But it is also an attempt to square California’s financial commitments to students with a $32 billion budget deficit facing lawmakers this year. Going forward, school districts will receive money in proportion to their respective enrollments of high-needs populations such as low-income students, English learners and foster children. As part of the settlement, state legislators will direct schools and districts to spend the funding on interventions with previous records of success, such as in-school tutoring. But the bumpy road to Zoom classrooms was damaging for students throughout the state, he said, and not just those in struggling districts like Oakland. “So I’m concerned that this will just be another payment plan for a broken system.”The funds underwriting the targeted spending will come from an existing source, the state’s $7.9 billion Learning Recovery Block Grants initiative.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 04, 2024 22:32 UTC