struggled with a persistent gap in math test scores between racial and ethnic groups. But at one small rural school district, the gap between Latino and white students has narrowed more than it has at most districts in the state.
Nov 18, 2019
Classes are expected to resume on Monday at schools in West Sonoma County Union High School District after teachers reached a tentative contract agreement with district officials on Friday afternoon.
Nov 18, 2019
More than two months into the school year, San Diego Unified still doesn’t have enough special education teachers and aides to serve its students with disabilities, leading some teachers to worry that some students’ safety and learning may be at risk.
Nov 18, 2019
The trainings sometimes contain graphic and realistic enactments — one in Indiana recently involved shooting teachers “execution-style” with a pellet gun — and may cause distress or even injuries for those involved, critics said.
Nov 15, 2019
The San Ysidro School District last year had the highest percentage of homeless students in San Diego County. Nearly one out of every three SYSD students was classified as homeless.
Nov 15, 2019
The San Diego County District Attorney’s office announced Thursday that it’s launching an online reporting tool for students, parents or school employees to report abuse in schools, as well as a task force to handle complaints.
Nov 15, 2019
Saugus High School’s extraordinarily detailed safety plan likely helped students and staff remain calm and enabled sheriff’s deputies to quickly secure the scene of a campus shooting that left two students dead and four wounded.
Nov 15, 2019
Amid a deficit that has ballooned from $10 million to $48 million in a few months, a San Francisco Bay Area superintendent’s job is on the line as attention focuses on keeping the district solvent.
Nov 14, 2019
A year-and-a-half after their last contract ended, Redlands Unified teachers and classified employees have a new agreement with retroactive 3% raises for the last and the current school years.
Nov 14, 2019
Pleasanton voters will be asked whether they’re willing to pay for a $323 million bond to upgrade local schools — the second bond in three years.
Nov 14, 2019
Protesters, again, drove Oakland Unified school board members out of their seats during Wednesday night’s school board meeting, and into a secluded room where they finished their meeting.
Nov 14, 2019
A report issued last week concludes that the high cost of school employee pensions is very much on voters’ minds — a bad omen for other districts considering parcel taxes to supplement state funding for schools.
Nov 13, 2019
A $17.5 million project to replace and upgrade high-speed wiring at all of Montebello Unified’s campuses — halted because required paperwork was never filed with the state — is now the subject of three lawsuits filed against the district.
Nov 13, 2019
The chief of the Baldwin Park Unified School District Police Department is suing the district, alleging she has not been allowed to return to work after being put on administrative leave earlier this year amid blogger and news reports that she had a criminal history.
Nov 13, 2019
Max Benson died after being restrained at an El Dorado Hills non-public school for special needs children in November 2018. He was restrained face-down by school staff for one hour and 45 minutes, according to court documents.
Nov 13, 2019
Sweetwater Union High School District may have to make budget cuts of up to $36 million for next school year in order to make ends meet, according to recent calculations by county officials.
Nov 13, 2019
After a chaotic Oakland Unified school board meeting in October, when protesters rushed a metal barricade and were struck by police with batons and arrested, the school board — fearing the same protesters would return — banned the public from its first meeting of November and may do it again Wednesday.
Nov 13, 2019
Since becoming superintendent, Kyla Johnson-Trammel has had to take on a fiscal crisis — much of it due to declining enrollments over several years — management decisions made before she arrived and after, the impact of charter school enrollments and poor fiscal controls.
Nov 13, 2019
Hundreds of immigrants, students and immigrant-rights activists walked out of classes and traveled downtown to show their support for the program protecting classmates brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents as children from deportation and allowing them to work or study.
Nov 12, 2019
A new Bakersfield City School District elementary school proposed for the southwest corner of Masterson Street and Paladino Drive in northeast Bakersfield is scheduled to open fall 2023, according to district documents.
Nov 12, 2019
Even as efforts continue to join Sausalito and Marin City’s schools, Willow Creek Academy charter school officials say they are struggling financially amid dropping enrollment.
Nov 12, 2019
A rotating cast of appointed executives has been leading the Inglewood Unified Schools since the district fell into state receivership in 2012. L.A. County Education officials have named Erika Torres as the district’s sixth leader in the last seven years.
Nov 12, 2019
A Fresno County court commissioner has denied a Bullard High cheerleader’s request for a temporary restraining order against Fresno Unified Trustee Terry Slatic.
Nov 12, 2019
The district will be asking voters in March to approve a $398 million bond measure. It would raise money through the sale of bonds to further chip away at facilities needs at 19 campuses that were estimated at $1.2 billion in 2014.
Nov 12, 2019
The Oakland school board Wednesday closed its meeting to the public amid fears that opponents of the district’s plan to close schools would attend and disrupt it as occurred on Oct. 23. Officials said the board may similarly close its meeting next Wednesday.
Nov 12, 2019
In this seaside town, readers of the local paper recently came upon a curious photo: the school district superintendent and four administrators standing and smiling in a field of marijuana plants.
Nov 08, 2019
A former Corona-Norco school district assistant superintendent and the president of an Ontario construction firm that specializes in building schools have been charged with more than two dozen felonies related to the theft of more than $1 million, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday, Nov. 7.
Nov 08, 2019
The Camp Fire burned homes, shops, restaurants, parks — many treasured pieces of an old mining town. It also left thousands of children displaced from their schools — at least from their campuses or even their teachers and peers.
Nov 08, 2019
A former Corona-Norco school district assistant superintendent and the president of an Ontario construction firm that specializes in building schools have been charged with more than two dozen felonies related to the theft of more than $1 million.
Nov 08, 2019
The Los Angeles Unified School District will explore whether it’s possible to allow noncitizen parents to vote in school board elections. Board members approved the formation of a study group to look into a “potential future ballot measure” granting this right.
Nov 08, 2019
Members of the Vista Unified School District board on Wednesday carved out more than $10 million from the $13.3 million it must ultimately cut from next year’s budget.
Nov 08, 2019
California’s homeless K-12 students are being under-counted by several school districts, and also being neglected by the state Department of Education, according to a newly released report.
Nov 08, 2019
David Carter, the Milpitas High School teacher who was widely scorned for wearing blackface to school on Halloween to look like rapper-activist Common, told this news organization Thursday that he now realizes he went too far.
Nov 08, 2019
California’s spending on special education students has increased by nearly 30 percent over the past decade — from $10.8 billion to $13 billion in inflation-adjusted figures, according to a new report.
Nov 07, 2019
Fresno Unified School District trustees are considering placing a multi-million dollar bond measure on the March 2020 ballot that could help attract and retain teachers, plus improve aging school facilities.
Nov 07, 2019
California’s largest school district decided Tuesday it will not rate its schools and instead will share data publicly that provides deeper insight into student growth. The Los Angeles Unified board voted 6-1 to stop a proposal that would have assigned each school a single rating on a 1-to-5 scale.
Nov 07, 2019
Both supporters and opponents of a proposed $15 billion school and college construction bond headed for the March 2020 state ballot are somewhat apprehensive now that the Secretary of State has designated it Proposition 13.
Nov 07, 2019
Even when California schools install new heating and ventilation systems, the contractors aren’t properly adjusting or programming the units to provide enough ventilation to protect the health and welfare of students or their teachers, according to a new study.
Nov 06, 2019
The Kern High School District's Board of Education approved a policy at its meeting Monday night that explains what interactions are deemed inappropriate between staff members and students.
Nov 06, 2019
Those iconic yellow school buses seen driving through Bakersfield and Kern County could get a hint of green added to them as local school districts look into electric options.
Nov 06, 2019
Voters in the Reed Union School District have passed Measure E, a replacement and continuation parcel tax, in final election night results Tuesday.
Nov 06, 2019
The Northern Humboldt Union High School District school board initiated an investigation into the events surrounding the district office on Halloween led by an outside investigator as well as an attorney. Pending the results, the board will make a decision on the consequences for the district employees involved.
Nov 06, 2019
The Trinity County Health Department plans to set the nation’s first mold safety threshold for schools, and Superintendent Jamie Green is calling on lawmakers to protect students state-wide.
Nov 06, 2019
A Southern California school district will pay $28.5 million in damages after a boy with special needs was hit by a car and severely injured while under the supervision of school personnel, attorneys said Tuesday.
Nov 06, 2019
Multiple years of destructive wildfires and planned power outages have closed California schools for an unprecedented number of days, leaving school districts and the state struggling to adjust to what many call the “new normal.”
Nov 06, 2019
Faced with looming budget deficits, the Vista Unified School District board of directors has begun the painstaking process of shaving $13.3 million from its budget for the next school year.
Nov 06, 2019
San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten said she will ask the school board to join Los Angeles Unified’s class action lawsuit against one of the country’s leading e-cigarette companies.
Nov 06, 2019
The Los Angeles school board rejected a proposal to give Yelp-like ratings to its schools, but agreed Tuesday to make data on how students perform year to year on standardized tests more easily available.
Nov 06, 2019
The California State Auditor sharply criticized the Legislature and State Board of Education for failing to ensure that billions of dollars have been spent on low-income children and other targeted students.
Nov 06, 2019
A new state audit has found that the state’s landmark school funding law isn’t adequately ensuring that targeted money is actually going to the disadvantaged students it’s supposed to help.
Nov 06, 2019
San Francisco voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly gave the city permission to build housing projects for teachers and educators on publicly owned land, while a $600 million affordable housing bond, the largest in the city’s history, leads with a narrow margin.
Nov 05, 2019
The average school in the United States was built in 1959 and is now 60 years old. In California, the Office of Public School Construction requires schools to inspect 15 systems and areas, then rank each area one of four ways.
Nov 05, 2019
Many victims of teacher misconduct say their experiences still haunt them regularly – not just because of the abuse or harassment itself, but because the way their cases were handled complicated the healing process.
Nov 04, 2019
Milpitas Unified School District staff member wore blackface on Halloween and imitated an African-American rapper and social activist, upsetting and disturbing a group of district leaders, students, and teachers, according to a school board member.
Nov 04, 2019
Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell said she is moving ahead with plans to close Kaiser Elementary at the end of this school year and merge it with Sankofa Elementary. The district’s plan calls for school closings, mergers or expansions every year over the next three years.
Nov 04, 2019
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s board on Tuesday is expected to pass a resolution directing Superintendent Austin Beutner to organize a work group that will study the possibility of giving voting rights to all parents and legal guardians of students in the district, regardless of citizenship.
Nov 04, 2019
Dissatisfaction with brick-and-mortar public schools is helping drive thousands of families to dozens of California charter schools that offer personalized approaches to education, such as home schooling.
Nov 01, 2019
SUSD joins both the Lodi and Manteca unifieds in providing students and their parents with another way to keep track of what’s going on within their districts.
Nov 01, 2019
Several school districts have canceled classes Friday because of the Maria Fire burning near Santa Paula.
Nov 01, 2019
All schools in Sonoma County will stay closed through at least Friday as the North Bay continues to grapple with the Kincade Fire.
Nov 01, 2019
While some California schools shut their doors in October during a blackout intended to prevent wildfires, lessons continued outdoors for a group of students tucked away high in the Santa Cruz mountains.
Nov 01, 2019
After months of rallies, teary testimonials and a final 11-hour negotiation session, the Berkeley Unified School District and the Berkeley Federation of Teachers have finally reached a tentative agreement on the union’s new contract.
Nov 01, 2019
An independent investigation into allegations that Yucaipa High football players have directed racial slurs toward players from Carter High in Rialto before, during and after their past three Citrus Belt League meetings has been launched on behalf of the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District, an attorney representing the district said this week.
Nov 01, 2019
He said he wanted one less obstacle in the bumpy path to education children too often must navigate.
Nov 01, 2019
Last month, the board approved the “Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning,” joining Moreno Valley and Murrieta Valley Unified School Districts in the move.