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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.
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Summary

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.
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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.
Pivoting Amid COVID-19
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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.
A Guide for Parents, Families, and the Public
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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.
Research to Guide Distance and Blended Instruction
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This article 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.

A Summary of the PACE Policy Research Panel
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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.
Characteristics, Outcomes, and Transitions
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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.
Five Years Later
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This report commemorates the fifth anniversary of the Getting Down to Facts project, which sought to provide a thorough and reliable analysis of the critical challenges facing California’s education system as the necessary basis for an informed discussion of policy changes aimed at improving the performance of California schools and students. The report focuses on the four key issues that received emphasis in the Getting Down to Facts studies: governance, finance, personnel, and data systems.

School Finance and Governance in California
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Summary

Getting Down to Facts is an extensive investigation of CA's public education system commissioned by a bipartisan group of CA leaders. The project aimed to describe California's school finance and governance systems, identify obstacles hindering resource utilization, and estimate costs to achieve student outcome goals. The project resulted in 23 reports by scholars, which highlight that the current school finance and governance systems fail to help students achieve state performance goals, particularly those from low-income families. The reports provide a framework for assessing reform options.