K-12 Education

A welding teacher says hands-on career training can win back disengaged students but schools and the state erred by emphasizing college for all and letting trade education die at many California high schools.

All high school students are required to take civics, but a lack of money can limit opportunities. And in some communities, parent objections pressure teachers to avoid certain topics.

Three years of expert, hands-on help pulled up two schools' test scores. The rest of the state's average scores remain below pre-pandemic levels.

The nation’s most linguistically diverse state has a tortured history with bilingual education in public schools. The Education Department can’t — and the Legislature won’t — do what it takes to repair the damage.

California has banned bilingual education on and off since the 1800s. The state is now 8 years into allowing it again but still hasn’t managed to get all that many kids into good programs.

Career and technical education has strong bipartisan support. But some education experts fear its growth may come at the expense of college preparation programs.

Chronic absenteeism dropped to 20% last school year, but that is still higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 12%.

Declining enrollment, the end of pandemic relief funding and uncertain state funding are forcing school districts to make some difficult decisions.

More than 115,000 children in California were undocumented in the most recent census count, and it’s estimated almost half of California children have at least one immigrant parent.

Former President Donald Trump is hoping that bashing California for its sins will help him win swing state voters who hold dark thoughts about this state.