Education

While Los Angeles Unified became the first major district in the nation to issue a vaccine mandate for all eligible students, other school districts are in a holding pattern.

The state legislature proposed changes to the independent study laws that had been disrupting school reopenings across California. Educators say the revisions will help but don’t go far enough.

Bots are filling up community college classes in a likely attempt by scammers to fraudulently access COVID-19 relief grants and other financial aid. At least 10 districts or individual colleges told CalMatters they've been affected, and the community college system has announced new security measures to combat the scam.

Long underpaid and underappreciated, substitute teachers are key to keeping schools open this year. But a shortage of subs has created another layer of chaos to this pandemic school year.

California community college students often aim to transfer into a UC or a Cal State, but few actually make the jump — in part because of how complicated it is to do so. A proposed bill aims to make transfers easier — but faces fierce resistance from faculty, the UC and California community college leadership.

As classes resume, a new state law governing independent study is worsening staff shortages, threatening school budgets and forcing quarantined students to relive last year’s school shutdowns.

During the Covid emergency, the federal government has expanded food stamp eligibility for college students, who have typically had trouble accessing the aid even though many suffer from food insecurity. California colleges are stepping up their efforts to get students enrolled.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announces a requirement that teachers and school employees be fully vaccinated or submit to routine COVID testing.

The California State University system decided in late July to require students to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Unfortunately for students, the deadline to get vaccinated and the start of classes conflict in potentially problematic ways.

Even as the delta variant causes spikes in COVID-19 case numbers just weeks before the new school year, state lawmakers have yet to issue a vaccine mandate for public school teachers.