Education

Small and low-income school officials say the bond measure deal is unfair. The money is allocated through matching grants, so wealthier districts that can raise more local funds will get more money from the state.

The money will pay for repairs and upgrades at thousands of K-12 school and community college buildings.

Counties with large areas of public land get federal funding that many rural schools rely on. The most recent round of payments in May – $33.7 million for California – will be the last unless Congress votes to extend the program.

The measure’s author said it would compete with other priorities this year, including an effort to fend off a proposed constitutional amendment to punish retail thieves and another to restrict forced labor in prisons. He wants to propose it for a future election season.

California's so-called Gifted and Talented Education program can be socially limiting and psychologically hurtful for students. Excluding students on standard or remedial tracks from these courses can equally cap their potential.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown's commitment to shoring up the state's rainy day reserves, particularly for K-12 education, is helping schools avoid more significant cuts as California addresses a massive deficit.

Public school funding is the largest chunk of California's state budget. It's also the most contentious, as a new squabble over Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget proposal indicates.

Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the community school initiative with $4.1 billion in grants to connect students and their families to medical care, counseling and other services.

The so-called "blue" economy is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in California. The state's community colleges have aligned with businesses to prepare the next generation of workers.

Many young Californians aren't properly taught about periods and feel isolated without a trusted source of information. A bill that would update a 2016 law to include age-appropriate facts about menstruation in sex education has garnered wide support, especially from teens.