K-12 Education

Several small, cash-strapped California school districts are using a loophole in state law to boost their revenue by overseeing a raft of far-flung charter schools, according to a recent report published by the state auditor. The result, the report says: dismal academic results for thousands of students and a lot of extra money for the districts, one of which increased its revenue more than 10-fold.

San Francisco, a progressive enclave and beacon for technological innovation, has the worst black student achievement of any county in California. Only 19 percent of black students passed the state test in reading, compared to 31 percent of black students statewide. The problem in San Francisco may be severe, but it’s not unique. Huge gaps between black kids’ scores and those of their white peers have existed in California for decades. And average reading test scores statewide show the problem persists, even as districts make progress narrowing the achievement gap between Latino and white students.

California’s African-American students are struggling with standardized tests. Statewide, only one in three black public school students passed the English portion of this year’s exam, while only one in five black students passed the math section. By comparison, a majority of white and Asian-American students met state standards in both subjects. African-American students are disproportionately […]

A tale of two Common Core tests and the mind-boggling results of each.

A powerful teachers union and advocates of charter schools, battling to shape the future of California schools, ended in a stalemate this year in Sacramento.

Editors note: Assemblymember Shirley Weber was nominated to be California Secretary of State on Dec. 22, 2020 by Gov. Gavin Newsom, filling the seat vacated by the governor’s appointment of the previous secretary, Alex Padilla, to the US Senate. After this profile, Weber also led a successful effort in 2019 to change the rules for […]

Update:  The only teacher shortage bill signed into law in 2017 was Assembly Bill 1157, which is designed to encourage school districts to turn surplus property into employee housing. Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed AB 45, to provide money for teacher rental housing, and AB 568, to give teachers six weeks of paid maternity leave. The […]

Update: Senate Bill 328 to delay school start times stalled in the Assembly during the Legislature’s final days. The author said he’ll revive the proposal in 2018, the second in a two-year legislative session.  Coaxing groggy teenagers out of bed and onto an early morning school bus is a challenge for many parents. Democratic state […]

Like many of his peers, Kaleb Long is mature enough to stay home alone, but not quite old enough for a part-time job. Had he not enrolled in Rosemont High School’s summer learning program, the 13-year-old predicts he would have spent his Sacramento summer alone, sleeping in and playing video games. Instead, he took six […]

Update:  Assembly Bill 19 was signed into law in 2017, paving the way to free community college for full-time, first-year students.  California’s economy is one of the world’s largest, and according to a new report, the state needs 1 million more workers with bachelor’s degrees by 2030 to keep up with economic demand. The Public […]