When the coronavirus emergency abates, what happens to California’s disrupted education system and how might policymakers respond now? The double blow of fewer resources and greater needs promises a perfect storm for education in California after the pandemic. When the pandemic has run its course, all of California’s schools and districts will need help to get back on their feet, and the current system of support will need to be rethought in order to respond to new needs.

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed California and the nation into uncharted waters, especially with the impact on our schools. With the economy in decline and unemployment on the rise, school funding is likely to dip, triggering cuts across the system. This financial impact will come when our schools need more money, not less, to serve our state’s children. As we look toward recovery, Californians should make the kind of significant investments in our public schools that reflect their true importance to our students, families and future.

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed almost all school systems in the U.S. online with little or no preparation. To be responsive in this time, USC Rossier faculty members have worked rapidly to prepare a report with immediately useful resources and concrete advice. Bringing together the expertise of faculty who have decades of experience teaching in virtual learning environments, as well as deep knowledge of teacher education pedagogy and educational psychology, this report provides recommendations that can serve as a practical guide for all educators during this difficult and complex time.

At this time of unprecedented challenge, districts have to both manage a rapid response to the current school closures and also prepare for the possibility of supporting students remotely for longer periods ahead, a process for which there is no roadmap. Learning Apart, Staying Connected: A Distance Learning Playbook was created for California school districts to support the development and roll-out of distance learning plans across the state.

This moment of disruption is an opportunity to stop and ask how best to educate the whole child. There are important lessons to be learned from the Scaling Student Success community, in which school districts have engaged community stakeholders to create a Graduate Profile – a succinct, one-page document defining the skills, competencies, and mindsets necessary for future success in college, career, and civic engagement.

The closing of California’s physical learning spaces has significant implications for educational equity and access. In the coming weeks and months, PACE’s efforts will be focused on supporting real-time crisis response and helping the state build toward recovery. This commentary, the first in a new series designed to raise up evidence quickly to inform crisis response and recovery, details our approach.

This commentary provides a summary of a session at the 2020 PACE Annual Conference in which the results from the PACE/USC Rossier 2020 Poll were presented.  Topics discussed included findings on voter perceptions of schools generally, and also their perceptions on issues related to teacher salaries, college affordability and admissions, gun violence, and school funding.