public schools

In years past, finding enough substitute teachers at California’s high schools was not a daily struggle. Now they are in high demand.

A CalMatters investigation found that schools had wildly different approaches to stimulus spending — from laptops to shade structures to an ice cream truck. No centralized database exists to show the public exactly where the money went.

Tony Thurmond faces little opposition for a second term as California schools superintendent, but critics question how much he has accomplished. He points to task forces that are influencing education policy and says he wants to help public schools rebound from the pandemic.

Schools already struggling with teacher shortages reached a crisis point during the omicron surge, particularly those with high percentages of high-needs students. With substitute teachers in scarce supply and school officials worried about future staffing, one lawmaker is proposing solutions.

The state decides it won't require COVID vaccines for children this fall, and a bill to mandate kids vaccines without personal belief exemptions stalls out.

For the first time since the start of the century, fewer than 6 million kids are attending California public schools.

According to new data from the California Department of Education, enrollment continues to drop at faster rates than before the pandemic.

A state senator wants to send no-strings-attached checks to homeless high school seniors in California, where basic income programs are beginning to “feel a lot more like a movement.”

In leading a classroom discussion about the evolution of language, the Sacramento-area teacher introduced the offensive word. Now some parents and the school district want to take away her teaching credential.

California needs tens of thousands of teachers and assistants to expand public school to all 4-year-olds. Private and nonprofit preschools worry they’ll lose their staff.