Republicans are struggling to get the votes they need to pass Trump’s budget bill. They have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, and they need almost every Republican vote to put the bill through. Much of the debate focuses on the fate of Medicaid.
Medicaid and Medicare are often confused. Medicare is health insurance for senior citizens, funded by their lifetime deductions from their income. Medicaid is health insurance for low-income persons.
Trump and most of the party want to cut Medicaid to pay for the Trump tax cuts, which are focused on high-income individuals and corporations. Even with deep cuts to Medicaid, the tax cuts will increase the deficits.
Hello from just outside the chambers of House Speaker Mike Johnson.
I am waiting with a handful of other reporters as a small group of House Republicans try to work out a compromise over the party’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill.” (I am looking for a shorthand for the bill, perhaps OB3?)
Republicans do not have the votes for this — yet. But they could agree at any point in the next day or two. If not, they face a weekend standoff or the possibility of leaving for Memorial Day recess without the progress Johnson has promised.
There is much at stake here. We’d like to pull off one major piece and break down some highlights. Let’s talk about Medicaid.
The basics
Medicaid is the federal health care program for low-income Americans.
CHIP is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which, along with states, provides health care for kids whose families can’t afford health care but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.
Medicaid expansion is a program in which the federal government pays 90 percent of the cost for any state that expands Medicaid to include those making up to 138 percent of poverty. In 2025, that is $21,597 a year for individuals or $44,367 for families of four.
The federal government and states share the costs of Medicaid. But the rate of federal sharing varies by state, based on a formula.
Something called FMAP, the Federal Matching Assistance Program, helps determine how much each state gets, based on the state’s average income level. These range from a 50 to 77 percent match in the states.
But that match rate is just one half of the formula. The other is how much states spend. Medicaid is often the largest single expenditure for any state. The largest portion of money comes from the state’s general fund or general budget.
But states also use something called a “provider tax,” which is a fee charged on health care providers. Think nursing homes or hospitals.
Here is the thing about the provider tax. It is a system whereby states can actually profit.
Think about it this way. States charge hospitals and nursing homes a fee. They spend that fee on Medicaid, upping the amount the federal government must match. (More state spending triggers more federal match.) And then those federal dollars go back to the state and to the providers, as people get care. So states and providers don’t lose money, in theory.
But they trigger more federal matching.
Why it matters
Fiscal conservative holdouts who oppose the current “One Big Beautiful Bill” want action on these provider taxes and potentially on the FMAP level.
But the latest draft instead reforms Medicaid primarily by setting up new work requirements for “able-bodied” people, or those without disabilities, in the program. That requirement is currently set to phase in over the next two years.
Per the Congressional Budget Office, this Republican Medicaid plan would lead to 8.6 million Americans losing their health insurance over the next decade.
(Changes to the Affordable Care Act would lead to millions more losing coverage, per CBO.)
Republicans argue that these are programs the United States cannot afford.
And all of it revolves around precisely how Medicaid works, and how states pay for it.
School is back in session. In California, we ended the prior school year with promising data that student attendance rates throughout the state are rising from historic lows during the pandemic. While having students in seats is cause for celebration, we must ensure that we have enough teachers in classrooms.
The initiative we should be champing at the bit to implement is high-impact tutoring: tutoring in one-on-one situations or very small groups meeting at least 30 minutes, three or more times a week. Here’s why this is an effective, scalable way to provide students with high-quality educators:
You can’t argue with data. Research shows that high-dosage tutoring is one of the most effective ways to help students make academic progress. Yet few students actually receive it. A recent study from Stanford University demonstrated the many positive effects of tutoring, including increased reading and math scores, attendance and a feeling of belonging. Teach For America’s (TFA) tutoring program, the Ignite Fellowship, finds and develops tutors who connect virtually with students during the school day. Fellows, who are paid for their work, are supported by a school-based veteran educator to customize instruction. Seventy-one percent of the 3,500 students across the country being tutored by Ignite fellows meet their semester-long reading and math goals.
Tutoring is a pipeline to teaching. Teacher morale is an ongoing issue. Because teaching is so unique, it can be hard to fully prepare aspiring educators for what it’s like to lead a classroom. Tutoring serves as a way for college students to step behind the wheel, with a professional providing roadside assistance before they are given full control. This can be key to teacher recruitment and retention — before people fully enlist in becoming a teacher, they have the opportunity to see if this profession is right for them. AmeriCorps, which also invests in employing young people as tutors to help them jump-start service-oriented careers, has found that more than half of its tutors hope to pursue a career in education after their service. When teachers are more confident stepping into their classrooms, students are the ones who reap the rewards.
Tutors ease the burden for teachers. Tutors can focus on small groups or individual sessions with students — something that lead teachers don’t always have the capacity to do. This way, tutors can address specific learning gaps for individual students, meeting more individual and diverse needs, and allowing students to build authentic relationships with multiple educators/mentors. I have had teachers tell me they wish they could clone themselves so they could work with more students to meet different needs and speeds. In our reality, tutors may be the closest thing we have to clones.
Prioritizing diversity. To provide a diverse experience for our nation’s students, we must have their educators — their role models — reflect them. This means we should prioritize recruiting and retaining teachers of color. Throughout California’s public schools, 77% of the K-12 population is composed of students of color, whereas only 37% of educators identify as people of color. This kind of ratio is true for Los Angeles, where I am based. That’s why I’m excited to be welcoming the Ignite Fellowship to schools throughout Los Angeles (and expanding even further throughout California) this year, helping bring more diverse and locally rooted teachers into classrooms. People of color face historically more hurdles than white people in the workforce, and this is even more extreme in the teaching profession. Tutoring is a way to expand the diversity of the teacher pipeline and can increase students’ access to educators from diverse backgrounds. Virtual programs like Ignite also allow for more flexibility and accessibility, meaning fewer hurdles for aspiring teachers to become tutors, and more opportunities for students to connect with tutors and mentors.
The school year may already be underway, but the reality is that schools will be fighting to staff their classrooms all year. Anything we can do to mitigate the detrimental effects that understaffed schools have on students should be a priority. Investing in tutors is an actionable way to help staff schools with diverse educators, with an added benefit of creating a pipeline of tomorrow’s teachers.
We have the proof that it will help our students, so what are we waiting for?
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Lida Jennings is the executive director of Teach For America Los Angeles and San Diego.
The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. We welcome guest commentaries with diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Teacher apprentice Ja’net Williams helps with a math lesson in a first grade class at Delta Elementary Charter School in Clarksburg.
Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource
This article, originally published on Sept. 14, 2022, has been updated to reflect changes in state law that impact teacher credentialing requirements in California.
Over the last decade, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California legislators have poured billions of dollars of state money into special grants and programs to recruit, train and retain educators in order to ease the state’s persistent teacher shortage. Lawmakers have, since the pandemic, also made permanent changes to teacher credentialing requirements to make it easier to become a teacher.
Teacher candidates have many choices. They can take the traditional route — attend a teacher preparation program and complete student teaching — or they can take part in a residency, apprenticeship or internship program that allows them to complete required coursework while teaching.
Residencies
Prospective teachers can apply for residency programs through a university teacher preparation program that operates in partnership with one or more school districts. During their residency, candidates are paired with experienced teachers for a year of clinical training and are usually paid a stipend.
Internships
Teacher candidates can also enroll in a commission-approved district intern program or a university internship program. Both allow candidates who have bachelor’s degrees to teach while they complete their teacher preparation coursework. Instead of being a student teacher, interns are generally the primary teacher in the classroom. They hold intern credentials until they complete the requirements for a preliminary credential.
Apprenticeships
There are also apprenticeship programs that allow teacher candidates to work as a paid member of school staff, while they gain clinical experience and complete their bachelor’s degree and a teacher preparation program. Generally, they receive free or reduced-price tuition.
Most apprenticeship programs in California are limited to early childhood education, but the state is developing a registered apprenticeship program for K-12 teachers that will greatly expand access.
Classified school employee program
The state also has a California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program, which offers financial assistance and academic guidance to school staff who want to complete an undergraduate degree and earn a teaching credential. The staff members must work in districts that have been awarded a grant through the state.
College students who know they want to be a teacher before completing their degree can select a university that offers an integrated undergraduate program that allows them to complete teacher preparation coursework during their undergraduate education.
Choose a teaching credential
Most California teachers hold one of three basic teaching credentials — multiple-subject, single-subject and education specialist. Multiple-subject credentials are for elementary school teachers, single-subject credentials are generally for middle and high school teachers who teach one subject, and an education specialist credential is for special education teachers.
There also is a newly authorized PK-3 early childhood education specialist instruction credential. The credential is intended to meet the need for qualified teachers specially trained to teach preschool through third grade students.
But before earning a clear credential, all teachers must first earn a preliminary credential and complete a two-year induction program. The induction program provides additional training and mentorship during the first two years of teaching. Teachers with preliminary credentials who are nationally board certified in either early childhood or middle childhood do not have to participate in induction.
To earn a preliminary teaching credential, a teacher must have:
A bachelor’s degree.
Completed an accredited teacher preparation program.
Completed 600 hours of student teaching.
Been fingerprinted and passed a background check.
Taken required tests or completed university-approved coursework.
Completed a course or passed a test on the provisions and principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Earned a recommendation from their teacher preparation program.
A preliminary credential is good for five years.
Tests and their alternatives
Teachers must prove they have the skills needed to educate students. Before the pandemic, tests were traditionally used to determine if a teacher candidate was ready for a teacher preparation program or the classroom, but new legislation gives them the option to use university-approved coursework or a college degree in most cases. Teacher candidates can check with their teacher preparation program administrator to determine which courses to take or have their transcript evaluated by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Basic skills requirement
For years, teachers have been required to take the California Basic Educational Skills Test or otherwise prove they have the basic skills to teach – generally, before they begin a teacher preparation program. The 2024-25 state budget trailer bill has removed the requirement for those who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Subject-matter competence
Teacher candidates are required to demonstrate proficiency in the subject they will teach before they can earn a credential. This has traditionally been done by passing the appropriate tests in the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, or CSET, but teachers can have the option to take coursework or a combination of tests in the CSET and coursework to satisfy this requirement.
Teacher candidates also can complete a bachelor’s degree in the subject area of the credential they are seeking. A teacher preparation program will evaluate the major to see if it is acceptable, but the Commission on Teacher Credentialing will make the call for candidates who have a degree major that aligns with a statutory single-subject area, and who are applying to the commission directly for credentials, such as those seeking emergency-style permits.
Reading Instruction Competence Assessment
The RICA measures how well candidates for multiple-subject credentials and education specialists teach reading. The test is scheduled to be eliminated in 2025 when it will be incorporated into the Teacher Performance Assessment, which requires teachers to demonstrate their ability to teach.
Performance assessment
Once a teacher is in the classroom, they are required to complete a performance assessment that demonstrates how well they assess students, design instruction, organize subject matter and perform other skills. There are three assessment models — the California Teaching Performance Assessment, edTPA and Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers. Each requires that teachers 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.
Special education credentials
Special education candidates must complete all the basic requirements of other teachers, as well as instruction in one of four areas — mild to moderate support needs; extensive support needs; deaf and hard of hearing, visual impairments; and early childhood special education — to earn a credential in that specialty.
Out-of-state teachers
Teachers moving to California must submit their college transcripts and a copy of their out-of-state teaching license, as well as proof they have been fingerprinted to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
To avoid taking unnecessary tests and training, the commission recommends that applicants submit their score on out-of-state basic skills tests and proof of two years or more of teaching experience.
Where to apply
Applications for California-prepared teachers are generally submitted by the teacher preparation program to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Out-of-state applicants must submit documents directly to the commission. It generally takes about 50 business days for the commission to process applications. Application fees vary depending on the document, but generally are under $100 each.
Trees are teaching tools at the Berkeley Forest School. Credit: Courtesy of the Berkeley Forest School
At a forest school, the roof is the bright blue sky, a cluster of ladybugs flying through the air can turn into a science lesson and the fog lingering on your face becomes an example of the water cycle.
Learning amid the leaves is the core of the curriculum in outdoor early learning programs, which often focus on children aged 3 to 5. Mother Nature provides the classroom where the littlest learners can dig up snake skins, bury treasure maps and climb trees, steeping in the myriad wonders of life.
Yet, that’s the exception to the rule these days, as many preschool children spend too much time indoors huddled around screens. Despite the fact that time in nature increases opportunities for play and exercise, boosting children’s health and development and reducing hyperactivity — the bane of our short-attention span era — most American preschoolers don’t get enough time outdoors, according to a new national report from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).
“Outdoor nature-based learning is vital for young children’s health, development, and education,” according to the report, which was written by W. Steven Barnett, the institute’s senior co-director and founder, and Kate Hodges, an early childhood education policy specialist. “Increased screen time and reduced exposure to nature are linked to serious health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, hyperactivity, stress, asthma, and allergies.”
Sharpening a sense of stillness, calm and focus is easier for children in a natural setting, experts say. Amid the post-pandemic rise in child behavioral issues, some suggest that outdoor education might be an antidote to shattered attention spans and frayed nerves.
“The kids are play-deprived,” said Angela Hanscom, a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of Timbernook, a research-backed therapeutic play program. “Once they dive deep into the play, they calm down. It’s very interesting to watch. Being outside also helps you get you into an alert state of mind, which is ideal for the brain.”
Giving children enough time for free play, experts say, may make it easier for them to sit quietly at their desk later. As with many aspects of the educational system, the risks of getting stuck too long indoors are elevated for low-income students, according to the institute’s report.
“These issues are particularly concerning for low-income children who often have limited access to safe outdoor spaces. By prioritizing nature-based learning in early childhood programs, states can help mitigate these health risks.”
Hanscom notes that in an attempt to keep kids safe, we may have unwittingly put them in a new kind of danger. Some of the children she works with now require the kind of physical therapy, particularly balance and flow exercises, that were previously reserved for the geriatric. We force children to sit still at an age when they are built to move, she says, which has hampered their development.
“Their neurological system is not developing properly,” Hanscom said. “We’re overly restricting children’s ability to move and play in pretty profound ways, and we’re actually causing harm to their development now. They’re literally falling out of the chairs and they’re having trouble paying attention, and they’re becoming more and more clumsy in their environment.”
The lack of nature exposure in many kindergarten programs is ironic given that the term originated with visionary 19th century educator Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten movement, “who believed that children are like flowers and need care and cultivation to grow and blossom, hence the name,” notes Barnett. Froebel’s original program featured an actual garden in which children each tended to their own plots.
“Learning through nature was an important part of the program,” said Barnett. “Froebel also emphasized the preparation of highly proficient teachers, so it was not just the outdoor/nature aspect that has been lost.”
Rethinking the preschool experience to include the myriad wonders of the natural world is part of the purpose of the report. There is much to be learned from stomping through puddles, scrambling over fallen logs and digging in the dirt with sticks, some say.
Students explore at the Berkeley Forest School. Credit: Courtesy of the Berkeley Forest School
“Considering that many preschool children attend for at least four to six hours per day, leaders should consider whether 30-60 minutes of outdoor time is sufficient,” said Barnett. “Many lessons can also be learned from forest or outdoor preschools in which children interact with a natural landscape and spend the entire preschool day outside.”
Rooted in the Scandinavian education tradition, forest schools got a huge boost in popularity during the pandemic as a safe way to keep learning going even when buildings were closed. There are roughly 800 nature preschools in the U.S., a 200% increase since 2017, according to a survey by the Natural Start Alliance.
Science has long suggested that children’s mental and academic health can be buttressed by increasing exposure to nature while decreasing time online. One report, which distilled the results of 186 studies, noted that most researchers find that time spent in nature contributes to both psychological stability and academic agility. Time spent gazing at glowing screens, meanwhile, has often been associated with poor outcomes, including increased mental illness and diminished cognition. That should not come as a surprise, experts suggest.
“Natural spaces are the context the human body has evolved in,” said Lia Grippo, founder of Wild Roots Forest School in Santa Barbara. “Our bodies expect variations in light, air temperature and movement, sights and sounds far and near, uneven terrain, space for a plethora of movements, and a host of life around us, doing what life does. When these expectations are met, we tend to be alert and relaxed. This is the state we learn best in.”
More outdoor time has also been associated with better executive functioning. One study of 562 Norwegian preschoolers found a link between time spent outdoors and sharpened executive functioning, which includes attention and short-term memory. That study also found a connection between too much time indoors and hyperactivity symptoms.
“Outdoor and nature-based preschool activities contribute to children’s health development directly, support more complex play,” said Barnett, “and offer a teaching tool for children to learn about nature and the environment.”
When Grippo taught at a traditional preschool, she tried hard to get the children outside into green spaces for playtime. She noticed that a lot of behavioral issues disappeared when the little ones were playing in meadows or woodlands. The children were quickly soothed by the pleasures of the natural playground, she said.
“Over time, this pattern became painfully clear,” said Grippo, who learned to forage in the woods as a child in Latvia. “Many of the problems I was working with were in fact problems of the environment rather than the children. Over the next few years, I spent more and more time in natural settings with the children until I finally abandoned the indoor space all together. It was the children who showed me what they needed.”
Anything children encounter in nature can become a springboard to learning, some say. A dead bug can spark a discussion about the circle of life. A muddy stream becomes an art studio for a clay-based art project. A stack of sticks can be the raw material to build a fort in the forest.
“Young children need a tremendous amount of movement in order to develop the capacity for stillness,” said Grippo, president of the California Association of Forest Schools. “They need an environment that offers a rich diversity of experiences with a healthy blend of predictability and novelty, in order to incorporate new information and understanding. They need to feel a part of a large family, larger than just the human family. Nature provides for all of these needs.”
The classroom is outside at many forest schools.credit: Berkeley Forest School
Boosting opportunities for exploration and free play is just one reason that the National Institute for Early Education Research report argues that little children need more outdoor time. Play, some experts suggest, may well be characterized as the superpower of the young. A growing body of research suggests that play may even be a way to help close the achievement gap.
“Just one of the many important reasons for increasing preschoolers’ time in natural spaces is that it improves the amount and quality of young children’s play,” said Barnett. “Research suggests that additional guidance and funding to support outdoor, nature-based learning in preschool settings could lead to positive early childhood educational experiences and cognitive, physical and social-emotional benefits for young learners.”
For the record, California fares better than many states because it requires some outdoor time in its subsidized preschool program, the report suggests, but it fares less well in terms of supporting nature-based schools in general.
“California is among the states with stronger policies because it requires outdoor time every day for a substantial portion of the day, sets standards for air quality for children’s outdoor time, and requires preschool programs to have outdoor space,” said Barnett. “However, it is not one of the leaders with policies specific to outdoor and nature-based programs, which do not always fit well into the usual regulations for preschool and child care programs.”
While California has more outdoor schools than most states, it should be noted that most forest schools aren’t licensed in the Golden State because they often do not have a permanent indoor venue. Washington became the first state to license outdoor preschools in 2019. There are roughly 80 such schools in California, according to the California Association of Forest Schools.
Given its storied roots and the exhaustive research proving its efficacy, why has outdoor education struggled to take root in the American educational system? Why do many assume that schooling should be dominated by fluorescent lighting, asphalt and edtech?
Students at the Berkeley Forest School have story time by the bay.Credit: Courtesy of the Berkeley Forest School
“Inadequate funding explains a lot,” said Barnett. “We don’t invest in preschool teachers and, as a result, many do not have the knowledge and skills needed. Legal worries probably make it seem risky. Public programs tend to be built as cheaply as possible with no consideration for beauty or nature. Even for older children, it is hard to tell the difference between schools and prisons when they are being built.”
While some teachers can’t wait for the latest ed-tech breakthrough to engage their students, others point to the majesty of the natural world and its ability to spark our curiosity.
“Nothing I can do as an educator can begin to approximate the depth and breadth of what the natural world has to offer,” said Grippo. “Nature teaches us to pay attention, expand awareness, move with aliveness and agility, respond to our environment, experience awe, gratitude and love, develop fortitude, make mistakes and try again, and all in a space that makes the body healthier, happier, and smarter.”
Across California, districts squeezed by budget pressures and testing demands are reducing or eliminating PE programs. In the San Bruno Park School District, funding cuts wiped out K-3 PE classes, leaving parent clubs to fill the gap, though two schools still went without PE.
Similarly, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), facing a $113 million budget deficit, restricted Parent Teacher Association (PTA) funds from covering staff, including PE teachers. Parents protested, fearing the loss of PE would push families to private schools.
The emphasis on standardized testing has also contributed to reducing PE programs. Under pressure to improve test scores, schools often prioritize core academic subjects over PE. This shift can lead to cuts in PE teachers and programs. This shortsighted approach neglects student health and deepens inequities for California’s most vulnerable students.
Despite California’s PE mandate — 200 minutes every 10 days for grades 1-6 and 400 minutes for grades 7-12 — compliance is inconsistent, and districts are rarely sanctioned. A study of 55 districts found that half did not meet the requirements, affecting 82% of fifth-graders, with Latino, Black and low-income students most affected. Between 2004 and 2009, audits of 188 districts revealed that half were not following the required PE minutes, yet there were no consequences for the districts.
The health consequences, however, are clear. Research shows students in districts meeting PE mandates are more likely to be physically fit. In compliant districts, 64% of students met or exceeded fitness standards, compared with 57% in noncompliant ones.
A recent study I conducted with my colleague Ruslan Korchagin revealed further disparities: 81.2% of Latino students and 81.3% of American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students scored below average on statewide fitness assessments. Conversely, Asian American and Filipino students (73.2%) and white students (71.3%) performed above average. Socioeconomic factors — access to nutritious food, extracurricular opportunities, and safe spaces for physical activity — drive these inequities.
The Covid-19 pandemic made things worse. California eliminated the physical fitness test in 2020. Currently, schools collect only a pass or fail for physical fitness exercises. Research from 2023 found that lockdowns significantly increased student body-mass indexes and decreased muscular strength, hitting economically disadvantaged and racially marginalized students hardest.
Physical fitness isn’t just a health issue — it’s tied to academic success. Students who exercise regularly perform better in math and reading, demonstrate stronger cognitive skills and experience lower stress levels. While regular physical activity may not directly cause these academic and mental benefits, numerous studies show a strong correlation. The California Department of Education’s data supports this: Schools with higher fitness scores tend to have better overall academic performance.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a potential model for other districts seeking to improve physical education access and quality, even with limited resources. In 2007, the district launched a plan to hire credentialed PE teachers, reduce class sizes and improve facilities. After implementation, 1 in 4 schools reported progress: smaller class sizes, more instructors and increased active time during classes. Notably, some middle and high schools even exceeded the required 40 minutes of PE per day.
LAUSD’s Blueprint for Wellness report highlights the connection between physical education and academic performance, with research suggesting physical education has improved students’ memory, concentration and cognitive function — all of which contribute to stronger academic outcomes among its students.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s current education budget proposal presents an opportunity to address this crisis. Lawmakers must enforce existing physical education requirements across all school districts, hold public hearings to examine disparities in compliance, and include physical fitness scores in the state’s dashboard of key school performance indicators. Additionally, expanding after-school and community fitness programs in underserved neighborhoods and developing culturally inclusive, adaptive PE curricula will help ensure that all students feel represented and engaged.
California has an opportunity to lead the nation in prioritizing school fitness as a cornerstone of student success. Addressing physical education isn’t just about health. It’s about educational equity. Every child, regardless of background, deserves the lifelong benefits of quality PE. It’s time for decisive, urgent action.
•••
Da’Shay Templeton, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at California Lutheran University, a Hispanic-serving institution in Thousand Oaks.
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.
College applications are open for the fall 2025 term, and deadlines are looming.
California’s two public university systems — the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) — provide the state’s students with 32 campuses to choose from.
That’s on top of more than a hundred community colleges that can provide pathways to transfer to other campuses and associate degrees. Some also offer bachelor’s degrees.
Here are the basics of how and when to apply.
When are college applications due?
It depends on the college or university. The UC and CSU deadline for fall 2025 admissions to all undergraduate campuses is Dec. 2, 2024.
Community college admissions do not have a specific deadline, but it’s generally better to apply early. Private colleges and universities have their own deadlines, with most in mid-January.
Who is eligible to apply for California colleges?
To apply to the UC system, students who are residents are required to earn at least a C in the following so-called A-G requirements — and maintain a GPA in those courses above 3.0 during their sophomore and junior years.
Four English classes
Three math classes, though four are recommended
Two science classes, though three are recommended
Two history classes
Two courses in a world language, though three are recommended
One class in the visual or performing arts
One college preparatory elective class
Eligibility for California residents to apply to CSU is similar with respect to the A-G requirements, and applicants must have a GPA above 2.50. Students who do not meet the GPA threshold but have higher than a 2.0 could still be considered for admission with other supplemental factors taken into account.
Those supplemental factors can range from a GPA specific to math and science to household income to extracurricular activities.
Individual campuses have their own supplemental materials, which can be found here.
Standardized tests are not required for the UC or CSU systems.
How many applications do you need to complete?
That depends on the colleges or universities a student is applying to — and whether they’re public or private.
There is a single application for all UC campuses and another for all CSU campuses, so there is no need to apply to each university separately.
Many private colleges and universities, however, rely on the Common Application, which has its own universal essay prompts and allows campuses to customize additional requirements, including essays, short-answer questions and letters of recommendation.
What does the application involve?
In addition to students’ grades, the UC application also requires students to respond to four personal insight questions — or short essays under 350 words. There are eight prompts to pick from. The UC also has applicants expand on their experiences in high school, including a list of extracurricular activities and achievements.
The Cal State application is far simpler, and the main factor considered in the admissions process is a student’s grades in college preparatory classes taken after ninth grade.
Generally, the CSU system does not require writing essays.
For private campuses, essays are often required, along with letters of recommendation.
Are early action and early decision good options?
Early action and early decision give students the opportunity to apply to a college or university early — and also receive their decisions months early.
They are more common options at private colleges and universities — and can be good options if your child is ahead of the game, ready to click “submit” and wants to express a special interest in the campus.
Here’s the main downside of applying early decision: If your child is accepted, they will have to commit to that university and turn down any other offers of admission.
Early action, on the other hand, is generally not binding. So, they can be accepted early and still decide to attend another university.
How much does it cost to apply to colleges?
There is a single application for the UC system, and it costs $80 for every campus selected. Meanwhile, the CSU system charges $70 per campus, and community college applications are free for U.S. residents.
Private campuses vary — but often charge between $50 and $100.
What if you can’t afford the application fees?
The UC system will waive the application fee for up to four campuses in cases where students wouldn’t be able to apply without financial assistance.
Fees can be waived for students who are eligible for AB540 benefits and for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
The application itself will notify students if they are eligible once they add their family’s income and size in the “About you” section.
The CSU system also affords students application fee waivers; and, students automatically find out if they’re eligible once they complete the application.
Eligibility for CSU waivers involves the same criteria as the UC system — but students also have to have been a California resident for at least one year.
Like the UC system, the CSU waiver can apply to a maximum of four campuses.
Several private colleges and universities also provide fee waivers for students who need it.
How do you apply for financial aid?
For federal assistance with financial aid, it’s important to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. In California, students should aim to submit the form — which was revamped last year to make it more straightforward — by March 2025.
The California Dream Act was also updated earlier this year and expanded to also serve students who are U.S. citizens but who have a parent without a Social Security number.
When should you expect to hear back from universities?
Students usually hear back from colleges they’ve applied to in March — unless they apply for early action or early decision.
Nature is a kind of therapy at TimberNook ,where children play in the woods to heal behavorial issues.
credit: TimberNook
Jumping off rocks. Climbing trees. Hanging upside down. Spinning so fast it would make an adult dizzy.
Meet Angela Hanscom, an occupational therapist who has come to the conclusion that children need adventurous activities to develop a healthy sense of body and mind. Not only do children need way more movement than our sedentary society allows them, she suggests, but they need precisely the kinds of movements that make adults gasp, if they are going to thrive.
Angela Hanscom, an occupational therapist who founded TimberNook. credit: TimberNook
Often brought into classrooms to solve behavioral issues, Hanscom realized that children today do not get enough free play, exploration and exercise to allow them to focus properly in school. She began using movement as therapy, helping kids heal through spinning too fast on the merry-go-round and flying too high on the swings.
Hanscom, a mother of three, founded TimberNook in 2013. It began as an experimental therapy program in her own backyard before expanding to three woodland sites in Maine and spreading to franchises nationally.
She recently discussed her philosophy of child development, which is also the theme of her book, “Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children.”
How dangerous is it for children to be too sedentary?
The current research is that kids sit in chairs for about nine hours a day. Being driven to school, being driven home from school, sitting for hours. And then they go home and they have homework. They might have some sports, but a lot of times they’re still in an upright position.
What really needs to happen is kids need to spin in circles. They need to go upside down because inside the inner ear are these little hair cells, and when we move in rapid ways, the fluid in the ears moves back and forth, stimulating those hair cells and developing what we call the vestibular sense. If that’s underdeveloped because kids are not moving enough, then what happens is it can affect what we call sensory integration, which is basically organization of the brain so they can learn.
Why is it important for kids to climb trees and jump off rocks?
It helps you know where your body is in space so you can stay in your seat without falling out. That’s actually an issue. Kids are literally falling out of the chairs in school now. The way we treat that as occupational therapists is that we have kids spin in circles, and that helps them gain more body awareness so they can navigate their environments effectively.
Sometimes I’ll see a kid spinning in circles and I’ll hear an adult say, don’t spin. You’re going to get dizzy or get off that rock, you’re going to get hurt. But if we, as adults, keep them from moving in those ways, we have actually become the barrier to the neurological development that needs to happen so they can become safe in their environment.
credit: TimberNook
Some may call your style of outdoor therapy radical and progressive, others might see it as common sense. How do you describe it?
I think of it more like a restoration. I don’t think this is a progressive idea. As an occupational therapist, for me, the true occupation of a child is play. And outdoor play is a really meaningful one for most of us. Most of us have fond memories of it, but it’s also really at risk. … That’s why it’s so therapeutic. That’s why a lot of therapists will train in this, because they see how healing it is. It’s giving children what you had, what they were always meant to have.
It’s actually a very traditional approach, as opposed to something radical.
Yes, we’re just trying to protect a tradition. We’re saying you can’t touch this. For instance, when we go into schools, teachers aren’t allowed to go into playtime and do teachable moments. We save that for later. This is their time where they have to figure things out. The children need that time.
Have you sort of recreated your own childhood?
Growing up in Vermont, it was a bunch of kids, we’d have like five or six of us. But at TimberNook, it’s like 25 children out in the woods creating societies with natural materials. It’s a dream come true for kids. It’s outdoor play for hours. It challenges them to think creatively.
When did you start collaborating with schools?
We started going to schools with TimberNook in 2017. That was a fascinating process. We’re in 10 schools now, but one in particular, Laconia Christian Academy, is really doing it right. They started it five years ago, and they did it once a week for two hours, TimberNook time at school, and immediately saw benefits. So they increased it to four hours of woodland time.
It’s a very academic school. So when they saw the benefits, they took their half an hour of recess and went to an hour, on top of their four hours of TimberNook time.
Did increasing play time have an impact on academic performance?
During the pandemic they saw no change in academics. If anything, they saw an increase. The headmaster said, we’re seeing joy, we’re seeing kids more resilient, stronger, able to figure out their own problems. So that’s been really interesting. We’re researching that now with the University of New Hampshire on how it’s changing the culture of schools. That study is just starting, but it’s really going to be fascinating, because I think it’s time to rethink what we’re doing in schools.
What lured kids away from playing outside? Screens? Or parental fear of dangers outside?
One of the biggest factors is due to fear. Fear is something that we cannot see, but it is one of the major reasons why parents and schools aren’t providing enough outdoor play time. Fear that there isn’t enough time for play in school settings. The tendency to feel schools need to push more academics. Fear that children will miss out if not playing enough sports at a very really early age. This leads to overscheduling of children for sports. … Screen time is also another major factor. It is highly addictive and is replacing a lot of good old-fashioned playtime. The kind where children are digging in the dirt for hours, rolling down hills, developing the muscles and senses for healthy child development.
For a lot of families, the pandemic meant forcing your kid to stare at a screen for hours for remote learning, and now it’s hard to walk that back.
We’re in a bigger hole than we were before. I think the pandemic unveiled a lot of the issues and then just made it worse, unfortunately.
Are you optimistic that we can try to make that change as a society?
I really think people are waking up. I think the time is now, there’s so much interest, and everyone you talk to now knows that this is an issue.
While we wait for the governor’s budget — and a much leaner projection for public education funding — many district and charter school officials have started making significant cuts in preparation for the upcoming school year.
Unfortunately, at a time when every dollar matters, charter schools serving some of California’s highest-need students are getting shortchanged.
Critical dollars following each and every student is a fundamental construct in our state’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Schools and districts that serve a higher number of high-need students — English learners, low-income students, and foster youth — get additional funding in the form of supplemental grants for each student, along with concentration grants for schools where more than 55% of the student body is from at least one of those student groups. These funds are meant to follow the students and be invested in their programmatic needs.
Unfortunately, the only exception is if these students attend a public charter school.
Current law caps the concentration grant funding for charter schools at the unduplicated pupil percentage of high-need students in the school district in which they are physically located. This restriction disproportionately affects students and families who attend charter schools in districts where the percentage of high-need students is lower than that of individual charter schools. For example, 82% of Oakland Unified’s students are eligible for the additional funding, but many charter schools in East Oakland serve student populations with unduplicated high-need student percentages ranging from 85% to 99%. Yet concentration funding for these charter schools is capped at 82% despite their serving a higher percentage of high-need students. This is also true for many charter schools in the LA area, in the wider Bay Area, as well as across the state.
A new bill seeks to correct this inequity by ensuring that dollars actually follow students to their schools.
Assembly Bill 1062 would enable charter schools serving greater percentages of high-need students than their district to apply for a waiver to receive concentration grant funding based on their actual student population, rather than being capped at the local district average.
Take for example Lodestar: A Lighthouse Community Public School in the Sobrante Park community in deep East Oakland. Like many communities impacted by the pandemic, the school’s demographics have shifted over the last five years. Today, Lodestar serves a student population where 98% of the students have high needs, including 47% English learners, 8% newcomers to our country, 17% qualifying for special education services, and 5% homeless. Should they be expected to meet their community’s needs at “82 on the dollar” while still being expected to meet the state’s stringent charter renewal criteria brought on by Assembly Bill 1505? (This 2019 law requires charters to outperform state averages on standardized tests and other measures to qualify for streamlined approval.)
Shouldn’t dollars that are directly tied to students and families follow them regardless of the school a family chooses for their child?
Many charter schools and charter management organizations that serve East Oakland exist to provide strong school choice options to students and families in historically under-resourced communities. It’s not surprising that one-third of Oakland students have selected charter schools. Over the last three years, Oakland’s charter high schools have had college readiness A-G completion rates for African American and Latino students that are significantly higher than at district high schools.
Despite Oakland’s rich history of political activism for historically marginalized and under-resourced families, this clause in the funding formula prohibiting charter schools from fully accessing these funds has not been studied nor evaluated.
The Assembly Education Committee has an opportunity to consider and address this funding inquiry. This committee, which includes progressive assembly members from the Bay Area and greater Los Angeles area, can advocate for public dollars following each student for their education and future impact.
It’s time to ensure that state funding follows students equitably, so they are not penalized for choosing to attend a public charter school.
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Rich Harrison is CEO of Lighthouse Community Public Schools, which operates two K-12 public charter schools serving more than 1,600 students in East Oakland.
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.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) voted 5-2 to develop its new cellphone ban last August — placing the district more than a year ahead of the state’s requirement for districts to limit the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026. Students should expect to have their cellphones off and tucked away starting on Tuesday.
District officials hope that keeping students away from their phones will both boost academic performance and support their mental health.
“Kids no longer have the opportunity to just be kids,” said school board member Nick Melvoin, who authored the initial resolution, in a statement released by the district. “I’m hoping this resolution will help students not only focus in class, but also give them a chance to interact and engage more with each other — and just be kids.”
Here’s what parents and students need to know about what lies ahead.
Where will students’ phones be kept?
It depends on how each campus plans to implement the district policy.
In some schools or classrooms, students might simply have to turn off their phones and put them into their backpacks. In other schools, students will have to place their phones into a storage unit, including pouches that are sealed magnetically.
Are there any exceptions to the rule?
Yes, students who need access to their phones for health-based reasons — or because they have an individualized education program or 504 plan — will be able to hold on to their devices. Students who need help with language translation will also be excused from the policy, along with students who have any other local needs.
What about cases where there is an emergency?
Whether students can access their devices during emergencies has been one of the larger concerns of parents and other community members.
In short, if there is an emergency, students will be granted access to their devices if staff members decide it is safe for them to have them.
But, if a student asks to use their cellphone because they believe there is a potential threat, they won’t immediately be able to do so. Instead, the school will have to complete a threat assessment and develop a safety plan; depending on what they find, students may be granted access.
Can my child have devices other than cellphones?
No. The ban also applies to other devices that “provide similar smartphone functionality,” according to a district presentation. These devices include earbuds, smartwatches and smart glasses.
Will phones have to be tucked away all day — or just when learning is taking place?
Yes, cellphones and similar devices will have to be tucked off and away throughout the school day, including during lunch and any other breaks.
Students will be allowed to use their phones on campus before and after school hours, however.
What are the ramifications for students if they don’t comply?
Verbal reminders and referrals to a counselor or other campus designee would be given to students who are seen with a device. School administrators could also contact a student’s parent or guardian.
Will individual campuses be able to tweak things as they see fit?
Local School Leadership Councils throughout the district — composed of school personnel, parents, students and community members — will work to determine how best to implement the policy at their sites.
LAUSD’s policy requires each school to hold a Local School Leadership Council meeting while the cellphone policies are being implemented.
For school leaders, artificial intelligence (AI) might feel like the latest shiny new thing to tackle in education.
With ethical questions to reflect on, it may be shiny, but computer science teachers will tell you it’s not new — it’s been part of computer science education for 60 years.
Computer science is foundational to learning about artificial intelligence, including thinking critically about AI’s ethics and impacts, data and algorithms, and equipping students to use technology responsibly. Like learning to drive a car, it’s good to know what’s under the hood, and be aware of the dangers, troubleshoot problems, know where you’re going and how to get there safely. If technology is driving the future, how can we prepare students to do the steering if they do not learn computer science in school?
Yet, only 5% of California students take computer science in high school, something we need urgent action to change.
A high-quality computer science education offers a new way of teaching in the currency students understand best: with their technological devices. Learning to think computationally — using algorithms to construct learning — can be a tool for engaging students to think critically about technology’s influence in making meaning of their world. Whether we like it or not, the choice facing us now is: either we teach students how to use technology safely and be justice-minded creators of it, or risk students’ harm of getting used and manipulated by it.
Despite widespread use of technology, school leaders are overwhelmed with decisions about teaching with AI tools and teaching about artificial intelligence in the classroom. Research conducted by the UCLA Computer Science Equity Project affirms that administrators struggle to juggle their overflowing plate of responsibilities. But instead of seeing AI as yet another thing to fit into the school schedule — one of the main reasons more schools aren’t offering computer science — understanding how it’s part of a high-quality computer science education can help expand access to this foundational learning.
California’s computer science (CS) strategic implementation plan serves as a road map to realizing the state’s vision that all schools offer computer science education and all teachers are prepared to teach it. To make good on that plan, the Legislature funded the Educator Workforce Investment Grant, to provide professional learning in computer science for thousands of California’s educators. This comprehensive model of professional development, Seasons of CS, equips educators with knowledge and skills to engage students with culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy aligned with the state’s computer science standards (which classifies AI as a sub-discipline of computer science).
California, a hub of innovation across industries, has made significant efforts to prioritize equity, access and engagement in computer science education, but remarkably, California lags behind the national average and 38 other states in the percentage of high schools offering at least one computer science course. As of 2021, just 34% of schools serving high proportions of Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Pacific Islander students offered computer science courses, compared with 52% of schools serving a greater proportion of white and Asian students. Despite student interest in computer science, not enough schools prioritize it because they are not held accountable for it by the state.
Educators need support bringing computer science to every student, regardless of their background, and school leaders have a role to play in bridging this gap. District and county-level supervisors can leverage state-level initiatives like the Math, Science, Computer Science Partnership Grant to build a pathway with more computer science class offerings that are integrated into other subjects.
To ensure every student has access to this foundational knowledge that prepares them for college, careers and community engagement, every school should offer computer science education. This year, Assemblymember Marc Berman is re-introducing legislation that will add California to the list of states whose schools are required to offer CS. Assembly Bill 887 would require every high school to offer at least one course in computer science by the 2028-29 school year, with support for schools in rural and urban areas.
Regardless of a student’s post-high school plan, computer science can help students grapple with the good and bad of technology, including effects of social media, biased algorithms that lead to inequitable outcomes, and controversial issues around privacy and disinformation that influences our democracy. All students should have access to the foundational learning computer science provides, building critical skills for our students’ future, no matter whether their future career is in tech or not.
It’s not easy keeping up with the rapid change of technology’s newest tools, but one thing is clear: Computer science education can inspire students to become competent and confident navigating online life. Expanding access to opportunities to teach and learn computer science and ensuring all schools offer it, will help respond to the ever-changing landscape of technology and prepare students for our digital future.
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.
