Santa Cruz County Education Digest

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.

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.

School nurses in California have one of the heaviest workloads in the country with a student-to-school-nurse ratio of 2,410 students for every nurse, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

On the heels of a statewide report criticizing the handling of sexual harassment complaints at the California State University system, officials at California State University, Monterey Bay held a Title IX town hall to provide community members an insight into the restructuring of the office.

The most expensive meal at UC Santa Cruz dining halls is now $14. The minimum wage in Santa Cruz is $15.50.

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

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

Ethnic organizations on the UCSC campus have been at the forefront of integral institutional change for student life.

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.

UC Santa Cruz’s Resource Centers create spaces attuned to students’ needs, often providing cross-cultural spaces and events to foster solidarity between communities.

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.

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.

Despite pushback from students, teachers and others, the California State University system will see tuition hikes.

Eight community colleges in California are testing out a new education model, one that defines success by the skills a student learns, not the time they spend in a classroom. But changing the traditional education system isn’t easy.

The plan, if approved, would begin at UCLA, with other campuses added later. But not everyone is on board with the latest version of this bill.

Nearly a third of K-12 students statewide were chronically absent in 2020-21, more than three times the pre-pandemic rate. Some school officials fear that pattern is becoming the new normal.

A June budget deal required community colleges to raise their own money to build affordable student housing. Some campuses said that plan prevented them from building the dorms, even with help from the state to pay the debt.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks proposed legislation to help get around a court's rejection of a UC Berkeley housing plan. But even if the law is approved, its fate is in the hands of the state Supreme Court.

The federal student loan payment pause is coming to an end. Here’s how to get ready to make payments again.

Santa Cruz County schools lack consistent standards to accommodate student learning after a concussion. The Sentinel asked high schools and school districts across the county to provide any protocols and statistics tracking concussions among their students.

A new law allows community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, an option for students unable to attend a four-year institution. But California State University officials are objecting to many of those proposed programs.

Last year California began providing free school lunches to all TK-12 students, regardless of family income. Now, with an influx of state and federal money, school districts are revamping kitchens and training staff so they can provide freshly made, healthy meals.

UC Santa Cruz announced that it has admitted about 10,000 more students total this fall than it did last year with about 5,500 new students living on campus.

More than 70% of people have been exposed to medical or health-related misinformation, according to a GoodRx Health study. This means many people are struggling to tell the difference between factual information and false information.

Two recent reports on sexual harassment complaints filed against Cal State employees conclude inconsistent data collection makes it difficult to determine a reliable number.

California is preparing to overhaul math instruction with new guidelines that reignite a years-old debate about the best way to teach math and how to balance the needs of students with different skill levels.

A group of students from UC Santa Cruz have made it to the final round of the Google Solutions Challenge. The team is the only group from the U.S. that made the final round out of the top 100 teams from all over the globe.

After several high-profile sexual harassment cases, Cal State needs more training, staff and outreach to students and employees, an outside firm concludes.

Mildred García will take over a system confronting a budget shortfall, declining enrollment and complaints about how Cal State officials have handled sexual misconduct allegations.

A proposal to set up degree completion funds for California student athletes has met with stiff opposition from universities and the NCAA. College athletes could earn a share of the revenue they generate under the bill — as much as $25,000 for each year that they played their sport. But the bill’s author has delayed it until 2024 after opponents charged the fund would draw money away from less lucrative sports like gymnastics and swimming.

Many California colleges and universities define “first-generation college student” differently, creating a confusing situation for students to navigate.