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It鈥檚 not quite the 鈥淢ississippi Miracle,鈥� but California鈥檚 reading scores have been inching upwards since the state poured billions into changing the way students learn to read. A shortage of literacy coaches, however, may be preventing students from improving even more.

In 2013, before California  in K-12 schools, the state ranked  for fourth grade reading skills on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation鈥檚 Report Card. Only 27% of students scored 鈥減roficient鈥� or 鈥渁dvanced鈥� on the reading test, given every two years to students across the country.

The following year California released a new English language arts framework that encourages schools to focus on phonics, vocabulary and other nuts-and-bolts methods when teaching children to read. Phonics-based instruction won鈥檛  until next year, but most schools have been gradually adopting the method.

Next came new curriculum materials,  and updates to teacher credential programs. The state also expanded  and implemented new guidelines for English learners.

But perhaps the biggest literacy investment came in 2023 with $500 million in grants set aside for schools to hire literacy coaches and take other steps to boost reading skills. The coaches 鈥� typically, former classroom teachers with extra training in reading 鈥� work directly with teachers to help them effectively teach children to read. Last year the state added $215 million, and the most recent budget includes an  for literacy coaches.

Mississippi, whose reading scores went from 49th in the country in 2013 to 9th in 2024, partially credits the turnaround to literacy coaches and other teacher training tactics. Mississippi鈥檚 reading framework is similar to California鈥檚, but Mississippi invested heavily in training teachers to implement it, while California rolled out its training program over several years.

Reading scores inch up

California鈥檚 reading scores have improved gradually 鈥� but significantly 鈥� since 2013. Last year, California ranked  nationwide, with 13 states scoring higher and the rest scoring the same or lower. This happened at the same time that national scores began falling.

On statewide tests, the number of fourth graders reading at grade level jumped from  in 2014 to  last year. Before the pandemic, the percentage was close to 50%, dropped a few points when schools switched to remote learning, but has been inching back up since then.

Fourth grade is a key benchmark for literacy because by fifth grade, students need reading skills sufficient to understand other subjects such as history and science. Students who aren鈥檛 proficient readers by fourth grade are more likely to lag academically in other subjects.  have found that adults with low literacy skills are more likely to be unemployed, incarcerated or face other challenges.

Sarah Novicoff, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California, that found that California鈥檚 literacy investments have paid off 鈥� with a caveat.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e absolutely had a positive impact,鈥� Novicoff said. 鈥淏ut we have an opportunity to do an even better job.鈥�

Novicoff found that nearly 60% of school districts used their grant money to hire literacy coaches to work with teachers, reading specialists to work directly with students, or otherwise arranged for teacher training related to literacy.

School districts that made those investments saw significant improvements in reading scores, including among English learners, she found. Results varied by district, but in general students scored 6 points higher on state tests within two years of the investments, she found. She expects the scores to rise further over time.

Some districts struggle to hire literacy coaches

But plenty of school districts hired no literacy coaches. Not because they didn鈥檛 want to, but because there were none to hire. In fact, 42% of districts said they had trouble hiring coaches.

鈥淚鈥檇 love to hire a literacy coach,鈥� said Patricia Gunderson, superintendent of the Lassen County Office of Education. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great the state is offering the money, but we just can鈥檛 do it. We don鈥檛 have the capacity.鈥�

In remote and rural parts of the state, finding literacy coaches has proved to be nearly impossible 鈥� and has hindered improvement, Novicoff found. For example, Lassen County, along the northern Nevada border, can barely find enough credentialed teachers, let alone education professionals with advanced specialty degrees. And even if schools could hire literacy coaches, they couldn鈥檛 find enough substitutes to fill in for teachers undergoing training.

But Lassen has been creative in finding ways to boost literacy. In 2023, for example, it held a weeklong summer training course for teachers, where teachers were paid to learn the new curriculum and the course didn鈥檛 interrupt the school year. Gunderson said it was a big success; state reading test scores jumped more than 7 percentage points, although still lag behind the state average.

In Siskiyou County, along the Oregon border, county superintendent Allan Carver said he welcomes the state鈥檚 investment in literacy coaches, but it鈥檚 created another problem: Teachers are opting to become literacy coaches, possibly because it鈥檚 less stressful or pays a bit more, leaving vacancies in the classroom.

鈥淲e work to solve one issue and further exacerbate the teacher shortage,鈥� Carver said. 鈥淲e have to develop the literacy coach pipeline before we simply allocate funds and expectations for training.鈥�

In Baldwin Park, in the San Gabriel Valley, principal Laura Rodriguez said literacy coaches have been instrumental in turning around her school鈥檚 reading scores. Using state grant money, Tracy Elementary has added a literacy coach who works closely with the school鈥檚 teachers, aides and reading specialist.

The literacy coach, Claudia Barba, holds workshops for teachers and parents, trains the aides, assesses the students, analyzes data, and gives feedback to teachers. She鈥檚 also devised a literacy plan that looks closely at the causes for the low scores and specifically addresses the reasons.

鈥淪he is amazing,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen such a difference since we started this. It has changed our campus.鈥�

Tracy Elementary, a Spanish-English dual immersion school, is mostly low-income. More than 30% of students are English learners. The literacy plan teaches children to read in Spanish first, then English, by focusing on vocabulary and phonics in both languages. By third grade, when the state first tests students鈥� reading skills, students are fairly fluent readers in both languages.

In just two years, after hiring the literacy coach, Tracy鈥檚 reading scores jumped more than 10 percentage points. Even English learners saw their scores significantly increase. Other metrics also improved: Chronic absenteeism dropped from 44% just after the pandemic to 11% last year. Math scores are increasing, too.

鈥淟iteracy is the key to everything. If a child can read, they can access knowledge. They start to enjoy school,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淭hey can get a better education.鈥�

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U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has detained more than 650 children in California under President Donald Trump鈥檚 second term, an EdSource analysis of federal data has found. Most arrests happened in California communities, rather than at the border, and involved minors who resided and attended school in the state.

The number of children detained in the state鈥檚 interior rose 90% during the first year of Trump鈥檚 second term compared to the prior year under the Biden administration, our analysis shows. More than 100 of the children detained under Trump were age 5 or under. 

The rise in child detainments in the state鈥檚 interior began soon after Trump took office in January 2025. Trump won office on a promise to carry out mass deportations, 鈥渋llegal immigrant killers, rapists, and drug dealers from our streets and sending them back where they belong.鈥�

Starting immediately and escalating over the summer of 2025, ICE agents have conducted large-scale operations in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations. Some children have been detained while accompanying parents to routine ICE check-ins. The practices reflect an escalation in enforcement activity that .

The children detained, so far, include a from Los Angeles County who was detained in June 2025 and deported to Guatemala; a who, along with his father, was detained at an immigration hearing that same month and deported to Honduras; and who, in March, was detained without his hearing aids and deported to Colombia along with his mother and younger brother.

Medical professionals and advocates contend that no period of time in detention is safe for children. In 2016, a Department of Homeland Security Advisory Committee 鈥� the practice of detaining children with their parents as they await the outcome of their case 鈥� writing 鈥渄etention is never in the best interest of children.鈥�

鈥淭he kids that are in detention in these facilities, they鈥檙e losing their childhoods every single day that they鈥檙e in there,鈥� said Wendy Cervantes, who oversees research and advocacy of immigrant families at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Law and Social Policy. 

A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to EdSource that this data is 鈥渂eing cherry-picked鈥� to 鈥減eddle a false narrative.鈥� ICE, the spokesperson said, is 鈥渘ot targeting children.鈥�

鈥淚CE does not separate families,鈥� the unidentified DHS spokesperson said. 鈥淧arents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates.鈥� 

What the data shows

EdSource analyzed federal detainment data obtained by the Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley and UCLA capturing federal detainments between October 2022 and March 2026. The analysis found: 

• There were 666 Californian children detained during the Trump administration. Of those, 408 children 鈥� or 61% 鈥� were deported. Under the Biden administration, 8% were ultimately deported.听
• Nationally, children have been held longer in detention under Trump than under Biden. The median length of detention jumped from one day under Biden to eight days under Trump. This does not include 335 children who had not yet been released from detention as of March 11, the last day for which data was available.
• Nationally, the average number of children in detention jumped nearly 10-fold under Trump, due in part to these longer detention stays. Under the last year of the Biden administration, there were, on average, 23 children held in detention each day. During Trump鈥檚 first year of his second term, that figure rose to 219.

The Trump administration is going after 鈥渢he worst of the worst,鈥� including pedophiles and rapists, a DHS spokesperson said. 

鈥淢any of the individuals that are counted as 鈥榥on-criminals鈥� are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more; they just don鈥檛 have a rap sheet in the U.S.,鈥� the DHS spokesperson said. 鈥淔urther, every single one of these individuals committed a crime when they came into this country illegally.鈥�

According to EdSource鈥檚 analysis of ICE鈥檚 data, none of the 666 detained children in California under Trump had any felonies or previous convictions listed. Twelve minors were listed as having pending criminal charges, including three girls between ages 6 and 9. The nature of those pending charges is not disclosed. The ICE data does not include information about any connected family members or their cases.

During his second term, Trump reopened family detention facilities, including the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley and the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center in Texas. In California, 250 detained children were ultimately sent to these family facilities.

A 12-year-old from Los Angeles, identified by the initials G.S., gave describing their experience living inside the South Texas Family Residential Center during a 64-day detainment with their parents and younger sister.

The child said ICE agents detained the family during a routine ICE check-in in Los Angeles. The family lost their apartment and belongings, according to the May 22 declaration. The status of the child and their family is unclear.

鈥淚t makes me feel hopeless to be here for so long, because now it鈥檒l take me and my whole family a long time to get back to normal because of how much money and education we have lost,鈥� the child said in their declaration. 鈥淚f I could change one thing here, it would be to shut down the whole facility.鈥�

Trump vs. Biden

One major difference between the Trump and Biden presidencies has been the number of children who arrived at the border. Of the 5,676 children detained in California between October 2022 and when Trump started his second term, 94% were apprehended at the border.

Biden prioritized placing some of the unaccompanied minors who arrived at the border with sponsors, Cervantes said, and ended the practice of family detention that resumed under Trump. Cervantes said the Biden administration largely followed . 

The 1997 agreement provided rights for immigrant children in U.S. custody and prohibited most detentions from lasting more than 20 days. The declaration from the detained Los Angeles minor is one of several included from children and parents in a lawsuit claiming their rights under the Flores agreement have been violated.

Attorneys representing the Trump administration in this case in June 2025 that conditions at detention centers for children have 鈥渄rastically improved鈥� since the original agreement. Referencing the high number of immigrants at the border, the administration said the Flores Settlement Agreement 鈥渉amstrung the government in addressing this catastrophic illegal migration.鈥�

Apprehension in California

During the first year of Trump鈥檚 second term, adults were detained in California鈥檚 interior at more than four times the rate they were held during the last year of Biden鈥檚 administration, while the rate of child detainments rose by 90%.

California has passed laws and issued guidance with the aim of shielding schools from federal immigration enforcement. For instance, under California law, school officials .

In , parents, teachers and neighbors have formed rapid-response networks to report sightings of ICE agents for students and their families to avoid while commuting to and from school.

The sites of some immigration enforcement operations, such as job sites, may be more likely to target adults than children. However, Cervantes notes that some teens working at restaurants or as lifeguards at pools have been apprehended in ICE raids while they鈥檙e on the job. She also disputes the Trump administration鈥檚 claim that children have not been targets of immigration enforcement. 

Children may not be detained at the same rates that adults are, but medical experts warn that any time spent in detention is too long for their well-being.

Shortly after Trump began his second term, medical professionals to the president and then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warning that 鈥渄etention itself poses a threat to child health.鈥� 

鈥淲e have endless amounts of research and expert testimony on how harmful detention is to children,鈥� said Michelle Bran茅, who was the immigration detention ombudsman under the Biden administration, and now leads the nonprofit Together and Free, which supports asylum-seeking families. 鈥淵ou see kids with extreme depression. You see kids really regressing, kids going back to wetting the bed after they鈥檝e been trained for years.鈥�

Going Deeper

The Deportation Data Project collects U.S. government immigration enforcement datasets obtained via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. EdSource analyzed this data with a focus on how immigration enforcement is affecting children in California.

The participants in the project are academics and attorneys, including co-founders Graeme Blair, a professor of political science at UCLA; David Hausman, a professor of law at UC Berkeley and attorney Amber Quereshi.

This dataset from the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement contains anonymized individual level data. It contains data about arrests, detention stays and detention rates in individual facilities, largely from Oct. 1, 2022, during Biden鈥檚 term until March 11, 2026 during Trump鈥檚 second term. 

A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security said that neither they nor ICE have verified the accuracy, methodology or analysis of the Deportation Data Project and its results. 

Hausman noted that it has posted the original data obtained directly from ICE.

鈥淭hese are ICE鈥檚 own records of who is arrested, detained, and deported,鈥� Hausman wrote in a statement to EdSource. 鈥淲e have posted the data and code underlying the analysis. We welcome any specific feedback.鈥�

This ICE data from the Deportation Data Project does not include the city or state of residence for those individuals who were arrested or detained. This makes it difficult to determine with precision how many Californians are being affected directly by enforcement operations. Additionally, many of the over 700,000 arrests nationally in the data set have blanks where there should be information about the state or area where an apprehension took place.

EdSource鈥檚 analysis relied primarily on a set of more than 1 million detention stays nationally. Every recorded individual stay in the ICE detention system has a list of codes corresponding to detention facilities. Our data analysis counts those who were first detained in a California detention facility as being detained in California.

California is a border state. A hallmark of the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration policy has been a shift from the border to deporting immigrants who are living in the interior of the country. So it was important to determine whether someone had been detained as a part of border enforcement. We used the same methodology as the Deportation Data Project to distinguish between an arrest at the border or one that occurred in the interior. We counted an arrest as happening at the border if it involved U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including Border Patrol or the Coast Guard.

Determining the age of those Californians who were detained was more straightforward. We have the birth year of those who were detained, as well as the date that an individual was booked into a facility. If the difference between those years was less than 18, this analysis counts them as a child. Because we do not know the exact birth dates of each individual, 666 children may be an undercount.

None of the data connects family members to one another.

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EdSource Reporter Zaidee Stavely and Data Journalist Daniel J. Willis contributed to this story.

California鈥檚 latest budget includes $116 million over three years to help schools identify and support students experiencing homelessness 鈥� the first time the state has dedicated funding specifically for this purpose.

Homeless student advocates welcomed the investment after years of lobbying lawmakers to supplement the federal dollars California gets annually to address student homelessness. However, advocates cautioned that one-time funding will only go so far to address the long-term problem of student homelessness.

Nearly 300,000 students in California were identified as experiencing homelessness in 2024-25, according to state data. However, homeless student advocates say that number is likely an undercount because it鈥檚 challenging to identify homeless students. With dedicated funding, schools can hire specialized staff trained to identify students facing housing instability and develop longer-term support programs.

鈥淭here is a great need, but the hard part with this population is you have to find them and identify them, and we have never funded that,鈥� said Margaret Olmos, senior director at the National Center for Youth Law.

For years, Olmos and other advocates urged California lawmakers to provide state funding dedicated to homeless students, arguing that the federal McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act 鈥� about $15 million annually to California 鈥� was insufficient to meet districts鈥� needs.

This year鈥檚 2026-27 budget includes a one-time, three-year competitive grant program totaling $116 million. Although advocates had hoped for an ongoing funding stream, they called the allocation a significant step forward.

鈥淪hort-term money is very, very difficult for schools to utilize,鈥� Olmos said.

Why dedicated funding?

California schools already can use several funding buckets to support students experiencing homelessness, including funding for community schools, Title 1 for schools to support low-income students, and supplemental dollars via the Local Control Funding Formula.

But those funding sources can help students only after they have been identified as experiencing homelessness. The state鈥檚 $116 million investment is intended primarily to help schools find eligible students and connect them with services, according to the .

鈥淲hether it鈥檚 community school funding or other funding that California鈥檚 providing for its students, if homeless students aren鈥檛 identified, if they don鈥檛 have regular transportation, a way to get to school, has somebody who鈥檚 attending to all those other needs 鈥� they鈥檙e not going to be able to benefit from those other investments,鈥� said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, an organization that advocates for homeless students.

Identifying students can be difficult if families are reluctant to disclose housing instability or do not realize they are considered homeless under federal law and thus qualify for services.

Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, student homelessness is defined more broadly than it is for the general population under the more commonly used definition from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Under McKinney-Vento, students are considered homeless if they lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence 鈥� including many who are temporarily living with relatives or friends because of economic hardship.

This definition includes students living 鈥�,鈥� meaning families who share housing due to economic hardship. The HUD definition doesn鈥檛 include families who are doubling up. live 鈥渄oubled-up,鈥� but they could go uncounted if they or people offering support are not aware of the different definitions of homelessness.

In recent years, California has taken steps to improve identification and access to resources.

, for example, requires schools to administer an annual housing questionnaire and report the results to the California Department of Education. Schools are also required under federal law to designate homeless liaisons responsible for identifying students and connecting them with services.

During Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 administration, billions have been allocated to address homelessness statewide, with a small percentage set aside for youth. have applied for and received grants via that program, but funds are exclusively for housing, and not for services such as transportation, food assistance, clothing, school supplies and more that students need.

Olmos and other advocates say that this is where schools come in. School staff work to identify homeless students, though often with little to no dedicated funding.

A teacher or classroom aide might notice a student whose grades have slipped, or another鈥檚 who has an unkempt appearance. An attendance team might note sudden increased absences and might know they should flag a homeless liaison.

In many cases, that a family recently lost housing, cannot afford basic necessities or lacks reliable transportation to school.

California received in McKinney Vento dollars during the 2025-26 school year, distributed among 151 of the state鈥檚 more than 900 school districts and 58 county offices of education. An additional was allocated to support the , jointly managed by the Los Angeles, Contra Costa and San Diego county offices of education. The homeless liaisons for each of these three large counties answer questions submitted by liaisons or school staff from other districts, help train new liaisons and offer webinars on McKinney Vento requirements, among other things.

Because federal funding for student homelessness nationally has remained flat nationwide for at least three years 鈥� about $129 million annually 鈥� advocates say California cannot rely on significant increases from Washington. 

The state鈥檚 $116 million will 鈥渟ignal to other states that there鈥檚 a way forward, but also that, within California, this is one-time funding that will help really show policymakers and educators that this needs to be the new normal in California,鈥� said Duffield. 鈥淏ecause there鈥檚 no indication that homelessness is going to be down significantly in the next couple years.鈥�

A proof of concept

Supporters of the new funding point to the federal American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth, known as ARP-HCY, as an example of the difference dedicated funding can make.

, through the ARP-HCY program, school districts nationwide received $800 million in one-time Covid-19 relief funding, including $98.76 million for California. Districts used the money to hire homeless liaisons and support staff, provide emergency housing assistance, expand after-school programs and connect families with basic services. 

But when the federal government announced in 2024 the would not be replenished, some of those programs began ending as well.

Homeless student advocates say California鈥檚 new $116 million allocation creates a new opportunity to demonstrate the value of dedicated funding, while also highlighting the challenges of relying on one-time grants.

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a lot of lessons to be learned from ARP-HCY,鈥� said Duffield. 鈥淗ow the funds go out, what they can be used for, how the actual disbursement is being tracked. All of that from the get-go.鈥�

If districts can demonstrate measurable results, the hope is lawmakers will make the funding permanent, said Olmos.

鈥淥ur North Star has not changed. There has to be dedicated funding to this group that is safe in California moving forward,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o we have a window to prove that this is a wise investment, and we are really hoping that we don鈥檛 lose it.鈥�

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I respond in our native tongue, 鈥淢uy bien, 驴y t煤?鈥�听

We chat briefly about students from our class, and I ask about Camila 鈥� a silly ninth grader who always brightened our days. 

鈥淗ay 鈥� la deportaron, miss,鈥� he whispers. In that moment, I鈥檓 astonished but not surprised. This has become a familiar reality for many newcomer students.

These days, as an English language development teacher to newcomers in Santa Maria, California, I often hear my high school students speaking casually about going back to their native countries. Voluntary and forceful deportations have become commonplace over the last year and a half. The has doubled since President Donald Trump鈥檚 second term began, and the number of immigrants in detention facilities is at an all-time high. 

But families being broken apart and people being uprooted from the homes they鈥檝e built 鈥� in many cases, the only homes they know 鈥� is not OK or normal. We as a society cannot accept this. It鈥檚 an outrage. It鈥檚 also painful and traumatizing for the families experiencing it. And I know that because I鈥檝e experienced it myself. 

Ten years ago, on a Monday morning, I received a text from my older sister. 鈥淢om is going back to Mexico,鈥� it read. I was at Starbucks, reading my book, when I stared at my phone in disbelief. But something in her text made me believe that this news was real. As I headed home that day, 鈥淭e Vas Amor鈥� by El Coyote y Su Banda Tierra Santa played in my white Honda Accord. El Coyote sang, 鈥淭e vas amor, tal vez mis ojos no te vuelvan a mirar.鈥� You are leaving love, perhaps my eyes will never see you again. 

I cried at the prospect of losing my mother to the border. Given that she was undocumented, I knew Mami would not be able to come back.

The hours and days after were a blur. When I got home, Mami revealed she鈥檇 be going back to Mexico to care for my grandfather before he passed. Because she needed to leave so urgently, Papi would have to join her later. My parents owned an agricultural business that he needed to tend to. When they鈥檇 first immigrated to the U.S., they鈥檇 picked strawberries; eventually they鈥檇 begun cultivating fruit and hiring workers of their own. My parents had found the American dream they鈥檇 longed for: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness here.

Mami began getting her affairs in order that same day. I don鈥檛 remember asking her to stay. I was 23 years old, a recent graduate from UCLA and technically an adult at the time. I was also a U.S. citizen. I felt it selfish to ask my mother to choose between her dying father and her grown daughter, so I just processed the news and supported her decision. 

The days after involved buying flights, speaking to a lawyer, putting the house 鈥� which they had just purchased and paid off 鈥� in my name, and changing bank accounts to include me as their fiduciary representative. I did all this while my heart ached at the thought of losing my mother to a border that would not welcome her back. 

By Friday night, just four days after Mami had made the decision to go back to Mexico, we were on our way to Los Angeles International Airport, where she said goodbye to her husband and boarded a plane to Oaxaca. 

Ten months later, once strawberry season had concluded, Papi was on his way to join her. Before he went through airport security, I gave my father a hug. This time, both my parents were leaving this country, leaving home.

It鈥檚 2026 now, almost 10 years since I lost my parents to self-deportation. It鈥檚 a shame that things have only gotten worse for immigrant families like mine. It seems like every day we see social media posts about families getting separated from their loved ones and GoFundMe pages asking for help with legal expenses for family members who were deported. Each day, another family is broken by a border and laws that don鈥檛 allow them to stay together. 

And yet we, as a society, have accepted this new norm. Why? Why have we tolerated the idea that a father or mother can just be ripped apart from their child? Each day I walk into my classroom, overjoyed by the presence of my students, and think of the ache they must feel with this current administration. I lost my parents to the border at the age of 23; here they are, experiencing it as 15-year-olds. I understand that my students carry not only their backpacks, pencils and notebooks, but also the weight of potentially losing their loved ones. 

They also carry something else: resilience. Strength comes from trials and tribulations. Despite what they鈥檙e experiencing, my students are brilliant and thriving. I remind them of this each day. 

I offer a space of love and learning, a space where they know they are accepted and valued, no matter what else is going on in our country. In my classroom, they know they belong, and they know that while we鈥檙e working together to learn English, their native tongues are still welcome.

Despite what I can offer my students in my classroom, we as a society need to do better for them. What is going on in our country is not normal and should not be reduced to normalcy just because it鈥檚 happening. It should not happen at all. My students deserve to live and learn in a place where their only worry might be whether they studied enough for the science test or whether they made the baseball team, not whether their life will be uprooted by the presence of ICE at the local grocery store. 

For now, I cheer for them when they say, 鈥淗ello, Ms. Gonzalez, how are you?,鈥� demonstrating they are capable of learning a new language. I celebrate them when they get a perfect score on a test they were worried about. For now, I do my best to put a smile on my face and assure them that no matter what, they are always welcome here.

California鈥檚 audacious goal of having half of all K-12 students enrolled in bilingual education programs by 2030 has encountered one big stumbling block 鈥� there aren鈥檛 enough qualified bilingual teachers.

To help remedy that, a $10 million grant tucked in the state budget aims to help school districts recruit high school students as future bilingual teachers.

The funding in the that passed Thursday allows schools to partner with community colleges and universities to help students obtain a teaching credential and the bilingual authorization required to teach English learners.

Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-Chula Vista, said the idea for the legislation came in part from school districts that communicated about their struggles to find qualified bilingual teachers.

鈥淚 kept hearing from districts and educators that bilingual students want to become teachers but run into a fragmented system with no clear path through high school, community college, university and credentialing,鈥� said Alvarez.

Researchers and coordinators of bilingual teacher preparation programs applaud the new grant program, but say it鈥檚 not nearly enough to meet the state鈥檚 needs.

鈥淕rant funding is important, but to me it just doesn鈥檛 feel like it鈥檚 going to be enough, given our size and also the size of our dreams and our ambitions as a state,鈥� said Lucrecia Santiba帽ez, a UCLA professor and author of two recent reports on bilingual teacher preparation.

The demand for bilingual teachers

California set a eight years ago to enroll half of all K-12 students in programs that help them become proficient in two or more languages by 2030.

But to reach that goal in the next four years, California will need an estimated 6,000 more bilingual teachers.

Several recent reports paint a picture of California鈥檚 bilingual teacher preparation as an unfinished quilt filled with gaps, rips and uneven stitching. Not enough bilingual teacher preparation programs exist, the reports found, and those that do exist are too far from the districts with the highest demand for bilingual teachers. 

In addition, bilingual students interested in becoming teachers are often stymied by the extra cost to finish both a teaching credential and a bilingual authorization 鈥� which requires several classes and 20 hours of student teaching, and can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000 on top of a college degree.

California has more than doubled the number of bilingual authorizations issued to teachers annually, from 617 in 2014-15 to a record 1,370 in 2023-24, according to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Yet Santiba帽ez and other UCLA researchers found that districts issue hundreds of emergency bilingual teacher permits each year for teachers who are not fully qualified to teach bilingual instruction.

The demand for bilingual teachers is not the same everywhere. While some districts have developed thriving dual language immersion programs and found ways to increase their numbers of bilingual teachers, many others lack the teachers and the funding to build these types of programs.

鈥淲e鈥檝e worked with districts that have had to close programs they started, and they just couldn鈥檛 staff it, and the parents were very disappointed, but the district didn鈥檛 want to have long-term subs running their dual language program, which is fair,鈥� said Anya Hurwitz, executive director of SEAL, a nonprofit organization that provides bilingual curriculum training for school districts. 鈥淭here are other districts that have built more robust relationships with teacher prep programs, but those are the early adopters or the outliers, not the norm.鈥�

Bilingual teaching deserts

The areas in California with the greatest need of bilingual teachers are also the areas where preparation programs are scarce or underfunded, UCLA鈥檚 Santiba帽ez said. Imperial County on the Mexico border, as well as Kings and Tulare counties in the Central Valley all have large English learner populations but have no preparation programs nearby.

鈥淲e know from the research that teachers and students in college who decide to become teachers like to stay close to where they live,鈥� said Santiba帽ez. 鈥淪o when the teacher preparation places aren鈥檛 really building capacity in a region that has tremendous growth of multilingual learners, it鈥檚 going to create that sort of access or needs gap.鈥�

Fewer established bilingual teachers in an area also means there are fewer teachers who can serve as mentors for student teachers, she said.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 necessarily see somebody from San Diego or even from L.A. making the two-hour trip to Indio or Coachella or Calexico or wherever to do those mentoring sessions. So it is important to grow the capacity where the capacity is needed,鈥� Santiba帽ez said.

Starting in high school

The new legislation responds to some of the researchers鈥� recommendations. For example, school districts will be given priority for grants if they have a high percentage of students who are English learners and not enough teacher preparation programs. 

Sparking interest in bilingual teaching among high schoolers, as the new grants would do, is crucial, said Adam Sawyer, director of the bilingual authorization program at California State University, Bakersfield. He said his university helps as many as 30 credentialed teachers get their bilingual authorization every year, and also has a bilingual teaching residency established with local elementary school districts that enlists about 10 to 15 student teachers per year.

Sawyer said CSU Bakersfield is working to establish an undergraduate pathway for prospective teachers and a dual-enrollment course for high schoolers, which will start next year. 

鈥淚 have always thought this would be a wonderful way to start tapping into high school juniors and seniors that may not have thought about bilingual teaching, but may start seeing that as, 鈥楬ey, that might be something I want to do!鈥� 鈥� Sawyer said.

鈥楢 drop of water in the sea鈥�

Still, the new funding, which will be distributed in grants of up to $600,000, is not a lot to address the need for bilingual teachers, educators say.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a whole lot of money to do great things,鈥� said Eduardo Mu帽oz-Mu帽oz, San Jos茅 State University professor and co-author of a report by the California Association of Bilingual Teacher Education and Californians Together. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a drop of water in the sea.鈥�

Researchers have called for California to collect and publish data on the number of dual language immersion programs in the state, how many students they serve and the number of teachers with bilingual authorizations working in them.

More data would help the state pinpoint where to fund more bilingual teacher preparation programs, Mu帽oz-Mu帽oz said. 

Santiba帽ez and Mu帽oz-Mu帽oz also recommend the state offer more financial aid for students working on bilingual authorizations on top of their teaching credentials, a stipend for students to complete student teaching in a bilingual classroom, or bonuses for teachers who have bilingual authorizations, which not all districts provide.

鈥淭here鈥檚 just got to be an incentive,鈥� Santiba帽ez said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a college student, right? You鈥檙e getting your teaching credential, and you speak Spanish because you鈥檙e a heritage language speaker. So getting a bilingual authorization seems like something like a slam dunk, right? But you have to pay for it.鈥�

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A from the universities of Pennsylvania and California analyzed a longstanding San Francisco Unified School District ethnic studies program, piloted in 2010, that has since enrolled thousands of students and become a graduation requirement in 2024.

An ethnic studies course is a history class centered around the culture and experiences of diverse students, which has proven to be especially beneficial for vulnerable and high need students because of its 鈥渃ulturally relevant curriculum,鈥� said Sade Bonilla, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and co-author of the report.听

鈥淭he intention is to affirm students’ identities, 鈥� and to increase their engagement with the materials and content by giving students an opportunity to see themselves reflected in the curriculum,鈥� Bonilla said.

In San Francisco, for example, a school district made up of nearly 50,000 students with a majority identifying as , curriculum has included lessons about housing discrimination, schooling segregation and how Mexican-American and Chinese children were not allowed to attend particular schools in California, Bonilla said. 

A new standardized curriculum was approved after complaints about the course being 鈥渁ctivist driven,鈥� reported KQED, a local NPR station. President Donald Trump has also made similar criticisms about diversity, equity and inclusion practices in K-12 classrooms.

Using data from 10 cohorts of students from grades 6 to 12 between the 2007-08 school year to 2022-23, Bonilla and her colleagues said the study is the first to provide evidence about the academic impact of ethnic studies enrollment in a district-wide expansion.

Drawing on that found curricula that reflect student backgrounds not only can promote , but also improve , the researchers found enrollment in ethnic studies courses can improve a student鈥檚 GPA by 0.17 points and significantly reduce course failures across a school system.

The grade point boost resulted in 15% more students achieving a 3.0 GPA and becoming eligible for admission to the University of California, the report said. Researchers also found that all student groups benefited from enrollment, 鈥渨ith particularly strong effects for lower-performing students, male students, Black and Latinx students, and students receiving special education services.鈥�

Bonilla and her colleagues found the course is especially effective for students entering high school.

Coined 鈥�,鈥� the transition between eighth and ninth grade is often challenging for students as they鈥檙e exposed to a new environment and more difficult coursework, in addition to cognitive, emotional and physical changes. Students fail ninth grade more than any other grade, according to the , and other ninth graders have the lowest GPAs and most missed classes, behavior referrals and failing grades. 

Teenagers entering high school are often 鈥渕ore likely to be aware of news, events, policies. Some might experience discrimination or stereotypes for the first time, at the same time of this identity formation happening,鈥� Bonilla said. 鈥淓thnic studies provides them language to talk about what they might be witnessing, experiencing and noticing about how society works. 鈥� It’s not leaving students deflated that the world is unequal and unjust. It’s [instead] saying here’s some things that one can do about it, and how to participate in civic life in productive ways.鈥�

Engaging students early, around ninth grade, paid off throughout the rest of their academic careers, the report found.

Ninth grade students who never took the ethnic studies class experienced a 鈥渘oticeable GPA decline,鈥� whereas the students who took the class did not. The study also reported students with the lowest eighth grade GPAs, below a 2.0, benefited from the class the most, with a 0.17 point increase as those with GPAs between a 2.0 and 3.0 saw gains of about 0.12 points. 

While all students saw academic improvement, gains were largest among Black and Latino students, who saw GPA increases of 0.23 and 0.25 respectively and male students, who saw a 0.19 GPA increase on average, compared to female students who improved on average by 0.15 points.

English language learners and students with disabilities also saw improvements in their GPA by 0.19 and 0.17 points respectively. 

鈥淎lthough [ethnic studies] courses centered the experiences of communities of color, students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds benefited,鈥� the report said. 鈥淎cross core subjects, [ethnic studies] enrollment increased GPA in all areas, with the largest improvements in math (0.27 points) and science (0.20 points).鈥�

The San Francisco school district has seen a steady increase in enrollment in ethnic studies classes, from 3.5% of all high school students in its pilot year to 13.4% in 2022-23, but the report stated it鈥檚 unclear whether other districts will follow, despite its benefits.

California became the first state to require ethnic studies as a graduation requirement and more than a handful of states 鈥� including , and 鈥� have adopted mandates such as requiring schools to offer similar coursework. 

The California graduation mandate has with funding, which could be a challenge for widespread expansion for other states too. 

鈥淟egislating a high school requirement and not providing any additional funding means that districts would need to reallocate their spending of the money that they have,鈥� Bonilla said. 鈥淚n this fiscal environment, 鈥� being able to support the implementation of any new initiative is going to be challenging.鈥�

In Jan. 2025, Trump signed calling to end 鈥渞adical indoctrination in K-12 schooling,鈥� and threatening to pull federal funding to schools if they taught 鈥渄iscriminatory equity ideology鈥� or any lessons that 鈥渢reat individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups.鈥�

Even before Trump鈥檚 order, states have pushed back against comparable coursework, with more than  including Arizona, which in 2010 Mexican American studies; Tennessee which certain concepts around race and racism in 2021; and Florida, whose leaders successfully advocated teachings in Advanced Placement鈥檚 African American studies in 2023.

But ethnic studies courses have 鈥渘ot been widespread,鈥� Bonilla said, adding that many states that have restricted these types of classes never really offered them in the first place.

鈥淏y banning this type of curriculum [in states like Tennessee] 鈥� we鈥檙e not necessarily taking things away from those students because many students didn鈥檛 have access to this type of curriculum in the first place,鈥� Bonilla said.

The challenges across the country 鈥渞eally underscore and speak to the importance of the local role in education,鈥� Bonilla added. Families in San Francisco had to advocate for the ethnic studies offering and other communities could follow suit.

鈥淚t wasn’t something that the district decided to offer because they thought it would be good for students, but was actually from community groups and students and parents advocating to the school board,鈥� Bonilla said. 鈥淟ocal districts [and] schools have a lot of power to advocate within their local school boards to make decisions about what meets the needs of [their] students.鈥�

In his eighth and final budget, the tax gods continued to smile upon Gov. Gavin Newsom, enabling him to cement funding for signature programs he started while salving grumbling districts that are wincing over the financial impacts of declining enrollment.

If, as many predict, stock market turbulence tied to AI stock upends nearly a decade of rising revenues for schools, it won鈥檛 be on Newsom鈥檚 watch. 

On Monday, the Legislature passed that Newsom and legislators negotiated. Most of the key details for TK-12 schools are in the accompanying legislation, , whose passage is all but certain on Thursday, the final day before lawmakers鈥� summer recess.听

In the 2026-27 fiscal year, which starts July 1, Newsom and the Legislature provide additional funding for landmark multibillion-dollar programs: creating thousands of community schools and expanding after-school and summer school programs targeting low-income K-6 students. Serving nutritious school meals for all students 鈥� another Newsom priority 鈥� won鈥檛 really happen until schools have kitchens equipped to serve them. A one-time $500 million in grants for kitchen upgrades will help. And another $350 million will extend funding of reading coaches for high-poverty schools, a key component of literacy reform, for another five years. 

Districts, especially hundreds of small districts, are complaining that state funding hasn鈥檛 kept pace with rising basic costs. They鈥檒l get help: a $2.4 billion increase annually in the state鈥檚 share of special education, a higher-than-average cost-of-living adjustment, and a $5 billion block grant, equal to $937 per student, with no strings attached.

Districts and community colleges receive funding through Proposition 98, a constitutional amendment that guarantees roughly 40% of the General Fund. Lately, it has been shielding schools from the financial pressures of responding to massive federal cuts to food programs and medical care for low-income families.

In response, Newsom and legislators took two controversial budget actions. They are withholding $3.9 billion in Prop. 98 funding, temporarily boosting spending for programs elsewhere in the general fund. And they are shifting some preschool programs to Prop. 98, where they perhaps stand a better chance of expanding in the future, and, advocates argue, they should be anyway.

The 2026-27 budget covers everything from special education to teacher training to universal meals.

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This year, a student told me: 鈥淚 gave up on myself because school wasn鈥檛 a place for me. It wasn鈥檛 until I got to Central Coast High School that I could see myself doing more, even going to college.鈥� 

At CCHS, an alternative education school on California鈥檚 Monterey Bay Peninsula, many of our students arrive carrying more than a backpack. They carry trauma. They carry anxiety. They carry depression. Some of our students are unaccompanied minors navigating housing insecurity. Sleeping in cars. Staying in shelters. Staying with friends or not knowing where they will sleep that night.听

Too often, students facing these challenges are viewed through the lens of their behavior, not their circumstances. They are pushed out of classrooms. Suspended. Excluded. Ignored.听

By the time our students arrive at CCHS, they have spent years being told what they are not. Not motivated enough. Not smart enough. Not focused enough. Rarely have students been asked about their strengths, interests or goals. 

During the 2025-26 school year, CCHS began its first year as a community school, with grant funding that allowed us to bring more services and support for students onto our campus. It听gave us an opportunity to redesign our school around one question:听What if we stopped asking students to fit into school and started building a school that fit our students?听

Then, we designed a school around the answer. 

This is what we heard. Students wanted relationships with adults. They wanted opportunities that felt relevant to their future. They wanted support when life became difficult. Their feedback led us to rethink school. 

So this is what we did. First, we addressed basic needs. We partnered with Meals on Wheels to provide take-home meals and layered that support with food bank access so students and families could receive fresh produce. Nearly 2,000 meals were distributed each month. We placed a case manager on site to help students navigate essential services, such as housing insecurity. Students cannot engage in learning when focused on survival. 

We knew meeting basic needs alone would not be enough. Students also told us they needed support for their mental health. In response, we expanded access to services during the school day, including equine therapy and boxing. Both programs help students regulate emotions and manage stress. One student said: “Boxing is the one thing that quiets my brain.” 

Next, we created pathways that helped students see a connection between school and life after graduation. Students explored the following pathways, including auto detailing, window tinting, HVAC, mechanics, horticulture, barbering, podcasting, eyelash technician and barista. And we developed paid internships in these fields before they graduated.

Through these programs, students connected with mentors. They continued working with students on Saturdays, helping them build their skills. Two students earned their certification through our HVAC pathway, creating opportunities for employment immediately after graduation. Other students participated in internships with Meals on Wheels, helping to prepare meals that go out to our families. 

The impact was immediate. In our auto detailing pathway, 75% of students reported the class made them more likely to attend school. Similarly, in our window tinting pathway, 100% of students reported feeling more motivated to attend school, and 100% reported that the class helped them feel like they belonged. When students see a connection between school and their future, engagement grows. Students who once questioned the value of school found a reason to be there.听

And yes, we built a coffee shop. Yes, it鈥檚 on campus. 

Students helped design it, brand it and bring it to life. This is more than coffee. Students developed a business from the ground up, named it and designed the logo.听

We鈥檝e learned that these opportunities are not separate from academics. They are often the bridge that reconnects students to school. Without that bridge, we risk losing the most powerful resource we have in society: our young people.

When students see a reason to be at school, attendance improves. Engagement grows. Confidence follows. While belonging can feel difficult to measure, our students at CCHS are telling us that something is changing. 

This year, CCHS鈥檚 sense of belonging score on the YouthTruth Survey ranked in the 83rd percentile nationally. That represents a 73-point increase from last year. 

Numbers alone do not tell the full story, but they help confirm what we are seeing. Students are building relationships with adults. They are participating in pathways and support services. They are beginning to see school as a place where they matter. One student said, 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e here, you feel like you鈥檙e someone.鈥� 

Community schools are often described as a framework built on partnerships, supports, extended learning and shared leadership. While those structures are important, I have come to see community schools as something greater. 

They are a commitment to listening and responding. When students tell us what they need, our responsibility is to act. The work is never really about programs, pathways or initiatives. Those are just tools. 

The real work? It’s helping students believe in themselves again. When a student who once gave up on themselves can suddenly imagine a future they never thought was possible, something bigger than a program has happened. 

School becomes more than a place they attend. It becomes a place where they can become.

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California librarians were stunned when a last-minute budget change stripped K-12 schools of a trove of research materials, potentially leaving thousands of students without resources to do reports, projects or homework assignments.

Without notice to schools or librarians, the Legislature last week canceled $5.5 million that pays online fees for the Encyclopedia Britannica, New York Times, PBS videos such as Ken Burns documentaries, scientific journals and thousands of other online materials used by students and teachers. The cut goes into effect on July 1, 2027.

鈥淲e had no idea this was coming,鈥� said Greg Lucas, head of the California State Library, which helps oversee the program for California鈥檚 10,000 public schools. 鈥淭his will have a huge impact on California students.鈥�

The program, called , is an online database of research and curriculum materials that have been vetted by teachers and librarians. Compass is also available through public libraries, but the vast majority of users are at K-12 schools. Since the program launched in 2018, it鈥檚 received nearly 1 billion hits.

Students use Compass for classroom assignments as well as for recreation. Many of the materials are available in multiple languages. Among the more popular features are National Geographic Kids; Pebble Go Science, which includes hundreds of science activities for pre-kindergarten through second grade; and Alexander Street, which offers videos of cultural performances such as the Joffrey Ballet and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Compass is especially important at a time when fewer schools have libraries 鈥� and librarians 鈥� to help students with research. Although nearly 90% of schools have physical space on campus for books, magazines and other research materials, only about a quarter of those spaces are staffed by librarians. The rest are staffed by volunteers, classified employees or not at all. California ranks 49th nationwide in school librarian staffing, with nearly 10,000 students for each librarian, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Compass is available free to all schools in California. If schools were to subscribe individually to Compass materials, they鈥檇 spend more than $216 million annually, according to a . A typical medium-sized school district might pay $100,000 or more for the services, an expense lower-income districts are less likely to have money for.

Losing the service raises concerns about internet access

Without access to Compass materials, students would likely rely on free resources online. But those materials tend to contain advertisements or track user data, a violation of state student privacy laws. They also are less likely to be vetted for accuracy, a particular danger in the age of artificial intelligence.

鈥淟osing Compass is catastrophic for the state of California,鈥� said Kate MacMillan, library services coordinator for Napa Valley Unified. 鈥淭his service is a lifeline. I can鈥檛 believe the Legislature would let this happen.鈥�

Funding for Compass was in earlier versions of the budget the Legislature debated over the past few months. But the final version eliminated Compass funding after July 1, 2027. Instead, it directs $5 million of the funding toward the , and $60,000 for technical support of an online lesson-sharing platform called California Educators Together.

Legislators and staff members on the budget education committees contacted by CalMatters did not comment on why the money was cut.

Meanwhile, librarians are launching an aggressive campaign to save the program. They鈥檙e emailing Newsom and the Legislature, and trying to bring attention to the issue.

Connie Williams, a retired school librarian and former head of the California School Library Association, said that losing Compass will exacerbate disparities in the state鈥檚 education system. Lower-income schools will lose crucial learning resources, while higher-income schools will be able to pay the subscription costs themselves, without state assistance.

鈥淭he disparity will be overwhelmingly glaring,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e leaving students at the mercy of whatever is free on the internet.鈥�

It鈥檚 especially galling, she said, that this move comes as the state is promoting media and digital literacy in schools. In 2023 California enacted a law requiring schools to in all subjects, with a focus on teaching students to recognize fake news, determine if an information source is trustworthy and generally think critically about what they view and read online.

鈥淲e want students to think critically, put away their phones, know how to do research,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e grabbing away some of the best learning tools we have.鈥�

This article was and was republished under the license.

Before Michaella Huck graduated from high school in 2018, she struggled with depression and anxiety and didn鈥檛 know where to get help. She鈥檇 hear stories of students who died on 鈥渟uicide hill鈥� in her Los Angeles neighborhood of San Pedro. 

It took a trusted adult for her to realize how educators could help save a student at risk of suicide. That鈥檚 why she is among the advocates behind a new bill that would expand the role California schools play in youth suicide prevention, she said. 

鈥淣ot being able to always feel comfortable with the stigma in our communities, or talk to my parents about stuff, I (had) my high school teacher. She spent more time with me, and I confided in her,鈥� said Huck, a youth advisory board member at the California Youth Empowerment Network, a co-sponsor of Assembly Bill 2003.

Introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, AB 2003 would task the state鈥檚 Commission for Behavioral Health to develop free suicide prevention training for students, staff and parents, enlisting school communities to the frontlines of the youth suicide epidemic. 

The proposal, which has passed the state Assembly, would also require schools that conduct suicide risk screenings to submit annual reports to inform state policy.

Suicide Prevention hotline

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, the following services can help. 

• Trans Lifeline Hotline, 877-565-8860

• 988 California Consortium of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, dial 988 to call, text or chat

• , by phone, text or chat

Kendra Zoller, deputy director of legislative and external affairs at the California Commission for Behavioral Health, which is co-sponsoring the bill, said the training would be developed with experts at the California Department of Education and California Department of Public Health. Each group that opts into the training 鈥� students, staff and parents 鈥� will have tailored modules teaching them how to recognize warning signs, respond to them and access help.

鈥淪chools are where warning signs are most often noticed early, since students spend so much of their daily lives there,鈥� Zoller said. AB 2003 would also bypass a state law that requires a county department of education to receive a grant to fund suicide prevention training. Instead, educators, K-12 students and parents would receive training free and online.

For the first time since the pandemic, youth suicides last year, but still remain much higher than two decades ago. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 25 in California, and between 2011 and 2021, the rate of youth dying by suicide increased by 60% nationwide. 

Berman said suicide prevention became a priority for him following a series of youth suicide clusters in his hometown of Palo Alto. Between 2009 and 2010, five students died by suicide at a railroad track next to Palo Alto High School, followed by four more between 2014 and 2015, and most recently, a 17-year-old girl who died by suicide in February. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 devastating to the whole school community that gets impacted,鈥� Berman said. 鈥淲e need to do everything we possibly can to support these young people.鈥� 

In 2018, Berman secured $1.7 million in state funding for a pilot program that trained roughly 20,000 students and staff to recognize warning signs for suicide ideation and connect students to support services. The vast majority of participating staff and students reported feeling confident they could help someone at risk of suicide. About a quarter of all students and staff said they already had someone in mind who could use help.

Many schools in California have also rolled out suicide risk screeners as a tool to identify students who might be at risk of self-harm. Screeners can vary across schools, but common questions include:

• Have you wished you were dead or wished you could go to sleep and not wake up?
• Have you started to work out or worked out the details of how to kill yourself?
• Have you ever done anything, started to do anything, or prepared to do anything to end your life?

Most states use student surveys to measure aspects of suicide risk, but few collect information from screeners conducted in person and at school. Utah, for example, has local educational agencies collect suicide risk screening data, and Illinois became the first state to require universal mental health screenings in schools. If AB 2003 becomes law, California would be the first state with a repository of student population data and tools used to screen students for risk of suicide. 

The bill would only require reports from schools that choose to conduct screeners, Zoller said, and de-identify the data to protect student privacy. 

鈥淭his information may help the state understand screening capacity and implementation across schools, and could provide a foundation for future discussions about suicide prevention efforts,鈥� she added.

For example, two schools in San Diego County that the number of boys and Latino youth referred to suicide risk screenings increased in the first four years of collecting screener data. Schools also noticed a surge in students referred to screenings for eating disorders, and in response, expanded their network of local eating disorder therapists to personalize student support. 

The data could also shape new suicide prevention training to address disparities in youth suicide. In California, Indigenous and Black youth represent the highest rate of youth deaths by suicide and accounted for some of the highest increases in suicide between 2023 and 2024.

In high school, Huck said she remembered 鈥渇eeling isolated, feeling alone and feeling like I couldn鈥檛 talk to anybody鈥� as a Black girl at her school. She also felt unsafe to open up to predominantly white staff, and many were likely to call school police in response to mental health crises, she said. 

Zoller said the bill would be 鈥渃ulturally and linguistically competent鈥� and aim to reduce disparities in suicide awareness, early identification and intervention. In Berman鈥檚 district, for example, schools could better serve the needs of LGBTQ youth, who are at high risk of suicide and represent the majority of Palo Alto鈥檚 most recent youth suicides, Berman said.

The bill is expected to pass with broad support and is headed into the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Monday. Though the bill has not faced any opposition, the state will have to convince staff, students and parents that the optional training is worth taking on another task.

Berman said he is confident that with the state鈥檚 awareness campaign that will follow 鈥� combined with a shared urgency to save young lives 鈥� communities will step up.

鈥淭hey鈥檒l have the confidence to help out,鈥欌�� he said, 鈥渂ut it also hopefully spurs conversations between parents and their kids about the reality of how hard it is for young people who grow up these days.鈥�

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was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of . .

To understand why five California families took their fight against segregated schools to court in the 1940s, picture the buildings reserved for their children鈥檚 learning.

At that time in rural Orange County, just south of Los Angeles, school officials ordered Mexican-American children into environments that weren鈥檛 designed for education. Their studies took place in converted cattle sheds or horse stables covered in dirt and reeking of manure. Instead of new textbooks with glossy pages and fresh ink, they learned from the torn and tattered primers white schools had discarded.

Outraged by the prospect of their children continuing their education in ramshackle schoolhouses, five families 鈥� the Mendezes, Ramirezes, Guzmans, Estradas and Palominos 鈥� decided to act.

鈥淭hey demonstrated a spirit of resistance, an unwillingness to settle for lesser benefits than what they were entitled to as full participants in the American experiment,鈥� said Kelly Gardner, deputy director of litigation for the Legal Defense Fund, a racial justice organization. 

In the 1940s, California didn鈥檛 expressly ban Mexican Americans from attending classes with white students. What the state did was argue that Latinx children needed 鈥渟eparate鈥� instruction due, in part, to language barriers. Yet when a relative of Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez tried to enroll the Mendez children at the all-white 17th Street School in Westminster, the principal didn鈥檛 test their English. He sized up little Sylvia, Gonzalo Jr. and Geronimo by their skin tone.

The school turned away the Mendez children but enrolled their lighter-skinned cousins whose surname didn鈥檛 call out their Latinx ancestry. The Mendezes weren鈥檛 alone. When William and Virginia Guzman in nearby Santa Ana tried to enroll their son in a white school, officials also denied their request. The Guzmans were , though their initial suit failed.

Rather than accept horse stables and decaying books for their children鈥檚 education, the five families mobilized against multiple Orange County school districts for excluding Latinx youth. Together, Frank and Irene Palomino, Tomas and Mary Luisa Estrada, and Lorenzo and Josefina Ramirez, along with the Guzmans and the Mendezes, changed the course of history. 

“The community was already really active. They had their own agency,鈥� said Cindy Mata, site director of the University of California, Irvine鈥檚 History Project, a partnership between the Department of History and K-12 educators in Orange County. 鈥淭hey were primed to be able to fight that segregation. That’s the story that is undertold.鈥�

As the plaintiffs who won Mendez et al. v. Westminster School District of Orange County in 1947, the families revolutionized access and opportunity in California鈥檚 public schools. A federal court ruled that the state hadn鈥檛 authorized segregating children of Mexican descent and that doing so violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees 鈥渆qual protection of the laws.鈥� The case resulted in one of the nation鈥檚 first federal ruling against school segregation, paving the way for the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case, , that ended with an order for schools nationwide to integrate.

鈥淚t took a great deal of courage to challenge the status quo,鈥� said Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). 鈥淵ou’re putting your name out there. That can be dangerous. We still face that today. We have had clients who had very good cases who opted not to pursue them because of those fears. The courage to change things in a major way is really a very unique kind of courage.鈥�

Despite its significance 鈥� the class-action lawsuit represented roughly 5,000 students 鈥� Mendez v. Westminster remained largely unknown to the public for decades. Then, in 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Sylvia Mendez the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for her activism and her family鈥檚 role in the Mendez et al. case. Schools in California, Texas and North Carolina bear the name Mendez, as does a , renamed in the family鈥檚 honor in 2025. Last year, after relentless advocacy from educators, filmmakers, activists, scholars and lawmakers, California enacted legislation requiring schools to teach students about the case. 

, even if it manifests differently today, and curriculum restrictions in some states limit what students learn about the past. Still, the individuals striving to keep this history alive stand out in their own right.

Sandra Robbie, 67, grew up in Westminster, the same Orange County town as the Mendez children, though it was only as an adult that she learned about their legal battle. In the late 1990s, Robbie read in the Orange County Register that a school would be named for the Mendezes and why.  

鈥淚t was an absolute paradigm shift,鈥� Robbie recalled. 鈥淭he day I read that article, I could feel the wall start spinning around me. When I looked up, everything in my world looked different.鈥�

In Orange County, a conservative pocket of Southern California, Robbie tried her best to fit in as a Mexican American in the 1960s and 鈥�70s. 鈥淚 never dated a Mexican guy,鈥� she said. Her parents only spoke Spanish when they didn鈥檛 want their children to understand them. 鈥淚 got the secret code that speaking Spanish was bad,鈥� Robbie said. 

When she found out about Mendez et al., both the micro and macroaggressions she had experienced as a youth began to make sense. She remembered playing with her blonde, blue-eyed best friend as a tween when the girl said suddenly, 鈥淚鈥檒l be the mom, and you鈥檒l be my little [N-word] baby.鈥� The comment stunned Robbie. 鈥淚鈥檇 never been called that in my life. I walked away,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut later, when I learned about Mendez, it all made sense. It gave me the courage to stand up.鈥�

She felt a connection to Felicitas Mendez, a married to a Mexican-American man. When school officials told the Mendezes their children had to attend the segregated school, Felicitas pushed her husband to fight. Robbie finds her defiance inspiring. 

鈥淚f it hadn鈥檛 been for Felicitas saying, 鈥楴o, I鈥檓 not going to let my kids go,鈥� this case never happens,鈥� Robbie said. 鈥淪he was the Rosa Parks moment.鈥�

Robbie feels particularly drawn to the multiracial elements of Mendez et al. David Marcus, a Jewish lawyer married to a Mexican woman, represented the families in court. The Mendezes paid their legal expenses through profits from the farm they leased from the Munemitsus, a Japanese-American family sent to an internment camp. The Japanese American Citizens League 鈥� along with civil rights groups the ACLU, NAACP and American Jewish Congress 鈥� submitted friend-of-the-court briefs supporting the plaintiffs. Thurgood Marshall, the attorney who founded the Legal Defense Fund, then the NAACP鈥檚 legal arm, co-wrote an amicus brief. Marshall went on to win Brown v. Board and serve as the first Black justice on the Supreme Court.

Robbie rejects the idea that Mendez et al. is 鈥渏ust a Latino story,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y hope is that Mendez will desegregate the way we talk about American civil rights history.鈥� 

She headed back to school to take TV production classes and got an internship at her local PBS station, where she pitched a film on Mendez et al. Robbie was determined to expose the case to the masses. The project, 鈥淢endez vs. Westminster: For All the Children/Para Todos los Ni帽os,鈥� won an Emmy in 2003.

Her fight to direct more recognition to the case didn鈥檛 stop there. A PBS acquaintance with white House connections passed along a manila envelope filled with articles, photos and ephemera Robbie assembled about the lawsuit to then-President George W. Bush鈥檚 chief of staff. The maneuver worked. Shortly afterward, Robbie and the Mendezes received an invitation to attend a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration with Bush. As Bush honored that history-making family, Robbie felt sure that 鈥渆very voice matters,鈥� she said through tears.

For the next two decades, she pushed for the case to be taught in schools. In 2024, , requiring California鈥檚 K-12 classrooms to do just that. Robbie immediately texted her old college professor, who had once told her, 鈥淗istory takes time.鈥� She remembered that adage throughout her fight to direct national attention to Mendez et al. 鈥淚 had faith every step of the way,鈥� she said. 

sits in an industrial section of Boyle Heights, a neighborhood just east of Downtown Los Angeles. Emily Grijalva works there as the community school coordinator, a role that requires her to foster relationships with school leaders, local organizations, and students and their families. Part of her role is to provide tours of the campus, full of murals of the Mendezes, and educate students and visitors about the historic court case. 

Grijalva didn鈥檛 learn about the lawsuit until the early aughts, when she was in college 鈥� and she鈥檚 determined to not let the same happen to her students, especially since the discrimination of the past reverberates today, she said. Grijalva also draws parallels between the case and her own life: She was born in Los Angeles and raised in the United States and Guatemala, where she attended an international school that prohibited its large population of Spanish-speaking students from using the language. 

鈥淭hey would give us detention for speaking Spanish in the hallways,鈥� the 42-year-old recalled. 鈥淲e were native speakers being taught by Canadians with thick accents. It was colonial education.鈥�

She cast the Spanish ban as culturally insensitive; the school鈥檚 administrators ignored her concerns and pegged her as a troublemaker. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have the language to advocate for myself then,鈥� she said. That experience is what fuels her pursuit of a doctoral degree at Claremont Graduate University, where she鈥檚 researching linguistic justice. 鈥淚 never want a student to feel that shame again,鈥� she said. 

At Mendez High, Grijalva sees the ghosts of Mendez et al. every day, particularly since immigration enforcement has emerged as an urgent crisis over the past two years. 鈥淚CE raids have devastated us,鈥� she said. 鈥淔amilies are self-deporting. Students are just disappearing. Parents are afraid to attend meetings.鈥� 

But she never forgets how the school鈥檚 namesakes resisted injustice. Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Senior High School is 30 miles northwest of Westminster, and the Mendez family has visited the campus multiple times. Sylvia Mendez, now 90, has popped up for graduations and the . It offers medical, dental and mental healthcare to community members, honoring Sylvia Mendez鈥檚 decades as a nurse. 

The health center鈥檚 sterile beige halls stand in stark contrast to Grijalva鈥檚 office, located in a classroom covered in posters that broadcast her staunch support of immigrants, LGBTQ+ youth and the Los Angeles Football Club. She makes sure that no incoming student completes orientation without learning about Mendez et al. and that their understanding of the school鈥檚 namesakes is far more than cursory. 

鈥淭he Mendez family teaches us that parents will always advocate for their children,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y job is to make sure our students see themselves not as victims of history but as its makers.鈥�

Until Mike Ramirez got a knock on his door from a graduate student researching the case in the late 1990s, he had never heard of the Mendez et al. lawsuit. What makes that so shocking is that his own parents, Lorenzo and Josefina Ramirez, were plaintiffs. 

Ramirez was 42 when he got his introduction to the civil rights case, which predated his birth by almost a decade. 鈥淢y father died when I was 10. My mother never talked about it.鈥� 

Ramirez鈥檚 Mexican father stood out as the only plaintiff without U.S. citizenship, he said. That made his involvement even riskier: Deportation was as real a threat then as it is today. 

Just as Brown v. Board originally involved 13 plaintiff families, later ballooning to over 200 plaintiffs in five locations, Mendez was never a solo act. 鈥淭he other fathers were working for ranchers,鈥� Ramirez said. 鈥淭hey could have been blacklisted. Mr. Mendez had his own ranch, so he could take the lead, but that doesn鈥檛 mean we weren鈥檛 there.鈥�

Learning of his parents鈥� involvement in the case initiated a second act for Ramirez, now 71. He successfully lobbied Santiago Canyon College in Orange to in 2014. Three years earlier, the and their children. Mike Ramirez is now pushing for a school to bear his family鈥檚 name. His parents鈥� contributions deserve recognition, he said. 

Today, he works as a custodian at a school in Riverside, California, just east of Orange County. The echoes of Mendez et al. still linger 鈥� and not only because of his family鈥檚 participation in the case. Teachers at one school his grandsons attended gave them differential treatment based on skin color, he said. The darker-skinned boy got treated so harshly, compared with how they treated his lighter-skinned brother, that the family decided to enroll them elsewhere.

For Ramirez, it鈥檚 incidents such as this that make it imperative to keep Mendez et al. in the public consciousness. 鈥淭he truth has to come out,鈥� he said. 

At Mendez High, the student body is hues of brown, much like the neighborhood where the school stands. Ninety-seven percent of students are Latinx, a fact obvious to anyone who visits. The rare white or Black student was easy to spot as youth crisscrossed the campus on an overcast May day.听

That the school鈥檚 student body belongs overwhelmingly to one group hasn鈥檛 escaped Grijalva. 鈥淟os Angeles is completely segregated,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hite families are gentrifying Boyle Heights, but they are not sending their kids to our public schools. We have one white student right now.鈥澨�

While most of Mendez鈥檚 550 students are economically disadvantaged, the school has distinguished itself academically. About 90 percent of students attend college, with this year鈥檚 valedictorian heading to Stanford University. The the school as a 鈥淲hite House Bright Spot for Latino/a Education,鈥� and the City of Los Angeles has recognized it for its academic and athletic accomplishments. Still, it remains segregated. 

Mata, of UC Irvine鈥檚 History Project, said that a similar dynamic plays out in Orange County and elsewhere in the state. 鈥淪chools are racially segregated even more so than before, and the added piece to that is class,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople who can afford to send their kids to private school or charter schools do. In Orange County, the overwhelming majority of [public school] students are kids of color, but there are hella white kids in Orange County. So where are they going?”

In Boyle Heights, the segregation, in part, reflects the homogeneity of the community, which is . But the Los Angeles Unified School District doesn鈥檛 require students to go to their neighborhood school. They can attend schools elsewhere, indicating that families from other areas are choosing not to enroll their children in Mendez 鈥� and that local families still prefer to send their children to schools closer to home.

Gary Orfield 鈥� a longtime school segregation researcher and co-founder of the Civil Rights Project, a 30-year-old think tank at the University of California, Los Angeles 鈥� said this is not an anomaly, but a systemic failure.

鈥淐alifornia never enforced desegregation,鈥� Orfield says. 鈥淪ince the 1970s, the state has done nothing to integrate schools.鈥�

A found that school segregation is highest in big cities. There, Black and Latinx students attend schools where, on average, more than 80 percent of their classmates are also children of color. A 1973 Supreme Court case, , determined that Latinx and Black students suffer from similar educational inequities related to segregation. With little enforcement following the SCOTUS decision, however, the 1980s saw Latinx youth become as segregated in schools as Black children.

The endurance of segregation isn鈥檛 the only education crisis ahead of the nation鈥檚 250th anniversary. The push for censorship that has intensified throughout the 2020s threatens to bury the story of the Mendez plaintiffs and other civil rights milestones.

In recent years, most states have introduced laws to restrict what children learn about race or other topics deemed 鈥渄ivisive.鈥� Lisa Ramos lives in one of these states: Texas. The Alamo College professor wrote her dissertation on Mendez et al. 

鈥淭here’s so much pressure at the federal government level to erase or hide or not highlight the differences between groups, to fashion this sort of faux unity,鈥� Ramos said. 鈥淏ut before we can be unified, we have to confront what divided us.鈥�

Michael Pillera, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers鈥� Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said groundbreaking cases like Mendez et al. instill fear in those who want this history deleted.

鈥淭he bravery inspires other people to step up, and that is a threat to the status quo,鈥� he said.

To Saenz, of MALDEF, censorship laws don鈥檛 just suppress historical facts. 鈥淲e are experiencing a resurgence of bias and a desire to return to an era of open white supremacy,鈥� he said. 

In California, individual school boards and city councils have voted to ban books over the past few years. That includes the city council of Huntington Beach, an Orange County community eight miles south of Westminster. Court rulings ultimately reversed these restrictions, but censorship continues in other places. 

鈥淏y removing that history, it’s a way of spirit-murdering our future generations,鈥� Grijalva said. 鈥淭hey’re not going to have that opportunity to see themselves, be empowered and do something with that empowerment.鈥�

Grijalva said the conversations she鈥檚 been having now are heavier than at any other time during her two decades as an educator. She likened today鈥檚 climate to the 1930s Mexican Repatriation, when local, state and federal officials pressured up to a million Mexican nationals and Mexican Americans to leave the country. Like Mendez et al., the repatriation is a widely overlooked chapter of national history. 

But through it all, Grijalva clings to hope. 

鈥淲e all understand the power of seeing ourselves in our education,鈥� she said. 鈥淟ike many of us, I was inspired by Chicano Studies classes. That’s the reason I was able to get through college and come back as an educator.鈥�

She had no idea during her first brush with Mendez et al. in college that she would one day work at a school named after one of the plaintiff couples.

Robbie, for her part, is not done raising the case鈥檚 profile. She has considered launching a celebration called 鈥淩andom Act of Mendez,鈥� where people 鈥渂reak out of their boxes鈥� by trying something they’ve never done, even acts as simple as introducing themselves to strangers. She believes people need to expand their minds to be truly inclusive.

鈥淲e have to learn how to stretch,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 know the truth is that we don’t want to stretch sometimes because it doesn’t feel safe.”

The Mendez et al. plaintiffs took action despite the risks. Their success, Robbie said, shows what鈥檚 possible when diverse groups of people come together. 

鈥淎bsolutely, we are all connected,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat is the main story.”

The U.S. Department of Education may no longer be able to fully support students, it says in an internal report that lays bare the full extent of the Trump Administration鈥檚 first round of government cuts.

The department lost about 40% of its staff from the day Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025 through March 31, 2025, but certain subdepartments were hit harder, according to the report released last week. The Office of English Language Acquisition, which served immigrant students, was gutted, leaving one employee, according to . The department also terminated contracts and grants totaling roughly $2 billion. 

Although the report was internal, conducted by the education department鈥檚 Office of Inspector General, it is incomplete. Department staff did not comply with all the inspector general鈥檚 requests and cancelled interviews. As a result, the report says that many of its key findings are not definitive and that the total number of layoffs, the impact of those cuts, and the reasons for terminating certain contracts and grants remain unclear.   

The report also says that because of the cuts, the education department may no longer be able to administer Congressionally appropriated dollars or oversee federal education law, including the distribution of financial aid, investigations and data analyses. 

鈥淎ccording to the Department of Education’s own inspector general, the rapid elimination of nearly 1,600 staff, including those responsible for teacher training, student mental health programs, and legally required oversight functions, raises serious questions about whether the department can still meet its obligations to students,鈥� said Kindra Britt, director of communications and strategy for . 鈥淭hese are not bureaucratic losses; they have real consequences for real kids.鈥�

The report only includes cuts through March 31, 2025, and the education department has continued to cut staff and terminate grants and contracts since then. A number of grants have also been restored . The Trump Administration has slowly transferred many education services to other federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Treasury Department. This year, the sole remaining staff member supporting English language acquisition elsewhere in the department and the work was transferred to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. That office is now managed, in part, by the .

鈥淭he Department of Education is focused on returning education to the states while preserving critical funding and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy that can slow support to students and families,鈥� wrote Kirsten Baesler, assistant secretary of the department鈥檚 elementary and secondary education office. 鈥淓nglish Learners should never be treated as a siloed program, set aside as an afterthought.鈥� 

In a statement, Scott Roark, a public information officer with California Department of Education, said the state remains focused on helping students, regardless of the administration鈥檚 efforts to 鈥渄isrupt services and safeguards鈥� and to 鈥渋mpose a national ideology on local schools.鈥� He said schools directly impacted by these disruptions should contact the state鈥檚 education department for help. 

Is the U.S. Education Department more efficient? 

Soon after his inauguration, Trump signed executive orders and directives which proposed ways to make government more efficient. The U.S. Education Department, spurred on by those orders, sent out offers to all federal employees saying they could resign and stay on payroll for a few months. Later, in March 2025, the department began laying off workers.   

The cuts were uneven across the education department鈥檚 17 offices, according to the Inspector General鈥檚 recent report: The Institute of Education Services, which conducts research, and the Office of the Under Secretary, which oversees many higher education programs, lost over 80% of their employees, much like the Office of English Language Acquisition. The 14 employees in the Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs were untouched. The Office of Inspector General is an independent entity and did not review itself.

Whether those cuts have created any efficiencies is up for debate.

Sharon Bonney, the chief executive of , a national organization representing adult education programs, said she primarily interacts with the education department’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, which lost about 30% of its staff in the first few months of 2025, according to the report.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 seen them miss a beat. I have seen more efficiencies,鈥� said Bonney. 鈥淚n the past I would send an email, it would take three weeks to respond to, and now, two hours later, I have a response.鈥�

For Edgar Lampkin, the chief executive of the California Association for Bilingual Education, the effects have been 鈥渄evastating.鈥� 

California still struggles to serve its more than 1 million English language learners, in bilingual education, and recent efforts to improve California鈥檚 bilingual education have received .

Lampkin鈥檚 association, along with the advocacy coalition , has long received federal grants, sometimes totaling as much as $1 million annually, to train bilingual teachers across the state. 鈥淭hose grants are gone,鈥� he said 鈥� and the Trump Administration won鈥檛 see the full impacts of its actions, he added. 鈥淭he effects of education are normally 10 plus听years ahead.鈥澨�

This article was and was republished under the license.

The fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 proposal to shift control of the California Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new education commissioner answering to future governors and the State Board of Education will become clearer within the next week.

Supporters and opponents disagree not only on the merits of the proposal but also on how it should move forward.

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now and a leading advocate for the change, expects the plan to be included in Newsom鈥檚 2026-27 budget package, with final details negotiated between the governor and legislative leaders before the July 1 budget deadline. 

Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, believes that , which he co-authored, will become the vehicle for enacting an alternate version of Newsom鈥檚 reorganization concept, with passage after lawmakers return from their summer recess.

And David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, hopes that CTA鈥檚 opposition helps to kill the concept within the next week or so. 

鈥淭he undemocratic nature of this (Newsom鈥檚 approach) is just something that鈥檚 impossible to get around,鈥� he said.

Newsom鈥檚 hardly novel idea

Newsom鈥檚 proposal is neither new nor radical. A majority of states have a governance structure in which the governor or the state board of education appoints the chief education officer responsible for running the state鈥檚 education bureaucracy. Today, only 12 states elect their state superintendent, down from 33 a century ago.

Numerous commissions and studies have urged California to realign its education governance structure under an experienced education manager 鈥� the equivalent of secretaries running other state departments.  

California鈥檚 current and three previous elected state superintendents have been legislators without a background in running a complex education system. Electing a superintendent every four years 鈥渃reates incentives鈥� to overstate positive data and potential reforms to enhance their reelection, concluded  released in December by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a nonprofit research institute based at Stanford University.

The PACE authors criticized the lack of coherence and weak accountability when governors and legislators create educational programs and reforms, but then lack the authority to implement them, which is the state superintendent鈥檚 job. 

PACE recommended appointing an education executive as the first step toward a broader realignment of the state鈥檚 education governance system. Newsom embraced that recommendation in his proposed state budget in January.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 time to modernize the management of our educational system,鈥� he said in his State of the State speech to the Legislature in January. 鈥淚 believe that鈥檚 an important and long overdue reform.鈥�

Newsom is proposing to make the switch through the budget process, as part of a massive trailer bill accompanying the 2026-27 budget, which will be completed within the next week. That process would short-circuit the legislative process of proposing legislation that each house of the Legislature would consider and amend after public hearings.

That is one reason Goldberg of CTA dismisses the proposal as undemocratic. Another is that it would defy the will of the public one month after people voted for a constitutional office with ballot language that said the state superintendent 鈥渉eads the Department of Education and carries out policies set by the State Board of Education.鈥�

Goldberg noted that voters have repeatedly rejected efforts to weaken the office of the superintendent. Four times in the past century, voters have rejected initiatives to abolish the state superintendent position, the last in 1968. 

But Newsom is proposing to restructure the position, not eliminate it. State superintendents would remain the chief advocates for policies and cite their election as evidence that voters support those positions.

Newsom envisions future state superintendents as a coordinator of education, from early to higher education. They would become a voting member of the State Board of Education and the community colleges鈥� Board of Governors, in addition to existing roles as a UC regent and CSU trustee.

CTA and other opponents have characterized the plan as a power grab by Newsom and the Legislature, even though Newsom, in his last months in office, would not benefit from any of the changes.

CTA historically has played a central role in the election of the state superintendent, combining its campaign resources with the organizational strength of its more than 300,000 members. No candidate has been elected without CTA鈥檚 support since former State Superintendent Bill Honig鈥檚 reelection in 1990. 

If San Diego Unified trustee Richard Barrera, who beat out three prominent Democratic legislators in the open primary this month, prevails in November, he would be the fifth straight CTA-backed superintendent. 

Confusing lines of authority

What鈥檚 been lost in the debate, said Lempert, is that Newsom and legislators would be fixing the mistakes of a cumbersome and fractured oversight authority that they have created by statute over decades.

The PACE report cited California鈥檚 complex system of identifying hundreds of districts that need academic assistance. With the state Department of Education, county offices of education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, a small agency, all dividing responsibilities, districts have found the assistance inconsistent and sometimes confusing. 

Lempert also points to the state鈥檚 conflicting and ambiguous responses to the Covid pandemic for creating frustration among districts and parents. Critics of the current system point to the uneven rollout of multibillion-dollar investments in transitional kindergarten, expanded learning programs and community schools.

In the future, an education commissioner would coordinate new programs, but ultimately, Lempert said, 鈥渢he buck stops at the governor,鈥� who would be 鈥渦ltimately responsible for the implementation.鈥�  

Uncertain future for legislation

Assemblymember Alvarez was also dissatisfied with running the realignment through the budget process. So he and Assemblywoman Darshana Patel, who chairs the Assembly Education Committee and is also from San Diego, created AB 2117 to flesh out Newsom鈥檚 plan and give the Legislature more say.

The bill would: 

• Require Senate confirmation of the new education commissioner鈥檚 appointment; 
• Require independent evaluations of major education investments, such as community schools, that cost more than $500 million annually;   
• Redefine the elected state superintendent鈥檚 role as an independent evaluator of the effectiveness and efficiency of state education programs; and
• Replace four governor-appointed members of the State Board of Education with members appointed by the Legislature.

The Assembly easily passed the bill last month; the Senate must also approve it by July 2 for it to move forward. Alvarez said last week that he fully expects it will, notwithstanding Newsom鈥檚 preference for backroom negotiations.

Lempert鈥檚 Children Now collected signatures from leaders of 950 organizations and advocacy groups  that calls for the realignment plan. 

鈥淏y making this long overdue change this year, we can do right by kids and bring California in line with other states,鈥� the statement says.

Signers include the California School Boards Association, the Association of California School Administrators, the California County Superintendents and the California Association of School Business Officials.

Lempert and Newsom can argue that those most familiar with the state education bureaucracy are most in support of changing it.

This was originally published on .

The Los Angeles Unified Board voted unanimously to appoint Andres Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent days after his predecessor resigned. 

鈥娾�淭his board鈥檚 decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait鈥檚 leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition,鈥� said board President Scott Schmerelson.

The board met privately to discuss the district鈥檚 top job three days after . Carvalho wrote in a letter that he was leaving 鈥渂ecause I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction.鈥� 

The board placed Carvalho on paid administrative leave following FBI searches of his home and district office in February and appointed Chait acting superintendent. Carvalho has not been charged with a crime and has maintained his innocence.

Who is Andres Chait?

Chait rose through the ranks from teacher to administrator at LAUSD over nearly three decades. The responsibilities of his most recent role, chief of school operations, included overseeing school safety, athletics and the district鈥檚 office of emergency management.

Chait thanked the board, the community and his family after the announcement Wednesday and reflected on his first day as a kindergarten teacher 30 years ago. 鈥溾�奍 was probably more nervous than the kids were, but I knew then that this was a place where I could make a positive difference in the lives of students and families,鈥� Chait said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always known that there is no greater accelerator of change and opportunity than the schoolhouse, and that is still true today.鈥�

What is the superintendent responsible for? 

LAUSD is the country鈥檚 second-largest school district, employs 83,000 people and enrolls more than 400,000 students across more than 1,000 schools. Despite recent , the majority of students are not proficient in reading and math skills for their grade level. The district also faces looming financial challenges from declining enrollment 鈥� which is tied to state funding 鈥� and federal investigations  designed to .

This听听was originally published on听.

With Alberto Carvalho鈥檚 resignation now official, Los Angeles Unified faces a new challenge: finding a superintendent to lead the nation鈥檚 second-largest school district through mounting budget deficits, declining enrollment and political uncertainty. 

Acting Superintendent Andr茅s Chait will continue leading the district in the interim, but board members have not yet outlined a timeline or process for selecting a permanent replacement.  

The board said it remains committed to 鈥渆nsuring stability, continuity, and continued progress through strong leadership.鈥� Its focus, according to a , 鈥渞emains unchanged: providing every student with a high-quality education, supporting our dedicated workforce, and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve.鈥�

Carvalho  Sunday night that he would formally step down amid an ongoing FBI investigation that appears to concern his relations with AllHere, a now-defunct company that developed the district鈥檚 AI chatbot with which LAUSD entered a $6.2 million professional services contract. 

In February, two days after the FBI  Carvalho鈥檚 home and LAUSD headquarters and searched a residence in Florida, the school board placed him on  administrative leave. He continued to receive his annual  of $440,000 and other benefits. It remains unclear whether his departure will include a negotiated settlement with the district. 

Around that time, Carvalho  any wrongdoing, and his attorneys at Holland & Knight LLP said they hoped he would be reinstated. 

Now, Carvalho says he鈥檚 stepping down to avoid further disruption to the district and allow LAUSD to focus on serving students.  

In a letter released through his attorneys, Carvalho thanked students, families, educators and community members for their support during his tenure.  

鈥淭he successes we have achieved belong to you. I will miss all of you and will continue to pray for the success, health, and wellbeing of every student and family in our District,鈥� he said. 

Federal authorities have not publicly disclosed details of the investigation, and it remains unclear when additional information may become available. 

What happens now?

Chait will continue to serve as acting superintendent while the school board determines its next steps. 

But John Rogers, the associate dean for research and public scholarship in the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, said he wishes the announcement of Carvalho鈥檚 resignation had come earlier to give the school board more time to conduct a search to find a new, permanent superintendent before the start of the next academic year. 

Community groups and education advocates say the district cannot afford prolonged instability. 

鈥淎t a time when the district is dealing with federal attacks on public education, declining enrollment, budget pressures, attacks on our most marginalized communities, and persistent inequities, prolonged uncertainty in its leadership has only made it harder to work towards real solutions,鈥� read a statement from Reclaim Our Schools LA, a coalition that works to improve access to Los Angeles public education. 

From fiscal challenges to community and political concerns, the next superintendent will have a lot to navigate. Stability, experts and community members agree, is essential. 

This year, the district is also  two of its academic chiefs: Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Karla Estrada and Chief Academic Officer Frances Baez. 

鈥淩esearch shows that when you have these turnovers, the biggest issue is around organizational instability, when someone new might come in and shift priorities or stop reforms,鈥� said Julie Marsh, a professor of education policy at USC. 鈥淭hat can lead to lower staff morale and challenges to sustaining programs and policies, and that becomes quite disruptive.鈥� 

Rogers said he hopes the district casts a broader net and conducts a nationwide search for the next superintendent. Marsh and other community members feel the board should look within first. 

鈥淥ne of the things we know about new leaders is often they want to make their mark, and be able to put their stamp on an organization,鈥� Marsh said. 鈥淎nd that may not be the time for it right now for us to see someone new come in with all new ideas.鈥�

Nicolle Fefferman, a longtime LAUSD educator and co-founder of the Facebook advocacy group Parents Supporting Teachers, stressed the importance of transparency in a future leader, and said Chait鈥檚 leadership appears to be encouraging 鈥� noting LAUSD doesn鈥檛 鈥渘eed a racehorse. What we need is a workhorse.鈥� 

Finding a superintendent who listens to parent and student voices is also key, said Elena Price, who has two children in district elementary schools. 

鈥淟eadership comes and goes. Our students remain,鈥� Price said. 鈥淎nd my hope is that L.A. Unified uses this transition as an opportunity to strengthen its partnership with parents and stay focused on what matters most: student success.鈥� 

Carvalho鈥檚 report card 

Carvalho became LAUSD鈥檚 superintendent in 2022 after leading Miami-Dade County Public Schools for 14 years. 

Assuming the role as schools were emerging from pandemic-era disruptions, he made recovering learning loss and reducing chronic absenteeism central priorities. 

During his tenure, student test scores  to pre-pandemic levels. Attendance numbers improved and the share of students completing A-G coursework required for admission to the University of California and California State University systems increased, according to district data. 

鈥淚 reflect on Carvalho鈥檚 tenure as a time when there were some improvements laid out across the district, and I credit the entirety of the district for those improvements 鈥� and have to acknowledge that Carvalho was a leader during that time,鈥� said Rogers.

Carvalho also earned praise from many advocates for immigrant students and families, particularly as he publicly challenged policies and actions of the Trump administration that he viewed as harmful to immigrant communities.  

鈥淗e understood the immigrant experience,鈥� said Evelyn Aleman, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit parent group Our Voice/Nuestra Voz, which previously called for Carvalho to be . 

鈥淏eing an advocate at L.A. Unified for four decades now, I have never seen a superintendent take on the cause of immigrant families and vulnerable children. 鈥� He was really trying to raise the bar in terms of the quality education that these children received.鈥� 

As much as LAUSD gained under Carvalho鈥檚 leadership, his tenure was marked by controversy. Critics questioned the  of arts education money, the  of the district鈥檚 former Primary Promise intervention program, several  and data breaches, and aspects of its response to the 2025 L.A. wildfires. 

鈥淭here have been numerous occasions over his tenure where we witnessed what we thought were grave derelictions of responsibility to our children and to our schools,鈥� said Fefferman of Parents Supporting Teachers, which was early to call for Carvalho鈥檚 . 

鈥淔inally we can be done with this part of the LAUSD story, and hopefully move on to something better.鈥�

Rogers added he wasn鈥檛 鈥渟ure that Carvalho always created the most supportive environment for educators in the system.鈥� 

Carvalho鈥檚 fall 

Ultimately, Carvalho鈥檚 downfall came 鈥� at least, in part 鈥� from dealings with AllHere Education. 

The district entered into a $6.2 million contract with AllHere on July 1, 2023, and unveiled a chatbot, Ed, as a virtual assistant designed to help students navigate school resources and services the following year.

The project quickly unraveled. The company鈥檚 founder and CEO, Joanna Smith-Griffin, left and was arrested in November 2024 and charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Most employees were furloughed. 

Carvalho announced a task force to examine what went wrong, but no progress or outcomes have been publicly disclosed. 

During the raids, the FBI also searched a residence in Southwest Ranches, Florida, in Broward County. The residence is reportedly linked to Debra Kerr, an AllHere contractor with ties to Carvalho from when he was superintendent in Miami-Dade. Kerr鈥檚 son, a former AllHere employee, told 社区黑料 that he had pitched the company to LAUSD.

鈥淢ost district leaders around California and around the nation are at a little bit of a loss trying to figure out how to navigate this new AI landscape,鈥� said Rogers. 

鈥淭his is not to take responsibility away from Carvalho for the decisions he made, but I do think many educational leaders don鈥檛 have sufficient information and are trying to figure out in a context of rapid change and insufficient information how to move forward.鈥� 

Last week, leaders of the largest LAUSD unions 鈥� United Teachers Los Angeles and SEIU Local 99 鈥� expressed a desire for Carvalho to be replaced, according to the Los Angeles Times.

鈥淎fter months of uncertainty around district leadership, the news of Superintendent Carvalho鈥檚 resignation does not come as a surprise,鈥� UTLA said in a statement. 

鈥淭he next superintendent must ensure that district resources are invested where they matter most: in our schools and classrooms, not in billions of dollars鈥� worth of outside contracts.鈥�

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At Pinedale Elementary in Fresno, there鈥檚 almost no classroom aides, after-school tutors or behavioral counselors. Literacy activities and parent workshops are scarce. Field trips? Almost non-existent. The school survives on one of the lowest per-pupil expenditures in the state: $16,700 a year, nearly $5,000 below the state average.

Less than two miles away, it鈥檚 a different story at Kratt Elementary, which is in a different school district. Kratt has almost identical demographics 鈥� predominantly low-income and Latino 鈥斕� but gets $25,000 per student and has the amenities to show for it.

And a few hours west in the Bay Area, you鈥檒l find Portola Valley Elementary, which spends almost $46,000 per student annually. It offers music and art classes, mental health counselors, small class sizes and state-of-the-art facilities.

The way California鈥檚 school funding works, schools with large numbers of students who are low-income, English learners, homeless or in foster care get extra funding. Schools in wealthy areas get less state funding but make up for it in local property taxes and parent donations. But those in the middle? They get much less money overall.

鈥淲hen I saw what other schools provide, I was like, what?鈥� said Tania Galeana-King, a mother of three and parent volunteer at Pinedale. 鈥淎s a parent, it鈥檚 really frustrating. I鈥檝e heard of No Child Left Behind, but this is like half the kids left behind.鈥�

Low funding, low test scores

When California adopted the Local Control Funding Formula a little more than , the idea was to bring equity to school funding and ensure students with the most needs got more support. But soaring costs, declining enrollment and inflation have led to gaping disparities in school funding.

Those in the wealthiest areas, such as Portola Valley, Menlo Park and other Silicon Valley enclaves, are typically 鈥渂asic aid鈥� districts, meaning they get most of their funding through local property taxes. Parents chip in the rest, often millions of dollars a year.

School districts that are not basic aid get their money through the state鈥檚 Local Control Funding Formula, which includes a base grant plus extra money depending how many students are low-income, English learners, homeless or in foster care. If more than 55% fall into that category, districts get even more money.

That鈥檚 why Fresno Unified, where Kratt Elementary is located, gets significantly more money than Pinedale Elementary, which is located in Clovis Unified. Clovis, where just under half the students are considered high-needs, receives little extra funding.

The consequences of the funding disparities are reflected in students鈥� test scores. At Pinedale, fewer than 30% of students met the state鈥檚 English language arts standard last year. Only 23.5% met the math standard. Kratt students scored 5 to 10 percentage points higher on both tests. At Portola Valley, about 85% of students met the standard on both tests.

鈥淚鈥檇 say the problem is urgent,鈥� said Michael Johnston, associate superintendent at Clovis Unified, noting the impact on student learning at schools with less funding. 鈥淔or many, many years, these kids have not gotten the same resources, and every year that goes by, it gets worse. It鈥檚 a group of students we are not treating fairly, and there needs to be a solution.鈥�

Solutions in Sacramento

A seeks to fix the problem. Authored by Sen. , a Democrat from San Jose, Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 would create a reserve account funded by surplus tax revenues in economically flush years. After the state doles out its Proposition 98 money 鈥� California鈥檚 primary vehicle for funding schools 鈥� every year, it would give extra funding to schools that aren鈥檛 in basic aid districts. The money would come from the interest generated on the reserve account. As the account grows, the extra funding would grow.

鈥淥ver time, we think this bill can certainly stop the bleeding,鈥� said Cortese, whose district includes a dozen basic aid districts. 鈥淚f we do nothing, the problem is just going to get worse and worse.鈥�

Cortese鈥檚 bill would amend the state constitution. If it passes the Legislature, the proposal would appear on the fall ballot.

Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 also attempts to address the problem, providing almost $1 billion more toward school base grants.

That鈥檚 good news to the Association of California School Administrators. Although the money isn鈥檛 enough, it鈥檚 a start, said Naj Alikhan, the organization鈥檚 spokesman.

鈥�(We) strongly support efforts to raise the base grant,鈥� Alikhan said. 鈥淭he LCFF base grant is the foundation of school funding in California, and increasing it is one of the most effective ways to provide schools with greater stability, flexibility, and capacity to meet local needs.鈥�

Another bill, put forth by Assemblymember , a Democrat from Chula Vista, would expand school , but some worry that it would actually make funding shortfalls worse for some districts. Instead of raising the base grant, the bill would redirect more money to schools with large numbers of high-needs students.

Cutting the basics

David Roth, superintendent of Buckeye Union Elementary School District in El Dorado County, has gathered a cadre of school administrators to oppose Alvarez鈥檚 bill and fight for an increase in the base grant.

He鈥檚 created a database called , which calculates school districts鈥� funding disparities over the past 15 years. About 25 parent organizations and 60 small and mid-sized school districts have signed on to support Roth鈥檚 campaign. Among the largest: Clovis Unified, Fremont Unified, San Ramon Valley Unified and Murrieta Valley Unified.

鈥淲e support the idea that some student populations need more resources. At the end of the day, we鈥檙e all underfunded,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淏ut the base grant has not kept up with escalating costs, and districts are falling further and further behind.鈥�

Buckeye, a K-12 district in the Sierra foothills, receives only $15,100 per student, far below the state average of $21,000. The district has pockets of wealth, but also areas of poverty. Because of low per-pupil funding the district is in jeopardy of losing long-standing programs that serve all students, Roth said.

If base funding doesn鈥檛 improve, Roth anticipates cuts to P.E., libraries, counselors and music in the next few years.

鈥淚n my mind, these are the basics,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e patching things together now with bubblegum and shoestrings, but that can鈥檛 last forever. Soon we鈥檒l be unable to fund a reasonable education program.鈥�

‘There’s such a demand’

Pinedale Elementary is in a working-class neighborhood in north Fresno with no sidewalks and a smattering of crime and homelessness. Galeana-King described the area as tough but close-knit. 鈥淓veryone looks after each other,鈥� she said.

Galeana-King has been a parent at Pinedale for 15 years 鈥� all three of her children attended the school. She volunteers in the classroom and is active in the parent club, which raises a few thousand dollars a year through after-school snack sales, a salsa festival, jog-a-thon and other events.

But it鈥檚 not easy raising money in a community where most parents work multiple jobs to make ends meet.

鈥淲e have to be understanding,鈥� Galeana-King said. 鈥淲e want families to participate, but we need to be reasonable. People are struggling.鈥�

Teachers often pay for classroom supplies out of their own pockets, while the parent club pays for things like new chess boards for the chess club and the second-grade field trip to Monterey. But the needs are endless. If the parent club could raise more money, they鈥檇 like to provide snacks for the classrooms, new sports equipment, backpacks for students and other amenities.

鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly proud to send my kids to Pinedale. It might not always have the most financial resources, but it has a school full of people who deeply care about and love the kids,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat said, our students and staff urgently need more support.鈥�

This article was and was republished under the license.

A from Leanlab Education, a nonprofit research organization, examined publicly available LAUSD assessment data over several years.

found that schools using IM Math grew faster than similar schools that did not, even as math outcomes improved across LAUSD overall. The difference was equivalent to roughly three to four additional months of math learning each year. It also found that schools receiving curriculum-aligned implementation support saw math scores improve after that support began, with gains increasing over time.

What drove these results was not a single program, but an instructional vision that connected curriculum, professional learning and implementation support.

IM Math provided the instructional foundation, with lessons designed to build on one another from day to day and year to year. But adopting the curriculum was not the end of the story. The PartnershipLA worked alongside teachers and leaders in bringing that design into day-to-day practice through professional learning, planning support, coaching and classroom observations.  A coach-the-coaches model strengthened the partnership鈥檚 capacity to support schools over time.

Building on that foundation and with an investment from the Gates Foundation, the PartnershipLA and LAUSD worked together to roll out these practices across the district. LAUSD led the expansion, establishing the guidance, funding and leadership structures to bring high-quality math materials to schools systemwide, while the PartnershipLA contributed tools, lessons and coaching capacity to the district at large.

That combination mattered because teachers are the ones who bring the curriculum to life. With strong materials and aligned support, teachers guided students to reason, explain, question, practice and revise their thinking. That helped build understanding and fluency over time instead of memorizing disconnected steps. As lessons built on one another, students could connect what they learned yesterday to the work in front of them today.

Even well-designed materials lose impact when the rest of the system points in different directions. Professional learning drifts if it is not anchored to the curriculum that students use every day. Tutoring and intervention can give students more time without giving them a clearer path. None of this happens because educators or district leaders lack commitment. It happens because aligning a large system is hard, especially when leaders are being asked to show progress quickly.

Educators are already doing the hard work. The challenge for district leaders is to ensure the many supports around teachers work together in ways that are easier to sustain and more likely to reach students. If approved, California鈥檚 next round of investments will give districts a chance to turn this lesson into action.

Students who have been denied strong math instruction cannot afford further fragmentation in reform. They deserve access to grade-level mathematics that helps them see patterns, solve problems, and develop confidence in their own ability to do math. Educators deserve materials, time, and support that are all working toward the same goal.

The new findings offer a playbook, but not a shortcut: Start with a shared instructional vision, choose strong materials, align professional learning and implementation support around them and keep improving over time.

That is hard work. It is also how districts turn smart investments into lasting gains in student learning.

Disclosure: Gates Foundation provides financial support to 社区黑料.

Updated July 20, 2026

Marking the start of two weeks of intensive negotiations, the Legislature Monday with higher revenue projections than those proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, providing several billion dollars in additional spending for TK-12 and community colleges in 2026-27.

Several other significant issues remain unresolved. Chief among them is the $3.9 billion in education funding that Newsom would withhold until revenue projections 鈥� mainly tax receipts from taxpayers鈥� investments in AI stocks 鈥� come true. Education groups are threatening to sue over the delay.

June 15 was the constitutional deadline for legislators to pass a balanced budget or risk losing their pay for every day they鈥檙e late. They can amend the budget, as they usually do, before the next fiscal year starts on July 1, based on agreements with the governor.

In its current version, the Legislature鈥檚 budget adopted nearly all of what Newsom included in his May budget revision, with a record $127 billion for schools and community colleges. Legislators include a larger-than-required cost-of-living adjustment for most programs, $1 billion more for community schools, a $2.4 billion boost to ongoing special education funding and a $5 billion one-time block grant that districts and charter schools can spend however they want.

Barrett Snider, a founding partner of Capitol Advisors Group, a Sacramento-based school consulting firm, characterized Newsom鈥檚 budget as 鈥渁 great budget for schools,鈥� overall; most education advocates agree.

But the Legislature鈥檚 budget projects about $5 billion more in revenue than Newsom forecast just a month ago. That would translate to $2 billion more for schools and community colleges under Proposition 98, the formula that guarantees that 40% of general fund money goes to community colleges and schools. Combined with contributing $800 million less to the rainy day fund, freeing up that money for spending, the Legislature would mitigate some of the $3.9 billion that Newsom would withhold.

Here鈥檚 how the Legislature would spend most of the money:

• $700 million for districts to upgrade or add school kitchens 鈥� in line with the state鈥檚 priority that schools prepare fresh and nutritious meals. Family food pantries would be another use.
• $300 million one-time for career/technical education.
• $450 million on top of Newsom鈥檚 proposed $250 million to pay student teachers a stipend to teach in priority areas, including STEM and special education.
• $350 million more for the California newcomer鈥檚 program to assist refugees through 2032.
• $300 million more in assistance for homeless students, through 2032.

Contrary to what they have previously said, legislative leaders appear to be acquiescing to Newsom鈥檚 plan to withhold the $3.9 billion of forecasted Prop. 98 funding 鈥� only they want a clear repayment timetable. The joint Senate-Assembly budget summary says they commit 鈥渢o a reliable schedule to pay districts the $3.9 billion omitted from the May Revision.鈥�

Education groups, including the California Teachers Association and the California School Boards Association, view the withholding as a manipulation of the Prop. 98 minimum funding guarantee. They see it as a bad precedent 鈥� a tactic that has the effect of loaning money to meet the immediate expenses of other areas of the budget most affected by federal budget cuts, including Medi-Cal.

鈥淭his bill shortchanges our districts $3.9 billion they need right now, not in future budget years,鈥� said Assemblywoman Laurie Davis, R-Laguna Niguel, in voting against the budget Monday night.

Some education groups are also unhappy about another financial and structural shift suggested by the Legislature, to move all funding for the California State Preschool Program into Prop. 98.

The preschool program, which provides free preschool for 3- and 4-year-old children from families who earn up to the state median income, is provided by school districts, private nonprofits and community colleges. Currently, funding for preschools run by school districts and community colleges (about $1.8 billion) is under Prop. 98, while funding for nonprofit and community-based preschools (about $1 billion) comes from the general fund.

This is not a novel idea, early education experts said. Before 2011, all state preschool and childcare funding was under Prop 98. The Legislature shifted the responsibility then to lighten the financial burden on schools, which were facing massive cuts as a result of the Great Recession. Now it鈥檚 the nonProp. 98 programs that are facing the most severe financial pressure, precluding additional funding for early education.

The proposal drew ire from the school boards association, which said it would hurt funding for TK-12 graders over time.

鈥淭he result would be simple and devastating: the same funding guarantee would be stretched across more students and programs, reducing per-pupil resources for school districts and county offices of education,鈥� reads the statement from CSBA. 鈥淓arly learning is essential and deserves strong, stable and dedicated funding. No one disputes that. Yet, Sacramento cannot fund one essential priority by weakening another.鈥�

Scott Moore, the CEO of Kidango, one of the largest providers of state-subsidized preschools, said that, as an educational program, preschool deserves to be under Prop. 98.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a protected funding source that ensures that to the fullest extent possible, these programs get funded. It shouldn鈥檛 matter who the provider of state preschool is鈥� 鈥� whether a district or a nonprofit, Moore said. 鈥淲hat matters is the program itself.鈥� 

The Legislature is also proposing to add about $270 million in funding to pay for subsidized childcare for 22,770 additional children from low-income families. That funding would remain in the general fund.

With the heavily Democratic Legislature behind it, the Senate approved the budget bill 28 to 9, with the Assembly following late Monday, after three hours of discussion, by a margin of 59 to 18.

Correction: This article was amended to reflect that community colleges were already funded under Prop. 98 and that about $1.8 billion for preschool programs was covered under Prop. 98 while about $1 billion came from the general fund.

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In the midst of all the noise, one thing is clear: Americans, across party lines, want in public education. But most do not want it dismantled. Their top priorities are straightforward: teach students real-world skills, keep schools safe and make learning more engaging. Parents want more say in their children’s education, and they want schools to prepare young people to be active, participating citizens.

Anaheim Union High School District in California offers a for changing districts and communities, not just individual schools: reimagining what counts as knowledge, redesigning how educators are utilized and rethinking the boundaries of learning in high school, college and the workplace. The district serves 26,000 students in 20 junior and senior high schools, more than 80% of them high-needs. Its journey shows the pedagogical and political power of building shared purpose around deeper, more personalized learning tied to real-world skills.

The district made three big moves. It built the Anaheim Collaborative, a partnership that brings together colleges, social and health agencies, businesses and local organizations. It invested in community schooling that brings parent and student voice into teaching and learning. And it placed a premium on learning academic content through the 5Cs: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication and compassion.

Anaheim began by loosening the grip of test-based curriculum and investing in teachers, many in hybrid roles, to lead bold innovations with their students. For example, biology teacher Sabina Giakoumis led the development of the Magnolia Agriculture Community Center, which fueled interdisciplinary teaching and service learning as students applied math and science to address Anaheim’s food deserts and develop entrepreneurial skills. Jason Collar, a social studies teacher, leveraged a Minecraft elective to engage students in solving neighborhood problems and soon established an e-sports career pathway in partnership with Fullerton College.

With the , the district offers an early glimpse of how AI can customize learning with whole-child supports, such as an AI-driven tutor that can help guide students’ thinking, and measure academic and so-called soft skills. Its Cambridge Virtual Academy has broken from the factory model of schooling by organizing teachers into interdisciplinary teams, blending live instruction with flexible independent study, and using peer mentoring and AI tools to strengthen relationships among teachers and students. Since the school opened in 2021, full-time enrollment has grown from 100 to 315 students.

District graduation rates have significantly since 2016, from 86% to 94%, and Anaheim Orange County counterparts serving fewer high-needs students in college admission and persistence rates. It is also California鈥檚 first Democracy District, integrating civic learning across schools and disciplines.

But Anaheim also teaches a humbling lesson: What got the district this far will not get it all the way to system transformation. Too many of its middle and high schools still operate with traditional bell schedules and isolated classrooms. Too few teachers have the time to learn from colleagues. The district’s collective bargaining agreement and salary schedule remain rooted in an archaic, one-teacher/one-classroom model that discourages educators from pushing one another to improve and sharing responsibility for student success. And the district office still needs a clearer mechanism to identify and spread teaching talent across schools.

These are not criticisms. They are mile markers on the roadmap to transformation. Drawing on the lessons learned, three major steps stand out.

First, build a community infrastructure for deeper, purposeful, real-world learning. Districts should formalize partnerships among colleges, health and social service agencies, nonprofits, business and industry into advisory boards and learning exchanges. They should establish a shared data system that combines traditional metrics with measures of student voice and parent engagement, civic participation and readiness for careers in the age of AI.

Second, redesign time, staffing and the job of teaching around shared accountability for results. Teaching teams, not isolated educators, must become the default unit of secondary school redesign. These teams should include academic teachers, career and technical educators, counselors, community school staff, college faculty and industry or community mentors who share responsibility for a common group of students. This will require new ways of thinking about human capital, including joint appointments and boundary-spanning roles for educators who work across schools, colleges, workplaces and community organizations.

Third, leverage AI to spur human-connected learning. Used poorly, AI will deepen the factory model: more screen time and more depersonalization. Used well, it can help teachers and students see what traditional schooling and current metrics miss: how young people are thinking, collaborating and creating. Districts should focus AI investments on helping students and teachers apply and reflect on what they are learning.

Not possible?

It is already happening across the country, albeit in bits and pieces. A window for transformation is opening. Growing in career education, apprenticeships and credentials suggests the field is ready to transcend political divides. The is leading a national effort in red and blue states to rethink the high school experience, coupled with efforts to overhaul what counts for college and career readiness. and the are working with innovative school districts to develop talent pipelines at scale.

Public education has a good future if educators, parents, students and business leaders work together locally to make the big changes Americans, Democrats and Republicans alike, say they want 鈥� and that every student deserves in this rapidly changing world.

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On a recent Friday morning, Fresno Unified high school students learned about the rise and fall of major companies in the stock market 鈥� from Walmart鈥檚 longevity to Apple鈥檚 surge past oil companies and Amazon鈥檚 emergence as a $1 trillion company.

Earlier that week, students at the Farber Educational Center, an alternative learning campus, had finished a competitive project for their personal finance class. Using $100,000 in pretend money, they invested in the stock market and tracked their strategy鈥檚 success.

The state鈥檚 third-largest school district, a pioneer in developing these personal finance courses, offers a preview of how educators will meet California鈥檚 new high school graduation requirement, teaching students life skills such as banking, managing debt and building wealth.

California will require all high schools to offer a personal finance course starting in 2027-28, and all students must take the class beginning with the graduating class of 2031. By adding the course at most of its high schools before the legislation, Fresno Unified emerged as an early adopter 鈥� so much so that the state tapped one of the district鈥檚 educators to help guide the statewide rollout.

Since the 2023-24 school year, Jeff Allen has led the creation and implementation of personal finance courses across Fresno Unified, helping turn them into some of the district鈥檚 .

The California Department of Education selected Allen to lead the statewide rollout because of his hands-on approach in implementing Fresno Unified鈥檚 program. Already, Allen has authored a curriculum guide for the state鈥檚 educators.

鈥淗e demonstrated a combination of subject-matter expertise and direct, district-level implementation experience, along with a strong understanding of scheduling, credentialing and classroom realities,鈥� said Scott Roark, a spokesperson for the state department of education.

鈥業 wish I had that鈥�

In 2024, the state Legislature . Assembly Bill 2927 made California the 26th state to require a stand-alone personal finance course for all public high school students.

Making personal finance a graduation requirement has received little resistance because adults recognize its value, Allen said.

鈥淵ou say personal finance, and it鈥檚 like a universal, 鈥極h, I wish I had that,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou do not see that physical reaction (to other subjects) from parents and community members the same way that you see it with personal finance because, as an adult, you understand what you didn鈥檛 know and how you paid the consequences for it.鈥�

That sentiment resonates with students too, including 18-year-old Daniel Tecomulapa at the Farber Educational Center.

鈥淚 wanted to be better with my finances,鈥� Daniel said.

The practical benefits students receive from learning personal finance has motivated many educators to teach the course. KongMia Her, who teaches the class at Farber, said he wants students entering adulthood to avoid the financial mistakes he made.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have any education,鈥� Her said. 鈥淣o one taught me at school or at home.鈥�

Fresno Unified personal finance classes

Following a class project, teacher KongMia Her reviewed the different strategies that students used to invest in stocks on May 22, 2026. The project-based learning is an instructional approach that Jeff Allen, the district鈥檚 teacher on special assignment for personal finance, has coached teachers to do. Credit: Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource

Her is among 17 Fresno Unified teachers this year who are instructing 730 students in the course.

Most Fresno Unified high schools offer personal finance as a yearlong course, though state law will only require one semester. Regardless of length, the district鈥檚 personal finance classes already cover the 13 topics mandated under AB 2927.

The lessons on retirement plans, savings, investments and credit scores have been some of the most meaningful for students in Her鈥檚 class at Farber.

The teens learned why they didn鈥檛 yet have credit scores, for example. During a call to Experian, Daniel discovered he had not owned his credit card long enough to develop a credit profile.

Students also learned how to build and maintain strong credit, including by making payments on time.

鈥�(The class) teaches you to manage money correctly,鈥� 16-year-old Autumn Walker said.

鈥淚 grew up and I was fortunate enough to have parents that told me the value of putting money into a bank, but that鈥檚 where it started and stopped. To see that that鈥檚 not even a standard baseline was both discouraging and encouraging,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淒iscouraging that that鈥檚 where we were, but encouraging that we could bring that information so easily.鈥�

Over the past three years, Allen has supported and coached teachers, reviewed lessons and organized professional development.

Because the classes are already aligned with state standards, and most educators are in their second year of teaching the course, Allen is now helping teachers enrich the personal finance classes through community partnerships and programs.

So, teachers are going beyond the classroom, bringing in speakers from local credit unions, Rotary clubs and businesses.

During a financial literacy event at Farber, community organizations presented students with real-life scenarios about how food, housing and transportation costs affect budgets. At McLane High, students use the on-campus bank as part of the course. At Edison High, students pitched business ideas in a 鈥渢hat required them to calculate startup costs, needed investments and profit margins.

The qualifications required to teach personal finance in Fresno Unified will change under the state mandate. Right now, any teacher with a single-subject credential can teach the course in the district. Beginning 2027-28, however, only teachers credentialed in four subject areas will be eligible to teach the class.

Other school districts aren鈥檛 waiting for the state mandate to begin teaching personal finance. Pasadena Unified, Yosemite Unified in Oakhurst and San Luis Coastal Unified have launched courses at multiple high schools.

Elk Grove Unified in Sacramento County has offered a course since 2021, with enrollment growing each year.

Supporting teachers and schools

Staffing is often a challenge when schools must add new graduation requirements, but the state鈥檚 personal finance law gives districts several years to train teachers before the requirement takes effect.

Allen, who led the rollout in Fresno Unified, wrote the state鈥檚 personal finance curriculum guide to help districts create their own courses. He said he authored the guide to make the implementation of the new mandate less daunting for rank-and-file teachers.

He intentionally organized the curriculum guide around three questions: why personal finance education matters, what students should learn and how schools can put the course into practice.

And Allen continues to support districts as the state rolls out the requirement. Nearly 700 educators registered for a late May webinar he led on legislative requirements, implementation challenges and professional learning opportunities.

Allen highlighted ready-made resources districts can use, including the Next Gen Personal Finance platform, so teachers don鈥檛 have to build courses from scratch. Teachers statewide can access hours of professional development on topics ranging from car buying to 鈥渂uy now, pay later鈥� plans 鈥� lessons to pass down to their students.

Allen said personal finance classes generate some of the highest student engagement he has seen. Students enter class eager to pick up where the conversation left off the day before, he said.

鈥淭his is clearly seen by families, by students as one of the most, if not the most, relevant topics that they can be exposed to right now.鈥�

That assumption is not always true. Until very recently, it was not required to be.

On August 29, 2023, 12-year-old Yahushua Robinson went to Canyon Lake Middle School in Lake Elsinore. The high temperature that day reached 107 degrees. According to accounts from the day, Yahushua and other students were sent outside during physical education class and ordered to run laps as punishment for not suiting up in time. Yahushua told the school staff he was not feeling well, said he could not breathe and asked for water.

He was made to keep running.

Yahushua never came home from school that day. The Riverside County Coroner determined his cause of death was a heart defect, with extreme heat and physical exertion listed as contributing factors. His mother, Janee Robinson, is herself a P.E. teacher in the same district. That same afternoon, she kept her own students inside because of the heat. She later said, 鈥淭hese students should not have been outside, and to think that my child died while my students were in.鈥�

That sentence should stop every parent in their tracks.

What Yahushua鈥檚 death exposed was a gap most families had no reason to know existed. In California and across the country, most heat safety policies were written specifically for organized high school athletics: football practice, cross-country and track. A high school football coach may be legally required to follow heat protocols. A middle school P.E. teacher had no comparable legal requirement.

Yahushua was not a high school athlete. He was a 12-year-old in P.E. class, and the system had no uniform standard designed to protect him.

That is what I set out to change.

Less than two weeks after Yahushua鈥檚 death, I prepared a formal advocacy brief on behalf of his family and began building the case for legislation. As a parent and family advocate, I understood that what was missing was not medical knowledge or parental love. What was missing was a legal standard that did not leave child safety to individual judgment during dangerous heat.

State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Central Valley Democrat, championed the cause and introduced Senate Bill 1248, with Assemblymember Akilah Weber, a doctor and Democrat representing the San Diego area, as principal co-author. The bill passed unanimously, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law in September 2024.

That law is known as Yahushua鈥檚 Law.

Here is what it does, and why every California parent needs to know about it before this summer.

听now requires every school district, county office of education, and charter school in the state to develop, adopt and implement a weather safety policy. The compliance deadline is July 1 鈥� weeks away.

This is not guidance. It is the law.

Every policy must include clear criteria for modifying or suspending outdoor physical activities when conditions become dangerous, procedures for monitoring weather forecasts and alerts, communication plans for staff, students, and parents, access to indoor alternative activities, and staff training to recognize weather-related distress. These policies must be reviewed and updated annually, and the California Department of Education must identify schools that are not in compliance and provide technical assistance.

California now has one of the strongest and broadest student heat safety laws in the country because it covers all students across all grades in school-supervised physical activities, including P.E. class, recess and field trips.

This matters for your child specifically if they have asthma, a heart condition, sickle cell trait, obesity or a medication that affects heat tolerance. It matters if your child has an IEP or a 504 plan. It鈥檚 important because many children are too young, too scared or too overwhelmed to explain clearly and quickly when something is physically wrong.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has  that exertional heat illness in children is preventable when evidence-based protocols are followed by supervising adults. The science behind heat safety laws is not disputed. What has been missing is a requirement to act on medical guidance.

Now, California has that requirement.

But parents still have to ask whether their school is ready. If you live in California, call your district and ask: What is your weather safety policy under SB 1248, and when will staff be trained? If you do not get a clear answer, keep asking. The law says your child鈥檚 school must have this in place, and you have every right to know whether it does.

If you live elsewhere, connect with your own state lawmakers about passing similar legislation. The California law can serve as a model for other states.

Yahushua used to say, 鈥淚 AM HIM.鈥� His family carried those words into legislative hearings, conversations with lawmakers, and every act of advocacy that turned grief into law.

Every child who walks onto a school campus is someone鈥檚 Yahushua. This summer, the adults in California responsible for your children are required to follow a standard designed to bring every student home.

Make sure your school is ready to keep that promise.

In this conservative telling, America grows stronger when it is monocultural, wealthier when it goes it alone, and better when it has fewer immigrants. To make America once again 鈥済reat,鈥� we鈥檝e been told, the country must shelter itself from the world鈥檚 economy and diverse cultures.

Many have noted that this flies in the face of the entirety of American history; our extraordinary national story is, in fact, a tale of a community reliably made stronger, richer and more dynamic through increased diversity. But if the state of present U.S. politics makes this well-established fact seem like the province of soft-hearted left-wingers, that business leaders still know that diversity 鈥� particularly linguistic and cultural 鈥� is key to their bottom line.

In 2025, California nonprofit surveyed 56 Southern California businesses across a range of sizes and sectors to gauge their views on multilingualism at work. Fully 93% of them said they have bilingual staff 鈥� and 32% said that the majority of their staff are bilingual.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that bilingual staff allow them 鈥渢o reach more customers,鈥� and 70% responded that it helped them satisfy 鈥� and keep 鈥� the customers they have.

鈥淚n today鈥檚 global economy, language is not just a cultural asset 鈥� it is essential to doing business,鈥� the report states.

Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed conduct business in Latin America, with an additional 12% calling out Mexico specifically. One-fifth said they did business in Europe and the same share reported commerce in Oceania, the area that includes Australia, New Zealand and smaller Pacific islands.

Lead author A.J. Lucas published the results as last month.

鈥淟anguage, for the majority of our existence, has been seen as additional, as something that comes with who a person is, and how they represent ethnically or by place of origin,鈥� he told me. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been seen as surplus to someone鈥檚 identity, rather than being assessed, considered, and compensated 鈥� we should make it clear that if you have this added skill, you鈥檙e worth a lot more than someone who hasn鈥檛 gotten to this level of skill in learning a language.鈥�

UNITE-LA, Lucas explained, acts as an intermediary between schools and the business world to better prepare the future workforce and 鈥渃reate economic opportunities for underserved youth across California.鈥�

Those in-demand multilingual workers of the future exist in California schools today, the report notes, where 40% of the state’s K-12 students speak a non-English language at home and, among children younger than 6, that number grows to 60%.

But, as I鈥檝e noted recently, the Trump administration is determined to force the country along an English-only path as a way of punishing immigrants and their children. This is a path that can only make the United States smaller, weaker, less prosperous and less dynamic.

It鈥檚 also a path that sets the administration at odds with the preferences of American families, regardless of their proximity to the U.S. immigration experience and/or the languages they speak at home. That is, both English-dominant families and families who speak a non-English language at home are enthusiastic about giving their children opportunities to become multilingual. 

Demand for multilingual schooling has, with dual language immersion programs growing by the thousands across states like Texas, Utah, North Carolina, California, Georgia, Delaware, New York and others. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have launched their own versions of the, a credential that recognizes students who can demonstrate proficiency in at least two languages. But efforts to grow these programs are hamstrung by the United States鈥� . 

We should replace the administration鈥檚 current, sustained assault on linguistic and cultural diversity on K鈥�12 campuses with a serious effort to train enough linguistically diverse teachers to be able to meet families鈥� demand for multilingual learning and businesses鈥� need for multilingual workers. 

There are many ways for local, state and federal education leaders to do this. For instance, as the report notes, the Seal of Biliteracy is off to a good start, but is presently 鈥渕ore symbolic than functional in the labor market.鈥� Employers, colleges and universities don鈥檛 yet understand its value. By contrast, has led the way in linking the seal to 鈥� and corresponding cost savings for students. Business leaders and public officials should follow their lead.听

Unlike so much else in education policy, this isn鈥檛 especially complicated. Businesses want multilingual workers. Families want their children to have access to multilingual schools. As Lucas put it in our recent conversation, 鈥淭here鈥檚 this connection between our education system and what our workforce currently needs 鈥� yet it feels like that gap is persisting for some reason.鈥� 

The views expressed here are Conor P. Williams鈥檚 alone, and do not reflect those of his employer or any other affiliated organizations.

Top Takeaways

• The top two candidates will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
• Millions of mail-in ballots have yet to be counted.
• The next governor will face major decisions about school funding and oversight.

With millions of ballots still to be counted in California, Chino Valley Unified school board President Sonja Shaw has a clear lead in the state superintendent of public instruction primary with 24.9% of the vote, followed by San Diego Unified school board President Richard Barrera with 18.9% of the vote. 

None of the other candidates have more than 10% of the vote at this point.

Although all the polling places have reported, it鈥檚 not over yet. The top two candidates moving on to the Nov. 3 general election won鈥檛 be decided until all the mail-in ballots and provisional ballots are counted. In a state with 23 million registered voters, the process could take up to 30 days, according to the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office.

The late votes are likely to lean Democrat, as they have historically made up the majority of the mail-in voters in the state. This year, that might be even more true, as many Democrats held on to their ballots until a clear Democratic leader emerged in the governor鈥檚 race.

The two candidates at the front of the pack for the state superintendent of public instruction position agree that student test scores are too low and that the proposed restructuring of the California Department of Education , but they disagree about almost everything else.

, who notoriously had state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond ejected from a Chino Valley Unified , wants to end California policies prohibiting school staff from disclosing a student鈥檚 sexual orientation or gender identity. She also wants to prohibit transgender students from participating in girls鈥� sports.

support and to help districts recruit and retain teachers. 

There wasn鈥檛 much excitement around the superintendent鈥檚 race until late April when outside organizations to support their preferred candidates. 

A released in early April found that none of the 10 candidates for had more than 10% of support among likely voters. About a third of the voters surveyed said they didn鈥檛 know who they would vote for in the race.

When education unions began to spend in the race, they did not coalesce behind one candidate. The California Teachers Association鈥檚 independent expenditure committee spent $5 million on the Barrera campaign. The California Federation of Teachers committee spent $200,000, and a political action committee for the California School Employees Association spent $175,000 on the campaign; while a political action committee for the Service Employees International Union spent $250,000 on the campaign. 

Hilton, Becerra lead in governor鈥檚 race

Although education has in the gubernatorial race, the next governor will face major decisions about school funding and may have to execute a plan to move oversight of the California Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new , if the plan is approved by the Legislature.

Republican , a political commentator, and Democrat , the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, are leading the with 27.8% and 25.4% of the votes, respectively.

The front-runners are followed by Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire investor, with 19.6% of the vote, and Republican Chad Bianco, Riverside County sheriff, with 11.3% of the vote.

The four top vote-getters emerged from a crowded field of 61 candidates all vying to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will be termed out after eight years.

Hilton has said he would change state policies that prohibit parental notification when students indicate they may be transgender and that allow transgender athletes to participate in girls鈥� sports. He also said he will hold teachers accountable for student performance by rewarding the best and firing the worst. 

During the campaign, Becerra highlighted his efforts to expand early childhood education when he was U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. He has also said he would ensure all California communities and that college is more .

investing more money in public schools and increasing teacher pay to help recruit and retain them. He would like free education from universal preschool at age 3 to community college. He proposes paying for it by raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.

Bianco would like to expand career technical education and high-performing charter schools. His other ideas include increasing the focus on reading, writing, math and science, increasing funding for teacher training and recruitment, promoting mental health supports and ensuring all schools have an assigned law enforcement officer.

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When Celestina Castillo filled out the ethnicity forms at her children鈥檚 school, she鈥檇 always check Latino and Native American. After all, the family is proud of both its heritages.

But because of a loophole in the state鈥檚 data collection system, checking Latino or Hispanic meant that her children鈥檚 Native American identity was not counted at all, and they would not receive the extra services they鈥檙e entitled to. When Castillo learned of this, she stopped checking the Latino box altogether

According to the arcane way California counts its 5.8 million students, students who say they are Hispanic and Native American get counted as solely Hispanic. Native American students who also identify as another race, such as Black, white or Asian, are counted as 鈥渢wo or more races,鈥� not Native American.

The problem affects all multiracial students, but it鈥檚 especially pronounced among Native Americans because the majority are multiracial. It鈥檚 resulted in an undercount of Native American students by as much as 90%, advocates said.

鈥淚f someone is Black, or Asian, or white, they鈥檙e counted that way,鈥� said Castillo, a director of a college learning center who lives in Los Angeles. 鈥淲hy does it not count if someone is Native American? That鈥檚 not OK. It feels like erasure.鈥�

More services, fewer stereotypes

Last year California schools said they had 24,822 Native American students, but the actual number may be as high as 156,000, according to an Assembly report on a new measure, , that seeks to fix the problem. If those students were identified, they鈥檇 be entitled to cultural services and other programs that could help them succeed in school.

A more accurate count could also change the public perception of Native Americans generally, according to Assemblymember James Ramos, the San Bernardino Democrat who authored the bill. Instead of being thought of as rare or even extinct, the public could see that Native Americans are everywhere, Ramos said.

鈥淲e鈥檒l start to see the true picture of Native Americans in California,鈥� said Ramos, a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe. 鈥淣ative American students should be able to stand up in the classroom and say who they are and be proud of it.鈥�

Changes in the U.S. Census

There鈥檚 a long history of the government marginalizing Native Americans in California, particularly in schools. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, not long after , the federal government forced thousands of Native American children in California into , where they were forced to speak English and abandon their cultures.

Things started to change in 1970 when the U.S. Census Bureau started improving the way it counted Native Americans. Now, Native Americans can write in their tribal affiliation or list themselves as multiracial, and still be counted as Native American. Although Native Americans are more than any other ethnic group, the census changes resulted in a tenfold increase in the official number of Native Americans in the U.S. In 1960, Native Americans only made up .3% of the population. In 2020 they were almost 3%.

The improved census data also revealed that California has more Native Americans than any other state. More than 760,000 people in California identify as Native American, with most living in urban areas like Los Angeles.

Ramos鈥� bill would allow Native American students to write in the name of their tribe on school forms and identify as Native American plus another race, if applicable. The hope is to give a more comprehensive, more nuanced view of California鈥檚 Native American student population, allowing them to get extra services regardless of their biracial identity. So far, the bill has no opposition.

鈥榃e鈥檙e in the modern world, too鈥�

Shannon Rivers, who works on education issues for the Los Angeles-based California Native Vote Project, said an accurate count of Native Americans is essential to dispel stereotypes and bring public awareness to issues affecting Native American communities.

鈥淚n the eyes of many Americans, there鈥檚 still this image of Native American people from the past, from the 1800s,鈥� said Rivers, who is a member of the Akimel O始odham tribe in Arizona. 鈥淭hat history is important, but we鈥檙e in the modern world, too. We鈥檙e doctors, lawyers, scientists, artists, educators.鈥�

He鈥檚 hopeful that Ramos鈥� bill will improve conditions generally for Native American students in California schools. With more accurate student counts, schools could get more to provide extra services, such as tutoring, to Native American children. More schools could host events and curriculum centered on Native American history and culture.

When Ramos was growing up in San Bernardino, he remembers staring at the ethnicity form at school and not knowing what bubble to fill. His mother was Native American but she was labeled 鈥渨hite鈥� on her birth certificate. His father, also Native American, was labeled 鈥淗ispanic.鈥�

鈥淲ere we white or Latino? I didn鈥檛 know. We had to accept whatever the school told us we were,鈥� Ramos said. 鈥淚鈥檇 go home and ask, 鈥楢re we Caucasian?鈥� That started a whole other conversation. It was confusing.鈥�

Castillo, a descendent of the Tohono O’odham tribe in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, said that as a child, she thought everyone was Native American. But when she started school she realized that very few people identified as she did, and worse, it was stigmatized.

Years later, she saw her own children singled out as oddities. One day her son, who had long hair, was dressed for a Native American dance and another child pointed and said, 鈥淟ook, mom, it鈥檚 an Indian!鈥�

鈥淢y son felt like a dinosaur or a unicorn, like we didn鈥檛 exist,鈥� Castillo said.

By leaving the ethnicity question blank on school forms, Castillo knew it meant her children would not receive extra services they鈥檙e entitled to, either at the charter school they attend or through Los Angeles Unified.

鈥淭hat angered me,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that this bill will help make Native students visible to local and state education policy makers.鈥�

This article was and was republished under the license.

When a patient at Los Angeles General Medical Center experienced a medical emergency, Brandon Maldonado grabbed an intercom and called a 鈥渃ode blue鈥� to bring immediate help from emergency hospital staff. 

The Bravo Medical Magnet High School senior had trained for such emergencies through Los Angeles Unified鈥檚 patient care pathway 鈥� one of several career education programs a new study found improves students鈥� college readiness.

鈥淭hat experience stuck with me because it taught me how to stay calm under pressure, and I didn鈥檛 panic,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥淚 knew what to do.鈥�

A new听听from research institute SRI International found promising results for students in Los Angeles Unified who completed career and technical education pathways 鈥� especially those that combine academics with workplace experience. These students not only graduated at higher rates, but were also more likely to complete college preparatory curriculum and enroll in college than their peers.听

California has significantly expanded career and technical education in recent years, with a combined  in funding each year and an additional  approved for new CTE school facilities in 2025. 

Miya Warner, lead author of the report, said the findings puncture the longstanding perception that career and technical education is mostly geared toward students who have no plans to go to college. 

鈥淭he findings combat some of those lingering stereotypes around CTE and who it鈥檚 for,鈥� Warner said.

In the state鈥檚 largest school district, with more than 165,000 LAUSD high school students as of the 2021-2022 school year, the investments in career tech programs appear to provide students a leg up after they graduate from high school. These programs include 265 traditional CTE pathways and 72 Linked Learning pathways 鈥� which combine technical training with college preparatory coursework 鈥� across 15 industry sectors. 

Nearly two-thirds of students took at least one CTE course, but the report found higher positive outcomes among about a fifth of all students who completed a full CTE or Linked Learning pathway. 

鈥淭he more the word can get out about the value of completion versus just a one-off course, the more that all the staff at the school can support students in meeting that goal,鈥� Warner said. 鈥淚 visited schools where counselors are putting seniors into the first year of a CTE sequence, and they can鈥檛 complete it.鈥�

At Bravo Medical Magnet High, students begin taking medical prerequisite courses as sophomores before choosing a pathway in sports medicine or patient care. Brandon, now a senior, has gained hands-on experience in the ophthalmology department, the volunteer center and the infusion clinic at Los Angeles General Medical Center, which partners with the magnet school. 

鈥淚 wanted to get real-world experience and get an overview of different departments; that way I can know which field I want to go into,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥溾�橳he value of getting the early exposure stage is you鈥檙e not just thrown out there. The (program) gives you the basic skill of how to respond.鈥� 

Ben Gertner, director of Linked Learning at LAUSD, said the district has raised CTE pathway completion rates from about 18% to nearly 25% between 2022 and 2025 and increased the number of Linked Learning pathways from 43 to 100. 

鈥淲e want to ensure that we focus on developing school-site capacity,鈥� Gertner said. 鈥淲e also help schools to balance competing priorities, increase graduation rate and college and career readiness.鈥�

Access is a key hurdle for students trying to start and complete CTE pathways. The report found that students with the highest and lowest academic performance took fewer CTE courses than students in the middle, suggesting that AP classes or credit recovery can create scheduling conflicts. Although incoming freshmen had access to an average of nine pathways, many did not learn about them early enough to enroll. 

Warner emphasized that starting a CTE program early helps students build transferable skills, professional networks and gain hands-on experience.

One theater pathway student interested in becoming a lawyer, she said, gained confidence in communication and collaboration skills. Another student in patient care realized a healthcare career was not the right fit for him.

鈥淗ow much better to figure that out in high school than wait, going into debt in a program that turns out is not actually a good fit for you,鈥� Warner said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 better to have those experiences early.鈥�

Linked Learning shows better outcomes

The report found stronger outcomes for students in Linked Learning pathways, which combine work-based training and academic instruction, than in traditional CTE pathways, which offer standalone technical skills courses. 

High school graduates who completed a certified Linked Learning pathway were about 16% more likely to finish college preparatory courses and 24% more likely to enroll in college than those who did not take any CTE courses. 

鈥淚n the Linked Learning pathways, we saw a little bit more integration of those work-based learning experiences into the curriculum,鈥� Warner said, adding that students are also more engaged with experiences in real workplaces. 

Karen Benavides, a senior in the patient care pathway at Bravo Medical Magnet High, recalled stepping in to help in the surgical intensive care unit during a hospital staff shortage. 

鈥淚 got to help a patient, help the nurses. I took phone calls, and it was just a very immersive experience,鈥� Karen said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 stop for a second, and I really liked the rush.鈥�

Karen, who plans to become a physician assistant, said she has become more confident communicating with peers, teachers and patients, especially with those who may be uncooperative. 

鈥淚 also feel like it鈥檚 helped improve my teamwork and being able to think critically, go through situations and see what the best course of action is,鈥� Karen said. 

About half of the students in certified Linked Learning pathways completed their programs, while about a quarter completed traditional CTE pathways, according to the report. Students at a 鈥渉igher-need鈥� middle school also had greater access to Linked Learning pathways but fewer traditional CTE options than students at 鈥渓ower-need鈥� schools.

Suzanne Bogue, a teacher in the patient care pathway at Bravo Medical Magnet High, said strong teacher collaboration distinguishes Linked Learning from traditional CTE.  

鈥淭he junior year teachers and the senior year teachers, we all work together and help each other target the students that might need a little more support,鈥� Bogue said. 

Schools can opt into Linked Learning with a 75% faculty vote in favor of onboarding at LAUSD, which has 鈥渓ed to more of a sense of commitment to the Linked Learning approach,鈥� Gertner said. 

Brandon said he plans to attend UC Riverside to study biology and hopes to become an anesthesiologist after shadowing one through the program.  

鈥淥ne of the valuable skills I鈥檝e learned is teamwork,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥淚t just gives you that exposure to being able to talk to people you鈥檝e never really talked to before.鈥�

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