EdSource

OPINION by Alex Barrios: If Gov. Gavin Newsom genuinely wants to improve how Californians translate their education and experiences into career opportunities, he should wait until the technology is ready rather than disrupting innovation and placing a massive bet on an experiment. And, he should recognize that it is far too early to invest state dollars in such a venture.

WestEd expert Jason Willis discusses how leaders can optimize CA Local Funding Control Formulas to close achievement gaps in this EdSource op-ed! Here are three key takeaways: 1?? The Local Control Funding Formula must be more responsive to enrollment trends to ensure funds serve the high-needs students for whom they are targeted, rather than filling gaps in the district budget. 2?? Policymakers must create incentives for districts to improve coordination and merging of services for students with multiple needs. 3?? In making adjustments to the formula, policymakers must avoid introducing too many new, disparate factors that can further burden school systems. Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4iB3nZP #SchoolFinance #ChronicAbsenteeism #EducationPolicy

OPINION by Jason Willis: The Local Control Funding Formula must be more responsive to enrollment trends to ensure funds serve the high-needs students for whom they are targeted, rather than filling gaps in the district budget.

“Reading has become a chore for a lot of students,” said Julian Ramos, a former English teacher who now specializes in dramatic literature at Pershing Elementary, a TK-6 school in Madera Unified School District , just northwest of Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley. “I’m currently struggling with how I can use my time wisely, productively and efficiently, as a drama class, but also to reinforce and enhance their literacy skills.”

In a new lawsuit, pro-Palestinian student and faculty protesters allege that University of California officials failed to protect their encampment at UCLA when it was attacked by a mob last spring.

At the start of 2025, wildfires impacted Los Angeles schools and showed the urgent need for climate-resilient school buildings. In the words of leaders at UndauntedK12 and Ten Strands, "a previous generation of California leaders made sure schools could keep children safe in an earthquake – it’s time to do the same for threats posed by extreme weather." Los Angeles schools are turning this crisis into an opportunity to protect students from #ExtremeWeather events. With wildfires and #ExtremeHeat threatening education, Los Angeles Unified School District’s blueprint for resilient schools offers a much-needed path forward for the Golden State and the future of education. Read more with EdSource: https://lnkd.in/gWJKZRqS?

Jessie Ryan, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, said the continued attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion and dismantling of the department “will leave millions of students and their families vulnerable to discrimination and deny them the opportunity to succeed in school, achieve their individual potential, and prepare for the future workforce. We cannot allow this administration to steamroll students and communities to achieve its agenda.”

The executive order “could result in a catastrophic impact on the country’s most vulnerable students and cutting much-needed funding will specifically impact students of color, students with disabilities and students in low-income communities,” the Association of California School Administrators said in a statement.

“If you want to reduce chronic absence, you need to solve the root causes that result in kids not showing up to school in the first place,” said Attendance Works founder Hedy Chang. “The barriers — poor transportation, homelessness and food insecurity — are huge, and these issues are hard to solve.”

In an emergency meeting earlier this week of the university’s systemwide Academic Council, UC President Michael Drake told faculty the change was being made and said UC “needed to show signs it was listening to the Trump administration,” according to Sean Malloy, an associate professor of history at UC Merced who sits on the council and was present for Drake’s presentation. Malloy in an interview called the decision cowardly and naive. “It is a catastrophic misreading of the current political dynamic,” he said.