We’ve done a lot research, talked to a lot of education experts, asked a lot of questions and done a lot of thinking. We aren’t education experts, but we’ve learned quite a bit along the way. Find out more about who we are, what we’ve done, and California’s education system by following the links below.
Want to know more about how Educate Our State started? Check out Our Story.
Want to understand why billions that should be going to education every year never gets there? Read here.
Interested in what we have done the last ten years? See our brief review here.
LCFF Provides an Opportunity for the Parent Voice in Education The Local Control Funding Formula simplifies education funding by designating uniform base grants per student across the state. These funds have NO spending restrictions and are under “local control.” For students who are either English Learners or come from poverty, LCFF also provides additional resources that are to be spent on these students, recognizing the increased resources needed to adequately support these populations. LCFF is described in more detail here. At the end of the day, though, the per-pupil funding is still much too low to be able to provide every child with a highly effective education.
“Local Control” means that school districts and schools will develop their own accountability plans (LCAP), which set student outcomes and spending, but have essentially no state oversight. This gives school districts increased flexibility and control. And it give parents and community members the opportunity to impact goals, spending, transparency, and accountability—but only if districts engage them to participate.
Parent involvement is a key element of the plan outlined by the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), but the question will be how successful local school districts will be.
This is why Educate Our State mobilized supporters to urge the State Board of Education to make parents true stakeholders in education in the final LCFF regulations and guidelines.
Interested in being kept informed? Check out these sources for daily/weekly updates on California education News compiled by Educate Our State.
EdSource - Engaging Californians on Key Education Challenges Blog.
California Budget and Policy Center- serving fresh policy news and views
Legislative Analyst’s Office - California’s Fiscal and Policy Advisor -- this is a link to some of their education publications.
Rough & Tumble - A snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics.
