Increased attention to police brutality and violence against people of color has elevated scrutiny of campus police. Students have critiqued the inequitable treatment of students of color on their campuses by campus police. In doing so, the students are critiquing racial inequity in the campus climate. The California Community Colleges…

The Individuals with Disabilities Act, IDEA (2004) mandates that students with disabilities (SWD) be educated in the least restrictive environment. Inclusion of SWD alongside their general education peers promotes access and inclusivity. The current reality is that public school general educators often lack the necessary resources to adequately…

Chronic absence, defined most commonly as missing 10 percent or more of school for any reason (including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions), is a cross-cutting metric that is both a warning sign and predictor of education and health outcomes. California has recognized the power of chronic absence as a tool for better understanding…

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), every state must develop a plan to provide a quality education to all students, hold schools accountable for how all students achieve, and identify and help schools that are struggling. It matters greatly how California designs its accountability system and supports school improvement. Getting this…

In California, computers are needed for students to participate in the annual state assessments, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). Public school districts across the state of California are required to formulate Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) each year. This mixed-method study first conducted…

California requires each school district to belong to a Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) for special education planning and governance. The California Department of Education (CDE) and the State Board of Education (SBE) are interested in the impact on the surrounding small and midsized districts when large districts become single-district…

Home education support groups and associations are increasingly becoming hubs for home learning communities to share resources and knowledge. This literature review examined (a) motivations for joining homeschool groups; (b) values and beliefs that led to the formation of homeschool groups; and (c) how the culture of homeschool groups aids in…

The advent of new technologies and increased access to robust connectivity is reshaping the K-12 landscape for teaching and learning. School districts nationwide are leveraging digital instructional materials and resources to deliver transformative and impactful personalized learning opportunities for students and to enhance the administrative…

The advent of new technologies and increased access to robust connectivity is reshaping the K-12 landscape for teaching and learning. School districts nationwide are leveraging digital instructional materials and resources to deliver transformative and impactful personalized learning opportunities for students and to enhance the administrative…

California's draft Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan is now open for public comment. As the plan was reviewed, five primary things came into focus. This report discusses how the state did, what is in the plan and what still needs to be done to strengthen protections and services for low-income students, students of color, and other…

Redwood City School District (RCSD) has a long history of attending to the needs of its students and their families, and it has responded to this moment of crisis by setting a goal that by June 2024, every student will receive "appropriate social-emotional supports designed to meet their needs." The plan for achieving this goal includes…

Addressing student absenteeism continues to permeate education policy and practice. California and a majority of other states have incorporated "chronic absenteeism" as an accountability metric under the Every Student Succeeds Act. It is therefore a crucial time to take stock of what we know on the research, policy, and practice to…

The California Community Colleges serves 2.2 million students among its 115 colleges, and is a key driver in ensuring educational opportunity and success for all Californians. About 29% of University of California graduates and 51% of California State University graduates start their higher education at a community college. The system is also the…

California's education data, at least as they currently are collected, managed, and made available, are not sufficient for understanding and addressing the needs of California's students. That's the conclusion of the first three reports in the series "California Education Policy, Student Data, and the Quest to Improve Student Progress,"…

There is growing recognition that the traditional research paradigm fails to address the needs of school practitioners. As such, more collaborative and participatory approaches are being encouraged. Yet few articles examine the structures, processes, and dynamics of research-practice partnerships. To address this gap, this essay analyzes a…