The California Teachers Association organized to trigger a wave of negotiations and potential strikes to garner public attention and flex political muscle.
California spent $31 million last year helping students facing homelessness with emergency housing and other services through Rapid Rehousing. The program operates at most public universities and about a quarter of community colleges, helping thousands of students who are either homeless or housing insecure, such as one student who was sleeping in a garage.
A recent state law lifted the statute of limitations on sex abuse lawsuits, driving a huge increase in payouts by school districts and government agencies. It has also increased insurance premiums for all agencies.
California’s community colleges are now giving college credit for students’ previous work experiences. The state has a goal of rapidly expanding access to these credits, though tracking progress on that goal has been difficult so far.
One reason: Higher-income, high-achieving kids often aren't in the testing pool. They attend private schools or their parents opt them out of state tests.
A loophole in state law allows trucking schools to operate with little state oversight, raising concerns about the quality of training for California’s truck drivers.
In California, almost 40% of the workforce is foreign-born and more than a million parents — immigrant and otherwise — rely on child care providers so they can go to work.