News Headlines

Jun 24, 2026

Kern High School District teachers now have access to a free ChapGPT account made to help educators, thanks to an agreement with the chatbot’s creator, OpenAI.

Jun 24, 2026

The Modesto City Schools Board of Education approved the second reading of a bylaw allowing a 292% increase in trustees’ monthly stipend, from $765 to $3,000.

Jun 24, 2026

Attorneys for a woman who alleged she was sexually abused as a minor special needs student by a Los Angeles Unified teacher’s assistant are asking a judge to approve a $300,000 settlement on the plaintiff’s behalf with the district.

Jun 24, 2026

Two days after the resignation of Supt. Alberto Carvalho, the Los Angeles school board unanimously approved a $20.6 billion budget that includes more than 1,000 layoffs and a four-year strategic plan with precise goals for student achievement.

Jun 24, 2026

The Sunnyvale School District, which serves nearly 6,000 students, was sued Monday by two Christian parents who claim the district failed to allow them to opt their elementary-age children out of LGBTQ+ instruction they say conflicts with their faith.

Jun 24, 2026

Graduating high school students in California have set a record for the most completed financial aid applications, according to the California Student Aid Commission.

Jun 24, 2026

California has invested heavily in career technical education, earmarking $300 million annually since 2021 to help schools prepare students for jobs in fields such as healthcare, public safety and engineering.

Jun 24, 2026

The fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to shift control of the California Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new education commissioner answering to future governors and the State Board of Education will become clearer within the next week.

Jun 23, 2026

Former Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho resigned Sunday, amid an ongoing federal and FBI investigation into a controversial multimillion dollar contract awarded to a failed education technology company.

Jun 23, 2026

The criminal case against Cheryl Griffiths, the former superintendent of Sonora Elementary School District, is expected to be dismissed later this year after she completes 25 hours of community service and pays a $100 fine.

Jun 23, 2026

The Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees directed staff members to further explore two options at its meeting on Thursday, June 18, as it considers revising flag practices on campuses.

Jun 23, 2026

Clovis Unified plans to issue a bond in 2028 that would pay for the construction of new school facilities to accommodate the growing student population, including construction of a 37th elementary school at a location yet to be selected.

Jun 23, 2026

Alberto Carvalho’s resignation as superintendent closes a turbulent chapter for Los Angeles Unified schools, but it does not necessarily mean the nation’s second-largest school district is about to change course.

Jun 23, 2026

Schools in California are more divided between rich and poor than in 40 other states in the country, according to a new report. That segregation is occurring both between school districts and within them. Nationally, it’s worse than it was three decades ago.

Jun 23, 2026

California’s effort to shield the decisions of transgender students in public schools from the eyes of prying parents remains on hold this week after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found a state law designed to protect them was likely unconstitutional.

Jun 23, 2026

At first glance, the preschool classroom in Paso Robles looks like any other: young students sing “Wheels on the Bus,” listen to stories and learn colors and shapes through play.

Jun 23, 2026

With Alberto Carvalho’s resignation now official, Los Angeles Unified faces a new challenge: finding a superintendent to lead the nation’s second-largest school district through mounting budget deficits, declining enrollment and political uncertainty.

Jun 22, 2026

Hundreds of students feel unsafe and have engaged in fights in Santa Barbara County public schools, according to a new report issued by the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury.

Jun 22, 2026

Black students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District say racial slurs have recently increased in use across campuses.

Jun 22, 2026

Advocates for Novato schools say the apparent failure of Measure G, the parcel tax on the June 2 ballot, has not ended their quest for more financial support.

Jun 22, 2026

After years of planning, a major renovation project is underway at Mill Valley Middle School.

Jun 22, 2026

A policy revision by San Rafael City Schools means teachers who have an interdistrict transfer request approved for their children will not have to apply for a renewal every year.

Jun 22, 2026

Accusations of inappropriate comments, a discriminatory and hostile environment, falsifying records and Brown Act infringements led the Oroville City Elementary School District to approve a notice of violation to STREAM Charter School on Wednesday.

Jun 22, 2026

The day before Sonja Shaw came in first place in the June 2 primary race for state superintendent of public instruction, a national political group debuted a website that accuses the conservative Chino Valley school board — which Shaw presides over as president — of being extremist and authoritarian.

Jun 22, 2026

While Johnny Alvarado was running for the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, he was being investigated by Parlier Unified over allegations he used district resources for his campaign, The Bee has learned.

Jun 22, 2026

Sacramento City Unified School District is considering asking voters to approve a parcel tax, as district officials search for new local revenue to support student programs and services amid an unprecedented budget crisis.

Jun 22, 2026

A lawsuit alleges that a nonverbal 13-year-old student with autism was locked in a Menifee school restroom for 5 1/2 hours, mocked and denied food.

Jun 22, 2026

For three generations, members of the Palomino family have lived just yards from Rosita Elementary, a school they helped desegregate; and in a recent decision by the Garden Grove Unified School District, the school will now bear the names of the Palomino family’s ancestors.

Jun 22, 2026

The Livermore Valley Joint Unified School Board on Tuesday finalized a three-year contract for a new superintendent after the abrupt departure of former Superintendent Torie Gibson earlier this year.

Jun 22, 2026

California’s public schools have been shrinking for nearly a decade, and new research suggests the decline is in large part fueled by a drop in the number of multilingual students in the state’s schools — but the Bay Area appears to be an exception.

Jun 22, 2026

Los Angeles Unified schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho, who has been under FBI investigation for four months, resigned Sunday night as leader of the nation’s second-largest school system, bringing a breathtaking end to one of the district’s most consequential and high-profile tenures.

Jun 18, 2026

Araceli Peñate’s daughter first scored a 4 on the English Language Proficiency Assessment of California while in sixth grade, meaning her English was “well developed” by state standards.

Jun 18, 2026

Attorneys representing the family of Daniel Padilla Jr., the 14-year-old who died after collapsing at Fresno High earlier this year, are accusing the district of not properly responding to a records request regarding emergency response procedures.

Jun 18, 2026

At Pinedale Elementary in Fresno, there’s almost no classroom aides, after-school tutors or behavioral counselors. Literacy activities and parent workshops are scarce. Field trips? Almost non-existent.

Jun 17, 2026

Fresno Unified School District replaced the mascots at three schools to comply with new state laws that restrict the use of Native American-related mascots, team names, and nicknames in California public schools.

Jun 17, 2026

Twin Rivers Unified School District is expected to approve a new superintendent on June 23, as the district looks to address fiscal oversight concerns involving Highlands Community Charter and the district’s historic enrollment decline.

Jun 17, 2026

San Francisco won’t be joining the growing list of California school districts banning student cell phone use on campuses, at least not yet.

Jun 17, 2026

The Modesto City Schools Board of Trustees approved the first reading of a new bylaw compensating trustees with a $3,000 monthly stipend. Previously, the allotted monthly stipend was $765.

Jun 17, 2026

In a dramatic turn, a county board has rejected an effort by the Los Angeles Unified School District to retake control of Locke High charter school in Watts, allowing an outside nonprofit to continue to run the campus based on the “best interest” of students.

Jun 17, 2026

When one of Yolanda Thomas’ 4-year-old students left her family daycare for California’s transitional kindergarten program, she lost more than a child in her classroom. She also now had an open space that she would need to figure out how to fill.

Jun 16, 2026

Following outcry from parents, the Santa Barbara Unified School District has officially banned YouTube at junior highs and high schools.

Jun 16, 2026

The Lucia Mar school board rejected an effort to ban a prize-winning author’s book from the Arroyo Grande High School library at a meeting on Thursday.

Jun 16, 2026

The criminal case against Cheryl Griffiths, the former superintendent of Sonora Elementary School District, is expected to be dismissed later this year after she completes 25 hours of community service and pays a $100 fine.

Jun 16, 2026

On Tuesday, the fate of a groundbreaking school reform effort will go before the Los Angeles County Board of Education and the decision of whether to shut down the Locke High charter school in Watts will hinge on two different interpretations of academic progress.

Jun 16, 2026

When Pecolia Manigo’s eldest daughter lost out on a $20,000 scholarship after a breakdown over a grade dispute, Manigo heard more than one family’s frustration with a school system.

Jun 16, 2026

Two children at a Redlands elementary school faced racial harassment, discrimination and teasing for months, resulting in them being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, their mother alleged in a lawsuit filed against the school district.

Jun 16, 2026

Marking the start of two weeks of intensive negotiations, the Legislature passed a state budget Monday with higher revenue projections than those proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, providing several billion dollars in additional spending for TK-12 and community colleges in 2026-27.

Jun 15, 2026

Ellwood School just became the latest from Goleta Union to go solar.

Jun 15, 2026

The Lucia Mar Unified School District board of trustees approved pay raises for the district superintendent, assistant superintendents and other management positions Tuesday night despite objections from some staff who argued the raises weren’t fair.

Jun 15, 2026

Again and again, the world’s leading social media companies have targeted students, even as complaints have mounted that they are hurting teenagers’ mental health and academic performance, according to a New York Times review of internal documents that lay bare for the first time these tactics to hook young users.

Jun 15, 2026

Two Santa Paula Unified School District students were expelled for taking photos and creating sexually-explicit images of female classmates using artificial intelligence.

Jun 15, 2026

The mother of two Redlands Unified students alleges in a lawsuit that district officials failed to protect her sons from months of racial harassment despite repeated complaints, substantiated investigations and community concerns about racism in district schools.

Jun 15, 2026

Successes and challenges went hand in hand during her first year as Modesto City Schools superintendent, Vanessa Buitrago told The Bee during a broad-ranging interview.

Jun 15, 2026

As California seeks to leave fewer financial aid dollars on the table for high school graduates, schools in San Diego County are combining persistence with persuasion to get more students to apply for aid.

Jun 15, 2026

A superintendent from a tiny school district in Kern County, working with only a dozen volunteers over three months, garnered at least 670,000 votes in her bid for California superintendent of public instruction, despite taking no campaign contributions.

Jun 12, 2026

After the Chico Unified School District approved a controversial $2 million contract to integrate 691 AI-powered security cameras at a Dec. 17 board meeting, the cameras will soon be implemented across the district.

Jun 12, 2026

The Ventura County Board of Education will spend about $350,000 in the coming year to investigate its own office’s finances, in the wake of admissions by Superintendent of Schools César Morales that he paid himself an unauthorized bonus and gave his top deputies unauthorized benefits.

Jun 12, 2026

The Lucia Mar Unified School District board of trustees approved pay raises for the district superintendent, assistant superintendents and other management positions Tuesday night despite objections from some staff who argued the raises weren’t fair.

Jun 12, 2026

A defamation lawsuit between two opponents in one of San Diego County’s fiercest school board races has drawn to a close, at least for now — more than 18 months after the unusually expensive election was decided.

Jun 12, 2026

Sonjhia Lowery, an educator with over 31 years of experience, will be the next Pittsburg Unified School District superintendent. Lowery, who has held various leadership roles in education, will be taking over for Superintendent Janet Schulze starting July 1.

Jun 12, 2026

The first sign was the empty desks that slowly started to appear. Then there were fewer kindergartners in San Francisco. Shrinking graduating classes in San Jose. An Oakland elementary school that lost so many students it was forced to close.

Jun 12, 2026

In coming days, school districts will find out whether their pressure campaign worked to persuade Gov. Gavin Newsom to turn over the $3.9 billion he planned to withhold, for now, from next year’s state funding for schools and community colleges.

Jun 11, 2026

The building’s owner and employer of the hostages, Kern County Superintendent of Schools, has declined to comment on the five people who successfully remained hidden not far from Searles-Harris on the second floor.

Jun 11, 2026

The San Luis Coastal Unified School District recently listed the property for sale, with an appraised value of $6 million, according to the Los Osos Community Services District.

Jun 11, 2026

According to Feeding America, an estimated one in five children in the country face uncertainty about where their next meal will come from. The summer months can be especially challenging as students lose access to the free and reduced meals they receive during the school year, organizers said.

Jun 11, 2026

Three minutes later, another student walked off the bus, a 5-year-old girl. She was in tears. The driver hadn’t known she was there and had left her on the bus, with the key in the ignition, according to a letter of reprimand filed months later against the driver by the Rio School District.

Jun 11, 2026

As neighbors ramp up their criticism of a Petaluma City Schools plan to cut multiple trees in Cherry Valley Park, the district has posted a detailed response intended to give a “clear and complete picture” of the project.

Jun 11, 2026

The contract calls for a 3% increase in salaries, effective July 1, for the 26 members of the Sausalito District Teachers Association. Other details include a one-time payment of $1,500 for each union member and increases in some stipends and extra duty work.

Jun 11, 2026

A state audit found that the Riverside school district’s use of bond money to build new schools — including a once-planned STEM academy — was legal but its communication to the public lacked transparency, which “contributed to community concern.”

Jun 11, 2026

A major education experiment lasting a generation is on the brink of a controversial ending as Los Angeles school district officials intend to shut down Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy and take back the Watts campus from its private operators.

Jun 11, 2026

A bizarre act of vandalism at a California high school has left students, teachers, and police searching for answers. Nearly 200 doors across campus at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego were glued shut last month during finals week.

Jun 11, 2026

Republicans unleashed attacks on what they characterized as radical gender and anti-parent approaches in school districts during a highly charged, partisan-divided congressional hearing on Wednesday.

Jun 10, 2026

After serving Oxnard Union High School District as superintendent for the past six years, Tom McCoy will begin a new role as superintendent of Burbank Unified School District next month.

Jun 10, 2026

The outlook was less rosy for the Novato Unified School District, where the Measure G parcel tax had a 62.9% approval vote on Monday. While that marked an increase from 61.7% last week, the measure remains well short of the two-thirds threshold to pass.

Jun 10, 2026

A district-commissioned investigation concluded that Placer Union High School District Trustee tom Duncan overstepped governance boundaries in matters involving the Del Oro High School girls basketball program, but officials have declined to say exactly what he did.

Jun 10, 2026

A former Sacramento City Unified kindergarten teacher has filed a lawsuit against the district, alleging she was racially discriminated against, denied disability accommodations and later wrongfully terminated.

Jun 10, 2026

The immediate future of Pasadena Unified School District athletics after a year of cutbacks headlines the Board of Education’s Thursday, June 11, special meeting.

Jun 10, 2026

Four California school districts are under federal “compliance review” of policies and instructional materials related to gender identity and sexual orientation, the Department of Justice announced Monday.

Jun 10, 2026

A mother with two daughters, a father with two sons, both board presidents of high-performing school districts — at first glance, Sonja Shaw and Richard Barrera seem to have a lot in common.

Jun 09, 2026

Santa Rosa City Schools, along with a current employee and a former one, are being sued by a Piner High School graduate who says a wrestling coach groomed her while she was a minor and staff failed to report sexual activity as required by law.

Jun 09, 2026

As a former Fresno Unified football coach’s defamation case against the district and a trustee resumes, new court documents reveal a text message in which Don Arax used derogatory language to describe the woman he is suing.

Jun 09, 2026

Frustration mounted Thursday evening as Sacramento City Unified School District trustees questioned district staff about the reliability of its shifting budget numbers.

Jun 09, 2026

Sacramento City Unified School District staff recommended that St. Hope Public Schools and Sol Aureus College Preparatory remain under corrective-action monitoring, with Sol Aureus receiving a formal notice to correct by Sept. 15.

Jun 09, 2026

Following a public survey to collect community input for the new name of Cesar Chavez Junior High, the Ceres Unified School District has narrowed the list of new names to Louie Arrollo Junior High School, José M. Hernández Junior High School and Eastgate Junior High School.

Jun 08, 2026

The district has previously said Gantner Elementary will have a capacity of 650 students in a TK-6 configuration and up to 850 students if expanded to serve TK-8. Class sizes are expected to average about 24 students in preschool through third grade and 30 students in grades four through six.

Jun 08, 2026

Mill Valley School District Superintendent Elizabeth Kaufman told members of the City Council that the district has successfully coordinated with nine state and local environmental agencies to provide oversight on the $95 million renovation project.

Jun 08, 2026

Redlands Unified School District has substantially complied with nearly all the requirements of a court-ordered judgment aimed at improving its response to sexual misconduct complaints, according to the California Attorney General’s Office.

Jun 08, 2026

Three years after Grossmont Union High School District ended its work with a mental health services provider over the organization’s support of LGBTQ+ youths, a new report by a watchdog group says the decision was at odds with district plans and was harmful to students.

Jun 08, 2026

An experiment involving preschool children is unfolding in South Los Angeles, one that aims to solve a persistent problem in the region’s stressed day-care industry: the lack of workers.

Jun 08, 2026

The November race for California’s highest-profile K-12 education job is coming down to the leaders of two school boards — San Diego and Chino Valley — who are essentially political opposites.

Jun 08, 2026

On a recent Friday morning, Fresno Unified high school students learned about the rise and fall of major companies in the stock market — from Walmart’s longevity to Apple’s surge past oil companies and Amazon’s emergence as a $1 trillion company.

Jun 05, 2026

Steele Lane Elementary School students zipped up their backpacks Thursday for the last time at the 76-year-old campus, which is closing as part of Santa Rosa City Schools’ budget-driven restructuring.

Jun 05, 2026

Clara Adams, a championship high school track athlete originally from Salinas who rose to national attention last year after being stripped of her gold medal at the state finals for spritzing her shoes with a fire extinguisher to celebrate her win, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the California Interscholastic Federation.

Jun 05, 2026

Central Marin police arrested a school cafeteria worker on allegations he had sex with a student. Courtney Goode, superintendent of the Tamalpais Union High School District, announced the arrest Thursday afternoon.

Jun 05, 2026

The removal of the progressive pride flag at Sonoma Valley High School in January triggered immediate outrage by many students, teachers, staff and community members, resulting in its quick restoration.

Jun 05, 2026

“Generally speaking, school district governing boards have authority to take actions that do not conflict with state or federal law or the broad purposes of public education. As a general matter, school districts can decide what flags the district and its schools will fly.”

Jun 05, 2026

Fresno Unified School District plans to make the largest budget cut in recent history for the 2026-27 fiscal year, amounting to $39.8 million and a cut of about 450 positions.

Jun 05, 2026

Responding to revelations that sparked a national reassessment of Cesar Chavez’s legacy, the Davis Joint Unified School District board voted Thursday to rename Cesar Chavez Elementary School.

Jun 05, 2026

For the third time in as many years, Sonoma County’s largest school district has named a new superintendent, this time choosing a career educator and administrator with more than 20 years of experience in the Oakland school district.

Jun 04, 2026

While the situation played out in a building owned and partly occupied by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, and employees of the agency were held hostage, Blakemore said it does not appear Searles-Harris was targeting KCSOS.

Jun 04, 2026

A shining night for Sem Yeto High seniors took a tragic turn Wednesday with a deadly shooting at Fairfield High School. One person was killed, and three others were injured in the shooting, which took place in the Schafer Stadium parking lot about an hour after the graduation ceremony began.

Jun 04, 2026

In Wednesday morning’s report from the County of Monterey Elections Department, Burns had 57% of the 42,894 votes counted, with all precincts reported, in the race for the Monterey County Superintendent of Schools. Ralph Porras, the deputy superintendent, was 14 percentage points behind.

Jun 04, 2026

The Paso Robles school district announced on Saturday that, after receiving complaints from the community, it was reviewing how the photos displaying profanity were allowed to be published in the school yearbook.

Jun 04, 2026

Despite indications the time was right for voters to approve a Novato Unified School District parcel tax increase, Measure G appears to be going down in flames. The measure, which proposed a supplemental tax of $249 per parcel annually for eight years — with no annual increase — was seen by many observers and supporters as a moderate request.

Jun 04, 2026

The San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco County Office of Education will expand special education services in the next academic year with a new program serving students in the fifth through 12th grades who have extensive support needs.

Jun 04, 2026

Oceanside Unified has decided to change the name of Cesar Chavez Middle School to Senda Middle School, months after the late labor leader for whom it was named was accused of sexual abuse.

Jun 03, 2026

Dan Burns, the former Superintendent for the Salinas Union High School District, the largest in Monterey County, has held onto his significant lead over challenger Monterey County Superintendent Ralph Porras in the contest to become the next Monterey County Superintendent of Schools.

Jun 03, 2026

In the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools race, school board member Karen Sher took an early lead in the June 2 primary, earning significantly more votes than incumbent César Morales. In early results released as of before 2 a.m. on June 3, Sher had 39.47%, or 45,845 of the votes counted so far, while educator Maggie Marschner had 33.57%, or 38,993 of the votes. Morales had 26.96%, or 31,315, of the votes.

Jun 03, 2026

With all precincts reporting, 3.411, or 70.37%, of voters backed Measure E, which would set an annual parcel tax of $1,754. The measure, which would raise $14.9 million and has a 5% annual escalator, requires two-thirds or 67.7% support to pass.

Jun 03, 2026

Measure H is the district’s second attempt for a parcel tax renewal and increase after the first try in May 2025 failed to win two-thirds approval. Graff said a “big part” of the apparent change in dynamics so far from last year’s race could be the switch from a per-square-foot parcel tax last year back to the standard flat-rate parcel tax system.

Jun 03, 2026

The tax would generate $5.9 million a year to maintain core academic programs such as math, science, reading and writing. It also would go toward attracting and retaining exceptional teachers and preventing class size increases, said Raquel Rose, the district superintendent.

Jun 03, 2026

Measure I, a $12.5 million bond measure in the Sausalito Marin City School District, was heading toward passage in preliminary returns on election night. With all precincts reporting, the measure had 775 yes votes, or 65.79% approval, compared to 403 no votes, or 34.21%.

Jun 03, 2026

Early returns in California’s primary election showed California Republican Party-endorsed Sonja Shaw and California Teachers Association-endorsed Richard Barrera leading the race to make it onto the November general election ballot for the position of state superintendent of schools.

Jun 03, 2026

Early returns Tuesday night showed a majority of the more than $688 million in school bonds and tax measures on Bay Area ballots trailing the threshold needed to pass.

Jun 02, 2026

The school closure is one of six over the span of two years in the Santa Rosa City School District and is part of a sweeping slate of cuts, closures and reconfigurations happening as district officials contend with the greatest financial crisis in the district’s more than 100-year history.

Jun 02, 2026

A San Rafael High School teacher accused of a relationship with a minor pleaded not guilty to a criminal charge. Kevin Eric Allen, 35, of San Rafael entered the plea on Friday to a misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child under age 18.

Jun 02, 2026

The SLO County Behavioral Health Department’s “Pathways to Student Wellness” grant initiative will disperse $300,000 to help SLO County high schools expand their on-campus wellness centers, according to a Monday news release.

Jun 02, 2026

When it comes to campaign finance filings by candidates for the state superintendent of public instruction, the big movement in recent weeks has been in independent expenditures.

Jun 02, 2026

California’s next governor will inherit school district budget shortfalls, declining school enrollment and pressure to preserve education programs championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Jun 01, 2026

Don Arax, the former Bullard High School football coach, filed a lawsuit against the district and Trustee Keshia Thomas in 2022, alleging Thomas defamed him in an interview. During an interview on the GV Wire “Unfiltered” program, Thomas said the coach used the N-word against her son at a practice.

Jun 01, 2026

A teen girl who was repeatedly stabbed in class at San Ysidro High School last year is suing the school district and her ex-boyfriend — a fellow student who she accuses of stabbing her— and reveals new details of the attack, including that the assailant’s face was apparently wrapped in bandages.

Jun 01, 2026

With the school year ending, the Pasadena Unified School District is embarking on a major toxic-soil-removal project over the summer, which will include removing nearly 200 trees, district officials announced Friday.

Jun 01, 2026

Lillian Ansari’s daughter, Atrina, endured two years of hourslong commutes from Oakland to Marin to attend her nonpublic school.

May 29, 2026

The Santa Paula Unified School District has suspended several Isbell Middle School students for allegedly using smart glasses to take photos and create sexually explicit images of female classmates using artificial intelligence.

May 29, 2026

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against a San Rafael High School teacher accused of having an illegal relationship with a minor. Kevin Eric Allen, 35, of San Rafael is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on a misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child under age 18. The girl was 17 at the time of the offense, according to the criminal complaint.

May 29, 2026

On the one hand, Sonoma County’s largest district continues to take actions geared to digging out of a multimillion dollar deficit that earlier this calendar year raised the real threat of insolvency and state takeover. On the other, a majority of trustees voted Wednesday, May 27, to approve a $76,000 raise for the district’s top fiscal administrator, whose yearlong interim contract is up at the end of next month.

May 29, 2026

The Central Unified School District in Fresno amended board policies this week to close loopholes that allowed a district official to moonlight for a political action committee that he cofounded and that has been donating to local campaigns, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

May 29, 2026

Modesto City Schools Superintendent Vanessa Buitrago has written a letter to local education and policy leaders asking to collaborate on solutions for the cost of healthcare for employees.

May 29, 2026

Oakland’s top education officials insisted this week that the district’s finances have improved so significantly in the past few months — or weeks — that the city should celebrate what is a moment of “real pride.”

May 28, 2026

Zarah Wyly, a program manager at Learning Among the Oaks, told the board she received an email from administrator notifying her that the district would no longer support the program, which has provided nature education to Atascadero elementary schoolers for over 20 years.

May 28, 2026

The Ventura County Board of Education will investigate and audit its own agency after Superintendent of Schools César Morales admitted twice to granting himself and his top deputies pay and benefits that weren’t authorized by the board.

May 28, 2026

The spokesperson for a Fresno-area school district said his off-hours work as cofounder of a $1.5 million political action committee does not conflict with his day job.

May 28, 2026

Modesto City Schools broke ground Tuesday on a shared school facility, funded by Measure X, that is part cafeteria and part multipurpose room.

May 27, 2026

After two decades of partnering with Santa Rosa City Schools for use of baseball fields across three high school campuses, the Redwood Empire Baseball League may be cutting ties with the school district that is now requiring the league to pay thousands to play ball.

May 27, 2026

A consultant’s report on potential Pasadena Unified School District school mergers said no student groups would be disproportionately harmed by any of the proposed campus closure scenarios. Instead, it formally echoed a theme long held by the district’s consultants at local meetings: That controversial proposals to merge certain schools into others would actually expand school programs.

May 27, 2026

Just a few years ago, America’s public schools were rushing to get every child a laptop. Los Angeles middle school teacher Anna Soffer remembers it well: “The idea was that technology is the future, so we need to put tech in every child’s hands.”

May 27, 2026

California’s top education associations and labor organizations across the state gathered in Sacramento last week to denounce a controversial plan by Gov. Gavin Newsom to suspend billions in state school funding.

May 27, 2026

California began screening all students in kindergarten through second grade this school year to determine whether they are at risk of developing reading difficulties, such as dyslexia, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a landmark bill into law in 2023.

May 26, 2026

Thursday night marked the final open house of Whited Elementary. Rincon Valley Union School District trustees voted 5-0 in January to close the district’s oldest school in an effort to address an $8.5 million deficit.

May 26, 2026

Pomona school board members voted 4-1 at their Wednesday, May 13, meeting, to close Armstrong and blend the smaller campus with Golden Springs to address what administrators called “declining enrollment” at Armstrong over the past several years.

May 26, 2026

The staff report stated this has been a long-term agreement, and the current contract is expiring. The new contract would cover the next two school years. “CUHS will pay $131,500 in year one and $135,450 in year two to have a SRO on campus 210 days of the year."

May 26, 2026

Ventura County Superintendent of Schools César Morales handed his top deputies lifetime health benefits, a perk that’s become rare in the county's government agencies due to its high potential cost to taxpayers. The benefit was awarded without the knowledge of the Ventura County Board of Education, two board members told The Star.

May 26, 2026

The Lincoln Unified School District Board of Trustees approved a school reconfiguration plan May 20 that will convert Brookside School from a TK-8 campus into a TK-6 elementary school as the district prepares to open a second comprehensive middle school at Don Riggio School in the 2027-28 school year.

May 26, 2026

Davina Goldwasser, a Marin County resident, will be the new superintendent of Petaluma City Schools starting July 1, according to the announcement. The appointment was set to be finalized Tuesday night by the Board of Education during its regular meeting.

May 26, 2026

Petaluma City Schools district leaders are considering different options for a proposed $40 million project adjacent to Casa Grande High School that could result in a new performing arts center as well as potential housing for district employees, another school facility and more.

May 26, 2026

Sacramento City Unified School District approved the layoffs of over 90 more employees Thursday night despite a decision from an administrative law judge that these employees should be reinstated for the 2026-27 school year.

May 26, 2026

Clovis Unified School District has raised the development impact fee by 8.9% on new residential construction, citing increased demand for school facilities due to prospective growth in enrollment.

May 26, 2026

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget could provide Sacramento City Unified with roughly $29 million in ongoing new funding, though it remains uncertain how much the money will alleviate pressure from the district’s unprecedented budget crisis.

May 26, 2026

San Diego County’s two highest-paid superintendents made well above half a million dollars a year each in total pay in 2024, data show.

May 26, 2026

The Modesto City Schools Board of Education held its final meeting of the school year Monday night, tackling teacher contract negotiations, a potential bond measure, physical education policies and student representation.

May 26, 2026

Pasadena Unified School Board President Tina Fredericks, under fire for her alleged role in a controversial proposal to merge campuses in the district, said on Friday, May 22, the school board is “evaluating” allegations that trustees violated the state law that governs public access to meetings.

May 26, 2026

It’s been nearly three months since Oakland teachers celebrated a decisive victory at the bargaining table after district officials gave in to nearly all their demands to avoid a strike.

May 26, 2026

California voters will soon choose the state’s next schools chief. But by the time the winner takes office, the job may no longer control the state Department of Education.

May 26, 2026

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May budget revision takes a significant step toward addressing California’s long-underfunded special education system.

May 26, 2026

Twin Rivers Unified School District teachers in Sacramento spent 12 days on strike in March, in part, because healthcare premiums for some teachers and their families had reached $1,600 a month — a growing burden now fueling labor battles in school districts across California.

May 22, 2026

A small group of San Luis Obispo parents and students are rallying to shore up staffing at school libraries, as budget cuts are expected to leave the district’s elementary schoolers without full-time librarians.

May 22, 2026

Hundreds of Modesto City Schools teachers packed the parking lot and streets outside the Monday night Board of Education meeting, holding signs and wearing Modesto Teachers Association shirts.

May 22, 2026

More than 1,000 Los Angeles school workers are expected to lose their jobs after the Board of Education on Thursday approved layoffs and, separately, after district management quietly terminated the employment of workers without tenure or other union job protections.

May 22, 2026

A San Francisco Bay Area school district has replaced a middle school math teacher for the remainder of the academic year following an investigation by KQED and ProPublica that showed he had been accused of inappropriately touching students at two previous jobs.

May 22, 2026

Backers of a lawsuit who claim that state funding to repair and update school facilities illegally favors wealthy school districts will ask a Superior Court judge Friday to expedite action in the case.

May 21, 2026

The middle school renovation is expected to cost approximately $95 million. Funding comes from the district’s $194 million Measure G bond, approved by voters in 2022.

May 21, 2026

Khimberly’s family in March filed a damages claim — a possible precursor to a lawsuit — against the Los Angeles Unified School District, contending the girl died because the district had failed to protect her despite previous warnings that she was being bullied.

May 21, 2026

After sending 37 preliminary layoff notices in March, the San Bernardino school district cut 12 non-teaching positions, but a district official said no employees lost their jobs.

May 21, 2026

The Ventura Unified School District has picked a company to begin negotiations on developing the property of the district office, one of four surplus properties that the district is trying to sell as it faces financial challenges.

May 21, 2026

The proposed legislation, which was introduced in March, aims to fill a gap in funding that has left SLO County schools and public agencies reeling after PG&E doled out its final mitigation payments in 2025.

May 21, 2026

The school placed Allen, a drama teacher, on administrative leave and worked with police on the investigation, Graham said. Detectives reviewed communications between Allen and the minor and obtained statements from the minor and witnesses.

May 21, 2026

Modesto City Schools heard a draft resolution Monday night for a bond measure that could appear on the November ballot.

May 21, 2026

A controversial adult charter school in Sacramento will remain open after the county Board of Education reversed a decision by Twin Rivers Unified School District to close the school.

May 21, 2026

When Celestina Castillo filled out the ethnicity forms at her children’s school, she’d always check Latino and Native American. After all, the family is proud of both its heritages.

May 20, 2026

The Pasadena Unified School District will conduct a year-long environmental impact report on the beloved tower at Eliot Arts Magnet Academy to determine whether the structure is safe to remain or will need to be demolished, its superintendent said.

May 20, 2026

The initial message was reported to the district, and Paso Robles High School administration and law enforcement determined there was no credible threat to the school, spokesperson Melissa Godsey told The Tribune on Tuesday.

May 20, 2026

San Rafael City Schools should make it easier for district employees to enroll their children at the school where they work, according to a group of parents. The group collected petitions with 182 signatures and presented them to the San Rafael Board of Education at its meeting on May 12.

May 20, 2026

A six-year-old boy died last week after a table fell on him during an afterschool program at a school in Burlingame, according to several reports.

May 20, 2026

The hearing room broke into emotional cheers Tuesday evening when the Sacramento County Board of Education voted to overturn Twin Rivers Unified School District’s decision to revoke the charter for Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools, preventing the schools from being forcibly closed.

May 20, 2026

The ban would start at the beginning of the school year this fall. Older students would see screen-time limitations phased in over the 2026-27 school year.

May 19, 2026

Many Sonoma County elementary and middle school students are lagging far behind their California public school peers in making up for academic losses from online instruction during the Covid-19 pandemic, a new national study shows.

May 19, 2026

César Morales, Ventura County’s superintendent of education, paid himself a $15,575 bonus in 2024 that was not approved by the Ventura County Board of Education, then repaid the money after people began to ask his office about it.

May 19, 2026

Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education President Tina Fredericks created her own consolidation plan that proposed closing six schools, public records show.

May 19, 2026

The top two Los Angeles school district administrators in charge of instruction during the recent rise in test scores are leaving as the school board moves on with major budget and student technology issues without its nationally acclaimed and now entirely silenced leader, Supt. Alberto Carvalho.

May 18, 2026

Since 1993, Inland Empire Community Foundation has managed a fund for Riverside Educational Enrichment Foundation, a nonprofit serving the students and teachers of Riverside United School District. REEF funding has become a valuable lifeline, providing grants to teachers and scholarships to students.

May 18, 2026

Temecula’s first student school board member closed her final meeting with fiery remarks calling out the board for what she called its unprofessional behavior. The Temecula school board has been criticized in recent months and accused of personal attacks and poor behavior on the dais.

May 18, 2026

Attorneys for the state of California have been accused of violating two court orders by withholding thousands of pages of evidence in a sexual abuse lawsuit involving a former student at California School for the Deaf-Riverside.

May 18, 2026

The Sausalito Marin City School District has appointed Jamal Graham, a former employee for 10 years, to the board of trustees. Graham, who retired last June as executive assistant in the superintendent’s office, was appointed unanimously to the provisional seat on Thursday.

May 18, 2026

Trustee Kevin Saavedra was accused by an unnamed complainant of violating financial disclosure rules for failing to disclose reportable investments. The case was dismissed on April 20 due to lack of evidence, said Christopher Burton, assistant chief of the FPPC’s enforcement division.

May 18, 2026

School districts across the Bay Area are asking voters to approve more than $688 million in school bonds and parcel tax measures in a last-ditch effort to avoid deep budget cuts to programs and teacher layoffs.

May 18, 2026

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed spending plan this week includes $2.4 billion in new ongoing investments for special education and paid pregnancy leave for teachers — issues teachers have brought front and center in the face of high living costs and staff retention struggles.

May 18, 2026

By the time California’s next superintendent of public instruction takes office early next year, the job could look very different. Until then, though, the 10 people running insist they’re committed to whatever it may look like — as they compete to make it past a crowded June 2 primary.

May 18, 2026

When a patient at Los Angeles General Medical Center experienced a medical emergency, Brandon Maldonado grabbed an intercom and called a “code blue” to bring immediate help from emergency hospital staff.

May 15, 2026

Until last month, California was poised to join nearly a dozen other states that ban cell phones in K-12 schools. But under pressure from school boards and administrators, lawmakers scaled back a bill that would have required such a blanket ban.

May 15, 2026

The Fresno Unified School Board voted to oppose the Southeast Development Area (SEDA) plan on Wednesday by a narrow margin, reasoning that project could pull away students and funding.

May 15, 2026

The Murrieta Valley school board was met with a standing ovation after it unanimously agreed to send the $359 million measure to fund repairs and renovations to voters — just two years after a potential bond was stopped by two board members.

May 15, 2026

San Francisco’s superintendent of schools has agreed to testify before Congress in June at the request of a Republican-led committee that is pressing into the culture wars, targeting what they call an erosion of parental rights and the indoctrination and the sexualization of children in public education.

May 15, 2026

Public school districts were winners in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal for next year, with boosted funding that includes $2.4 billion in ongoing increases for services to students with disabilities, money that education officials have said is badly needed as the number of children who need extra help grows.

May 15, 2026

During the presentation for his final budget proposal, Gov. Gavin Newsom said leaving a $0 deficit for the next few years was in the “spirit” of his predecessor, Jerry Brown, who left him an $8.9 billion surplus and a bolstered rainy day fund.

May 15, 2026

With one contentious exception, school districts can check off most items on their wish list for 2026-27 with the release on Thursday of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget.

May 14, 2026

Conflicting over the district’s contribution to employees’ healthcare benefits, Ventura Unified, Ventura Unified Education Association and Ventura Education Support Professionals Association declared an impasse May 7.

May 14, 2026

One of the nation’s three major credit rating agencies has downgraded Sacramento City Unified School District’s bond rating, citing the district’s poor budget management and uncertainty over its plans to rebuild reserves.

May 14, 2026

The Board of Trustees of the San Diego Unified School District on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve agreements that will allow all staff members who would otherwise be laid off an opportunity to accept new positions within the district.

May 14, 2026

The Alvord school board has reduced the number of layoff notices it gave to administrators, but it’s not clear how many teachers, if any, will be laid off for next school year.

May 14, 2026

An Inland Empire high school water polo player’s mother is calling on two school board members to resign after accusing them of “sexualizing” members of the boys water polo team who were photographed wearing Speedos at a school baseball game.

May 14, 2026

A California law designed to help survivors of childhood sexual abuse seek justice is now creating difficult financial and legal challenges for school districts across the state.

May 14, 2026

Nearly a dozen school districts across California are being recognized for their significant improvements in both reading and math compared to their peers. It comes as the state lags behind others in its academic growth, according to newly released findings.

May 14, 2026

Facing a growing budget deficit, Fresno Unified School District, California’s third-largest, finalized hundreds of layoff notices this week, eliminating positions tied to mental health, foster youth services and chronic absenteeism interventions.

May 13, 2026

Fresno Unified trustees have given the green light to move forward with the school district’s proposed layoffs and “bumps” ahead of the 2026-27 school year. The board approved two resolutions to reduce or eliminate certain certificated and classified roles during a special meeting Monday afternoon.

May 13, 2026

A Pasadena Unified School District committee has recommended that no schools merge into others, a big victory for parents and other stakeholders who for months have decried a “consolidation” process they said would negatively impact students and neighborhoods and which itself they said was tainted.

May 13, 2026

Across the country, the U.S. is experiencing a reading recession — a slide in the reading skills of students that predates pandemic school disruption, but there are several relative bright spots in California that include the Modesto, Compton and Los Angeles school districts, researchers say.

May 13, 2026

Look for three key numbers affecting TK-12 funding when Gov. Gavin Newsom releases a much-anticipated revision of 2026-27 state budget on Thursday, known as the “May revision.” One big, one small and one huge.

May 13, 2026

State leaders’ recent attention to early literacy has led to funding and new programs to help close the literacy achievement gap. But math? The state hasn’t focused on it. And that neglect shows.

May 13, 2026

Students attending Compton Unified School District and Modesto City Schools are improving in reading faster than students in demographically similar districts amid what a team of researchers has identified as a national “reading recession.”

May 12, 2026

District leaders say the cuts are, in part, a result of lower projected revenue due to a new, controversial Santa Rosa City Schools policy that puts tighter limits on Santa Rosa students seeking to transfer out of the district and into neighboring systems including West Sonoma County Union High School District.

May 12, 2026

In the midst of strong public backlash, the Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee voted Monday, May 11, on what, if any, school closure scenarios to recommend to the Board of Education for consideration.

May 12, 2026

The company that operates online learning system Canvas said it struck a deal with hackers to delete the data they pilfered in a cyberattack that created chaos for students, many of them in the middle of finals.

May 12, 2026

The $1 million project, slated to be completed this summer, is intended to improve the central outdoor gathering area of the Bantam Way campus, resulting in “a more functional and inviting outdoor space for students and staff,” said PCS Chief Business Officer Amanda Bonivert in an email to the Argus-Courier.

May 12, 2026

The Davis Joint Unified School District is preparing to tighten campus cellphone restrictions next school year, with junior high and high school students facing significantly stricter limits on when they can use their phones.

May 12, 2026

Over four-years, a Los Angeles school district manager enriched herself with $3 million in kickbacks by working with a tech company executive to deliver $22 million in work, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by the school district.

May 12, 2026

Educators, advocates and the state’s largest teachers’ union warn that a proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom could delay help for students struggling to learn English.

May 12, 2026

The primary for the state’s top K-12 schools job is in less than a month, but judging from the polls, it’s debatable whether anyone is paying attention.

May 12, 2026

Jason Agan was impossible to miss at Angelo Rodriguez High School. The San Francisco Bay Area teacher was loud and gregarious, a fixture on campus since the Fairfield school opened in 2001.

May 12, 2026

Andrea Gillanders’ son, a third grader, attributes his testing anxiety to Fresno Unified School District’s implementation of i-Ready, a digital learning platform designed to help teachers identify learning gaps and personalize instruction.

May 11, 2026

Even with the money saved by layoffs, the board may need to decide on whether or not to enter a receivership or risk 5,000 employees not being paid come next school year.

May 11, 2026

Goodman, who is spearheading the fundraising, said the partnership is seeking to raise $1.675 million to fund the program over the next three years.

May 11, 2026

On Monday, May 11, the Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee will be holding its seventh and final meeting, where it is scheduled to vote on sending school merger recommendations to the Board of Education.

May 11, 2026

Press advocacy groups are calling on the Tamalpais Union High School District to drop inquiries into coverage and cease censorship of the Redwood Bark, Redwood High School’s student newspaper.

May 11, 2026

The program has been contending with the declining availability of grand funding and trying to figure out, with the help of volunteers, a path to sustainability.

May 11, 2026

Recess isn’t just a fun break for grade schoolers. It’s crucial to good health and good grades for kids of all ages. That’s the message from a leading pediatricians group, which just released the first new guidance in 13 years about this unstructured time at school and how it needs to be protected.

May 11, 2026

The order of new elementary schools built in Folsom will change. On Thursday, the Folsom Cordova Unified School District school board approved shifting the building order of two elementary schools.

Increasingly organized groups of parents advocating for an immediate return to class are emerging as a potent political counterweight to teachers unions.

The teachers union in Sacramento City Unified School District released its framework for reopening for in-person learning on Tuesday, and the plan prioritizes offering the COVID-19 vaccine to all of its 4,500 district employees.

Experts have found that remote instruction falls far short of classroom learning. But surveys have shown that a majority of Black and Latino parents in Los Angeles are still hesitant about sending their children back into schools.

Some teachers are reluctant to return to classroom settings as Orange County students resume at least some in-person learning. So substitute teachers might be in demand more than ever before.

Santa Clara County schools have the green light starting Wednesday to usher in a phased return to real face-to-face lessons. But the vast majority are opting instead to stay the course through the rest of the semester.

At Lucerne Valley Elementary in Southern California’s high desert, hundreds of students have returned to in-person learning and a dramatically different school day.

Pleasanton is the latest city to take a hard look at the role of police in the community and schools — and how to respond to mental health calls. The city agreed to revise its police use of force policies and possibly remove school resource officers.

Rescue Union School District, home to 3,700 students at its five elementary schools and two middle schools, is able to open since the county has remained off of the state’s monitoring list and complied with the long list of requirements to reopen.

Masks will be required at every level. In elementary schools, half of students will end their day at lunchtime, before the other half arrives. Middle and high school kids will trade off and spend two days a week on campus.

At the June 23 Oceanside Unified School Board meeting, Trustee Mike Blessing asked staff to present an option for “100 percent return” in the fall, District Communications Director Matthew Jennings said.