Search Result for: California


california Bus Funds Restored, But Districts Must Cut Budgets Elsewhere

...perior Court has allowed a lawsuit over school fees against the state to move forward. Districts in california — and many other states — have initiated fees for various activities to cover funding deficits. But a california state Supreme Court ruling bans all fees as a violation of the state constitution’s guarantee of free public education. (See previous RSFN coverage here and here.) In 2010, an investigation revealed numerous districts charging fees, and the American Civil L...
Date: 2012-02-23

california Law Requiring Charters to Serve Free and Reduced Price Meals Vetoed

...hools in the Golden State to provide free and reduced prices lunches to students has been vetoed by california Governor Jerry Brown. Brown stated that while he believes “pupil nutrition is profoundly important,” he feels it is trumped by the need of charter schools to “be free from large portions of the voluminous state Education Code.” In california, as in many states, charter schools are exempt from many portions of state education law, including the one that says publ...
Date: 2012-10-29

california Lawsuit Challenges School Funding System

...posting, but may require registration or expire over time. A new funding lawsuit has been filed in california challenging the school finance system as unconstitutional. california schools have seen $17 billion in cuts in two years. The lawsuit says that the state should determine what it takes to fund required programs and to meet student needs, and it asks the court to require that the state develop a new funding formula. Plaintiffs include the california School Board Association, the Califor...
Date: 2010-06-25

california Lawsuits Must Have Different Focus

... but may require registration or expire over time. This month two plaintiff groups challenging the california school finance system have resubmitted their complaints to an Alameda County Superior Court Judge who ruled in January that the state constitution does not require any set level of funding for schools. In his ruling, Judge Steven Brick wrote that there is no equal protection for student against inadequate funding, “however devastating” the results might be. The Judge said, ...
Date: 2011-03-30

california Settles School Fee Lawsuit

...Links are free and current at time of posting, but may require registration or expire over time. california has settled a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union over the charging of illegal fees by school districts. (See background in September RSFN.) A number of districts around the state were charging students lab, materials, and other fees for participation in certain classes and school activities. A 1984 california Supreme Court ruling, however, bans all fees as a violation...
Date: 2011-01-25

california's Frontal Assault on Rural Schools

...: Links are free and current at time of posting, but may require registration or expire over time. california Governor Jerry Brown recently stunned school officials by announcing that all state aid for school transportation services would be eliminated. The $248 million slashing was nearly one-fourth of an overall billion-dollar cut in the state budget. Public schools also took another $80 million hit on other state education funding, boosting their share of the cuts to nearly one-third. The c...
Date: 2012-01-27

Class Action california Lawsuit Challenges School Fees

...but may require registration or expire over time. Several American Civil Liberties affiliates in california and attorneys working pro bono have brought a class action lawsuit against the state of california for allowing school districts to violate the state constitution by charging school fees. Attorneys are asking the court to stop the practice immediately and to order the state to write regulations prohibiting the practice in the future. The suit follows an investigation by the ACLU, docum...
Date: 2010-09-28

Partners Create Child Care and Performing Arts Complex — Ojai, california

...This article appeared in the April 2006 Rural Policy Matters. Introduction Community organizations and the schools in Ojai, california have a long history of friendly relations. They regularly share information about families who need assistance, collaborate on special projects involving children and teens, and make space available to one another for meetings and projects. Two collaborations are featured here: the Smart Start program, which offers preschool and before and after school programs...
Date: 2006-04-01

Proposed california Funding System Fixes Are a Mixed Bag for Rural Schools

...: Links are free and current at time of posting, but may require registration or expire over time. california's system of public school finance is one fo the most complex in the nation. Its complexity makes it hard to preduct how much funding schools will receive. It is also inequitable across the state and between districts with similar characteristics; and it provides inadequate funding for most districts with high levels of student poverty and high percentages of English Language Learners, a...
Date: 2010-11-26

Second california Lawsuit

...istration or expire over time. As reported in June RSFN, a second school funding has been filed in california. Plaintiffs in the latest suit, Coalition for Quality Education v. california, are public interest and community organizations representing underserved communities in the state. The lawsuit also includes individual student and parent plaintiffs, along with taxpayer representatives. The action asks for a ruling that says that the state has a duty under the california Constitution to ens...
Date: 2010-07-23

Rural School Funding News Special Series:Financing Rural Schools: Characteristics of Strong Rural School Finance Systems

...finance lawsuits were brought because of the lack of equity among school districts. The decision in california’s Serrano v. Priest case, one of the first such suits, described the goal of equity this way: “Although an equal expenditure level per pupil in every district is not educationally sound or desirable because of differing educational needs, equality of educational opportunity requires that all school districts possess an equal ability in terms of revenue to provide students wi...
Date: 2011-01-25

ACE Amendment Voted Down But Issue Remains Alive

...the vote. But during debate on the amendment, members of the Committee, including Ranking Democrat, california Congressman Miller himself, admitted the formula need an “adjustment” and that the merits of the issue needed to be addressed. Democrats mostly argued that since there was no hold harmless provision protecting the large district, there would be losers under ACE. They also argued there should be a “maintenance of effort” provision requiring states and districts to...
Date: 2012-03-30

All Children are Equal Act (H.R. 2485) to be Considered by the House Education and the Workforce Committee

...Chairman) Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, california Judy Biggert, Illinois Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania Joe Wilson, South Carolina Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Bob Goodlatte, Virginia Duncan D. Hunter, california David P. Roe, Tennessee Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania Tim Walberg, Michigan Scott DesJarlais...
Date: 2011-11-29

Anything But Research-based: State Initiatives to Consolidate Schools and Districts

...here population is less than a certain number of people (or students) per square mile. Some states, california for example, provide additional funding for "necessary" or "isolated" small schools that are distant from or inaccessible to other communities. Declining Enrollment Factors. Some states help cushion the impact of declining enrollment. Kansas provides per pupil funding based on the higher of either a three-year rolling average of enrollment or enrollment in the p...
Date: 2006-03-06

Coalition for Community Schools 2012 National Forum: May 9-12

...Registration is open for the Coalition for Community Schools 2012 National Forum, set for May 9–12, 2012 in San Francisco, california.   The 2012 event will bring together a diverse group of leaders from the fields of education, youth development, health and human services, family support, neighborhood and community development, government, philanthropy and others who work at the local, state and national levels.   Leaders will learn how to mobilize local leadership, plan and...
Date: 2012-04-26