San Benito County Education Digest

In 2019, his first year in office, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the Cradle-to-Career Data System, a new state entity that aims to track students’ progress from preschool through employment. The data system was supposed to release its first public dashboard last spring.

Some of California’s most acclaimed schools right now aren’t in elite suburbs or wealthy urban enclaves. They’re in a small city in the San Joaquin Valley, an outpost on Highway 99 surrounded by almond trees and orange groves.

After the Trump administration threw out policies dating back to 2011 limiting immigration arrests at “sensitive locations,” California colleges and universities are providing resources to support students, but can’t stop immigration enforcement from entering public spaces. Some advocates say more must be done.

Just one bill invests in bilingual education programs and its focus on instructional materials is a far cry from the systemic change advocates have called for.

Under Trump’s directive the Department of Education laid off half its staff. The lawsuit argues Trump has no authority to make such drastic changes.

University of California laboratory technicians, information technologists, museum and health care workers went on strike Wednesday to protest what they say are staffing shortages and other grievances.

Feather River College is still reeling from the 2021 Dixie Fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes in the surrounding community and warped the housing market. The college is one of many schools that have tried — and failed — to secure state grants to build more student housing.

California is giving students more time to apply for college aid due to a drop in completed applications.

As the setting for John Steinbeck’s 1950s classic “East of Eden,” Salinas has long been known as a working-class, farming community. Nestled between two mountain ranges and located a few miles inland of Monterey Bay, the city’s geographic location lends itself a beautiful, serene setting.

California schools are grappling with the U.S. Department of Education's letter requiring them to scrap their DEI programs.

Despite Trump’s plans, federal funding is a small part of California’s education budget and the state oversees curriculum.

As academic researchers continue to explore what happened to public education during and after the COVID19 pandemic, they are confirming the harsh reality of decline in such basic skills as reading and mathematics.

The California Teachers Association's "We Can't Wait" campaign plans to use the power of 32 union chapters to increase pressure on school districts to raise salaries, increase staffing and add resources for students.

Plaintiffs claimed that being evaluated on their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility principles is unconstitutional and has a chilling effect on their free speech rights.

Struggling with prior cuts, California State University calls latest proposed budget cuts unacceptable. Read on to learn more.

Some schools destroyed years ago in the Sonoma and Butte fires are just now reopening. The long, expensive process of rebuilding in LA may eat up much of the money voters approved in November for school repairs statewide.

In 2018, Newsom promised to add 500,000 new apprenticeships in the decade after taking office. The state is making progress, but how much depends on the definition of “apprenticeship.”

Federal funding for rural schools goes to 39 California counties. School districts in those communities consider the money a lifeline.

California legislators want to limit deportation actions at schools, but they can’t ban immigration officials.

All high school students are required to take civics, but a lack of money can limit opportunities. And in some communities, parent objections pressure teachers to avoid certain topics.

Child care centers throughout California struggled to find people with the right credentials to look after their babies, toddlers and preschoolers. At the same time, many people who wanted to become early childhood educators faced difficulties in earning the credentials.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Master Plan for Career Education” seeks to help the nearly 7 million adults in California who lack college degrees by giving them college credit for their work experience and by changing the requirements on some state jobs.

It has been eight years since California voters repealed a 1998 law directing public school districts to essentially eliminate their bilingual programs. But the fallout from the state’s vacillating history of bilingual education has led to California falling short of providing a quality education not only to non-English speakers but also to students who want to be bilingual.

Chronic absenteeism dropped to 20% last school year, but that is still higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 12%.

Cal State has a goal to graduate 40% of its freshmen within four years. It now graduates 36% — it’s highest rate ever. On other goals, the system is further behind.

As California public universities try to balance campus safety with students’ right to protest, community colleges are squaring off in court with students and staff who argue that the schools are violating their freedom of speech, explains CalMatters community college reporter Adam Echelman.

Declining enrollment, the end of pandemic relief funding and uncertain state funding are forcing school districts to make some difficult decisions.

The University of California anticipates more than a $500 million budget gap next summer, so It’s considering a $3,402 jump in tuition for new nonresident students next fall. Meanwhile, the system is planning billions in construction projects.

More than 115,000 children in California were undocumented in the most recent census count, and it’s estimated almost half of California children have at least one immigrant parent.

More than half of the school board races in 49 counties analyzed won't appear on the November ballot because either no one is running for the seat or a single candidate is unopposed.

A new state law bans private colleges from considering an applicant’s ties to family members who are alumni or donors. California’s public universities don’t use legacy admissions.

California’s private nonprofit colleges will no longer be able grant students an admissions advantage if their parents donated to or went to the same college after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law this morning banning the practice.