Declining student enrollment is leading to a loss of revenue in many California school districts. To address ongoing budget shortfalls, many districts have consolidated or shuttered schools,and others are contemplating doing so. A new report and working paper, summarized in this brief, explore the racial dimensions of school closures and how to address them.

Enrollment in California public schools has been declining and is projected to fall even more steeply during the next decade. Because funding for school districts is largely based on average daily attendance rates, a decline in enrollment results in a loss of funding. To address budget shortfalls and align services with student counts, many districts have consolidated or closed schools, or they are contemplating doing so.

This study investigates racial disparities in school closures both within California and nationally. Findings highlight an alarming pattern: Schools enrolling higher proportions of Black students are at significantly increased risk of closure relative to those enrolling fewer Black students, a pattern that is more pronounced in California than elsewhere in the United States. The findings underscore that school closures in California and elsewhere reflect racial inequalities that require adequate policymaking to ensure equitable and fair school-closure proceedings.

This chapter in an edited book focuses on the work of two improvement network hubs in California as they tried to support participating districts and schools to improve the proportion of students “on-track” for post-secondary success. California has a particular stake in figuring out how to support districts in consistently using continuous improvement (CI) to achieve measurable gains in student outcomes because state policy (e.g., Local Control Funding Formula, California’s Every Student Succeeds Act Plan) prescribes CI as the approach to improvement in its accountability system.

Educators face a dilemma of staying up-to-date with evidence-based practices while dealing with superficial ideas. Continuous improvement methods can help in testing new ideas but if seen as add-ons, they may not yield sustained improvement. This brief describes the CORE Districts’ five-driver model that deepens educators’ ownership and sustains improvement over time.

This report discusses the implementation challenges of restorative practices (RPs) in schools, which have the potential to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline and improve school climates. However, schools often struggle with selective adoption, and there is a need to measure the extent to which teachers are using and students are experiencing RPs. The report provides guidance on how to measure RP implementation and why it is essential for achieving the intended impacts, including decreasing discipline, reducing racial disparities, and improving academic achievement.

An analysis of Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans (LCPs) developed by local educational agencies in California during the 2020-21 academic year showed variations in practices across districts, particularly between urban and rural areas. While districts planned to provide technology, assess student learning, and offer tiered levels of support, broader opportunities for reform and implementation accountability in education policymaking are needed post-pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for English learners (ELs) to receive the services and support they need for academic success. This report highlights how K–12 public school districts planned to support ELs during the pandemic. While many districts communicated plans to assess student progress and provide services for ELs, details on the sufficiency of these plans were lacking. The legislation mandating the plans did not include measures for adherence or monitoring student outcomes, leaving questions about the actual strategies implemented by districts and how ELs were affected.

Community schools are gaining attention as a promising solution for students from low-income families who have suffered economic trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers are investing in their expansion, and effective use of data will be crucial. This report discusses findings of a research project led by the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the USC Center on Education, Policy, Equity, and Governance and provides recommendations for implementing a data system to address community-specific needs.

A report examines two CA districts that have shifted their structures, policies, and culture to improve student outcomes. Both districts worked with California Education Partners to refine their continuous improvement approach and spread practices. PACE identified three key lessons for leading impactful improvement efforts: anchor work in outcome measures, invest in an aligned system of instructional learning, and use cross-role and cross-site structures. These lessons contributed to positive trends for student achievement, empowered practitioners, and built internal capacity for improvement.

This brief outlines Ayer Elementary's journey of continuous improvement since 2016 and how their organizational conditions were tested during the COVID-19 crisis. Despite the challenges, the school invested in improvement practices to strengthen student engagement in distance learning and build staff capacity for when students return to school.

This brief provides questions for parents, educators, and the public to consider when deciding whether to reopen schools or support remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education and health policy experts summarize what is known in these areas and provide a set of questions to encourage safe, effective, and equitable teaching and learning during every phase of pandemic schooling.

Equity has been a key focus of California education policies, which aim to reduce disparities in learning outcomes. The Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) can help identify struggling students and offer support. Pivot Learning's demonstration project with Sanger, Monterey Peninsula, and Lancaster school districts sought to make MTSS implementation more accessible. Lessons learned from Sanger's implementation can guide the state's continued expansion of MTSS.

This suite of publications provides 10 recommendations based on the PACE report to help educators and district leaders provide high-quality instruction through distance and blended learning models in the 2020-21 school year. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, research can guide decisions about student learning and engagement. These recommendations can be used as a framework to prioritize quality instruction.

Over 725,000 California K-12 students received special education services in 2018-19, but the system is not always equipped to serve them. Early screening, identification, and intervention, as well as better transitions, educator support, and mental/physical health services, need improvement. A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework in schools could address SWDs' needs, but it requires additional resources and policy support to improve educator capacity and collaboration between agencies while systematizing data on SWDs.

The CORE districts studied characteristics, outcomes, and transitions of students with disabilities (SWDs). Specific learning disability was the most common type. Males, African Americans, English learners, and foster youth were overrepresented. Chronic absence was higher for SWDs with multiple disabilities. Most SWDs entered special education in K-4 and exited in grades 8-12. These results help identify who may need targeted support.

This brief discusses how California's System of Support uses differentiated assistance (DA) to provide support to districts and boost student group performance levels. It analyzes the districts eligible for DA in 2019 based on their students with disabilities' (SWD) performance on State Priority Areas (SPAs) and indicators. The findings show that over half of the 333 eligible districts were driven by SWD performance in SPAs 4 (Pupil Achievement) and 5 (Pupil Engagement), highlighting intersectional challenges facing SWD that districts can address through their continuous improvement process.

This brief highlights California's Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), which assists struggling students. The inadequate resourcing of Tier 2 services is nevertheless preventing progress in reading and math, as California ranks 38th in the nation. Categorical funding is necessary to provide additional personnel, such as instructional aides and clerical staff, to assist teachers with implementing MTSS effectively.

In the run-up to 2020 elections, where do California voters stand on key education policy issues? This report examines findings and trends from the 2020 PACE/USC Rossier poll. Key findings include rising pessimism about California education and elected officials, continued concern about gun violence in schools and college affordability, and negative opinions about higher education. However, there is substantial support for increased spending, especially on teacher salaries.

The 2018 Getting Down to Facts II research project drew attention to California’s continued need to focus on the achievement gap, strengthen the capacity of educators in support of continuous improvement, and attend to both the adequacy and stability of funding for schools. Based on the nature of the issues and the progress made in 2019, some clear next steps deserve attention as 2020 unfolds.

California does not use a student-level growth model to measure school performance, which is uncommon among states. This brief refutes common beliefs about growth models and provides evidence that they are inaccurate or unsupported. It suggests that California should adopt a growth model to replace the current "change" metric in the California School Dashboard, with student-growth percentiles and residual-gain growth models as two specific models that would more accurately identify schools that require support.

Governor Newsom’s first Budget Proposal increases funding for education in California. There are areas of substantive overlap in the Budget Proposal and research findings from the Getting Down to Facts II (GDTFII) research project, released in September 2018, which built an evidence base on the current status of California education and implications for paths forward. As the Budget moves from proposal to reality, it is critical that the evidence from GDTFII continues to inform the policy process.

Effective data use is crucial for continuous improvement, but there is confusion about how it differs from data use for other purposes. This report explains what data are most useful for continuous improvement and presents a case study of how the CORE data collaborative uses a multiple-measures approach to support decision-making.

Flexible funding formulas have made high-quality summer learning programs more accessible for school districts seeking to close the achievement gap. Programs that combine engaging summer camp activities with intentional learning goals can help students develop a love of learning and prevent summer learning loss. These programs incorporate lesson plans and evaluations of learning into a fun and engaging environment.

The shift towards multiple-measure dashboard accountability has potential for promoting more meaningful learning, but also comes with challenges. Lessons learned from research on CORE Districts show that a shift to flexibility and capacity building efforts has challenges. Oakland Unified School District's approach suggests that districts have agency to modify mindsets by modeling inquiry, openness, and flexibility, giving stakeholders space and authority to manage accountability and improvement.