Tahoe Truckee Region Education Digest

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It has been eight years since California voters repealed a 1998 law directing public school districts to essentially eliminate their bilingual programs.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.

An estimated 1 in 5 schools has no air conditioning and another 10% need repair. Underfunded schools struggle to keep classrooms cool as heat waves intensify. “It’s a hot mess,” one teacher says.

The Mercury News guide to the Proposition 2 $10 billion bond to build and repair public schools.

Community colleges are designed to help students get an associate degree and transfer to a four-year university. Most community college students never graduate or transfer, a state audit found.

Cal State officials are projecting a 2025-26 budget hole of about $400 million to $800 million. They are warning of layoffs and academic cuts.

After delays and mishaps, California announces $450 million for high school career pathways.

The UC Regents approved campus requests for more tools for UC police months after campus protesters clashed with law enforcement.

Failed legislative bills have attempted to create safe parking programs for students to sleep in their cars on California campuses while awaiting housing. Meanwhile, Long Beach City College allows homeless students to park overnight.

California’s public schools have a numbers problem —and it’s not just that their students don’t score very highly in national tests of mathematics ability.

Lawmakers approved two bills to allow some community colleges to provide bachelor’s degrees in nursing. That’s setting up another conflict with the California State University, which already offers these bachelor’s degrees.

The California School Dashboard makes it hard for the public to see how schools and districts are performing over multiple years, concludes the report's lead author.

Information about how the state’s K-12 students are performing is located on several sites and is difficult to understand, a new report finds.

In the final week of session, legislators are debating whether to give more leeway to public school teachers when to report students to law enforcement. Supporters say disabled and students of color are unfairly disciplined, but opponents say school safety is at risk.

California officials have warned students for years that for-profit schools may make misleading career claims — leaving them with “a mountain of debt” but no job. Still, many for-profit schools remain on the state’s list of recommended job training programs.

Schools that banned phones a few years ago have advice for other districts as the governor calls for a crackdown.

Some California agencies are offering incentives and hosting workshops for school districts that want to build affordable housing for teachers.

A program for low-income, first-generation STEM students at community colleges is receiving millions of dollars to expand across the state.

Small and low-income school officials say the bond measure deal is unfair. The money is allocated through matching grants, so wealthier districts that can raise more local funds will get more money from the state.

The two-day CalMatters Ideas Festival wrapped on June 6 with more than a dozen events examining critical policy issues impacting the lives of millions of Californians.