Santa Clara County Education Digest

In a move that many students and parents wished had been made sooner, the Palo Alto school board approved a pair of resolutions that condemn the Hamas attack on Israel and denounce both antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Some advocates believe the state should expand the Cal Grant program for low-income students next year, even if that means pulling money from a financial aid program that benefits middle class students.

Members of the community argued during a school board meeting that a statement of support would go a long way in making Jewish students feel safe at their schools.

Signed by the governor in September 2022, AB 2881 aims to help student parents in California by offering them priority registration. Advocates are optimistic the law will formalize data collection, allowing them to better serve this student population that represents 1 in 5 students nationally.

A new location for a Magical Bridge Playground, a playground accessible to people of all abilities and ages, opened at El Carmelo Elementary School.

Mountain View Whisman School District teachers and staff will get a 4% salary bonus next month, which the school board unanimously approved.

The Palo Alto Unified School District will temporarily ban members of the public from addressing the school board via Zoom, a prohibition that was inspired by a series of lewd, racist comments that disrupted a City Council meeting.

Despite an influx of money to counter learning loss during the pandemic, English language arts and math test scores remain low.

Senate Bill 274 bars willful defiance or low-level behavioral issues from suspending students in grades six through 12.

Middle and high school students across California will be protected by a new law requiring life-saving prevention and response resources for fentanyl overdoses under legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Councilmembers Pam Foley and Omar Torres have drafted a resolution supporting LGBTQ+ students in reaction to the efforts of Informed Parents of Silicon Valley to ban LGBTQ+-themed books and encourage parents to opt out of LGBTQ+ supportive school curriculum.

The Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Trustees debated term limits for elected officials.

Mountain View City Council members unanimously approved extending a deal that shares property tax revenue from the Shoreline area with Mountain View school districts for three more years, as talks over a long-term deal continue.

Teachers and union members are demanding that one San Jose community college district increase compensation and health care benefits.

Hoping to revive the city's languishing effort to rebuild Cubberley Community Center, Palo Alto City Manager Ed Shikada is proposing a 55-year lease with the school district that would give the city more land for redevelopment.

With the growing use of AI, campus officials are trying to set clear guidelines for college application essays.

The Milpitas Unified School District Innovation Campus has opened the first phase of a project designed to provide business development and hands-on learning opportunities to students of all ages.

By July of next year, it will be illegal for public schools in California to suspend students for low-level behavior issues after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation banning “willful defiance” suspensions among TK through 12th grade.

Residents within the Los Altos School District boundary area may have already received a ballot in the mail for the Nov. 7 special election, which includes only one item – the Measure A parcel tax. If Measure A is adopted, the current parcel tax benefiting LASD, set to expire in 2025, would be renewed at $295 per parcel, a $72 increase from the current rate of $223.

The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) is using a property tax windfall to plug a budget hole and fund teacher and other staffing positions.

As Santa Clara County prepares to approve new policies for Stanford University's growth, Palo Alto and the university are at loggerheads over a key question: Can the university's campus accommodate most of its future housing needs?

Seeking to hang on to a valuable and secure source of funding for school services, the Mountain View Whisman School District plans to pursue a ballot measure to replace its expiring $191 parcel tax.

Eliminating honors classes in ninth grade isn’t hurting high achievers, and it may be helping other students to succeed at college-acceptance-level courses, a Sequoia Union High School District report has found.

East Side Union High School District Superintendent Glenn Vander Zee has agreed to establish a school safety task force comprised of teachers, administrators, parents, students and board members to identify ways to make campuses safer districtwide.

Student workers at the 23-campus system say their pay is low, their hours are restricted and they get no sick pay. They are hoping to join the employees union to fix that.

A member of the elected Sequoia Healthcare District apologized to his fellow board members for sending an email to the Sequoia High School District that may have looked like a threat to cut funding to the school district.

The District’s CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) test scores have taken a dip in mathematics. The district investigated the costs of maintaining its campuses and sites, predicting that there will be about $30.4 million in facilities expenditures over the next two years.

Supporters of a censured Franklin-McKinley School District trustee showed up in force at a board meeting, but some say they are outsiders pushing an agenda. Informed Parents of Silicon Valley members spoke out at the school board meeting.

To qualify for financial aid, students must maintain a certain grade-point-average, but many don’t. A bill on Gov. Newsom’s desk would make it easier for students to keep their aid and stay in college.

The jackpot, which has been growing for more than two months, now stands at an estimated $785 million for Monday night's draw. There have been 28 consecutive drawings without a top-prize winner.

After a historic decline in community college enrollment during the pandemic, students are returning to school again, according to the state’s most recent data. But students between the ages of 20 and 30 are lagging behind.

The tuition increases were forecast earlier this year, when a Cal State task force concluded the system needs at least $1.5 billion annually in new revenue to afford student services and bolster its academic offerings.