Newsom lays out plan for CA career education

More than a year after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to develop the initiative, the governor on Wednesday unveiled full details of his Master Plan for Career Education, reports CalMatters’ Adam Echelman.

The plan lays out the state’s approach to job training and education programs, but critics have said the proposals are unclear. At the same time, some for-profit career colleges and trade schools — which play a key role in workforce development — face issues with licensing or other violations.

Included in the plan are efforts Adam previously reported: The Cradle-to-Career Data System, for example, is a multi-year project that tracks student progress and remains behind schedule. The plan also expands competency-based education, which focuses on skills rather than grades. Though seven community colleges are moving forward with a pilot to employ this approach, Madera Community College has stalled its efforts due to faculty opposition.

The plan also has three new budget proposals for this year, all of which require the Legislature’s approval and could cost over $105 million.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Californians look to career colleges, trade schools and training programs to become barbers, truck drivers, medical techs and more. 

But not every school is properly licensed, and some have been investigated, disciplined or sued by various agencies. California’s Employment Development Department helps vet these institutions, but CalMatters recently found it took years to revoke some schools’ licenses, despite reports of issues such as fraud.

If you or someone you know is thinking about enrolling, CalMatters’ Adam, Ross Teixeira and Erica Yee built a tool to make it easier to look up licenses and violations.

Read more about the project, search the database for yourself and learn more about Newsom’s career education plan.

With student reading scores remaining below pre-pandemic levels, one state lawmaker is trying once more to require the “science of reading” approach to teach kids how to read. 

As CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones explains, Assemblymember Blanca Rubio is pushing her bill that would mandate California public schools to use a reading method that emphasizes phonics, the sounding-out of words and language comprehension. Some reading programs and school districts have shown that this approach can be more effective than “whole-language instruction,” which focuses on memorizing words by sight.

The bill would also require existing teachers to undergo training in the topic, which would expand a current state law mandating teachers-in-training to learn about the method.

The Baldwin Park Democrat tried to pass a similar bill last year, but the California Teachers Association strongly opposed it. The union argued that teachers need to have flexibility when deciding what method works best for their students. English learner advocates also criticized the bill, saying a heavy focus on phonics is too narrow and confusing for students who are not English proficient.

Read more here.

As President Donald Trump’s administration carries out plans to slash federal spending, rural towns in Northern California are bracing for drastic cuts, writes CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang.

Rural counties are mostly made up of federal land. In forest towns — which employ federal workers to keep trails open and campgrounds clean — local economies rely on tourists looking to hike, climb and ski. The federal government also provides crucial funding for rural schools, and rural hospitals are more dependent on Medicaid.

In Siskiyou County, for example, 60% of its land is owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service, and as much as 6% of its workforce is employed by the federal government — compared to 1-2% in urban counties. 

In the past two months, Siskiyou communities have been rocked by abrupt firings of some federal workers, who were then reinstated by court order. Local organizations found themselves scrambling after the administration suspended funds for wildfire preparation, trail maintenance and other work.

Nearly 60% of Siskiyou County voted for Trump. While some residents remain concerned, others have welcomed the cuts, or have adopted a wait-and-see approach.

• Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick, an Alturas Republican who represents 11 Northern California counties, including Siskiyou: “It’s going to be uncomfortable for a while and it’s going to hurt. … I’m going to trust in my president and trust what he’s doing is best.”

Read more here.

California has poured over $3 billion into Lake Tahoe projects, but water clarity has dropped by more than a third since the 1960s. CalMatters environment reporter Julie Cart and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on Julie’s in-depth look at whether the environmental goals of the iconic lake are being met as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.