Education

California is rolling out its transitional kindergarten program, with the goal of offering it for all 4-year-olds by 2025-26. While some schools have had programs in place for years, others are just starting to create teaching guidelines.

To qualify for financial aid, students must maintain a certain grade-point-average, but many don’t. A bill Gov. Newsom signed into law would make it easier for students to keep their aid and stay in college.

After a historic decline in community college enrollment during the pandemic, students are returning to school again, according to the state’s most recent data. But students between the ages of 20 and 30 are lagging behind.

The tuition increases were forecast earlier this year, when a Cal State task force concluded the system needs at least $1.5 billion annually in new revenue to afford student services and bolster its academic offerings.

Eight community colleges in California are testing out a new education model, one that defines success by the skills a student learns, not the time they spend in a classroom. But changing the traditional education system isn’t easy.

In Wisconsin, two community colleges have gotten rid of traditional grades and lectures to offer self-paced education. As California tests its own version in the coming years, what can the state expect?

The bill, if approved, would begin at UCLA, with other campuses added later. But not everyone is on board with the latest plan.

California would penalize school boards that ban books based on inclusion of certain groups under a bill the governor is expected to sign into law. But some fear unintended consequences.

Nearly a third of K-12 students statewide were chronically absent in 2020-21, more than three times the pre-pandemic rate. Some school officials fear that pattern will become the new normal.

A June budget deal required community colleges to raise their own money to build affordable student housing. Some campuses said that plan prevented them from building the dorms, even with help from the state to pay the debt.