Education

Counties with large areas of public land get federal funding that many rural schools rely on. The most recent round of payments in May – $33.7 million for California – will be the last unless Congress votes to extend the program.

The measure’s author said it would compete with other priorities this year, including an effort to fend off a proposed constitutional amendment to punish retail thieves and another to restrict forced labor in prisons. He wants to propose it for a future election season.

Gov. Newsom’s latest budget proposal cuts the Middle Class Scholarship to $100 million. The Legislature wants to provide more than $900 million for it.

Panelists discuss the importance of acknowledging and apologizing for California’s racist policies during CalMatters’ Ideas Festival.

Student loan borrowers can become eligible for lower payments or faster debt forgiveness by applying for federal loan consolidation by June 30.

Courts recently have tossed lawsuits challenging expired COVID-19 rules. A panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals restored a case against the Los Angeles Unified School District, allowing employees to sue to prevent future vaccine mandates.

The California Supreme Court gave the greenlight for UC Berkeley to build student and homeless housing at People’s Park, ending a years-long legal debate over whether student noise is an environmental pollutant.

Adults without high school diplomas can attend community college, but few of them receive financial aid, even when they’re eligible. A new proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian aims to fix that. But it may be too late.

California schools are using more chatbots, and teachers are using them to grade papers and give students feedback.

California’s community colleges are reporting a rise in financial aid fraud. In January, suspected bots represented 1 in 4 college applicants. Schools have given away millions to these scams, and college officials say fraudsters are getting smarter with the help of AI.