Education

Some school officials say a proposal touted by Gov. Gavin Newsom as financial assistance to reopen California campuses attaches strings that would strain their budgets.

Download and read this 53-page overview of all the major issues facing California policymakers.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to spend $15 million to develop more degree programs that include free textbooks, taking aim at the “usurious costs” of commercial textbooks today. The state spent $5 million on a similar program in 2016-17.

Both President-elect Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats want to forgive some amount of federal student loan debt. The question is, how much — $10,000 or $50,000 — and is it even a good idea?

Schools would have to offer in-person learning for primary students starting Feb. 16 in order to get the full funds under the governor’s $89.5 billion education budget. Lawmakers would need to meet deadlines in February and March, far earlier than normal.

Sara Romero tutors math for middle school students in San Diego during their last class of the day. But on Jan. 6, her attention was divided between two monitors: one showing her students and another open to news coverage of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. “I had to tell the kids, ‘I’m fine!’” said […]

1. California widens mental health conditions insurers must cover In the past, state law only required treatment for nine serious mental illnesses. Even before the pandemic, more than half of Californians said most people with mental health conditions couldn’t get the help they needed. Some families even dropped private insurance to qualify for treatment in […]

Schools would only qualify in counties with lower infection rates. Kindergarten through sixth grade is prioritized in the governor’s $2-billion plan, which would need the Legislature’s approval.

At the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, California students led the nation in creating college ethnic studies programs that explored the histories and cultures of people overlooked by the dominant European-centric curriculum. It was a time of national racial introspection and wide-scale protest. Echoes of then are loud and clear in […]

Assuming the president approves Congress’ bipartisan relief package of $900 billion, California community colleges expect to receive $1 billion in sorely needed cash, money meant for direct student aid and to shore up colleges’ battered finances.