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 22, 2021
Lars Christensen, an assistant superintendent at Tamalpais Union High School District since 2015, will retire at the end of the school year in June.
Jan 22, 2021
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Thursday, making the reopening of schools a top priority. The president is calling on Congress for $130 billion in additional aid for K-12 schools, and another $350 billion in state and local relief to help school districts reopen.
Jan 22, 2021
Oakmont High School reported five students and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19 between Jan. 11 and Jan. 17. The positive tests forced 211 students and eight staff members to isolate at home.
Jan 22, 2021
A trial is concluding in a lawsuit against the Riverside Unified School District that alleges a kindergarten student was sexually assaulted by another girl on a school playground after school officials ignored her mother’s complaints.
Jan 22, 2021
Schools can be used as COVID-19 vaccine centers under new state guidelines, but they’ll have to apply to health authorities for the role — and the more pressing issue is the shortage of doses, not the lack of inoculation sites.
Jan 22, 2021
An after-school tutoring program kicked off amid the global health crisis is showing early promise. Step Up Tutoring is a new nonprofit that connects volunteer tutors with teachers whose students need additional academic support.
Jan 22, 2021
An incident involving the Confederate flag resulted in disciplinary action at a Rocklin area high school. Whitney High School student had the flag displayed on their vehicle.
Jan 22, 2021
It remains unclear when California’s K-12 campuses will reopen for in-person instruction, but one Bay Area school district has committed to continuing distance learning in the fall and beyond — at least as an option.
Jan 22, 2021
An unpredictable vaccine supply and lack of statewide coordination has school districts across California struggling to figure out how to vaccinate their teachers and other school staff — and equally importantly, when.
Jan 22, 2021
The California Supreme Court has denied a petition seeking to force the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide instruction and other services in person to students who have been most harmed by distance learning.
Jan 21, 2021
The proposed 2021-22 budget for the Chico Unified School District includes a possible surplus of funds, the district said during Wednesday’s school board meeting.
Jan 21, 2021
The Paradise Unified School District Board of trustees on Tuesday night approved layoffs to both classified and certificated staff. The unanimous vote was a difficult one, according to Superintendent Tom Taylor.
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.
Jan 21, 2021
It is likely to be close to six weeks before anything beyond cross country, golf, tennis, track or swimming is permitted, and possibly even longer for higher-contact sports, like football, according to health experts.
Jan 21, 2021
Five statewide organizations representing school districts and county offices of education that had refrained from commenting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to entice school districts to begin reopening are urging major revisions they say would make the plan feasible.
Jan 21, 2021
The Vista Unified School District is addressing racial inequity through a superintendent’s task force that is looking at how schools can root out bias and discrimination in education
Jan 21, 2021
Some advocates now recommend schools to partner with legal aid organizations to provide consultations, since they are trusted places and sources of information for many immigrant families.
Jan 21, 2021
Some school officials say a proposal touted by Gov. Gavin Newsom as financial assistance to reopen California campuses attaches strings that would strain their budgets.
Jan 21, 2021
Alpine school staff will get shots this week thanks to the Southern Indian Health Council, while San Diego County has yet to provide vaccinations to teachers.
Jan 20, 2021
Now in her fifth year on the job, Pleasant Valley School District Superintendent Angelica Ramsey announced plans to move on to a new role in Texas.
Jan 20, 2021
Two individuals at Ferndale Elementary School recently tested positive for COVID-19, but the district superintendent is confident safety protocols are preventing spread to additional students and staff.
Jan 20, 2021
After sitting empty for more than a decade, demolition is finally underway at the former Jacobs Junior High School campus in south Eureka. The recent demolition follows years of outcry from the surrounding neighborhood.
Jan 20, 2021
The California Interscholastic Federation, in a memo Tuesday to its members, threatened severe punishment to schools that participate in unsanctioned interscholastic sports competition. It is unclear how many schools went “rogue” and have played on their own.
Jan 20, 2021
Average teacher pay in California public schools rose to $84,531 last school year, an increase of 2.2% from the prior year, new state data show. Teacher pay was highest in Silicon Valley’s Mountain View-Los Altos Union High school district.
Jan 20, 2021
After making the controversial decision in November to eliminate police officers from its campuses, the Fremont Unified School District board will reconsider the idea at its meeting Wednesday night.
Jan 20, 2021
Students in Rocklin Unified School District returned to campus Tuesday to begin in-person classes. The school board voted Dec. 15, after hours of deliberation, to bring students back to campuses full-time five days a week if coronavirus infection rates improved in Placer County.
Jan 20, 2021
California’s COVID-19 suspension of youth sports competitions is expected to end next week, but the state’s top public health official on Tuesday voiced reservations about the timeline and said it could change.
Jan 20, 2021
Amid escalating political tension nationwide, California’s school counselors are urging students, families and school staff to talk about the insurgency in Washington, D.C., and the importance of non-violent communication.
Jan 19, 2021
One of the biggest worries during the pandemic is just how far behind students have fallen academically. Now that vaccinations are rolling out, plans are being hatched that gamble on the idea that summer might be a good time to bring students on campus and begin the work of catching them up.
Jan 19, 2021
For the first two weeks of January, some Ventura County school districts chose to take a buffer period with distance learning only as a safety precaution because of the steep number of COVID-19 cases locally. But as the situation worsens, district leaders are again delaying in-person instruction.
Jan 19, 2021
Manteca is the county’s largest public school district in Phase 2 of its reopening plan, in which students alternate in the classroom two days a week and distance learn three days a week. MUSD had been 100% distance learning since March.
Jan 19, 2021
Nearly 1,300 Marin school employees received their first vaccination shots Sunday at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael.
Jan 19, 2021
Though further information on the individuals who experienced positive results was not immediately available, schools are offering distance learning only and students have not been on campus, save for small groups of special education and English-learner students and some students attending outdoor athletic conditioning.
Jan 19, 2021
Marin schools saw a rise in coronavirus cases among students and staff after the holiday break, including one additional incidence of school-based transmission, according to the county’s school data map updated Friday.
Jan 19, 2021
California just toughened the rules affecting how and when schools can reopen and offer in-person instruction. San Diego County school districts that were planning to reopen middle and high schools in the next few weeks now are postponing those plans indefinitely.
Jan 19, 2021
Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner on Monday pressed for using schools as COVID-19 vaccination centers, saying his 900 campuses are “ready to go” — a move that could speed up the reopening of in-person classes for students.
Jan 19, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden has now doubled down on his pro-teacher stance by nominating San Diego Unified superintendent Cindy Marten to be deputy secretary of education, the number two position in the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Jan 15, 2021
School employees in Kern County are officially next in line to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. It’s been a long wait for some educators — and their students — who haven’t been back in their classrooms for almost a year, but the news is in some ways coming a little sooner than expected.
Jan 15, 2021
After Paso Robles Joint Unified School District’s board of trustees stopped recording its meeting on Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education’s superintendent scolded trustees and district officials over a hiring slip-up in a surprising outburst.
Jan 15, 2021
Governor Gavin Newsom has made changes to his plan to reopen schools, including a small decrease in the case rate that would allow elementary students to campus for in-person classes.
Jan 15, 2021
Coaches, parents and student-athletes are itching to get back into competition and start the high school sports season in California. The latest initiative is a grassroots movement started on Facebook called “Let Them Play CA."
Jan 15, 2021
The DSUSD has been preparing to be ready to open its schools for a hybrid style of in-person learning as early as Tuesday, Jan. 19. That will not happen, though, because to have in-person classes, a county must be out of the purple tier.
Jan 15, 2021
When Central Unified School District voted to lower graduation requirements in October to be on par with nearby districts, officials said they couldn’t promise there wouldn’t be layoffs.
Jan 15, 2021
The principal and three other employees at a popular southeast San Diego charter school are likely to stay now that the San Diego Unified School Board has voted unanimously to let them keep their benefits.
Jan 15, 2021
Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo, who has been quarantining since last week after contracting the coronavirus, gave a positive update about her recovery on Thursday, Jan. 14.
Jan 15, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday the creation of one online spot where school districts can find technical information and resources, and parents can find answers and lodge concerns on reopening schools during the pandemic.
Jan 15, 2021
The Los Angeles Unified School District has no intention of suing the state over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s school reopening proposal, the district said Thursday, Jan. 14.
Jan 15, 2021
California’s top education officials are struggling with how — or even if — millions of students should take annual standardized tests at home amid ongoing school closures and the hardships of surging COVID-19 rates.
Jan 15, 2021
San Diego Unified officials again held off on setting a potential date for reopening schools, because COVID-19 cases and deaths continue their relentless growth.
Jan 15, 2021
California officials Thursday ordered schools statewide to begin reporting new coronavirus cases within 24 hours and their reopening status every two weeks as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s broader effort to spur a return of kids to the classroom.
Jan 14, 2021
Rosedale Union School District announced its plans to bring students back onto its school campuses beginning Tuesday in phases over three weeks.
Jan 14, 2021
The Stockton Unified School District Board of Education denied TEAM Charter Schools’ renewal petition during Tuesday’s scheduled meeting.
Jan 14, 2021
Community members called out the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District board of trustees on Tuesday for its lack of interpreters during meetings, raising concerns about discrimination against Spanish language speakers.
Jan 14, 2021
About 1,500 employees with the Chico Unified School District were able to receive the vaccine on Wednesday, the district announced. Participation was voluntary.
Jan 14, 2021
Citing the recent surge in coronavirus cases and advice from city and county health officials, Pasadena Unified School District has suspended in-person programming for the limited number of students who have been on campus for classes and childcare.
Jan 14, 2021
There’s a strategic reason attorneys make these arguments when defending clients in the initial answer to lawsuits, according to John Nockleby, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles
Jan 14, 2021
Dr. Howard Taras, a UC San Diego pediatrician who is advising the district on reopening, said Tuesday he hopes all school staff will be able to get vaccinations in a few weeks and all willing school staff may be vaccinated by April.
Jan 14, 2021
High schools throughout the Bay Area have been in limbo for months, waiting for clarity on if and when their teams can compete this school year. California’s indefinite stay-at-home order complicates the timeline.
Jan 14, 2021
As Covid-19 cases continue to soar in California, a majority of the State Board of Education is now in favor of pursuing a waiver from the federal government that would remove the obligation to carry out standardized testing for the second year in a row.
Jan 14, 2021
When lawyers representing Moreno Valley Unified School District argued that 13-year-old Diego Stolz and his family were partly to blame for his death at the hands of two bullies, it wasn’t the first time such an argument was used — and likely won’t be the last.
Jan 14, 2021
Roseville school officials announced on Wednesday that they will pause on-campus learning at Roseville High School and return to distance learning beginning Jan. 14 through Jan. 22.
Jan 14, 2021
Wednesday’s demonstration was among the first in the Bay Area since Newsom announced his proposed budget last Friday, devoting significant amounts of a projected $15 billion surplus toward dealing with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jan 13, 2021
The K-8 school district had brought all grades of students back into classrooms in fall. However, like most Kern school districts, it closed its doors in late December, citing staffing challenges as local COVID-19 case rates soared.
Jan 13, 2021
According to the district, the agreement would have settled the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years for articles that were under discussion: a 3% one-time payment and leaves/absences, and does not impact an in-person instruction agreement both parties signed on Nov. 6.
Jan 13, 2021
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond says social isolation and the effects of COVID-19 have upended education in the California school system and is urging schools to use money allocated to them to invest in their student's mental health.
Jan 13, 2021
San Juan Unified School District identified the employee who died from COVID-19 over winter break as Bella Vista High School cross country coach Tom Laythe. Laythe was also a substitute teacher in the district.
Jan 13, 2021
The Los Angeles Unified school board has given the green light for the district to sue the state over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s school-reopening proposal or to take legal action to recoup money for meals it’s been providing to the community since the coronavirus pandemic hit last March.
Jan 13, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newson is proposing to spend $15 million for the next phase of creating a data system that will shed light on effective strategies contributing to student success and to provide useful tools to students trying to plan their education careers.
Jan 13, 2021
The Los Angeles Times asked parents, guardians and teachers how they are explaining the events of the day to their children and students. Below are some of the responses we received, including explanations that showcased common concerns and others that had a unique approach.
Jan 13, 2021
Superintendents of two of the largest school districts in California said nothing had changed: Their districts won’t pursue $2 billion in state funding in return for committing by Feb. 1 to send younger students back to school when Covid infection rates fall.
Jan 13, 2021
The Los Angeles Unified school board voted Tuesday to authorize the district to sue California over Gov. Gavin Newsom's new school reopening plan, escalating tension between the country's second largest school district and the governor.
Jan 12, 2021
Los Angeles Unified School District officials and labor leaders are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to beef up his proposed "Safe Schools for All'' reopening plan to reflect the disproportionate impact months of COVID-19-related distance learning has had on students in low-income communities.
Jan 12, 2021
A mountain community school board trustee who was part of the group that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week refused to resign from his position on Monday night, despite calls that he does not deserve to hold the seat.
Jan 12, 2021
Before the school year started, Clovis Unified School District officials said teachers would have the choice to either return to in-person teaching or continue to work remotely. That position shifted as more students began to return to campuses.
Jan 12, 2021
His budget would steer $85.8 billion to K-14 schools next year, a sum that’s billions of dollars more than required by law. He’s also calling on legislators to act on $2 billion immediately to help schools reopen next month.
Jan 12, 2021
Once COVID-19 vaccines are available to children, Los Angeles students will have to be immunized before they can return to campus, Supt. Austin Beutner said Monday. Beutner however, did not suggest that campuses remain closed until then.
Jan 12, 2021
Advocates of a popular southeast San Diego charter school, Gompers Preparatory Academy, say a San Diego Unified proposal would force the charter school’s founding leaders to make a difficult choice: stay at Gompers and lose the district’s prime health benefits, or be reassigned to a district school.
Jan 12, 2021
Schools would have to offer in-person learning for primary students starting Feb. 16 in order to get the full funds under the governor’s $89.5 billion education budget. Lawmakers would need to meet deadlines in February and March, far earlier than normal.
Jan 11, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom is making strides toward realizing his vision of preschool for all the state’s 4-year-olds in the proposed budget he released Friday for the coming fiscal year.
Jan 11, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday presented a record $89.2 billion for K-12 schools and community colleges next year that will provide billions in additional revenue and new spending.
Jan 11, 2021
With a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, the Salinas Union High School District has plans to reopen before the end of the academic year.
Jan 11, 2021
During a special meeting on Thursday evening, the Eureka City Schools board of trustees voted to return to in-person learning as soon as staff receives both rounds of a COVID-19 vaccine — perhaps as early as Feb. 22, according to Superintendent Fred Van Vleck.
Jan 11, 2021
A San Juan Unified District employee has died from COVID-19, according to school district officials. The employee, who was not named and whose position in the district was not identified, died over the winter break.
Jan 11, 2021
Local and national experts are coming to a consensus that schools do not contribute to community COVID-19 spread — as long as the levels of the virus in the community are not high.
Jan 11, 2021
They organized in response to protracted school closures that began in March, with parents asking themselves how they could expedite the move from distance learning back to campus.
Jan 11, 2021
The new year brings a ray of hope for California parents like Kate Gude, who has watched with mounting worry as her four kids suffer social isolation and reduced instruction time from online learning.
Jan 11, 2021
Hundreds have signed an online petition calling for the removal of James Hoak as a Sierra Unified School District board member because of his participation in the U.S. Capitol insurrection.
Jan 11, 2021
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Thursday called for all K-12 campuses to shut down through January amid the raging coronavirus surge, but stopped short of ordering them to close.
Jan 11, 2021
In all, the proposal dedicates more than $14 billion to an array of coronavirus relief initiatives, while setting aside money in support of virus vaccination efforts and almost $3 billion in short-term cash reserves if additional needs arise.
Jan 11, 2021
Teachers and school employees in Mariposa County are expected to be among the first of California’s 1.4 million teachers and other school staff to be vaccinated for Covid-19 when they roll up their sleeves for the shot on Monday.
Jan 08, 2021
The day after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the certification of electoral college votes, Atascadero High School teacher Dave Donati shared a quote attributed to President Abraham Lincoln with his class.
Jan 08, 2021
Irvine Unified leaders are hearing from families and teachers concerned about in-person learning given the recent rise in coronavirus cases and those who are confident in the protocols in place at schools for preventing its transmission.
Jan 08, 2021
Teachers said they felt it was their duty to immediately pivot class discussions to the monumental events of Jan. 6, the day a mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building after Trump encouraged them.
Jan 08, 2021
An Oakland-based community college district may soon be forced to cede power to the state if its Board of Trustees can’t quell concerns about its ability to properly govern the district.
Jan 08, 2021
Upgrading ventilation systems is a key way schools can reduce the spread of the coronavirus when campuses reopen, but some districts in California are finding the cost of those upgrades to be insurmountable.
Jan 08, 2021
Even as custodians and workers clean up damage left after rioters invaded the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday, Jan. 6, there’s another mess, as teachers and other adults try to figure out how to explain the events to the country’s children.
Jan 07, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to reopen campuses is clashing with the reality of a raging pandemic as many school districts opt for January shutdowns and superintendents call for clearer guidance on when it will be safe to unlock their campus doors.
Jan 07, 2021
Trustee Luis Reynoso also won a seat on the board of the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District — and Hayward school officials maintain state law prevents him from holding both seats at the same time.
Jan 07, 2021
Some districts offered to provide counseling services to students who might be feeling anxious or unsafe about the state of the country. At least one district, San Francisco Unified, canceled board meetings due to the attack.
Jan 07, 2021
Leaders of seven large California school districts argue in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom that his $2 billion plan to reopen classrooms falls woefully short of ensuring equitable access to education for students of color and those in low-income communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jan 07, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Safe Schools for All” plan presented during the waning days of 2020 has raised hopes that more schools could reopen for in-person instruction this school year, at least for the state’s youngest children.
Jan 06, 2021
The new year didn’t bring much change for school districts in San Luis Obispo County, where many classrooms remain shuttered to in-person instruction.
Jan 06, 2021
El Rancho Unified officials didn’t have much of a holiday vacation, meeting for nearly four hours between Christmas and New Year’s Eve to sign off on a 13-page response to a state audit that found evidence of potential fraud within the district’s $200 million Measure ER bond program.
Jan 06, 2021
The superintendents of seven of California’s largest school districts on Wednesday blasted Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) new school reopening plan, saying that it fails to address key factors keeping schools closed.
Jan 06, 2021
After Las Lomitas school board member Cynthia Solis Yi heard about the racism scandal in her daughters’ school district, her first thought was to return to New York City.
Jan 06, 2021
On Dec. 30, 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $2 billion “Safe Schools for All” plan to encourage more schools to reopen for in-person instruction in 2021. The following answers some key questions on how the plan is intended to operate.
Jan 06, 2021
Thousands of Roseville high school students returned to campus Tuesday morning to begin live, in-person instruction five days a week. The district voted unanimously in December to bring its 11,000 students back on campus for a full week of learning.
Jan 05, 2021
Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County’s public health officer, said teachers will be the first group to be offered vaccines in phase 1b, which is the next tier of priority after the current 1a phase wraps up in late January or early February.
Jan 05, 2021
Expanded summer school for K-12 students may be one positive outcome of the pandemic that has otherwise contributed to varying levels of learning loss among students across the state.
Jan 05, 2021
Teachers and others who work for the Alameda school district could have additional housing options under a $77 million project underway in partnership with the city’s Housing Authority.
Jan 04, 2021
A former Bassett Unified School District administrator is suing her ex-employer, alleging she was fired in 2020 in retaliation for taking medical leave to deal with the anxiety caused by false rumors that she used sex to obtain advances in her career.
Jan 04, 2021
A steep rise in COVID-19 cases among other factors has derailed plans for some Ventura County school districts to reopen this month.
Jan 04, 2021
In December, Ventura County schools offering transitional kindergarten through 12th grade reported 525 positive COVID-19 cases among students and staff, according to Ventura County officials.
Jan 04, 2021
As school resumes Monday after the two-week holiday break, Marin’s coronavirus surge has derailed plans to return to in-person learning for five high schools.
Jan 04, 2021
Clovis Unified School District has delayed the return to in-person learning of many older students who were scheduled to come back to campuses next week, the district announced Thursday.
Jan 04, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $2 billion plan to reopen schools by early spring doesn’t mean students will return to Sacramento County campuses anytime soon. But it could mean some districts will reopen sooner than they would have otherwise planned.
Jan 04, 2021
Only five days after announcing that in-person learning would resume on Jan. 5, the school board reversed course, voting 3-2 to delay reopening until receiving specific guidance under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Safe Schools for All Plan.
Jan 04, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom presented a $2 billion proposal for financial incentives Wednesday to prod school districts to bring back elementary school students for in-person instruction, starting in mid-February.
Jan 04, 2021
Expanded summer school for K-12 students may be one positive outcome of the pandemic that has contributed to varying levels of learning loss among students across the state.
Jan 04, 2021
District and county superintendents, school advocates and union leaders reacted Wednesday to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan for reopening elementary schools for in-person instruction with hope, enthusiasm and skepticism.
Jan 04, 2021
California school districts and cities that are grappling with unequal internet access among their students during the pandemic are taking it upon themselves to solve the problem.
Jan 04, 2021
San Diego County public schools are expected to receive about $389.6 million in total from the new federal relief package signed Sunday by President Donald Trump, including $128.1 million for San Diego Unified.
Jan 04, 2021
The Los Angeles school district stands to receive more than $1 billion from the new federal coronavirus relief bill, more than enough to wipe away a projected deficit for pandemic-related costs through the end of the school year.
Jan 04, 2021
About 26 percent of high school students failed at least one class at the end of the first quarter this school year, compared to 21 percent around the same time last year, district data show.
Dec 28, 2020
One associate superintendent said he believes the spike in COVID-19 cases California has experienced since Thanksgiving celebrations was a “shock” that has a lot of people thinking twice about large gatherings and being more mindful of masking, hand-washing and social-distancing.
Dec 28, 2020
After being rejected last month by the Ross Valley School District, Ross Valley Charter in Fairfax has appealed to the state Board of Education to approve a five-year renewal petition.
Dec 28, 2020
The district’s “Meals to You” program is a recent addition to Paramount Unified’s strategy to feed students during the pandemic.
Dec 28, 2020
A critical shortage of substitute teachers during the pandemic may make it difficult for some California school districts to reopen campuses or to keep open schools already offering in-person instruction.
Dec 23, 2020
Superintendent Mauricio Arellano acknowledged the racially charged video connected to Redlands East Valley High School and offered students the opportunity to share thoughts and concerns in virtual forums that started the next morning.
Dec 23, 2020
The city’s three newly elected school board members shared their views recently on their reasons for serving and upcoming challenges in the next four years on the Piedmont Unified School District’s Board of Education.
Dec 23, 2020
This database shows the distribution of the 90 percent of funding that will be distributed based on how much a school district or charter school receives in Title I funding. Title I is tied to the number of low-income children in a district, the amounts will vary considerably.
Dec 23, 2020
After frontline medical workers and residents of long-term care facilities receive vaccines, a consensus is emerging among health experts advising officials in California and nationally that teachers and other school staff be high on the priority list to be vaccinated next.
Dec 23, 2020
The Covid-19 relief legislation that Congress passed on Monday will provide at least $6.8 billion to California’s school districts and charter schools. That equals about an eighth of the $54.9 billion that Congress will award to K-12 schools.
Dec 23, 2020
Black students in California have much higher rates of unexcused absences from school than their white peers, which sometimes lead to disciplinary consequences that can further disrupt their education, according to newly released data.
Dec 23, 2020
Students in Roseville, several of them competitive debaters and social and outgoing by nature, are calling for the district to continue a hybrid schedule and delay its five-day, nearly full-day reopening plan.
Dec 22, 2020
The San Dieguito Union High School District has been sued by its teachers’ union in an effort to block the district’s plans to reopen next month while cases of COVID-19 continue to escalate across the county.
Dec 22, 2020
Fresno, Clovis, and Central Unified all outperformed the state graduation rate for the Class of 2020, which was 84.3%, according to data from the California Department of Education.
Dec 22, 2020
After poring over a nearly 5,600-page document that went into print only hours earlier, Congress on Monday night approved a $900 billion pandemic relief bill. While the total is half as big as the bill that lawmakers passed in March, for school districts and colleges, there will be a lot more money.
Dec 22, 2020
The Los Angeles school district will not reopen campuses when the spring semester starts Jan. 11, and in a Monday statement Supt. Austin Beutner provided no timetable for bringing students back to campuses, citing the dangerous coronavirus surge and “alarming” data from the district’s own testing program.
Dec 21, 2020
Enrollment for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten across Ventura County public school districts dropped by more than 1,200 students in total this year.
Dec 21, 2020
The ledger of Orange County schools returning exclusively to online learning in response to recent spikes in coronavirus cases is expanding, though many school districts are still offering varying levels of in-person instruction.
Dec 21, 2020
The San Dieguito Union High School Board voted last week to reopen schools starting in January, despite warnings from that there won’t be enough staff and that the reopening violates state rules.
Dec 21, 2020
The Val Verde Unified School District is one of the first in Riverside County to make the decision to keep schools online through the end of the school year.
Dec 21, 2020
Teachers will provide an additional 20 to 30 minutes of synchronous instruction for grades 1 through 12 on Mondays and hold an extra 30 minutes of office hours Tuesday through Friday of each week starting next semester.
Dec 21, 2020
California’s leading teachers’ unions have affirmed their opposition to school openings without significantly more safety precautions, further complicating hopes for bringing more students back to school for in-person instruction.
Dec 21, 2020
As schools reopened in the fall, teachers and administrators struggled with the effects of the pandemic, striving to follow COVID-19 precautions and keep classrooms safe.
Dec 21, 2020
826 Valencia is one of 78 locations around the city where children who are at highest risk of falling behind, including homeless and foster care students, have gathered to study, socialize and participate in after-school programs.
Dec 21, 2020
San Francisco public schools won’t reopen for in-person learning in January because of a breakdown in negotiations between the school district and teachers unions over coronavirus safety.
Dec 18, 2020
The board for the Bakersfield City School District this week opened a discussion about implementing ethnic studies in the district. It’s not the first time board members or administrators broached the idea, but it was the first serious discussion about actually adopting a formal resolution in ethnic studies.
Dec 18, 2020
State leaders should place teachers and school employees “at the front of the line” for coronavirus vaccines to better prepare schools for a safe reopening, California’s superintendent of schools said Thursday.
Dec 18, 2020
Teachers unions demand that the Legislature maintain pandemic restrictions on school reopenings and have begun mobilizing against a bill that could force schools to reopen in March.
Dec 18, 2020
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education later today will consider closing secondary schools after winter break and returning to online learning until Jan. 25.
Dec 18, 2020
The district had planned to reopen middle and high school campuses to a blended learning model with two days per week of in-person instruction, and to move from part-time to full-time schedules at elementary schools on Jan. 5.
Dec 18, 2020
In October, the board said distance learning would continue through at least the end of 2020, and with winter break approaching quickly, decided Tuesday, Dec. 15, to extend that model indefinitely.
Dec 18, 2020
The district originally planned to bring students back following winter break, but Superintendent Stephanie Anello recommended they continue their classes online from home until at least April 16.
Dec 18, 2020
School districts say they now have another reason to be skittish about planning to reopen schools in the spring: new statewide emergency temporary regulations on protecting workers from exposure to Covid-19.
Dec 18, 2020
Those that reopened classrooms have remained largely virus-free even as COVID-19 surged all around this fall, with record infections, hospitalizations and deaths and a new round of restrictions imposed across the Bay Area this week.
Dec 17, 2020
A staff member at Grenada Elementary School tested positive for COVID-19 and has been isolated per public health guidelines, although the situation will not affect in-person classes, said the school's principal/superintendent GingerLee Charles.
Dec 17, 2020
In mid-March, COVID-19 school closures exposed the digital divide. Thousands of students were unable to access WiFi at home, which meant attending school online was only available to families who could afford the internet.
Dec 17, 2020
More than three-quarters of all K-12 students in San Diego County are learning online now, as the raging COVID-19 pandemic shutters many schools a second time.
Dec 17, 2020
Unions for teachers, nurses, healthcare, grocery and hotel employees are calling for a strict month-long Los Angeles County shutdown in January to control the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
Dec 17, 2020
Teachers, first responders, and grocery and restaurant workers were among those recommended Wednesday to get the next round of scarce vaccines in California, as were florists and sawmill operators who fall into the same broad category of those deemed essential workers.
Dec 17, 2020
The San Ramon Valley Unified School District, which recently experienced a COVID-19 outbreak one day after reopening some classrooms, has now decided to hold off on full in-person learning on all campuses.
Dec 17, 2020
A survey of Los Angeles public school teachers showed their overwhelmingly dim view of distance learning: low student engagement that is only getting worse, deteriorating grades and a lack of resources to help their students’ crisis circumstances.
Dec 16, 2020
Nancy Lynch, superintendent of the Reed Union School District for the past six years, will retire on July 2.
Dec 16, 2020
California health officials rolled out new guidance on youth and high school sports Monday evening, giving athletes, parents and coaches hope that they could see games before the end of the school year.
Dec 16, 2020
Saying that she just believes it is time, Dr. Sandra Lyon announced Tuesday she will be retiring as superintendent of the Palm Springs Unified School District at the end of the 2020-21 school year.
Dec 16, 2020
The third-largest school district in Fresno County will wait until COVID-19 cases start to significantly decline before sending students back to campuses for in-person learning.
Dec 16, 2020
Sweetwater Union High School District has created a “no credit pandemic” grade option and is encouraging teachers to use it instead of failing students during the pandemic.
Dec 16, 2020
The Los Angeles Unified School District has decided that secondary students who are failing their courses can have more time to try and bring their grades up before an “F” or “no pass” mark is entered into their academic record.
Dec 16, 2020
The city was notified in late June that its police department had been awarded a grant of $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Hiring Program to pay for six school resource officers.
Dec 16, 2020
After hours of deliberation, the Rocklin Unified School District board voted early Tuesday morning to bring students back to campuses full-time five days a week if coronavirus infection rates improve in Placer County.
Dec 16, 2020
After a long discussion that began at a Monday night board meeting, the 5-0 vote will allow 11,000 students to return to campus for 70 minutes per class for a total of 280 minutes a day.
Dec 16, 2020
Poway Unified School District said it plans to re-close schools for two weeks in January because it is running out of staff needed to safely operate its campuses.
Dec 16, 2020
According to a draft report that will be finalized at a meeting of the work group today, it will take five years to fully implement the system, at a cost of $15 million to $20 million for the first year alone.
Dec 16, 2020
The San Francisco Unified School District is scrambling to cover a budget deficit of about $169 million over the next two years as it moves forward with costly reopening plans amid a pandemic-induced recession and without guaranteed city or federal aid in sight.
Dec 15, 2020
At its meeting tonight, the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District board will swear in three trustees who will represent Area 2: incumbent J.P. Lake and its two newest members, Bryan Easter and Paula Van Auken.
Dec 15, 2020
Most Long Beach students won’t return to campuses until at least March 1 — nearly a year after in-person learning stopped amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Dec 15, 2020
Citing pandemic hardships, Los Angeles school officials on Monday deferred any failing grades from this semester until at least Jan. 29, giving students additional time to avoid receiving an F in their classes.
Dec 15, 2020
Huntington Beach Union High School District officials have notified teachers who have been working remotely they need to plan to return in-person to classrooms on Jan. 5 or take a leave of absence.
Dec 15, 2020
California’s public schools “are falling far short” when it comes to teaching civics and democracy, even at a time when public interest in politics and government has rarely been more intense according to a recent study.
Dec 15, 2020
Rocklin Unified will vote tonight on a new in-person schedule for the third quarter of the school year. The school board will look at all instructional options at the meeting in an effort to address the surge of COVID-19 cases in the region.
Dec 15, 2020
A flip of the coin at the school board meeting decided the winner after two candidates tied with 352 votes apiece for one of three board seats in this past November’s election.
Dec 15, 2020
Leaders of hundreds of now-shuttered San Diego County schools say the surge in COVID-19 cases is keeping schools closed indefinitely for thousands of students. Some school leaders and parents say their frustration is growing.
Dec 15, 2020
Teachers unions, led by the powerful California Teachers Association, say it’s one of the most important steps needed before the state can safely and fully return to in-person instruction for students who have been out of the classroom for nearly a year.
Dec 15, 2020
After a long wait, updated guidelines were issued Monday, Dec.14 by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), which said it will use the state’s color-coded tiered system for COVID-19 monitoring as part of the map for what sports will be permitted for competition.
Dec 15, 2020
This fall, some teachers finally have the materials they need — but now they must master the new curriculum while learning how to adapt to a virtual classroom environment.
Dec 14, 2020
As cases have surged in Kern County over the last month, more than a dozen schools and school districts all over the county — small, large, rural, suburban, public or private — have closed their campuses to students. All have cited the surge of local COVID-19 cases, but several cited staffing as the breaking point.
Dec 14, 2020
Since November, Manteca Unified, the third largest public school district in San Joaquin County, has enacted a K-12 hybrid model for on-campus, in-person instruction. Though not perfect, some parents say it’s been an improvement over virtual distance learning employed countywide last spring and this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dec 14, 2020
The Sausalito Marin City School District has approved a broad blueprint on building repairs at its two campuses.
Dec 14, 2020
Students in the Chico Unified School District will return from winter break to an a.m./p.m. schedule, the Chico Unified School District Board of Trustees voted during a lengthy meeting Friday night at Pleasant Valley High’s Center for the Arts.
Dec 14, 2020
Anaheim Elementary School District might be operating in distance learning, but it is ready to launch a coronavirus testing program that will help staff members now, and students when they return to campus.
Dec 14, 2020
After hours of deliberation, public comment and two failed motions, Sacramento City Unified board members voted to reject $18 million in budget cuts late Thursday night.
Dec 14, 2020
John Lee Evans, the leader of San Diego Unified’s school board, led a board meeting for the last time Tuesday. For 12 years he has helped oversee the state’s second largest district, with roughly 100,000 students, 176 schools and a $1.6 billion budget.
Dec 14, 2020
The emotional push and pull over schools intensified Friday as advocates filed litigation to pry campuses open in Los Angeles, even as teachers in Orange County pleaded for them to shut down.
Dec 14, 2020
In a petition filed with the California Supreme Court, the Alliance for Children’s Rights and the Learning Rights Law Center allege that L.A. Unified violated a state law that requires education agencies to offer in-person instruction “to the greatest extent possible.”
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.