California

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in California
Parents, students, and staff of Chino Valley Unified School District hold up flags and signs in favor of protecting LGBTQ+ policies at the school board meeting held at Don Antonio Lugo High School on June 15, 2023, in Chino, Calif.
Parents, students, and staff of Chino Valley Unified School District hold up flags and signs in favor of protecting LGBTQ+ policies at a school board meeting on June 15, 2023, in Chino, Calif. The district is now suing Gov. Gavin Newsom over a new law banning districts from requiring educators to notify parents if their child requests to use a different name or pronouns in school.
Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Orange County Register via AP
School Climate & Safety Student Pronoun Policies Put Teachers in a Tough Spot
Teachers have to navigate policies that require them to inform parents when students request the use of different pronouns.
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 23, 2024
•
5 min read
Parents, students, and staff of Chino Valley Unified School District hold up signs in favor of protecting LGBTQ+ policies at Don Antonio Lugo High School, in Chino, Calif., June 15, 2023. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Monday, July 15, 2024, barring school districts from passing policies that require schools to notify parents if their child asks to change their gender identification.
Parents, students, and staff of Chino Valley Unified School District hold up signs in favor of protecting LGBTQ+ policies at Don Antonio Lugo High School, in Chino, Calif., June 15, 2023. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Monday, July 15, 2024, barring school districts from passing policies that require schools to notify parents if their child asks to change their gender identification.
Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Orange County Register via AP
Equity & Diversity Should Schools Tell Parents When Students Change Pronouns? California Says No
The law bans schools from passing policies that require notifying parents if their child asks to change their gender identification.
Brooke Schultz, July 16, 2024
•
5 min read
Illustration of hands shaking with smaller professional people standing on top, with hands in the air, celebrating.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Principals' Unions Are on the Rise. What Are Their Demands?
Across the country, principals are organizing for better working conditions.
Olina Banerji, July 12, 2024
•
8 min read
Close up of female hand holding smartphone with creative AI robot hologram with question mark in speech bubble on blue background. Chat GPT and failure concept.
Peshkov/iStock/Getty
IT Infrastructure & Management Los Angeles Unified's AI Meltdown: 5 Ways Districts Can Avoid the Same Mistakes
The district didn't clearly define the problem it was trying to fix with AI, experts say. Instead, it bought into the hype.
Alyson Klein, July 8, 2024
•
10 min read
Image of books, money, calculator, and graduation cap.
cnythzl/DigitalVision Vectors
States Why This State Will Take a Class Requirement Off the Ballot—And Why It Matters
Asking voters to decide on a curriculum issue could set a tricky precedent, experts say.
Evie Blad, July 1, 2024
•
2 min read
Photograph of the shadows of protestors as they march on a street
iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity A School District Could Offer Reparations to Black Citizens. How It Might Look
Reparations could come in the form of cash payments paid for by donations or a new tax.
Mark Lieberman, June 21, 2024
•
5 min read
An 11-year-old boy plays with his father's phone outside school in Barcelona, Spain, on June 17, 2024. Parents across Europe are rallying to make it normal for young kids to live smartphone-free. From Spain to Ireland and the UK, groups are ballooning on chat groups like WhatsApp and agreeing to link arms and refuse to buy children younger than 12 smartphones.
An 11-year-old boy plays with his father's phone outside school in Barcelona, Spain, on June 17, 2024. Parents across Europe are rallying to make it normal for young kids to live smartphone-free. From Spain to Ireland and the UK, groups are ballooning on chat groups like WhatsApp and agreeing to link arms and refuse to buy children younger than 12 smartphones.
Emilio Morenatti/AP
Ed-Tech Policy Video Los Angeles Unified Is Banning Cellphones: A Board Member Explains Why and How
The LAUSD board member behind the district's new cell phone ban explains the motivation, and how it'll work.
Arianna Prothero & Kaylee Domzalski, June 21, 2024
•
3:28
Anthony Bruno, a student at Washington Junior High School, uses the unlocking mechanism as he leaves classes for the day to open the bag that his cell phone was sealed in during the school day on Oct. 27, 2022, in Washington, Pa. Citing mental health, behavior and engagement as the impetus, many educators are updating cellphone policies, with a number turning to magnetically sealing pouches.
Anthony Bruno, a student at Washington Junior High School, uses the unlocking mechanism as he leaves classes for the day to open the bag that his cell phone was sealed in during the school day on Oct. 27, 2022, in Washington, Pa. In California, the Los Angeles Unified School District has banned students from using cellphones during the school day.
Keith Srakocic/AP
Student Well-Being School Cellphone Bans Gain Steam as Los Angeles Unified Signs On
The Los Angeles Unified School District board of education has voted to ban students from using smartphones in its schools.
Arianna Prothero, June 19, 2024
•
4 min read
Image of a pregnant person at work.
E+
Teaching Profession Teachers Are Pushing for Paid Parental Leave. How It's Going
Efforts to implement paid parental leave policies are slowly gaining traction, with teachers often advocating on their own behalf.
Elizabeth Heubeck, June 12, 2024
•
7 min read
Tess Carlson, Biology & Community Health Teacher for SFUSD Mission Bay Hub, demonstrates how to meter a pipet for Ruier Fang and Aldriana Ramos, both 12th graders at Thurgood Marshall, on April 29, 2024, in San Francisco.
Tess Carlson, the founding science teacher for Mission Bay Hub, demonstrates how to meter a pipet for students on April 29, 2024, in San Francisco.
Peter Prato for Education Week
Teaching Profession Q&A 'Fundamentally Changing the Conditions' for Teaching
A specialized STEM program builds in more planning time for teachers.
Lauraine Langreo, June 3, 2024
•
5 min read
A man stands behind a row of electronic voting machines covered with yellow privacy shields as he uses a touch screen to vote.
A lone voter casts his ballot for Super Tuesday at a polling station in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on March 5, 2024.
Richard Vogel/AP
States Should Voters Decide What Schools Teach?
Californians may vote to require a new high school finance course. Critics argue it sets a bad precedent.
Evie Blad, May 30, 2024
•
6 min read
Karma Chea and Dela Zhao, both 12th graders at Thurgood Marshall, practices the use of a pipet at SFUSD Mission Bay Hub in Byers Hall of the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco on April 29, 2024. Chea was placed in a fellowship in the orthopedic oncology surgery program at UCSF under the sponsorship of Dr. Melissa Zimel. Zhao placed in a fellowship in the nephrology program at UCSF under the sponsorship of Dr. Delphine Tuot.
Seniors at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School in San Francisco practice the use of a pipette as part of a STEM initiative on April 29, 2024.
Peter Prato for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness The Motivational Power of STEM: This Program Connects Students to Potential Careers
It's not just about motivation—it's about providing supports for kids to study STEM subjects.
Lauraine Langreo, May 28, 2024
•
8 min read
From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York Public schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, President of the Montgomery Count (Md.) Board of Education, Emerson Sykes, Staff Attorney with the ACLU, and Enikia Ford Morthel, Superintendent of the Berkeley United School District, during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, on May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York City schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, president of the Montgomery County, Md., school board; Emerson Sykes, staff attorney with the ACLU; and Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified school district in Berkeley, Calif., during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, on May 8, 2024, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal K-12 Leaders Denounce Antisemitism But Reject That It's Rampant in Schools
Three school district leaders said they're committed to rooting out antisemitism during a hearing in Congress.
Libby Stanford, May 8, 2024
•
6 min read
Officers with the New York Police Department raid the encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide.
New York City police officers raid the encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on April 30, 2024. Although not as turbulent as what is happening on many college campuses, K-12 schools in some pockets of the country are also contending with conflict stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.
Marco Postigo Storel via AP
School & District Management Israel-Hamas War Poses Tough Questions for K-12 Leaders, Too
High school students have joined walkouts, while charges of antisemitism in three districts will be the focus of a House hearing this week.
Mark Walsh, May 6, 2024
•
9 min read
Load More ▼