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California Charter Schools Association Advocates announced Monday that it is endorsing Richard Barrera for state superintendent of public instruction. CCSA Advocates is the nonprofit lobbying arm of the California Charter Schools Association.

The charter schools association joins the California Teachers Association in support of Barrera. The two organizations have historically supported opposing candidates for statewide seats and school board races.

The charter school organization said Barrera’s experience on the San Diego Unified school board, his efforts to build affordable housing for school staff and his commitment to public education make him well qualified for the job of state superintendent.

“Richard Barrera has shown that supporting educators and supporting high-quality charter public schools are not mutually exclusive,” said Gregory McGinity, CCSA Advocates executive director in a press release. “He understands that students benefit when public education leaders work together instead of against each other.”

The organization’s political action committee began airing a television advertisement in support of Barrera M

In California, only a few colleges offer bachelor’s degrees in AI. In 2020, Stanford was the first school to offer the degree; UCSD followed last fall and USC is expected to debut in the fall.

In September, the California State University (CSU) system approved new AI degrees to be released in the upcoming years, with San Diego State launching a program in the fall.

A group of AI researchers and department faculty at UCSD began creating the AI major in 2024. When the application process opened in August, candidates began pouring in, creating a cohort of about 125 students.

Steven Swanson, the chair of the Computer Science Department at UCSD, said the inspiration for the AI curriculum came in part from multiple U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, including one that found a 7.5% increase in AI-based systems and other computer science-related industries. Swanson said the effort was also done in reaction to computer science students who showed an interest in newer “core technologies.”

“The major’s goal is to educate the programmers and software engineers of tomorrow,” said Swanson. “Those who will build the next generation of AI systems and to improve the foundations of the AI systems currently in use.”

Swanson said some current computer science students are interested in switching majors; however, under the current policy, only students admitted to UCSD as AI majors are eligible for the program.

This policy is subject to change in the fall, according to the university website. The courses for AI majors are available for computer science students, but AI majors have priority for registration.

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In California, only a few colleges offer bachelor’s degrees in AI. In 2020, Stanford was the first school to offer the degree; UCSD followed last fall and USC is expected to debut in the fall.

In September, the California State University (CSU) system approved new AI degrees to be released in the upcoming years, with San Diego State launching a program in the fall.

A group of AI researchers and department faculty at UCSD began creating the AI major in 2024. When the application process opened in August, candidates began pouring in, creating a cohort of about 125 students.

Steven Swanson, the chair of the Computer Science Department at UCSD, said the inspiration for the AI curriculum came in part from multiple U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, including one that found a 7.5% increase in AI-based systems and other computer science-related industries. Swanson said the effort was also done in reaction to computer science students who showed an interest in newer “core technologies.”

“The major’s goal is to educate the programmers and software engineers of tomorrow,” said Swanson. “Those who will build the next generation of AI systems and to improve the foundations of the AI systems currently in use.”

Swanson said some current computer science students are interested in switching majors; however, under the current policy, only students admitted to UCSD as AI majors are eligible for the program.

This policy is subject to change in the fall, according to the university website. The courses for AI majors are available for computer science students, but AI majors have priority for registration.

Swipe to learn more. Full story. LINK IN BIO.

The First Amendment Coalition has filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court against the Los Angeles Unified School District, alleging that it has illegally withheld teacher misconduct records.

The coalition — representing investigative journalist Holly McDede — alleged the district did not comply with a public records request filed in June 2024, thereby withholding documents concerning teacher and school employee misconduct, including sexual misconduct.

“This is the kind of critical information parents need to make informed decisions about their children’s education and safety,” McDede said in a statement. “The public demands transparency from government agencies to provide this information so they can hold school officials accountable.”

LAUSD said it does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.

When immigration agents pounded on his family’s apartment door in 2019, 15-year-old Jair Solis stood between them and his father, refusing to let agents inside without the proper warrant.

Seven years later, Solis became the first in his family to earn a college degree, graduating from UC Merced two months after his mom became a permanent U.S. resident.

The milestone is one that had long felt out of reach for Solis and his family. His mother gave up her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher because she was undocumented. Though he fended off immigration agents after asking for a warrant, they would later detain his dad on his way to work.

During college, he took a gap year to work and save money so he could continue attending school.

“Knowing that I’m the only one to get an education and have that opportunity — have the platform to grow as an academic, as a professional, it’s really a blessing for me,” said Solis, 22. “I don’t take it for granted, but it’s just — I never thought I would be in this position.”

Solis is far from the only student navigating these experiences. A recent analysis from the Brookings Institute estimated that more than 100,000 children — most of them U.S. citizens — have been separated from their parents during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown, though researchers believe the number is likely higher.

Multiple studies have found that children whose parents are detained or deported report higher levels of anxiety and depression.

And, a 2025 report from Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University also found that children exposed to immigration detention or deportation are more likely to experience chronic absenteeism, lower academic performance and higher dropout risks — challenges Solis himself faced during and after his father’s detention.

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When immigration agents pounded on his family’s apartment door in 2019, 15-year-old Jair Solis stood between them and his father, refusing to let agents inside without the proper warrant.

Seven years later, Solis became the first in his family to earn a college degree, graduating from UC Merced two months after his mom became a permanent U.S. resident.

The milestone is one that had long felt out of reach for Solis and his family. His mother gave up her dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher because she was undocumented. Though he fended off immigration agents after asking for a warrant, they would later detain his dad on his way to work.

During college, he took a gap year to work and save money so he could continue attending school.

“Knowing that I’m the only one to get an education and have that opportunity — have the platform to grow as an academic, as a professional, it’s really a blessing for me,” said Solis, 22. “I don’t take it for granted, but it’s just — I never thought I would be in this position.”

Solis is far from the only student navigating these experiences. A recent analysis from the Brookings Institute estimated that more than 100,000 children — most of them U.S. citizens — have been separated from their parents during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown, though researchers believe the number is likely higher.

Multiple studies have found that children whose parents are detained or deported report higher levels of anxiety and depression.

And, a 2025 report from Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University also found that children exposed to immigration detention or deportation are more likely to experience chronic absenteeism, lower academic performance and higher dropout risks — challenges Solis himself faced during and after his father’s detention.

Swipe to learn more. Full story. LINK IN BIO.

The Los Angeles Unified School District school board heard and discussed a preliminary plan to curb screen time weeks after it approved a community-driven resolution.

The proposed guidance includes limits and recommendations on screen time, including:

• A limit of zero minutes per day for early education through first grade
• A limit of zero to 20 minutes per day for second and third grade
• A limit of zero to 30 minutes per day for fourth and fifth grade
• Recommended 60-120 minutes per day for sixth through eighth grade
• Recommended 90-180 minutes per day for ninth through 12th grade

The proposal also changes the default to avoid 1:1 take-home devices, unless parents opt their child in. And personalized learning that took place for kindergartners and first graders will now be led by teachers instead of i-Ready.

“Shaped through months of advocacy from families and educators across Los Angeles, the policy represents a critical next step in redefining the role of technology in schools and ensuring classroom technology is developmentally appropriate, evidence-based, and student-centered,” Schools Beyond Screens, a parent group that advocated for the recommendation, said in a statement.

Exceptions and adjustments would also be made for students with disabilities and students who are bilingual or multilingual learners who may need help with translation services.

“Since the resolution was passed, we’ve been hearing from districts of all sizes — urban, rural, red states, blue states, everyone,” said board member Nick Melvoin, who co-authored the resolution. “There’s so much interest, and I think it’s an idea whose time has come.”

The Los Angeles Unified School District school board heard and discussed a preliminary plan to curb screen time weeks after it approved a community-driven resolution.

The proposed guidance includes limits and recommendations on screen time, including:

• A limit of zero minutes per day for early education through first grade
• A limit of zero to 20 minutes per day for second and third grade
• A limit of zero to 30 minutes per day for fourth and fifth grade
• Recommended 60-120 minutes per day for sixth through eighth grade
• Recommended 90-180 minutes per day for ninth through 12th grade

The proposal also changes the default to avoid 1:1 take-home devices, unless parents opt their child in. And personalized learning that took place for kindergartners and first graders will now be led by teachers instead of i-Ready.

“Shaped through months of advocacy from families and educators across Los Angeles, the policy represents a critical next step in redefining the role of technology in schools and ensuring classroom technology is developmentally appropriate, evidence-based, and student-centered,” Schools Beyond Screens, a parent group that advocated for the recommendation, said in a statement.

Exceptions and adjustments would also be made for students with disabilities and students who are bilingual or multilingual learners who may need help with translation services.

“Since the resolution was passed, we’ve been hearing from districts of all sizes — urban, rural, red states, blue states, everyone,” said board member Nick Melvoin, who co-authored the resolution. “There’s so much interest, and I think it’s an idea whose time has come.”

In a settlement with potential ripple effects for over a thousand school district lawsuits against major social media companies, YouTube, TikTok and Snap Inc., the owner of SnapChat, reached agreements to settle a lawsuit by a school district targeting the education costs of social media addiction and design features such as infinite scroll.

The settlements announced Friday leaves only Meta Platforms Inc. to face off with the Breathitt County School District in rural Kentucky in a trial set to begin June 12 in Oakland. The settlement terms were not disclosed, according to Bloomberg Law.

The suit is a test case among more than 1,200 similar lawsuits that claim that top social media platforms disrupt learning and force public schools to spend massive funds fighting a mental health crisis. School districts allege that the biggest social media companies have harmed students by undermining public education.

The spate of lawsuits could open the tech companies to a “collective theoretical liability of almost $400 billion,” according to an estimate from Bloomberg Intelligence.

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

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

“That experience stuck with me because it taught me how to stay calm under pressure, and I didn’t panic,” Brandon said. “I knew what to do.”

A new report from research institute SRI International found promising results for students in Los Angeles Unified who completed career and technical education pathways — 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.

California has significantly expanded career and technical education in recent years, with a combined $400 million in funding each year and an additional $300 million 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.

“The findings combat some of those lingering stereotypes around CTE and who it’s for,” Warner said.

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Beginning July 1, students enrolled in short-term career and technical education programs will be eligible to apply for federal Pell Grants, following a new Workforce Pell Grant program rule announced Monday.

Traditionally, federal Pell Grants have been awarded to students earning undergraduate degrees, certificates or credentials.

The new rule makes federal financial aid available to students pursuing programs that prepare them for high-skill, high-wage and in-demand jobs, according to an announcement from the federal Department of Education.

Pell-eligible workforce programs can only be offered by accredited institutions. Under the rule, governors will work with workforce boards in their states to identify high-demand labor industries and determine which educational programs will be eligible for Pell funds.

Those programs must meet time and completion percentage requirements as well as data on student outcomes — including earnings, completion rates and job placement rates — showing they deliver return on investment.

Eligible workforce programs must be between eight and 15 weeks long and 150-599 hours in length. Correspondence, noncredit and remedial courses are not eligible.

According to the announcement, a program’s total tuition and fees cannot exceed the “value-added earnings” of students who complete the program.

This is calculated as the difference between the adjusted median earnings of student completers during the earnings measurement period and 150% of the U.S. poverty guidelines applicable to a single individual for the tax year.

Governors and workforce programs will be able to collaborate across states to offer programs to students through distance education.

Some Southern California community college students can now get priority consideration for transfer to UCLA under a new pilot program, a limited first step toward expanding transfer access to the University of California.

Fall 2026 marks the first admission cycle for the program, available to students who complete an associate degree for transfer (ADT) in one of a handful of majors, such as geology and mathematics.

The pilot was created under 2023 legislation, Assembly Bill 1291, which also requires the program to expand to four additional UC campuses by 2028.

Advocates and community colleges see the pilot as a potential precursor a broader transfer pathway between community colleges and the UC system, similar to what already exists for the 22-campus California State University system, where any community college student who completes an ADT is guaranteed admission to a CSU campus.

Officials hope a similar program at UC could simplify California’s transfer system, which critics say is overly complex because of admission requirements that often vary widely by campus and program.

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Some Southern California community college students can now get priority consideration for transfer to UCLA under a new pilot program, a limited first step toward expanding transfer access to the University of California.

Fall 2026 marks the first admission cycle for the program, available to students who complete an associate degree for transfer (ADT) in one of a handful of majors, such as geology and mathematics.

The pilot was created under 2023 legislation, Assembly Bill 1291, which also requires the program to expand to four additional UC campuses by 2028.

Advocates and community colleges see the pilot as a potential precursor a broader transfer pathway between community colleges and the UC system, similar to what already exists for the 22-campus California State University system, where any community college student who completes an ADT is guaranteed admission to a CSU campus.

Officials hope a similar program at UC could simplify California’s transfer system, which critics say is overly complex because of admission requirements that often vary widely by campus and program.

Swipe to learn more. Read the full story. LINK IN BIO.

Since 2019, the state has funded $715 million to hire and train reading specialists and coaches in high-poverty schools — a key element in the state’s comprehensive early literacy plan. But that money, in one-time grants, will expire over the next three years. Newsom proposes $440 million to extend the grants through 2031 in his 2026-27 May revision budget proposal.

With one contentious exception, school districts can check off most items on their wish list for 2026-27 with the release on Thursday of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget.

Newsom is proposing to target unexpected billions of dollars from surging state revenues to the priorities that school district leaders had prized, including a higher cost-of-living adjustment, billions of dollars more annually for special education, and a one-time, much larger discretionary block grant.

Also, all employees of community colleges and TK-12 schools will be entitled to up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave beginning in 2026-27, which the higher COLA will pay for.

But there remains a major point of contention: Newsom is still withholding $3.9 billion in Proposition 98 funding that school organizations say should go to schools and community colleges now.

School districts had complained loudly that their base funding hadn’t kept up with rising expenses, particularly special education and declining enrollment. Amid overall record state funding, Newsom prioritized new initiatives, including the addition of transitional kindergarten, the creation of community schools and expanded learning after school and during the summer.

“People were looking for base money in their pocket,” said Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee. “The attention to a higher COLA and special education is welcome news.”

Ted Lempert, president of the nonprofit advocacy organization Children Now, said, “Big picture, the May revision puts $8.1 billion more than the January budget into education. While it’s not perfect, we really appreciate it. The governor and Legislature have done a better job in the last couple of years of protecting funding. That said, kids are still way behind.”

Swipe to learn more. Full story. LINK IN BIO.

With one contentious exception, school districts can check off most items on their wish list for 2026-27 with the release on Thursday of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget.

Newsom is proposing to target unexpected billions of dollars from surging state revenues to the priorities that school district leaders had prized, including a higher cost-of-living adjustment, billions of dollars more annually for special education, and a one-time, much larger discretionary block grant.

Also, all employees of community colleges and TK-12 schools will be entitled to up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave beginning in 2026-27, which the higher COLA will pay for.

But there remains a major point of contention: Newsom is still withholding $3.9 billion in Proposition 98 funding that school organizations say should go to schools and community colleges now.

School districts had complained loudly that their base funding hadn’t kept up with rising expenses, particularly special education and declining enrollment. Amid overall record state funding, Newsom prioritized new initiatives, including the addition of transitional kindergarten, the creation of community schools and expanded learning after school and during the summer.

“People were looking for base money in their pocket,” said Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee. “The attention to a higher COLA and special education is welcome news.”

Ted Lempert, president of the nonprofit advocacy organization Children Now, said, “Big picture, the May revision puts $8.1 billion more than the January budget into education. While it’s not perfect, we really appreciate it. The governor and Legislature have done a better job in the last couple of years of protecting funding. That said, kids are still way behind.”

Swipe to learn more. Full story. LINK IN BIO.

With one contentious exception, school districts can check off most items on their wish list for 2026-27 with the release on Thursday of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget.

Newsom is proposing to target unexpected billions of dollars from surging state revenues to the priorities that school district leaders had prized, including a higher cost-of-living adjustment, billions of dollars more annually for special education, and a one-time, much larger discretionary block grant.

Also, all employees of community colleges and TK-12 schools will be entitled to up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave beginning in 2026-27, which the higher COLA will pay for.

But there remains a major point of contention: Newsom is still withholding $3.9 billion in Proposition 98 funding that school organizations say should go to schools and community colleges now.

School districts had complained loudly that their base funding hadn’t kept up with rising expenses, particularly special education and declining enrollment. Amid overall record state funding, Newsom prioritized new initiatives, including the addition of transitional kindergarten, the creation of community schools and expanded learning after school and during the summer.

“People were looking for base money in their pocket,” said Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee. “The attention to a higher COLA and special education is welcome news.”

Ted Lempert, president of the nonprofit advocacy organization Children Now, said, “Big picture, the May revision puts $8.1 billion more than the January budget into education. While it’s not perfect, we really appreciate it. The governor and Legislature have done a better job in the last couple of years of protecting funding. That said, kids are still way behind.”

Swipe to learn more. Full story. LINK IN BIO.

After-school coordinators in the Berkeley Unified School District are still slated to lose their jobs even though the district rescinded 330 layoff notices this week — a grueling yearly process California schools go through, the Berkeleyside reported.

School districts across California have typically turned to layoffs to close large budget deficits. In compliance with state law, school districts are required to send preliminary pink slips by March 15 to employees who could lose their jobs.

Many of the notices are later rescinded before May 15, the last day final layoff notices can be given. This year, at least 5,000 school employees statewide received preliminary layoff notices.

Twenty-one nonteaching positions remain on the chopping block for Berkeley Unified, which is working to close a nearly $8 million budget deficit for this school year. The district can still rescind the pink slips by the end of June if additional resources become available.

Unlike the many districts that rescinded most notices, the state’s third-largest, Fresno Unified School District, upheld the majority of its layoffs.

Staff with seniority will be able to move into similar open roles or positions held by colleagues with less seniority. Some staff members are expected to retire, possibly opening positions for those laid off. Fresno Unified, however, is eliminating vacant positions and not replacing some held by retiring educators.

In Berkeley, Daniel Brownson, a clerical assistant, was laid off last year, Berkeleyside reported. He remained employed because his current position opened after a voluntary resignation.

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