America’s 250th birthday is causing headaches for CA teachers

I’m CalMatters reporter Marisa Kendall, and I’m filling in for Lynn today.

America is turning 250 this year. For California students, this milestone 4th of July will be about more than fireworks and backyard BBQs: It will be a time to learn something about how their government works. 

For decades, civics education has been sidelined in California schools, largely due to the intense focus on reading and math brought forth by the No Child Left Behind initiative in the early 2000s. But efforts are underway at the state and local levels to change that by holding schools accountable for teaching civics and introducing new lessons centered on the country’s birthday.

The idea is to inspire students to get involved, become regular voters or even run for public office.

• Michael Matsuda, former superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District: “Who’s responsible for making sure the next generation upholds democracy? It’s not in the air — it’s something that has to be taught, and schools have to teach it.”

But it’s not always so simple. In the past year, policy shifts at the federal level have led to some confusion as to what constitutes civics, what patriotism is, and even what are the foundational principles of the country. Though civics education is traditionally nonpartisan, President Donald Trump’s administration has steered funding to right-leaning organizations.

In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office is working on lesson plans that commemorate California’s 175th anniversary as a state. 

The competing curricula only make life harder for civics teachers, who are already “treading lightly” in the current era of hyper-polarization, said Michelle Herczog, former history and social science coordinator for the Los Angeles County Office of Education. 

• Herczog: “It requires a very special skill set for teachers to stay out of the political fray.”

Read more here.

Stay away from sick seals. That’s the warning state health officials are giving Californians after making an unprecedented discovery: elephant seal pups infected with H5N1 bird flu. 

Seals at Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County experienced weakness, tremors, seizures and sudden death, according to the California Department of Public Health. In response, California State Parks has closed areas at the beach.

This is the first documented time the virus has spread to a marine mammal in California. 

• Dr. Erica Pan, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer: “The risk to the general public remains very low, but Californians can protect themselves and their pets by avoiding contact with sick or dead marine mammals or birds, keeping pets on a leash near beaches, and respecting area closures.”

The virus can have devastating consequences for marine mammals. In 2023, it killed thousands of elephant seals at one Argentina breeding ground.

Should Californians have to show an ID at the polls? 

As President Donald Trump pushes for extra voter requirements at the federal level, the issue could also land on Californian’s ballots this November. 

Supporters of the Republican-backed effort say they’ve submitted more than enough signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot. One proponent says Californians want “integrity back in our elections.”

Opponents say voter ID laws unfairly disadvantage poor people and Black and Latino voters who are less likely to have official identification, and that creating more requirements is a way to make it harder for people who typically support Democrats to vote. They also stress that voter fraud is rare.

But a 2025 poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies showed a majority of Californians surveyed support voter ID at the polls.

Read the full story.

California’s foster care system is facing an insurance crisis, which threatens to displace thousands of vulnerable children.

Without any long-term policy solutions, advocates warn that the whole system is at risk of collapsing. 

Read more here.