K-12 education

California's public schools depend on state aid for the lion's share of their operational income. Two trends – declining enrollment and high absenteeism – are creating financial headaches.

California schools got $23.4 billion in federal pandemic relief money. Low-income schools that got the most may be hardest hit when the funds expire this year.

A long-running feud between Orange County's elected schools superintendent and its school board exemplifies how public education has become a major venue for culture war clashes.

At some rural schools construction projects are left undone, teaching jobs are unfilled and students who need specialized services don’t get them.

Community roles like "near peer coaches," which give students an outlet for emotional and academic support, are the types of programs on the chopping block this year as California faces a major budget deficit. A first-year teacher who took an unusual route to the job says state leaders need to protect these programs.

A recent legal settlement directs $2 billion to California schools to help students recover from learning loss. The lawsuit claimed remote learning was so ineffective that thousands of students were denied their right to an education.

For years, school unions have waged a political war with charter school advocates. Los Angeles has been a major battleground. A new school board majority wants to evict some charters from its school buildings.

The ability to read is foundational for all other learning but California is not doing well. Adoption of a phonics-based system dubbed the "science of reading" has proven to be effective and should be universally adopted.

As vitriol toward diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives grows, California school districts are crafting plans to support disadvantaged students, making once-mundane processes a target for backlash politics.

More than half of the state's students are below grade level in English language arts. Many experts say one of the main reasons why is how reading is taught.