The 2010 EdSource Forum, held on March 19 in Santa Clara, focused on the obstacles and opportunities in the road ahead for public schools and community colleges. The Forum included four sessions. Two are covered in this report: (1) A sobering discussion of California's fiscal crisis by Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor; and (2) A lively Q&A…

California entered 2010-11 with a longstanding imbalance between ongoing spending and income. To help close that gap, state policymakers suspended Proposition 98, the minimum funding guarantee for K-12 schools and community colleges. In total, revenues for K-12 schools are down nearly 10% this year compared with 2007-08. Yet more cuts loom as the…

When the concept of charter schools was first implemented in California in 1993, the goal was to allow the modification of existing public schools or the creation of wholly new ones that would be less rule-bound than traditional public schools but more accountable for student achievement. For some charter advocates, simply providing such…

This report provides a roundup of the rather modest set of actions the state Legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger took on education in 2005. It also sets the stage for what those who care about education might expect in the coming year. To provide some structure for addressing a wide breadth of topics, the report is organized into four…

EdSource's annual public education budget report, "School Finance 2006-07: State Leaders Settle Up with Education," offers a comprehensive look at this year's funding decisions for schools, recent budget history, and how the state's schools are funded. In contrast with last year's budget battles, the process for 2006-07 notably lacked…

There is little doubt that charter schools in California are starting to get more attention from both their supporters and their detractors. This report provides an overview of where charter schools stand today in California and the context in which they will either thrive or struggle in the years to come. It includes a quick look at the origin…

These cards give fingertip access to the latest information about California's education system. They are separated into 4 sections that cover related topics: (1) Finance Data; (2) Finance and General Background; (3) Performance/Students; and (4) Staffing/Higher Education. There are a total of 28 cards. Each tan section card includes references to…