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  • Federal Judge Blocks Shutdown of Department of Education

    Federal Judge Blocks Shutdown of Department of Education


    When Trump promised to shut down the U.S. Department of Education during his campaign, he must have known that he couldn’t close down a department without Congressional approval. Everyone else knew it. He brought in wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education to preside over the Department’s demise. He never sought Congressional approval.

    Elon Musk’s DOGS team did the dirty work, laying off half the Department’s employees, some 1300 people.

    The most severely affected offices were the Federal Student Aid office, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Institute for Education Sciences (which oversees federal research and NAEP). The IES was eliminated, leaving future administrations of NAEP in doubt and disemboweling the government’s essential historic role in compiling data about education.

    But today a federal judge ruled that the shuttering of ED was wrong and that everyone laid off should be rehired. Bottom line: a President can’t close a Congressionally authorized department by executive order.

    WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to shut down the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs.

    U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out two plans announced in March that sought to work toward Trump’s goal to dismantle the department. It marks a setback to one of the Republican president’s campaign promises.

    The injunction was requested in a lawsuit filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts and the American Federation of Teachers, along with other education groups.

    In their lawsuit, the groups said the layoffs amounted to an illegal shutdown of the Education Department. They said it left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws.

    In his order, Joun said the plaintiffs painted a “stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America’s most vulnerable student populations.”

    Layoffs of that scale, he added, “will likely cripple the Department.”

    Joun ordered the Education Department to reinstate federal workers who were terminated as part of the March 11 layoff announcement.

    The Trump administration says the layoffs are aimed at efficiency, not a department shutdown. Trump has called for the closure of the agency but recognizes it must be carried out by Congress, the government said.

    The administration said restructuring the agency “may impact certain services until the reorganization is finished” but it’s committed to fulfilling its statutory requirements.



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  • Controversial education issues still alive in GOP platform

    Controversial education issues still alive in GOP platform


    An early arriving audience member sits amidst empty seats with campaign signs for former President Donald Trump at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. during the first day of the Republican National Convention on Monday.

    Credit: Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

    While the assassination attempt on Donald Trump overshadowed discussion of policy issues at the Republican convention in Milwaukee on Monday, the GOP’s platform committee nonetheless adopted a 20-page party platform on Monday in which education features prominently.

    The platform is a reminder that a slew of controversial issues, from how the racial history of the United States is interpreted to complex issues around gender identity, are still very much alive on the political stage.

    The last time the GOP had a platform was in 2016, when Trump first ran for president, and it was a hefty 60 pages long. The current one is stripped down to a third the length reflecting what are core priority issues for the former president. Trump himself was key in shaping it — and his imprint is evident throughout, down to the use of capital letters in odd places.

    As Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, the chair of the platform committee, said yesterday, Trump had “personally reviewed, edited, and approved” the platform.

    Most of the platform consists of issues drawn from the culture wars that have roiled many school districts around the nation in recent years. In a typical pledge, the platform argues that children should be taught “fundamentals like Reading, History, Science and Math, not Leftwing propaganda.” The focus, it says, should be on “knowledge and skills,” not “CRT and gender indoctrination.” 

    Other party positions include:

    • “Defunding” schools that engage in what the platform calls “inappropriate political indoctrination of our children using federal taxpayer dollars.”
    • Supporting schools that “teach America’s Founding Principles and Western Civilization” while promoting “Fair and Patriotic Civics Education.”
    • Championing the “First Amendment Right to Pray and Read the Bible in schools.”
    • “Hardening” schools to protect against gun violence or other physical threats. “Hardening” typically refers to arming teachers, and erecting a range of physical barriers, from door locking systems to surveillance cameras, in lieu of gun regulation measures.
    • Keeping on the front burner the GOP push for “Universal School Choice in every State in America,” the central goal of the first Trump administration and Betsy DeVos, his secretary of education.

    The GOP platform draws ideas from, but does not specifically endorse Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s detailed blueprint for a second Trump term.

    Trump has tried put some distance between himself and Project 2025, but that was mostly because of its extreme positions on abortion — including banning the abortion drug mifepristone — and not because of any major objections to its 44-page education blueprint.

    Some key education items in the platform are recycled from earlier ones, and reiterate promises Trump has made on the campaign trail. That includes vowing to close the U.S. Department of Education and “send it back to the states where it belongs.” This is an idea that Ronald Reagan first proposed in 1985 — and which Republicans have yet to deliver on.

    The platform also endorses ending teacher tenure, and giving educators merit pay increases — in contrast to union-negotiated contracts in which salaries are based principally on years worked, and the number of college course credits and degrees earned.

    But even as the GOP pushes for federal education policies to devolve to state and local levels, the platform makes no reference to the fact that the federal government has relatively little say over what happens in schools. That is much more a function of state and local school board policies.

    What’s more, only about a tenth of state and local education funding comes from Washington, D.C. For that reason alone, it is unclear how much of the GOP platform could actually be implemented.

    Contrary to expectations raised when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made attacks on alleged “woke” education policies related to gender and racial identity a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, education issues have played a relatively small part in the presidential race so far.   

    That’s likely because other issues like inflation, immigration and abortion are now more salient among voters’ concerns. Another factor was that DeSantis’ focus on hot-button education issues proved to be useless in promoting his ultimately unsuccessful campaign.

    So, while education is unlikely to be a major item of discussion at the GOP convention, or even in the remaining months of the presidential race, it’s clear from not only the party platform, but also from Project 2025’s detailed agenda, and Trump’s own recent statements, that numerous education issues that have sparked controversy and conflict are still very much on the GOP agenda.

    And many if not all of them have the potential to be revived in a second Trump term. 

    This is the first of two commentaries on the education platforms of the GOP and the Democratic Party. This week the Democratic Party is expected to release its full education platform that delegates will vote on at its convention in Chicago in August. 

    •••

    Louis Freedberg, a veteran journalist who has written about education in California and nationally for more than three decades, is interim CEO of EdSource.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Adult education on K-12 campuses is so much more than you might guess

    Adult education on K-12 campuses is so much more than you might guess


    Adult education students at Huntington Beach Adult School in the Huntington Beach Union School District

    Credit: Jorge Van Dyck / Huntington Beach Adult School

    There’s an incredibly important program that takes place in the back lots of a number of K-12 school sites.

    Adult Education serves students aged 18 and over in English as a second language (ESL), citizenship, adult basic education/adult secondary education (diploma and GED), and short-term career technical Education (CTE).

    But their services to the schools they are housed in and the surrounding community are so much more. In fact, adult education staff and supporters have been espousing the benefits associated with Community Schools before the term became popular. They are that link schools don’t know they have to make sure parents know about and attend their District English Language Advisory Committee to help plan how funds will be used to support English learners, and they are often the link to immigration attorneys, financial literacy programs and a bridge to the training that so many parents of K-12 students end up needing.

    Adult education also benefits students in the K-12 system. To put it simply, our immigrant students have immigrant parents, and assisting parents in learning the language and the school system’s processes in an English learner class is bound to pay off for the child as well. Also, offering short-term career technical education classes for those same parents to transition into once they have a grasp of the language (like in this medical assistant IET – integrated education and training program) is ultimately going to provide a more financially stable family structure that, again, benefits the child attending our K-12 schools. Finally, no matter how many redundant systems we put into K-12, students do drop out, and adult schools provide a place for that student to come back and finish their diploma or high school equivalency.

    Yes, these folks are flexible, and their services complement the goals of our K-12 districts, which is likely why a decision was made a long time ago to house adult education within these institutions.

    Unfortunately, flexibility is also a sore spot for adult educators. When the state budget gets pinched, adult education feels it first. In 2008-09, that meant cuts of 15% and 20%, and when the state government allowed for categorical programs — which previously could only be used for specific purposes — to be used flexibly, adult education funds were used to keep K-12 programs going, and many adult programs were decreased or even lost. By 2013-14, the Legislature introduced a package to eliminate school district categorical programs that targeted funding for adult education but salvage the adult education system by requiring districts to move into consortia beginning in 2015-16, joining community colleges and K-12 adult schools together in offering non-credit adult education. Schools moving to this system were asked to maintain 2011-12 levels of spending on adult education, which by then was at about 50% of 2008-09 levels.

    So, it is understandable when an adult educator winces at the word “flexibility” and would rather it not even be mentioned in these bleak financial times. But the good news for California, its schools, and communities around those schools, is that California still supports its adult education system like no other state. The budget for adult education has actually grown in recent years. And, despite a recent Legislative Analyst Office report second guessing the funding structure it helped to create, adult educators feel the more they let folks know about the incredible wraparound services they provide for adults and children in the K-12 districts that are lucky enough to house them, then the more likely it will be for that elusive respect to be gained and programs sustained into the distant future.

    The fundamental tasks of adult education are widely agreed upon and supported, even if many K-12 educators don’t know exactly what happens in those beige portables at the edge of their campus.

    As alluded to at the start, those classes for adults are often tucked away in corners of larger campuses that are hard to find, and some forget they are there, and that’s generally OK with those who work there, since adult school employees know the value of their work is about so much more than that; they are flexible. They know that being right there on the campus where adult school parents’ kids attend is a great start.

    Going back and forth between different sets and shades of beige portables on the four different campuses where Huntington Beach Adult School provides ESL classes, I have an appreciation for the often slighted portable and feel compelled to steal from William Carlos Williams to bring an end to this musing on the value of adult education.

    So much depends upon

    the beige portables

    at the edge of campus

    glazed in floodlights

    filled with adult students

    Credit: Jorge Van Dyck / Huntington Beach Adult School

    •••

    Philip Villamor is an assistant principal at Huntington Beach Adult School, which is a part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Education has been a significant interest of Kamala Harris since early in her career

    Education has been a significant interest of Kamala Harris since early in her career


    Vice President Kamala Harris speaks from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday during an event with NCAA college athletes. This is her first public appearance since President Joe Biden endorsed her to be the next presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

    Credit: AP Photo / Susan Walsh

    The likelihood that Vice President Kamala Harris will be the Democratic nominee for president is inviting scrutiny of her positions on every public policy issue, including education.  

    By her own accounting, those views have been profoundly shaped by her experiences as a beneficiary of public education, as a student at Thousand Oaks Elementary School in Berkeley and later at the Hastings College of Law (now called UC Law San Francisco).

    Just three months ago, in remarks about college student debt in Philadelphia, she paid tribute to her late first grade teacher Frances Wilson, who also attended her graduation from law school. “I wouldn’t be here except for the strength of our teachers, and of course, the family in which I was raised,” she said.

    The most memorable moment in Harris’ unsuccessful 2019 campaign for president was in the first candidates’ debate when she sharply criticized then-Vice President Joe Biden for opposing school busing programs in the 1970s and 1980s.  

    “There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day, and that little girl was me,” Harris said in the debate.  

    She was referring to Berkeley’s voluntary busing program set up in 1968, the first such voluntary program in a sizable city. Biden was apparently able to put the exchange aside when he selected her to be his running mate several months later. 

    At age 12, her family moved to Montreal where she attended a public high school, and then went to Howard University, the Historically Black College and University in Washington D.C. for her undergraduate education.

    It is impossible to anticipate what if any of the positions Harris took earlier in her career, or as a presidential candidate five years ago, will be revived should she win the Democratic nomination, or even become president. 

    But they certainly offer clues as to positions she might take in either role. 

    When she kicked off her campaign for president at a boisterous rally in downtown Oakland in January 2019, she made access to education a major issue. “I am running to declare education is a fundamental right, and we will guarantee that right with universal pre-K and debt-free college,” she said, referring to pre-kindergarten.  

    By saying education is a fundamental right, Harris addressed directly an issue that has been a major obstacle for advocates trying to create a more equitable education system. 

    While education is a core function of government — even “perhaps the most important function,” as Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling — it is not a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. That has meant relying much more on state constitutions.

    During her term as vice-president, she has played a prominent role in promoting a range of President Biden’s education programs, from cutting child care costs to student loan relief.

    Last year she flew to Florida especially to take on Gov. Ron DeSantis over his attacks on what he dismissed as “woke indoctrination” in schools. In particular, she was incensed by the state’s middle school standards that argued that enslaved people “developed skills that could, in some instances, be applied for their personal benefit.” 

    DeSantis challenged her to debate him on the issue — an offer she scathingly rejected. “There is no roundtable, lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact: There were no redeemable qualities to slavery,” she declared at a convention of Black missionary women in Orlando.   

    Earlier in her career, she was best known on the education front for her interest in combating school truancy — an interest that could be extremely relevant as schools in California and nationally grapple with a huge post-pandemic surge in chronic absenteeism. 

    Students are classified as chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of school days in the school year. 

    Nearly two decades ago, while district attorney in San Francisco, she launched a student attendance initiative focused on elementary school children.  Each year, she sent letters to all parents advising them that truancy was against the law. Prosecutors from her office would meet with parents with chronically absent children. If they did not rectify the situation, they could be prosecuted in a special truancy court — and face a fine of up to $2,500 or a year in county jail.   

    By 2009, she said she had prosecuted about 20 parents. “Our groundbreaking strategy worked,” she wrote in an opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle, citing a 20% increase in attendance at the elementary level. 

    When she ran for California attorney general in 2010, she backed a bill that enacted a similar program into state law. The law also subjected parents to fines and imprisonment for up to a year, but only after they had been offered “support services” to address the pupil’s truancy.

    This tough stance put her on the defensive when she ran for president, and she softened her position on the issue. She said the intent of the law was not to “criminalize” parents. And in her memoir “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” Harris described her approach to truancy as “trying to support parents, not punish them.”

    As attorney-general, she used the clout of her office to go after for-profit colleges she accused of false and predatory advertising, and intentionally misrepresenting to students the benefits they could provide. She was able to get a $1 billion judgment against the California-based Corinthians Colleges Inc. which eventually declared bankruptcy. ““For years, Corinthian profited off the backs of poor people – now they have to pay,” she said at the time.

    During her presidential campaign five years ago, she made a major issue of what she labeled “the teacher pay crisis.” She said as president she would increase the average teacher’s salary by $13,500 — representing an average 23% increase in base pay. Almost certainly the most ambitious proposal of its kind made by any presidential candidate, the cost to the federal government would be enormous: $315 billion over 10 years.

    To pay for it, she proposed increasing the estate tax on the top 1% of taxpayers and eliminating loopholes that “let the very wealthiest, with estates worth multiple millions or billions of dollars, avoid paying their fair share,” she wrote in The Washington Post.  

    Also on the campaign trail, she proposed a massive increase in funding to historically Black colleges and universities — one of which (Howard University in Washington, D.C.) she graduated from. In fact, she proposed investing $2 trillion in these colleges, especially to train Black teachers. She contended  that if a child has had two Black teachers before the end of third grade, they’re one-third more likely to go to college. 

    Biden was able to push through a big increase in support for such institutions totaling $19 billion — far short of her goal of $2 trillion.

    Many of her positions on education — including a push for universal pre-school, and making college debt-free — were aligned with those proposed by Biden, or ultimately implemented by him as president. 

    For that reason, there is likely to be continuity in her candidacy with much of the education agenda proposed by Biden. 

    But mainly as a result of lack of action in Congress and Republican-initiated lawsuits blocking his proposals, many of the administrations’s aspirations, like making community colleges free, doubling the size of Pell Grants, and student debt refiled, remain unfulfilled.

    It will now be up to Harris — and the American voter — whether she will have the opportunity to advance that unfinished education agenda.

    This story has been updated to include details about Harris’ education after her parents moved from Berkeley to Canada when she was 12.





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  • How to get a high school education or learn English as an adult in California | Quick Guide

    How to get a high school education or learn English as an adult in California | Quick Guide


    Tulare Adult School serves a community with some of the greatest need for adult education in the state.

    Credit: EdSource/Emma Gallegos

    Este artículo está disponible en Español. Léelo en español.

    Do you (or someone you know) struggle with English? Did you drop out of school? Do you need help passing the citizenship test? Are you looking for a well-paying job that won’t require a bachelor’s degree?

    California’s adult school system steps in to help adults who might have slipped through the cracks — or are newcomers to the country.

    Many Californians can use the services of adult schools but are not taking advantage of the chance. Nearly 6 million Californians don’t speak English “very well” and over 4 million do not have a high school education, according to U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey data.

    Nearly 3 out of 10 Californians struggle with basic English literacy. This can affect their ability to earn a good salary or navigate essential parts of American life, such as shopping, talking to a doctor or helping their children succeed in school.

    This guide is aimed at adults in California who need to take classes that will help them improve their English, finish their high school education, become a citizen or get a better job.

    Who can attend adult school?

    Anyone 18 and over is eligible.

    There are classes specifically aimed at adults who didn’t finish high school, immigrants, disabled adults, those who want to improve their parenting skills and adults who want to train for a career that doesn’t require a college education.

    Where can I get an adult education?

    There are three main places to get adult education in most communities: K-12 schools, community colleges and community libraries.

    Most Californians looking for adult education attend classes offered by their K-12 school districts. These classes may be offered right on K-12 campuses and through parent programs — or they may be offered at stand-alone adult school campuses.

    Community colleges also offer adult education. Adults who are interested in getting a degree or certificate sometimes find this an especially appealing option. English language and GED courses can help prepare students for college-level coursework. However, it is not a requirement to be on track for college to attend adult education classes at a community college.

    Libraries have the added benefit of offering one-on-one tutoring with a trained volunteer for adult learners. This can be a good option for students who need help with a particular task. Adults who struggle with basic skills, such as writing, English or math, might sign up to get help so they can pass a driver’s test or write a business grant application. Libraries can also connect Californians with a virtual program, Career Online High School, that helps adults get their high school diploma. (More on that below.)

    Some nonprofit organizations, employers or religious organizations also offer adult education. Organizations catering to adults who are immigrants, homeless or have a disability may offer adult education.

    How can I find out what is available in my community?

    Click here to view a map of offerings.

    What kind of classes are offered?

    The main types of classes offered by adult schools are adult basic education, adult secondary education, immigrant education, vocational education, education for adults with disabilities and education to help adults support their children in K-12 schools.

    Adult secondary education helps adults get the equivalent of a high school education with courses that include math, science, social studies and language arts. This could be through a high school diploma (for more on that, see the next question) or taking GED or HiSET tests.

    Adult basic education is essentially the foundation for high school. Adults who struggle with basic reading, math or digital literacy can take these courses, either on their own or to prepare for high school-level education.

    Adult school students have a wide range of backgrounds, but in California, the vast majority are immigrants. Adult schools help immigrants improve their English skills, get their citizenship and learn more about how to navigate American society. 

    Vocational education at adult schools helps prepare Californians for a new career, typically with an emphasis on offerings that take much less time than a bachelor’s degree. Adult education — both at the K-12 and community college level — helps students by connecting them with apprenticeships or helping them pass industry certification and state licensing exams.

    Some popular courses help prepare students for jobs in welding, heating and air conditioning technology, information technology support, court reporting and administrative assistant work. There are many programs for jobs in the health care fields, such as phlebotomy, vocational nursing, certified nursing assistant, pharmacy technician and medical coding.

    Some classes offered can also help adults build key life skills, which can be especially important for immigrants and disabled adults. This could include financial literacy, parenting classes and digital literacy.

    Can I get my high school diploma?

    Yes. Even if it’s been decades since you set foot in a high school classroom and even if that classroom was not in California or the U.S., you can get a high school diploma. You may even be able to count some of your work experience for credit.

    This can be a particularly useful option for adults who are just a few credits shy of graduation. 

    Just as with traditional high schools, the requirements for a diploma may vary. Both K-12 and community colleges offer classes that allow students to finish their high school diploma. Most community libraries also offer the opportunity to complete a high school diploma through a virtual program.

    What other options are there to attain the equivalent of a high school credential in California?

    The only authorized companies that can issue high school equivalency certificates in California are GED or HiSET.

    There are many high school equivalency test preparation programs — including those offered through public adult education programs and libraries. However, the state of California cautions that certificates of completion for these programs are not official California high school equivalency credentials. Getting these types of credentials requires passing tests.

    Can I get a GED in my native language?

    Californians can get a GED in English or Spanish. There are no other languages available at this time. The certificate of high school equivalency does not specify what language the GED is in.

    How much does adult education cost?

    The vast majority of adult education classes are tuition-free. Students may face fees for the GED or HiSET tests or practice tests, assessment tests, textbooks and other materials used in the courses. On community college campuses, students may also pay campus fees. These fees vary widely by institution — particularly for vocational tech classes.

    The program to become a vocational nurse at Bakersfield Adult School, for example, costs $7,000, while Downey Adult School estimates its whole program costs $16,999.

    Can I attend school while I have a job?

    One of the biggest hurdles for Californians who are interested in enrolling in adult school is simply finding the time to attend and study. There are classes held during the day, but many are offered in the evening and weekends as well, so classes are available to people who hold day jobs. There are also virtual classes.

    What kind of virtual options are there?

    Many institutions that offer adult education, such as local K-12 schools or community colleges, offer virtual options, which may include live teaching or asynchronous content.

    Most public libraries in California also offer the opportunity to earn a high school diploma through the Career Online High School program. It is available to anyone 19 or older. Last year, the program was offered at 797 of the state’s 1,127 public libraries. The program offers not just a high school diploma, but career training, plus help with a resume and cover letter. Some of the career training offered includes child care, commercial driving, manufacturing, office management, customer service, hospitality and security professionals. Students are assigned an academic coach. You can either ask a librarian or take this survey online to see if this option is right for you.

    Is child care or transportation offered? 

    This is not a common part of the offerings for adult schools, and it can be a big barrier to many potential adult school students. However, it is worth checking with your local schools. Some adult schools, colleges or nonprofits may offer child care, and some may offer transportation discounts or passes.





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  • More outreach and access are needed in adult education, panel says

    More outreach and access are needed in adult education, panel says


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-TxSs3XHpA

    Despite efforts across various sectors, adults throughout California continue to struggle to access education opportunities that can be critical for their family’s economic mobility. 

    The panel at EdSource’s roundtable, “Adult education: Overlooked and underfunded,” discussed how adults and their families can benefit from adult education, the common barriers to access and ways to overcome them. 

    “During the pandemic, our emergency room took in some of our most at-need people and triaged them to the right medical care that they need,” said John Werner, the executive director of Sequoias Adult Education Consortium at Thursday’s discussion. “Adult schools do very similar work with education.” 

    Barriers to adult education

    Panelist Francisco Solano grew up in Mexico, where he earned a high school education but had no interest in continuing his schooling. About 16 years ago, he came to the United States and found himself working for salad-packing companies. 

    He eventually enrolled in adult education classes at Salinas Adult School and is now wrapping up a doctorate in molecular biology at UCLA. 

    But the road through his adult education was “exhausting” and “not convenient at all.” 

    “That’s what I see with my peers,” Solano said. “They are not able to get out of that lifestyle because it’s so difficult for them to be able to have a job that secures rent and food for the families and, at the same time, find time and resources to go to school or try something else.” 

    Solano also believes that larger companies do not want migrants like him to succeed because that would take away a source of cheap labor. 

    Rural areas — where barriers associated with time and distance are greater — have a high need for adult education.

    Steve Curiel, the principal of Huntington Beach Adult School, said not enough conversations about adult education are held at the policy level because most people in elected positions are unlikely to understand the critical role it plays, having experienced more traditional educational journeys.

    Raising awareness and marketing 

    Carolyn Zachry, the state director and education administrator for adult education at the California Department of Education, stressed the importance of raising awareness and sharing stories like Solano’s among potential students. 

    “That gives the courage to come forward and to walk in those doors of that school,” she said. “And once they’re inside those school doors, then that school community wraps around them and really supports them.” 

    Werner also emphasized the importance of actively seeking students. He mentioned specific efforts to speak to individuals at local community events, like farmers markets and flea markets. A TV or radio presence can also be helpful, he said. 

    Helping communities overcome barriers 

    Numerous organizations are enacting measures to expand access to adult education, including creating remote and virtual options as well as providing child care for students while they are in school.

    Several panelists agreed that virtual learning can be a helpful way to bring educational opportunities to adults at home — though Kathy Locke, who teaches English as a second language in Oakland Unified, emphasized the importance of in-person instruction, so adults can learn the skills they need to succeed online. 

    “The more marginalized, the greater your need in terms of English level, the harder it is to access the technology to be able to use the technology to do distance learning well,” Locke said. 

    To improve access to online learning, Curiel said the Huntington Beach Adult School has provided laptops and channels for internet connection. 

    Providing child care is another way to help reduce barriers for adults. 

    “Our classes provide babysitting for our students to be able to come with their children. Their children go to child care, and then they’re able to come and learn,” Locke said. 

    “I think that as a district, we really named that as a barrier and really put our money where our mouths were, I think, and made that a priority to get adults in our classrooms, so that they can do the learning that they need.”

    Broader benefits of adult education 

    Adult education also helps support a child’s education, the roundtable panelists agreed. 

    For example, a child’s literacy benefits when parents attend English language classes, Locke said. And parents are more likely to be involved with their child’s education later on. 

    “If you want to help a child in poverty, you have to help an adult in poverty,” Werner said. “Only the adult can go get a job tomorrow.” 





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  • Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance tickets offer radically different visions of public education

    Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance tickets offer radically different visions of public education


    Kamala Harris introduces Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, 2024. Credit: Phil McAuliffe/Polaris

    Rarely if ever have visions of education offered by the two major party tickets in a presidential campaign been so radically different. 

    Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate this week affirmed her total support of public education — along with her acknowledgment of the crucial contributions of teachers, not only to her personal success but to the well-being of the nation as a whole. In his first appearance with Harris in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Walz spoke favorably of her view of education as a “ticket to the middle class.”

    By contrast, Trump and Vance take a conspiratorial view of education in which public schools are viewed as vehicles to indoctrinate children into left-wing ideologies. Rather than strengthening public education, a major goal of the Trump campaign, as in his previous ones, would be to provide parents with alternatives to what he, and many others on the right, disparagingly refer to as “government schools.”

    “Our public schools have been taken over by the radical left maniacs,” Trump declared in a video outlining his position earlier this year. To undercut the far-left influence he is alleging, he is promising to “cut funding for any school program that promotes critical race theory, gender ideologies, or any other racial, sexual or political content.”

    Harris has yet to issue a campaign platform on education (or any other issue for that matter). But when she ran for president in 2019, support for public education was a key element, including backing universal preschool and debt-free college. Not surprisingly, the American Federation of Teachers was the first major union to endorse her presidential bid this year, soon followed by the National Education Association. And as vice president, she has been a prominent advocate on behalf of President Joe Biden’s many education initiatives, including his big push to provide student loan relief.

    In Philadelphia, Walz acknowledged he is almost certainly the first vice presidential nominee whose principal occupation before entering politics was as a public school teacher. 

    For a decade, Walz taught social studies and coached football at Mankato West High School in a politically mixed community 80 miles from Minneapolis. Before moving to there, he and wife Gwen were teachers in Nebraska for nearly 10 years.

    As governor, one of his catchphrases has been to “fully fund” public schools. To that end, last year, he pushed for a $7 billion increase in school funding — and was eventually able to convince the Legislature, in the face of Republican opposition, to approve a $2.2 billion increase, still a significant amount in his state. He also signed a bill allowing schools to offer free meals for all students regardless of income.   

    Vance, by contrast, has echoed much of Trump’s rhetoric on education. On the website for his 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, for example, he lashed out at “the continued CRT indoctrination in our kids’ schools.” He also took aim at what he called the “radical left’s culture war waged during Covid-19” in closing public schools during the pandemic.  

    In Congress, Vance has focused most of his attention on higher education, and what he has called “left-wing domination” of colleges and universities. In the Senate, for example, he has sponsored legislation making it more difficult for colleges to accept donations from “foreign entities” – which he said would prevent the Chinese Communist Party from “exerting influence over American educational institutions.” 

    By contrast, Walz, as governor, has made greater access to public universities in his state a major priority. That includes backing the North Star Scholarship Program which underwrites tuition to any public college in Minnesota, along with big increases in funding to higher education in general. 

    Nowhere are the differences between the two tickets in their visions for education starker than in their views on teachers. 

    Harris has repeatedly paid tribute to Frances Wilson, her first-grade teacher at Thousand Oaks Elementary School in Berkeley. In recognition of the challenges teachers face, a major pledge in her 2019 campaign for president was a hugely ambitious initiative to raise the average salaries of teachers by $13,500 through a massive 10-year, $315 billion federal program.  

    In Philadelphia, Walz shared that not only was his father a teacher, but that he and his three siblings “followed in his footsteps.” He, like two of his three siblings, married a teacher. His wife, Gwen, has been a “public educator” for 29 years. “Don’t ever underestimate teachers,” Walz told the crowd amid cheers. 

    Trump, by contrast, continues to berate teachers for supposedly indoctrinating children with anti-American ideologies. In his campaign video, he railed against “Marxism being taught in schools” that “is aggressively hostile to Judeo-Christian teaching.” 

    “As the saying goes, personnel is policy, and at the end of the day, if we have pink-haired communists teaching our kids, we have a major problem,” Trump said. 

    He is also promising to create a “new credentialing body” to certify teachers “who embrace patriotic values and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children, but to educate them.” He also wants to abolish teacher tenure, and to give preference in federal funding to states and school districts that support his efforts to do so. 

    Walz has been unafraid to take on some of the more difficult issues around gender identity in schools. While at Mankato West High, he agreed to be the first faculty sponsor of the gay-straight alliance on the campus. “It really needed to be the football coach, who was the soldier and was straight and was married” in the position, he explained. 

    Within minutes of Harris announcing her vice presidential pick, commentators on Fox News were going after Walz for supporting legislation requiring tampons in boys’ bathrooms (actually all bathrooms), along with the more customary GOP critique that both of them will be controlled by teachers’ unions.

    It is impossible to predict just how large a role issues like these will play in the remaining 90 days of this accelerated campaign. But what is clear is that any battles around education will be waged on ideological grounds, rather than on the best policies to improve public education, and, most importantly, what is needed to ensure that all students succeed. 





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  • Pressure from education advocates ends effort to eliminate teacher assessment

    Pressure from education advocates ends effort to eliminate teacher assessment


    Senate Bill 1263 will be heard by the full Assembly if it makes it through the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

    Credit: AP Photo/Terry Chea

    A controversial bill that would have eliminated teaching performance assessments — the last licensure test California teacher candidates are required to take — has been dramatically revised under pressure from education advocacy groups.

    Senate Bill 1263, sponsored by the California Teachers Association (CTA), would have ended the requirement that teacher candidates take video clips of classroom instruction, submit lesson plans, student work and written reflections on their practice to prove they are prepared to become teachers.

    In mid-June, the bill was amended to retain the teaching performance assessments, with a provision that the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing convene a working group of teachers, college education faculty and performance assessment experts to review the assessments and recommend changes. 

    The revised bill, if passed, would require the commission to approve recommendations from the work group by July 1, 2025, and to implement them within three years from that date. The commission also would be required to make annual reports to the Legislature. 

    Leslie Littman, CTA vice president, said that the amendments retaining the test were “disappointing” but that the creation of the work group is a positive step toward addressing the concerns that union members have had with the assessment.

    “I think that the way it was going to go, possibly the bill might not have made it out of the Legislature,” Littman said.

    Many teachers say the test is a waste of time

    Senate Bill 1263 was originally introduced by Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, chair of the Senate Education Committee, who said in April that eliminating the assessment would encourage more people to enter the teaching profession. He also said that it duplicates other requirements teachers must fulfill to earn a credential.

    K-12 teachers who commented on EdSource stories about the legislation were overwhelmingly critical of the assessment, stating that it is too time-consuming, caused anxiety and does not help prepare teachers for the classroom.

    California teacher candidates must pass either the California Teaching Performance Assessment (CalTPA), the Educative Teaching Performance Assessment (edTPA) or the Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers (FAST) before they can earn a preliminary teaching credential. The tests cost $300 total, or $150 per cycle, according to Littman.

    Education advocates call the test a valuable tool

    Proponents of the teacher performance assessments, however, say that eliminating them would have removed a valuable tool for evaluating teacher preparation programs and new teachers.  

    “We know when parents drop kids off at school, the most important thing in front of those kids is that teacher, and they want to make sure … that teacher is prepared to teach effectively, and that’s what the TPAs help do,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice, an education advocacy organization.

    Criticism of the bill to eliminate the assessment grew when its authors amended it in late spring to remove the requirement that candidates for a preliminary, multiple-subject or education specialist credential pass a test that evaluates their ability to teach reading. 

    The move came less than three years after legislators passed Senate Bill 488, which next July will replace the unpopular written Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) with a literacy teaching performance assessment. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing spent more than a year developing the assessment with the help of a working group of literacy experts. 

    Resistance against legislation built

    “Unsurprisingly, we got a little pushback from the Commission on Teaching Credentialing and some other folks who are stakeholders in this, including EdTrust-West and, not unimportantly, PTA groups,” Newman told EdSource on Wednesday. 

    After the legislation moved to the Assembly in late May, Education Committee Chair Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, began meeting with stakeholders, including the California Teachers Association, to discuss possible changes to the legislation. Representatives from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing also made their case for retaining the assessment to legislators.

    Education advocates showed up at a public hearing and also reached out to legislators and their staff, Tuck said. In early June, 13 education advocacy organizations, including EdVoice, signed a letter in opposition to the legislation.

    By June 17, the legislation had changed considerably.

    Legislation charges commission with more oversight 

    Along with retaining the teaching performance assessments, the proposed legislation would require the commission to report the number of teaching preparation programs with low passing rates on the assessment. The commission would be charged with helping these programs learn how to better prepare teacher candidates. 

    The commission also would be required to maintain a secondary passing standard for the assessment that takes into consideration other evidence of a teacher candidate’s performance.

    “ETW is hopeful that SB 1263 will now help to streamline and improve the administration and scoring of TPAs to ensure they are an additive, constructive experience for candidates, and that they do not have a disparate impact for candidates of color,” said Brian Rivas, senior director of policy and government relations for EdTrust-West (ETW), an education advocacy organization, in a letter to Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland. “Doing so is critical for both addressing the state’s shortage of teachers of color and providing all students with teachers who are fully prepared to teach. For these reasons, we are pleased to support SB 1263.”

    The legislation has an annual price tag of $598,000, with $145,000 in start-up costs, according to a state analysis. It is currently being considered by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.  

    Revised bill a good compromise

    Tuck says the revised bill is an example of policy creation working correctly.

    “I think that strong pushback from advocacy organizations, as well as from the CTC (Commission on Teacher Credentialing), really helped to shift the direction of the bill,” he said. 

    Rivas said Newman likely “read the tea leaves” and realized he might have a fight on his hands if he got the bill to the governor’s desk. 

    Newman sees the compromise as a good outcome.

    “Legislation, sort of by definition, is a negotiation,” Newman said. “It was a commitment by the CTC to take a good, hard look and to reassess … the teacher performance assessment, so that it is not only less onerous but that it takes into account the existing demands on teaching candidates and also made sure that the assessment was fully relevant to the kind of skills and requirements that we are seeking from them.”

    The amendments are enough for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, EdTrust-West and other advocacy groups, to change course and support it.

    “The commission welcomes the opportunity to engage with educators, teacher education faculty and the larger communities of interest to review and strengthen this important part of California’s teacher preparation system,” said Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, chair, and Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, in a joint letter to Muratsuchi in late June. “As amended, SB 1263 (Newman) aligns with the commission’s commitment to the process of continuous improvement, and the commission enthusiastically supports its passage.”

    But this doesn’t mean the issue won’t return.

    “It doesn’t preclude us from watching and seeing what happens in this work group,” CTA’s Littman said. “Then it doesn’t stop us down the road from bringing legislation back.” 





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  • New laws impacting education go into effect as the school year begins

    New laws impacting education go into effect as the school year begins


    George Washington Elementary School Principal Gina Lopez welcomes students on the first day of school on July 30.

    Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource

    California students, including those in elementary school, will have better access to mental health care, free menstrual products and information about climate change this school year. The expansion of transitional kindergarten also means there will be more 4-year-old students on elementary school campuses. 

    These and other new pieces of education legislation will go into effect this school year, including a bill that bans schools from suspending students for willful defiance and another that offers college students more transparency around the cost of their courses and the materials they will need to purchase for them. 

    Here are a few new laws that may impact students in the 2024-25 school year.

    Climate change instruction required

    Science instruction in all grades — first through 12th — must include an emphasis on the causes and effects of climate change, and methods to mitigate it and adapt to it. Although many schools are already teaching students about climate change, all schools must incorporate the topic into instruction beginning this school year.

    Content related to climate change appears in some of the state curriculum frameworks, according to an analysis of Assembly Bill 285, the legislation that created the requirement.

    Assemblymember Luz Rivas, D-Arieta, the author of the bill, said the legislation will give the next generation the tools needed to prepare for the future and will cultivate a new generation of climate policy leaders in California.

    “Climate change is no longer a future problem waiting for us to act upon — it is already here,” Rivas said in a statement. “Extreme climate events are wreaking havoc across the globe and escalating in severity each year.”

    Menstrual products in elementary bathrooms

    A new law in effect this year adds elementary schools to the public schools that must offer a free and adequate supply of menstruation products — in order to help younger menstruating students.

    Last school year, the Menstruation Equity for All Act went into effect, requiring public schools serving sixth- through 12th-grade students to provide menstruation products. It affected over 2,000 schools. 

    The new law expands the requirement to public schools that serve third- through fifth-grade students. A Senate analysis of the legislation notes that 10% of menstruation periods begin by age 10, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

    The new law requires affected schools to offer free menstrual products in all-gender bathrooms, women’s bathrooms and at least one men’s bathroom on each campus. The legislation, authored by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes,D-San Bernardino, includes one men’s bathroom on each campus to offer access to transgender boys who menstruate.

    Supporters of the bill note that menstruation isn’t always predictable and can strike at inopportune times, such as during a test. Menstruation products can also be pricey — especially for students who might also be struggling with food insecurity. 

    Girl Scout Troop 76 in the Inland Empire advocated for the bill. Scout Ava Firnkoess said that menstruation access is important to young girls, like her, who started menstruating early. 

    “I have another friend who also started at a young age. She had to use toilet paper and paper towels because she did not have access to menstrual products,” Firnkoess said in a statement. “We think young students who start their periods need to have access to products, not just those who start in sixth grade or later.”

    Younger students on campus

    Elementary students may seem to be getting a little smaller this year, as transitional kindergarten classes are expanded to children who will turn age 5 between Sept. 2 and June 2. 

    Transitional kindergarten, an additional grade before kindergarten, was created for 4-year-old children who turn 5 before Dec. 2. It has been expanded each year since 2022 to include more children aged 4. All 4-year-old students will be eligible in the fall of 2025.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond have celebrated the expansion of transitional kindergarten, pointing to numbers that show enrollment doubled over the past two years, from 75,000 in 2021-22, to 151,000 in 2023-24. However, a recent analysis by CalMatters found that the percentage of children eligible for transitional kindergarten who actually enrolled had gone down 4 to 7 percentage points.

    Colleges must disclose costs

    The typical California college student is expected to spend $1,062 on books and supplies in the 2024-25 academic year, according to the California Student Aid Commission.

    The exact costs can be hard for students to predict, leaving them uncertain about how much money to budget for a given class. Assembly Bill 607, which Newsom signed last year, requires California State University campuses and community colleges to disclose upfront the estimated costs of course materials and fees for some of their courses this school year. The bill asks University of California campuses to do the same, but does not make it a requirement.

    The schools must provide information for at least 40% of courses by Jan. 1 of next year, increasing that percentage each year until there are cost disclosures for 75% of courses by 2028. This year, campuses should also highlight courses that use free digital course materials and low-cost print materials, according to the legislation.

    Proponents of the law, which was co-authored by Assemblymembers Ash Kalra, D-San Jose; Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles; and Sabrina Cervantes, D-Inland Empire, said it will promote price transparency. The bill covers digital and physical textbooks as well as software subscriptions and devices like calculators. 

    A student speaking in support of AB 607 in May 2023 said she felt “helplessly exposed and vulnerable” when she had to appeal to a professor for help covering the surprise costs of a textbook’s online course content.

    “If I would have known that a month ahead of time, I could have organized and evaluated my budget in an effective manner for the entire semester,” said Rashal Azar. “This would have prevented my financial anxiety and not triggered my mental health as well.”

    TK exempt from English language test

    Students enrolled in transitional kindergarten, also known as TK, are no longer required to take the initial English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC). The test, which measures proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English, is required to be taken within 30 days of enrollment in kindergarten through 12th grade, if parents indicate in a survey that their children speak another language at home.

    Previously, transitional kindergartners also had to take the ELPAC when enrolling. But many school district staff and advocates for English learners said the test was not designed for 4-year-old children and that it was not identifying English learners accurately, because the children were too young to answer questions correctly.

    The California Department of Education has directed school districts to mark children’s English language acquisition status as “to be determined” in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, if their parents indicate on the home language survey that their primary or native language is a language other than English. These students will take the initial ELPAC when they begin kindergarten the following year.

    Californians Together, which advocates for English learners, and Early Edge California, which advocates for quality early education for all children, were among the organizations that celebrated the bill.

    “As the parent of bilingual children and a dual language learner myself, I deeply appreciate Governor Newsom, Assemblymember (Al) Muratsuchi, and California’s legislators for supporting our young multilingual learners by championing AB 2268,” said Patricia Lozano, executive director of Early Edge California in a news release. “This bill will create more support tailored to their needs and strengths, so they can learn and thrive from the early years onward.”

    Kids can consent to mental health care

    A new law that took effect in July makes it easier for children on Medi-Cal who are 12 or older to consent to mental health treatment inside and outside of schools. Children older than 12 on private insurance can already consent to mental health care without parental consent.

    Previously, students in this age group could only consent to mental health treatment without parental approval under a limited number of circumstances: incest, child abuse or serious danger, such as suicidal ideation.

    “From mass shootings in public spaces and, in particular, school shootings, as well as fentanyl overdoses and social media bullying, young people are experiencing a new reality,” said Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, D-Los Angeles, author of the bill. “The new law is about “making sure all young people, regardless if they have private health insurance or are Medi-Cal recipients, have access to mental health resources.”

    Children who need mental health care but do not have consent from their parents could potentially seek help from social media and other online resources of sometimes dubious quality, according to the legislation.

    The legislation allows mental health professionals to determine whether parental involvement is “inappropriate” and also whether the child in question is mature enough to consent.

    California Capitol Connection, a Baptist advocacy group, opposed the bill, stating, “In most cases, a parent knows what is best for their child.”

    This is not strictly an education bill, but it does affect schools. The law notes that school-based providers, such as a credentialed school psychologist, find that some students who want to avail themselves of mental health resources are not able to get parental consent.

    No willful defiance suspensions

    Beginning this school year, and for the next five years, California students across all grade levels cannot be suspended for willful defiance.

    Acts of willful defiance, according to Senate Bill 274, include instances where a student is intentionally disruptive or defies school authorities. Instead of being suspended, these students will be referred to school administrators for intervention and support.

    SB 274 builds on previous California legislation that had already banned willful defiance suspensions among first-through-eighth-grade students, and had banned expulsions for willful defiance across the board. 

    Studies show that willful defiance suspensions disproportionately impact Black male students and increase the likelihood of students dropping out of school.

    Los Angeles Unified, Oakland Unified, San Francisco Unified and other school districts have already banned the practice.

    SB 274 would apply to all grades TK through 12 in both traditional public schools and charters. The bill would also prohibit schools from suspending or expelling students for being tardy or truant.

    Schools can’t ‘out’ students

    After Jan. 1, California schools boards will not be permitted to pass resolutions requiring teachers and staff to notify parents if they believe a child is transgender. 

    Newsom signed the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth, or SAFETY Act, in July in response to the more than a dozen California school boards that proposed or passed parental notification policies in just over a year. At least seven California school districts passed the policies, often after heated public debate.

    The policies require school staff to inform parents if a child asks to use a name or pronoun different from the one assigned at birth, or if they engage in activities and use facilities designed for the opposite sex. 

    The new law protects school staff from retaliation if they refuse to notify parents of a child’s gender preference. The legislation also provides additional resources and support for LGBTQ+ students at junior high and high schools.

    “Politically motivated attacks on the rights, safety and dignity of transgender, nonbinary and other LGBTQ+ youth are on the rise nationwide, including in California,” said Assemblymember Chris Ward, D-San Diego, who introduced the legislation along with the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.





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  • The rise of microschools: A wake-up call for public education

    The rise of microschools: A wake-up call for public education


    Superintendent Michael Matsuda speaks with students in a technology classroom in Anaheim Union High School District.

    Courtesy: Anaheim Union High School District

    The demise of great corporations like Kodak, Sears and others serves as a stark reminder of the perils of failing to innovate and evolve with consumer demands. Kodak famously ignored the rise of digital cameras despite inventing the technology itself. Similarly, Sears, once a retail giant, failed to adapt to the changing landscape of e-commerce. These cases highlight a common theme: success breeds complacency, whereby nimble competitors can quickly exploit new technologies and consumer trends. 

    Will public education, ensconced in outdated brick-and-mortar buildings and traditions, be next? 

    The pandemic forced schools to close but did not necessarily stifle learning. New models of teaching, such as neighborhood learning pods run informally by local parents, called “microschools,” were created. These microschools, many now monetized for profit, have grown exponentially, serving over 1.5 million K-12 students, mostly unregulated and taught by noncertified, noncertificated “teachers.”  The jury is still out on this new model, but, in the meantime, microschools are gaining momentum with parents who want more choices for their children.

    Arguably, the rise of microschools poses a significant threat to the traditional public school system, challenging its long-standing dominance in the American educational landscape. While California doesn’t specifically track homeschools or microschools, the number of private schools with fewer than five students has more than doubled to nearly 30,000 from prepandemic 2018-19 to 2023-24.

    Microschools, with their aggressive marketing to adapt quickly to the evolving needs of students and families, offer a “fresh” approach to education that starkly contrasts with the bureaucratic, often stagnant nature of public schools. As microschools grow in popularity, they expose the deep-rooted issues within the public education system, particularly its resistance to change and reliance on traditions tethered to a “teach to the test” culture making schools mostly unengaging and irrelevant to students’ lives. 

    According to a recent article in Politico, startup companies backed by investors like Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, act as the support system for teachers running microschools by handling issues like leasing classrooms, getting state approval and recruiting students. One such startup, Primer, recruits the “top 1 percent” of teachers and pays them 25% more than they would make on a school district salary. The company also offers teachers a revenue share for bringing in more students, treating them as “entrepreneurs.” It doesn’t currently operate in California, but is planning on expanding to more states. 

    Microschools, which typically serve small groups of students in personalized learning environments, have gained traction as families seek more flexible and tailored educational options. This flexibility is particularly appealing in an era when traditional education models are increasingly seen as one-size-fits-all, leaving many students either unchallenged or overwhelmed.

    One strength of microschools is their ability to innovate rapidly. Unlike public schools, which are often bogged down by layers of bureaucracy, microschools can implement new teaching methods, curricula and integrate technologies quickly. This agility allows them to meet the needs of students who may not thrive in a traditional classroom setting, such as those with learning disabilities, gifted students or children who simply learn better outside the confines of a traditional school day.

    However, without regulation or oversight, uninformed parents and students may be shortchanged in that classes are often not taught by well-prepared certificated teachers (who are more likely to be steeped in the science of learning and development) and schools may exclude students who do not “fit” into the model, thereby leading to more segregation and “otherness” — not a good outcome for society. Unfortunately, because of a lack of accountability, it is unknown whether microschools are meeting their student learning outcomes or preparing students for college and career readiness.

    In stark contrast to the nimble nature of microschools, public schools are often viewed as educational behemoths — large, slow-moving institutions that struggle to adapt to the changing needs of students and society. This inflexibility is rooted in the very structure of the public education system, which is designed to serve large numbers of students in a standardized manner, which is seen as outdated in a world that demands more personalized and flexible approaches to education.

    Furthermore, the bureaucratic and compliance-driven nature of public schools often stifles innovation. This makes it difficult for schools to implement new ideas or respond quickly to the needs of their students. In contrast, microschools, which are often run by small teams of educators or even parents, can make decisions quickly and adapt to new challenges as they arise.

    The growing popularity of microschools represents a significant threat to the traditional public school system. As more families opt for microschools, public schools may find themselves facing declining enrollment, which could lead to reduced funding and resources. This, in turn, could exacerbate the challenges that public schools already face, such as overcrowded classrooms, insufficient funding, and a lack of access to modern educational tools and technologies.

    Moreover, the growth of microschools highlights the shortcomings of public schools and puts pressure on them to reform. As parents and policymakers become increasingly aware of microschools, they may demand more flexibility, choice, and innovation from the public education system. 

    The threat posed by microschools is not just a challenge to the public education system, but also an opportunity for redesign and reform. If public schools are to remain relevant in the face of growing competition from microschools, they must find ways to become more flexible, innovative and responsive to the needs of their students. This may involve rethinking traditional methods of instruction, reducing bureaucratic obstacles, and placing a greater emphasis on personalized learning augmented by technology. 

    There are a number of obstacles to innovation. One is the difficulty in shifting from a traditional “seat based” instruction, tethered to the old Carnegie unit of attendance, to more “work-based” instruction to support internships, mastery grading and flexible scheduling. Another requires a mind shift beyond a top-down standardized test culture to teaching to the “whole child” with a focus on relevance and engagement. 

    As microschools continue to grow in popularity, public schools must either find ways to innovate and meet the demands of today’s students or risk becoming increasingly irrelevant in the rapidly evolving educational landscape.

    •••

    Michael Matsuda is superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the authors. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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