In its guidance, the California Department of Education notes that school closures affect students, parents, staff, neighborhoods, daily routines and the broader community, and emphasizes that these decisions require careful planning and communication, as well as administrative action.  Other school...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra has not laid out a detailed plan for improving California schools, leaving education leaders to piece together what his administration might mean for the state’s nearly 6 million public school students.   “He’s a very...

It’s clear what the next state superintendent will no longer do upon assuming office in January: run the California Department of Education. A new education commissioner appointed by the next governor will take on that responsibility under legislation Gov. Gavin...

Every family wants their child to walk into a classroom where they feel known, inspired, and prepared for whatever tomorrow brings. Over the past two decades, California has taken meaningful steps toward that ideal by expanding Transitional Kindergarten (TK), targeting...

Private school choice policies are sweeping the country, quietly unwinding two centuries of American education tradition. Seventeen states > and counting have adopted universal vouchers in the form of "education savings accounts" (ESAs) and "scholarships." The federal Education Freedom Tax...

When California makes a major public investment intended to improve opportunities and outcomes for young children, we should know whether it is achieving its goals — and what we can learn to make it work even better.   The case...

School districts are investing more heavily in structured pathways to develop future principals, and new research coauthored by University   of Utah College of Education scholar David S. Woo shows those pathways are becoming a major part of how districts...

Diverse coalition overcomes opposition to give governor appointee control of state education. Michael Kirst, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a recently passed law that gives California’s governor more power over education in...

I have strongly supported local control in my career, but local control has never meant no state role. The evidence now makes clear California also needs a coherent state role — something its history has never quite forced it to...

Even a decade ago, the horror stories behind some of the 13 children’s online protection bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Thursday seemed the stuff of fiction.  An AI chatbot coaching a teenager to isolate himself from friends and...

The second webinar in the five-part Getting Down to Facts III webinar series is now available to watch on demand.  Held September 10, the webinar explored who governs California’s schools and how state oversight, district capacity, compliance requirements, and intervention...

This webinar, hosted by the SCALE Initiative, looks at the condition of California’s teacher and school leader workforce. Presenters analyze data from the Getting Down to Facts III study to highlight key factors influencing educator recruitment and retention across the...

For school districts facing enrollment declines and mounting budget pressures, closing schools seems like an obvious – if often contentious – way to get finances back on track. But new research from Stanford suggests the reality is not so open-and-shut...

The first webinar in the five-part Getting Down to Facts III webinar series is now available to watch on demand.  Held September 3, the webinar examined how California funds its public schools and the fiscal pressures shaping future policy choices...

In a step toward giving math the attention early literacy has gotten, the Legislature on Monday approved a bill that would require schools to assess the math capabilities of all students in kindergarten through second grade each year, beginning in...

Since last October, the California School Boards Association has pressed the Legislature to take greater responsibility for narrowing California’s immense student achievement gap.    That gap is the disparity — by 30 percentage points or more — in test scores...

Earlier this year, Ideas We’re Watching explored California’s long-standing education governance challenges with Dr. Julie Marsh, one of the authors of the PACE report that helped spark a statewide conversation about the need for reform. Since then, that conversation has...

At a June Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education meeting in the wake of a failed effort to consolidate schools, trustees, weary from weeks of controversy and pushback over a process that many felt was unfair, reflected on what...

A new school year begins for California students this week with fresh data for administrators. Stanford University released an 18-month study of California’s K-12 public school system on May 7, 2026, with contributions from 112 researchers. The project, led by...

The Getting Down to Facts III Central Valley Convening brought together educators, policymakers, and community leaders to tackle the region's most pressing educational challenges. From addressing teacher shortages to improving student outcomes in rural districts, expert presenters shared research-based strategies...

A first grader reads an entire page on her own after months of specialized instruction. A middle school student with autism delivers his first classroom presentation. These moments are not medical breakthroughs, they are educational ones.   Unfortunately, our history...

Students returning to school may not have noticed it.  As the years pass, they hang out with the same friends or play on the same sports teams. But something’s been changing.  There are fewer students.  While charter school enrollment in...

As Rudy Garcia neared completion of his associate’s degree in cybersecurity at Moorpark College, he was excited to learn of the Ventura County community college’s plans to offer a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity and network operations.  The father of four...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation July 10 that will transfer executive control of the California Department of Education from the state’s elected superintendent of public instruction to a commissioner appointed by the governor.  Assembly Bill 181 places the department’s...