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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">San Francisco school board president Phil Kim and newcomers Tim Tung and Autumn Brown Garibay have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanfrancisco/school\">won three open school board seats\u003c/a>, shutting out candidates backed by the teachers’ union for the first time in more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A field of eight candidates was vying for three spots on the board, which will be tasked with a series of tough and consequential decisions related to the district’s enrollment system and school portfolio during their term.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim’s reelection was called shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, while the other two seats remained up in the air until Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They were snagged by Tung, a public finance analyst, and Autumn Brown Garibay, a parent in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-unified-school-district\">San Francisco Unified School District\u003c/a>, who are neck and neck with around 15.5% of the vote as of Friday afternoon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Unified School District superintendent, Dr. Maria Su, speaks during Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on August 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All three were endorsed by moderate political group GrowSF, which has been a major player in recent city elections, and the San Francisco Democratic Party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The educators union’s slate of endorsed candidates — Virginia Cheung, Ryan Hazelton and Reina Tello — trailed behind the three front-runners, in that order. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim prevailed despite recent discontent from some of his backers after he voted for Superintendent Maria Su’s recommended plan to replace the district’s lottery for elementary school assignments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents had overwhelmingly pushed for an enrollment system that would give families more choice to enroll in district-wide schools, but Kim voted with the board majority to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104230/sfusd-moves-closer-to-neighborhood-based-enrollment-in-historic-vote\">pass Su’s alternative proposal\u003c/a> that will place students in a neighborhood school, with the option to apply to a small number of other campuses with special city-wide programs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement on Tuesday night, Kim said he was focused on the “next chapter” for SFUSD, acknowledging the district’s struggles with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">declining enrollment and limited resources\u003c/a>: “That means making difficult decisions about school consolidation and ensuring our schools are fully enrolled, adequately funded and positioned to thrive,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The result deals a blow to the union’s long-standing dominance over the school board’s elections. Since 2016, just two UESF-endorsed candidates have lost their races — one in 2018 and one in 2024. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tung told KQED he was “feeling really good” shortly after polls closed Tuesday night.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Throughout this entire journey on the campaign trail, the people I’ve talked to have really appreciated my views, and it’s been really enlightening being able to understand from the community what’s important to them,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hopefully being elected and then also being able to move the district forward in a responsible way.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12036911\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The San Francisco Unified School District Administrative Offices in San Francisco on April 18, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SF Parent Action, the political arm of nonprofit group SF Parents, endorsed two of the three GrowSF-backed winners: Kim and Brown Garibay, who said shortly after the latest vote returns on Friday that she felt “grateful and really excited that San Francisco showed that they are putting their trust in me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s clear voters are paying attention to the progress the district has made, and what San Francisco wants to continue to see from its schools: a focus on student learning, raising the bar, closing the gap,” SF Parents executive director Rebecca Kee said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the slates backed by GrowSF and the teachers union, incumbent Alida Fisher and small business owner Laurance Lee rounded out the bottom of the pack.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kee said more informed voters see Fisher, the third candidate SF Parent Action endorsed, as “part of that focus” on academic progress, but added that she lacked the institutional support the other candidates amassed. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Unified School District superintendent, Dr. Maria Su, speaks during Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on August 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All three were endorsed by moderate political group GrowSF, which has been a major player in recent city elections, and the San Francisco Democratic Party.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The educators union’s slate of endorsed candidates — Virginia Cheung, Ryan Hazelton and Reina Tello — trailed behind the three front-runners, in that order. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Parents had overwhelmingly pushed for an enrollment system that would give families more choice to enroll in district-wide schools, but Kim voted with the board majority to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104230/sfusd-moves-closer-to-neighborhood-based-enrollment-in-historic-vote\">pass Su’s alternative proposal\u003c/a> that will place students in a neighborhood school, with the option to apply to a small number of other campuses with special city-wide programs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement on Tuesday night, Kim said he was focused on the “next chapter” for SFUSD, acknowledging the district’s struggles with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">declining enrollment and limited resources\u003c/a>: “That means making difficult decisions about school consolidation and ensuring our schools are fully enrolled, adequately funded and positioned to thrive,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The result deals a blow to the union’s long-standing dominance over the school board’s elections. Since 2016, just two UESF-endorsed candidates have lost their races — one in 2018 and one in 2024. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The result deals a blow to the union’s long-standing dominance over the school board’s elections. Since 2016, just two UESF-endorsed candidates have lost their races — one in 2018 and one in 2024. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Throughout this entire journey on the campaign trail, the people I’ve talked to have really appreciated my views, and it’s been really enlightening being able to understand from the community what’s important to them,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hopefully being elected and then also being able to move the district forward in a responsible way.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Throughout this entire journey on the campaign trail, the people I’ve talked to have really appreciated my views, and it’s been really enlightening being able to understand from the community what’s important to them,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hopefully being elected and then also being able to move the district forward in a responsible way.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>SF Parent Action, the political arm of nonprofit group SF Parents, endorsed two of the three GrowSF-backed winners: Kim and Brown Garibay, who said shortly after the latest vote returns on Friday that she felt “grateful and really excited that San Francisco showed that they are putting their trust in me.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>SF Parent Action, the political arm of nonprofit group SF Parents, endorsed two of the three GrowSF-backed winners: Kim and Brown Garibay, who said shortly after the latest vote returns on Friday that she felt “grateful and really excited that San Francisco showed that they are putting their trust in me.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s clear voters are paying attention to the progress the district has made, and what San Francisco wants to continue to see from its schools: a focus on student learning, raising the bar, closing the gap,” SF Parents executive director Rebecca Kee said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s clear voters are paying attention to the progress the district has made, and what San Francisco wants to continue to see from its schools: a focus on student learning, raising the bar, closing the gap,” SF Parents executive director Rebecca Kee said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Candidates backed by moderate political group GrowSF won three seats. For the first time in over a decade, no union-backed candidate will win election.",
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"title": "SF Teachers Union Suffers a Shutout Loss in School Board Election | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">San Francisco school board president Phil Kim and newcomers Tim Tung and Autumn Brown Garibay have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanfrancisco/school\">won three open school board seats\u003c/a>, shutting out candidates backed by the teachers’ union for the first time in more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A field of eight candidates was vying for three spots on the board, which will be tasked with a series of tough and consequential decisions related to the district’s enrollment system and school portfolio during their term.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim’s reelection was called shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, while the other two seats remained up in the air until Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They were snagged by Tung, a public finance analyst, and Autumn Brown Garibay, a parent in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-unified-school-district\">San Francisco Unified School District\u003c/a>, who are neck and neck with around 15.5% of the vote as of Friday afternoon. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-14-MC-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Unified School District superintendent, Dr. Maria Su, speaks during Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on August 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All three were endorsed by moderate political group GrowSF, which has been a major player in recent city elections, and the San Francisco Democratic Party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The educators union’s slate of endorsed candidates — Virginia Cheung, Ryan Hazelton and Reina Tello — trailed behind the three front-runners, in that order. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim prevailed despite recent discontent from some of his backers after he voted for Superintendent Maria Su’s recommended plan to replace the district’s lottery for elementary school assignments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents had overwhelmingly pushed for an enrollment system that would give families more choice to enroll in district-wide schools, but Kim voted with the board majority to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104230/sfusd-moves-closer-to-neighborhood-based-enrollment-in-historic-vote\">pass Su’s alternative proposal\u003c/a> that will place students in a neighborhood school, with the option to apply to a small number of other campuses with special city-wide programs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement on Tuesday night, Kim said he was focused on the “next chapter” for SFUSD, acknowledging the district’s struggles with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">declining enrollment and limited resources\u003c/a>: “That means making difficult decisions about school consolidation and ensuring our schools are fully enrolled, adequately funded and positioned to thrive,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The result deals a blow to the union’s long-standing dominance over the school board’s elections. Since 2016, just two UESF-endorsed candidates have lost their races — one in 2018 and one in 2024. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tung told KQED he was “feeling really good” shortly after polls closed Tuesday night.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Throughout this entire journey on the campaign trail, the people I’ve talked to have really appreciated my views, and it’s been really enlightening being able to understand from the community what’s important to them,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hopefully being elected and then also being able to move the district forward in a responsible way.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12036911\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/250418-SFUSD-06-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The San Francisco Unified School District Administrative Offices in San Francisco on April 18, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SF Parent Action, the political arm of nonprofit group SF Parents, endorsed two of the three GrowSF-backed winners: Kim and Brown Garibay, who said shortly after the latest vote returns on Friday that she felt “grateful and really excited that San Francisco showed that they are putting their trust in me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s clear voters are paying attention to the progress the district has made, and what San Francisco wants to continue to see from its schools: a focus on student learning, raising the bar, closing the gap,” SF Parents executive director Rebecca Kee said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the slates backed by GrowSF and the teachers union, incumbent Alida Fisher and small business owner Laurance Lee rounded out the bottom of the pack.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kee said more informed voters see Fisher, the third candidate SF Parent Action endorsed, as “part of that focus” on academic progress, but added that she lacked the institutional support the other candidates amassed. \u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "El Cerrito High School Football Team, Coach Suspended Amid Criminal Hazing Investigation",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">East Bay school district\u003c/a> said on Thursday that the El Cerrito High School football program was suspended after a police investigation into allegations of hazing, sexual battery and bullying involving 22 former or current student-athletes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The El Cerrito Police Department said it launched an investigation on Oct. 2 after a mandated reporter alleged students were bullying and hazing other football players. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The police probe has so far identified nearly two dozen individuals suspected of battery, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, dissuading a victim, conspiracy or stalking that allegedly occurred between September 2024 and October 2026. The department expects to make “multiple arrests” as the investigation continues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/20261105_114441-25e818a1-scaled-e1793913283300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108614\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The El Cerrito High School Stadium on Nov. 5, 2026. (Samantha Kennedy/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“No child should ever experience what our students have described,” West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said in a statement. “We must now make the very tough call to immediately suspend the El Cerrito High football program in order to prevent any further harm and restore a safe learning environment for our students.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation uncovered video footage that “corroborated the victims’ accounts and provided additional evidence substantiating the reported conduct,” the department said. Police said they would not release additional details at this time to protect the privacy of juvenile victims, witnesses and suspects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of its own ongoing Title IX investigation conducted by an unnamed third party, WCCUSD placed the team’s head coach, Tim Johnson, on leave, according to the district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stacy Wayne, principal of El Cerrito High, told parents in an Oct. 7 message that there were altercations on campus involving adult relatives of students, which prompted a report that one of the adults may have a firearm, placing the school on lockdown. No firearm was recovered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wayne added in a separate message that the incident was related to the hazing allegations and “student misconduct” by some football team members. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students, staff, and community, the decision has been made to forfeit the junior varsity and varsity football games scheduled for tomorrow,” Wayne said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The district is providing “supportive resources” for all impacted students and plans to implement “anti-hazing education and bystander education across classrooms,” officials said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“First and foremost, we must care for our students’ wellbeing,” WCCUSD Board President Guadalupe Enllana said in a statement. “As a Board and a district, we are committed to making sure that our students have the guidance and safe learning environments that they need in order to learn, grow, and thrive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team won its first-ever state championship in 2025. ECHS’s 2024 football season, however, was \u003ca href=\"https://richmondconfidential.org/2024/10/25/wccusd-investigates-alleged-ringers-on-el-cerrito-football-team-forcing-gauchos-to-forfeit-6-games-and-prompting-student-walkout/\">marked by controversy\u003c/a> surrounding ineligible players and a student walkout. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/antioch-football-hazing-restorative-circle-21183017.php\">another\u003c/a> Contra Costa County high school football team in Antioch faced scrutiny for hazing when a group of Antioch High School players was caught on video hazing another student.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>KQED’S\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/slewis\">\u003cem>Sukey Lewis\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The El Cerrito Police Department said it launched an investigation on Oct. 2 after a mandated reporter alleged students were bullying and hazing other football players. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The police probe has so far identified nearly two dozen individuals suspected of battery, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, dissuading a victim, conspiracy or stalking that allegedly occurred between September 2024 and October 2026. The department expects to make “multiple arrests” as the investigation continues. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The police probe has so far identified nearly two dozen individuals suspected of battery, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, dissuading a victim, conspiracy or stalking that allegedly occurred between September 2024 and October 2026. The department expects to make “multiple arrests” as the investigation continues. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/20261105_114441-25e818a1-scaled-e1793913283300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108614\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The El Cerrito High School Stadium on Nov. 5, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Samantha Kennedy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/20261105_114441-25e818a1-scaled-e1793913283300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108614\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The El Cerrito High School Stadium on Nov. 5, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Samantha Kennedy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“No child should ever experience what our students have described,” West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said in a statement. “We must now make the very tough call to immediately suspend the El Cerrito High football program in order to prevent any further harm and restore a safe learning environment for our students.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“No child should ever experience what our students have described,” West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said in a statement. “We must now make the very tough call to immediately suspend the El Cerrito High football program in order to prevent any further harm and restore a safe learning environment for our students.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The investigation uncovered video footage that “corroborated the victims’ accounts and provided additional evidence substantiating the reported conduct,” the department said. Police said they would not release additional details at this time to protect the privacy of juvenile victims, witnesses and suspects.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The investigation uncovered video footage that “corroborated the victims’ accounts and provided additional evidence substantiating the reported conduct,” the department said. Police said they would not release additional details at this time to protect the privacy of juvenile victims, witnesses and suspects.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As part of its own ongoing Title IX investigation conducted by an unnamed third party, WCCUSD placed the team’s head coach, Tim Johnson, on leave, according to the district. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stacy Wayne, principal of El Cerrito High, told parents in an Oct. 7 message that there were altercations on campus involving adult relatives of students, which prompted a report that one of the adults may have a firearm, placing the school on lockdown. No firearm was recovered. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wayne added in a separate message that the incident was related to the hazing allegations and “student misconduct” by some football team members. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students, staff, and community, the decision has been made to forfeit the junior varsity and varsity football games scheduled for tomorrow,” Wayne said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students, staff, and community, the decision has been made to forfeit the junior varsity and varsity football games scheduled for tomorrow,” Wayne said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The district is providing “supportive resources” for all impacted students and plans to implement “anti-hazing education and bystander education across classrooms,” officials said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“First and foremost, we must care for our students’ wellbeing,” WCCUSD Board President Guadalupe Enllana said in a statement. “As a Board and a district, we are committed to making sure that our students have the guidance and safe learning environments that they need in order to learn, grow, and thrive.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/antioch-football-hazing-restorative-circle-21183017.php\">another\u003c/a> Contra Costa County high school football team in Antioch faced scrutiny for hazing when a group of Antioch High School players was caught on video hazing another student.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/antioch-football-hazing-restorative-circle-21183017.php\">another\u003c/a> Contra Costa County high school football team in Antioch faced scrutiny for hazing when a group of Antioch High School players was caught on video hazing another student.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’S\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/slewis\">\u003cem>Sukey Lewis\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The El Cerrito Police Department said 22 student-athletes could face arrest.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">East Bay school district\u003c/a> said on Thursday that the El Cerrito High School football program was suspended after a police investigation into allegations of hazing, sexual battery and bullying involving 22 former or current student-athletes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The El Cerrito Police Department said it launched an investigation on Oct. 2 after a mandated reporter alleged students were bullying and hazing other football players. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The police probe has so far identified nearly two dozen individuals suspected of battery, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, dissuading a victim, conspiracy or stalking that allegedly occurred between September 2024 and October 2026. The department expects to make “multiple arrests” as the investigation continues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/20261105_114441-25e818a1-scaled-e1793913283300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12108614\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The El Cerrito High School Stadium on Nov. 5, 2026. (Samantha Kennedy/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“No child should ever experience what our students have described,” West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said in a statement. “We must now make the very tough call to immediately suspend the El Cerrito High football program in order to prevent any further harm and restore a safe learning environment for our students.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation uncovered video footage that “corroborated the victims’ accounts and provided additional evidence substantiating the reported conduct,” the department said. Police said they would not release additional details at this time to protect the privacy of juvenile victims, witnesses and suspects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of its own ongoing Title IX investigation conducted by an unnamed third party, WCCUSD placed the team’s head coach, Tim Johnson, on leave, according to the district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stacy Wayne, principal of El Cerrito High, told parents in an Oct. 7 message that there were altercations on campus involving adult relatives of students, which prompted a report that one of the adults may have a firearm, placing the school on lockdown. No firearm was recovered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wayne added in a separate message that the incident was related to the hazing allegations and “student misconduct” by some football team members. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students, staff, and community, the decision has been made to forfeit the junior varsity and varsity football games scheduled for tomorrow,” Wayne said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The district is providing “supportive resources” for all impacted students and plans to implement “anti-hazing education and bystander education across classrooms,” officials said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“First and foremost, we must care for our students’ wellbeing,” WCCUSD Board President Guadalupe Enllana said in a statement. “As a Board and a district, we are committed to making sure that our students have the guidance and safe learning environments that they need in order to learn, grow, and thrive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team won its first-ever state championship in 2025. ECHS’s 2024 football season, however, was \u003ca href=\"https://richmondconfidential.org/2024/10/25/wccusd-investigates-alleged-ringers-on-el-cerrito-football-team-forcing-gauchos-to-forfeit-6-games-and-prompting-student-walkout/\">marked by controversy\u003c/a> surrounding ineligible players and a student walkout. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/antioch-football-hazing-restorative-circle-21183017.php\">another\u003c/a> Contra Costa County high school football team in Antioch faced scrutiny for hazing when a group of Antioch High School players was caught on video hazing another student.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>KQED’S\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/slewis\">\u003cem>Sukey Lewis\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">Marin County\u003c/a> measure to subsidize childcare, build more early education facilities and increase wages for educators is leading in early returns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Measure P, which would increase parcel taxes to raise about $12.5 million each year over 15 years, has received at least 53% approval, according to the county’s Registrar of Voters on Wednesday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If it passes, Marin will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12105159/as-costs-crush-families-this-bay-area-county-could-be-latest-to-subsidize-childcare\">fourth Bay Area county\u003c/a> in eight years to fund childcare. San Francisco, Alameda and Sonoma counties, as well as the city of Oakland and the Ravenswood City School District in San Mateo County, have all established their own funding streams for early childhood education and care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103075\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re still waiting for all final votes to be counted but we’re very optimistic that Marin voters will deliver a really, really important investment in kids of Marin County,” said Joanne Webster, president of the North Bay Leadership Council, a public advocacy group that backed the measure. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, which opposed the measure, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2016, a group of Marin County parents and early childhood advocates put forward a sales tax measure to subsidize childcare in Marin County. It fell just 3 percentage points short of getting a supermajority, or two-thirds support, to pass. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, a series of court decisions made it easier to pass citizen-led tax initiatives. Now, the measure only needs a simple majority of 50% to win.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amarantha Silva, a Marin County parent who campaigned for the tax measure a decade ago and for Measure P this year, said she was confident it was headed to victory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Ten years ago, I was a mom carrying my son, Rafael, in my arms while pregnant with my daughter, Ximena, as a parent leader for a similar childcare tax initiative,” she said. “We kept pushing, and this time, we won!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Silva is now organizing for Parent Voices Power, a group pushing for universal childcare across California. That movement is reaching as far south as San Diego County, where \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/San_Diego_County,_California,_Measure_B,_Issue_Sales_Tax_to_Fund_Health,_Family,_Environmental_Protection,_and_Public_Safety_Services_Initiative_(November_2026)\">a sales tax measure\u003c/a> that would partially fund childcare subsidies and early childhood mental or behavioral health services was also leading Wednesday with nearly 52% approval.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This victory is proof that a parent-led grassroots movement can create positive change in our community,” Silva said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re still waiting for all final votes to be counted but we’re very optimistic that Marin voters will deliver a really, really important investment in kids of Marin County,” said Joanne Webster, president of the North Bay Leadership Council, a public advocacy group that backed the measure. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Amarantha Silva, a Marin County parent who campaigned for the tax measure a decade ago and for Measure P this year, said she was confident it was headed to victory.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Ten years ago, I was a mom carrying my son, Rafael, in my arms while pregnant with my daughter, Ximena, as a parent leader for a similar childcare tax initiative,” she said. “We kept pushing, and this time, we won!”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Silva is now organizing for Parent Voices Power, a group pushing for universal childcare across California. That movement is reaching as far south as San Diego County, where \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/San_Diego_County,_California,_Measure_B,_Issue_Sales_Tax_to_Fund_Health,_Family,_Environmental_Protection,_and_Public_Safety_Services_Initiative_(November_2026)\">a sales tax measure\u003c/a> that would partially fund childcare subsidies and early childhood mental or behavioral health services was also leading Wednesday with nearly 52% approval.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Silva is now organizing for Parent Voices Power, a group pushing for universal childcare across California. That movement is reaching as far south as San Diego County, where \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/San_Diego_County,_California,_Measure_B,_Issue_Sales_Tax_to_Fund_Health,_Family,_Environmental_Protection,_and_Public_Safety_Services_Initiative_(November_2026)\">a sales tax measure\u003c/a> that would partially fund childcare subsidies and early childhood mental or behavioral health services was also leading Wednesday with nearly 52% approval.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "If it passes, Marin will be the fourth Bay Area county in eight years to fund childcare.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/marin-county\">Marin County\u003c/a> measure to subsidize childcare, build more early education facilities and increase wages for educators is leading in early returns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Measure P, which would increase parcel taxes to raise about $12.5 million each year over 15 years, has received at least 53% approval, according to the county’s Registrar of Voters on Wednesday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If it passes, Marin will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12105159/as-costs-crush-families-this-bay-area-county-could-be-latest-to-subsidize-childcare\">fourth Bay Area county\u003c/a> in eight years to fund childcare. San Francisco, Alameda and Sonoma counties, as well as the city of Oakland and the Ravenswood City School District in San Mateo County, have all established their own funding streams for early childhood education and care.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103075\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re still waiting for all final votes to be counted but we’re very optimistic that Marin voters will deliver a really, really important investment in kids of Marin County,” said Joanne Webster, president of the North Bay Leadership Council, a public advocacy group that backed the measure. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, which opposed the measure, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2016, a group of Marin County parents and early childhood advocates put forward a sales tax measure to subsidize childcare in Marin County. It fell just 3 percentage points short of getting a supermajority, or two-thirds support, to pass. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, a series of court decisions made it easier to pass citizen-led tax initiatives. Now, the measure only needs a simple majority of 50% to win.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amarantha Silva, a Marin County parent who campaigned for the tax measure a decade ago and for Measure P this year, said she was confident it was headed to victory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Ten years ago, I was a mom carrying my son, Rafael, in my arms while pregnant with my daughter, Ximena, as a parent leader for a similar childcare tax initiative,” she said. “We kept pushing, and this time, we won!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Silva is now organizing for Parent Voices Power, a group pushing for universal childcare across California. That movement is reaching as far south as San Diego County, where \u003ca href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/San_Diego_County,_California,_Measure_B,_Issue_Sales_Tax_to_Fund_Health,_Family,_Environmental_Protection,_and_Public_Safety_Services_Initiative_(November_2026)\">a sales tax measure\u003c/a> that would partially fund childcare subsidies and early childhood mental or behavioral health services was also leading Wednesday with nearly 52% approval.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This victory is proof that a parent-led grassroots movement can create positive change in our community,” Silva said.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "as-costs-crush-families-this-bay-area-county-could-be-latest-to-subsidize-childcare",
"title": "As Costs Crush Families, This Bay Area County Could Be Latest to Subsidize Childcare",
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"headTitle": "As Costs Crush Families, This Bay Area County Could Be Latest to Subsidize Childcare | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A regional movement to help families afford childcare and support its littlest learners is reaching Marin County, home to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/topics/childcare/price-by-age-care-setting-2022\">some of the highest childcare prices in the nation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If voters approve Measure P, a parcel tax that would raise about $12.5 million per year over 15 years, Marin would become the fourth Bay Area county in eight years to come up with a dedicated funding stream for childcare. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2018, San Francisco, Alameda and Sonoma counties have raised several hundred million dollars through special taxes to subsidize childcare spots for families, add more childcare facilities and increase wages for early childhood educators to help them stay in the field. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">San Francisco, for example, uses revenue from a tax on commercial buildings to cover up to $36,000 per year in childcare for low-income families. Meanwhile, Alameda County uses funds from a sales tax to boost \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055336/alameda-county-is-giving-cash-to-child-care-providers-other-bay-area-counties-are-envious\">early childhood educators\u003c/a>’ wages to at least $25 per hour. A statewide survey shows their pay often starts \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/data-snapshot/california-wages-2020-to-2025/\">below the $20 state minimum wage\u003c/a> for fast-food workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More recently, revenue from a parcel tax approved by voters in 2024 in a small San Mateo County school district is starting to flow to families and childcare providers in East Palo Alto and a section of Menlo Park.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103078\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marcela Bonilla (left) works with Karen Pace, executive director of Ravenswood Early Learning, at All Five in Menlo Park on Sept. 25, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates say a local fund is needed to \u003ca href=\"https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/The-Economics-of-Childcare-Supply-09-14-final.pdf\">fix a broken market\u003c/a> where parents struggle to afford the full cost of childcare, yet providers barely break even. To do so, they need to keep costs down by minimizing what they spend on labor. But low wages have also led to high turnover at childcare programs, according to \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/data-snapshot/california-program-profiles-2024/\">research by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment\u003c/a> at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s a math problem,” said Karen Pace, executive director of Ravenswood Early Learning, a nonprofit receiving some of the parcel tax revenue from the Ravenswood City School District. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We need to charge tuition that matches what families can pay and still have a nice life, and we need to pay early childhood educators enough to live in the community and support their families and have a nice life,” she said. “There has to be other financial support.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Statewide, demand for childcare far exceeds supply. Nearly 2 million children across California are eligible for state-subsidized childcare programs, but there isn’t enough funding to meet demand, according to an \u003ca href=\"https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/understanding-californias-1-8-million-gap-in-publicly-funded-child-care/\">analysis by the California Budget and Policy Center\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was the scenario in Marin County a decade ago when hundreds of low-income families couldn’t get a spot. A coalition of parents and advocates put forward a sales tax measure to augment the state’s funding and subsidize childcare for residents. But the measure didn’t pass.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, the cost of licensed childcare in the county went up by nearly 40%, averaging $2,315 per month in 2024, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1727976979/marinschoolsorg/mgyhudxyu1ukj6pjmyzd/2024LPCNeedsAssessment.pdf\">report by the Marin County Child Care Commission\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the high cost of living in Marin has made it tough to attract and retain childcare staff, leading to reduced capacity and long waiting lists for families, the report said. Fewer than half of children in working families had access to a licensed childcare space in Marin County, and early childhood educators who can’t afford to live there often commute from other counties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the North Bay Children’s Center opened a new facility in Novato a year ago, the center had state and federal funding to fill a classroom and more than 80 children on a waitlist for subsidized care. But it couldn’t enroll them because it couldn’t find qualified teachers, according to Susan Gilmore, the center’s CEO.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It took us about eight months before we had the teaching team we needed to open that classroom,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shortage of childcare has rippling consequences for businesses like grocery stores and senior living facilities, said Paula Reynolds, director of strategic projects for the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They’re so dependent on an enormous workforce showing up for work on a consistent basis,” she said. “It’s the reliability of childcare that has an impact on businesses and their ability to plan and get through their day.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But opponents of Measure P say employers, not taxpayers, should contribute to the childcare fund. The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers has urged voters to reject the measure, warning it is among a “tsunami” of proposed taxes, bonds and fees coming before Marin County voters at a time when they’re already pinched by inflation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Affordability is at a breaking point,” the coalition said on its website. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103074\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The “Wobbly Walkers” head to the playground at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lucy Dilworth, a member of the coalition’s board, declined a request for an interview.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But proponents of the measure say it might be too risky to wait for another election. \u003ca href=\"https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/43/index.htm\">Proposition 43\u003c/a>, a statewide measure on this November’s ballot, would require future citizen-led ballot initiatives to secure a supermajority, or two-thirds support, to pass. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2016, voters in Marin County fell just 3 percentage points shy of meeting that supermajority threshold when it first tried to pass a childcare funding measure. But since then, a series of court decisions made it easier to pass similar citizen-led tax initiatives. But if voters approve Prop 43 this November, that may not be the case in the future. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joanne Webster, president of the North Bay Leadership Council, a public advocacy group backing the measure, said she sympathizes with people who are skeptical of new taxes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I agree that we should scrutinize every tax,” Webster said. “But we should also consider the cost of doing nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103075\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said, “Ten years ago, when we tried this and needed two-thirds [of the vote to pass], it was a slim margin, and that’s a shame because we could’ve collected some $50 million since then, and we wouldn’t be in this situation we’re in now.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers also said the measure lacks a clear plan for how the money will be spent, but supporters argue that flexibility is part of the design. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If approved, an advisory council appointed by county supervisors will assess the biggest needs and recommend a spending plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s structured that way so we can be nimble and react to what’s happening in our local community with childcare, and be able to pivot if we need to lean heavily one year into [investing in the] workforce or lean more heavily into building more facilities another year,” Gilmore said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Ravenswood, the school district proposed the parcel tax to fund several priorities, including childcare, after conducting surveys and finding that it was a high priority for residents within its boundaries. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103076\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play in a yard at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voters passed the measure in 2024, and revenue from the tax began to reach the working-class community over the summer. Pace said home-based childcare providers are starting to get funding to cover tuition for families who qualify for subsidized care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pace said her staff visits childcare programs to verify the money is directly benefiting residents.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We are being hyper vigilant and intentional about the tax fund only serving families and providers in this community,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of the funding also goes toward recruiting people who live in the district to become early childhood educators. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That has helped stabilize staffing at All Five, a preschool in Menlo Park, and it’s given parents like Gloria Pirir a chance to go from volunteering in the classroom to working in one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pirir said she was inspired to become an early educator after seeing her daughter’s teachers help young kids manage their emotions and resolve conflicts. She said the teachers helped her sign up for classes, and she connected to a county program that provided tuition assistance and coaching to help her earn an associate teacher permit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Everything became possible because the teachers encouraged me. They said, ‘I know you’re a single mom, but you can do it, Gloria,’” she said. “The teachers believed in me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated how the parcel tax in the Ravenswood City School District gets distributed.\u003c/em> \u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A regional movement to help families afford childcare and support its littlest learners is reaching Marin County, home to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/topics/childcare/price-by-age-care-setting-2022\">some of the highest childcare prices in the nation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If voters approve Measure P, a parcel tax that would raise about $12.5 million per year over 15 years, Marin would become the fourth Bay Area county in eight years to come up with a dedicated funding stream for childcare. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If voters approve Measure P, a parcel tax that would raise about $12.5 million per year over 15 years, Marin would become the fourth Bay Area county in eight years to come up with a dedicated funding stream for childcare. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since 2018, San Francisco, Alameda and Sonoma counties have raised several hundred million dollars through special taxes to subsidize childcare spots for families, add more childcare facilities and increase wages for early childhood educators to help them stay in the field. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco, for example, uses revenue from a tax on commercial buildings to cover up to $36,000 per year in childcare for low-income families. Meanwhile, Alameda County uses funds from a sales tax to boost \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055336/alameda-county-is-giving-cash-to-child-care-providers-other-bay-area-counties-are-envious\">early childhood educators\u003c/a>’ wages to at least $25 per hour. A statewide survey shows their pay often starts \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/data-snapshot/california-wages-2020-to-2025/\">below the $20 state minimum wage\u003c/a> for fast-food workers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>More recently, revenue from a parcel tax approved by voters in 2024 in a small San Mateo County school district is starting to flow to families and childcare providers in East Palo Alto and a section of Menlo Park.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103078\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marcela Bonilla (left) works with Karen Pace, executive director of Ravenswood Early Learning, at All Five in Menlo Park on Sept. 25, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103078\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marcela Bonilla (left) works with Karen Pace, executive director of Ravenswood Early Learning, at All Five in Menlo Park on Sept. 25, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Advocates say a local fund is needed to \u003ca href=\"https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/The-Economics-of-Childcare-Supply-09-14-final.pdf\">fix a broken market\u003c/a> where parents struggle to afford the full cost of childcare, yet providers barely break even. To do so, they need to keep costs down by minimizing what they spend on labor. But low wages have also led to high turnover at childcare programs, according to \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/data-snapshot/california-program-profiles-2024/\">research by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment\u003c/a> at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Advocates say a local fund is needed to \u003ca href=\"https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/The-Economics-of-Childcare-Supply-09-14-final.pdf\">fix a broken market\u003c/a> where parents struggle to afford the full cost of childcare, yet providers barely break even. To do so, they need to keep costs down by minimizing what they spend on labor. But low wages have also led to high turnover at childcare programs, according to \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/data-snapshot/california-program-profiles-2024/\">research by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment\u003c/a> at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s a math problem,” said Karen Pace, executive director of Ravenswood Early Learning, a nonprofit receiving some of the parcel tax revenue from the Ravenswood City School District. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s a math problem,” said Karen Pace, executive director of Ravenswood Early Learning, a nonprofit receiving some of the parcel tax revenue from the Ravenswood City School District. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We need to charge tuition that matches what families can pay and still have a nice life, and we need to pay early childhood educators enough to live in the community and support their families and have a nice life,” she said. “There has to be other financial support.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We need to charge tuition that matches what families can pay and still have a nice life, and we need to pay early childhood educators enough to live in the community and support their families and have a nice life,” she said. “There has to be other financial support.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Statewide, demand for childcare far exceeds supply. Nearly 2 million children across California are eligible for state-subsidized childcare programs, but there isn’t enough funding to meet demand, according to an \u003ca href=\"https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/understanding-californias-1-8-million-gap-in-publicly-funded-child-care/\">analysis by the California Budget and Policy Center\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Statewide, demand for childcare far exceeds supply. Nearly 2 million children across California are eligible for state-subsidized childcare programs, but there isn’t enough funding to meet demand, according to an \u003ca href=\"https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/understanding-californias-1-8-million-gap-in-publicly-funded-child-care/\">analysis by the California Budget and Policy Center\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That was the scenario in Marin County a decade ago when hundreds of low-income families couldn’t get a spot. A coalition of parents and advocates put forward a sales tax measure to augment the state’s funding and subsidize childcare for residents. But the measure didn’t pass.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That was the scenario in Marin County a decade ago when hundreds of low-income families couldn’t get a spot. A coalition of parents and advocates put forward a sales tax measure to augment the state’s funding and subsidize childcare for residents. But the measure didn’t pass.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since then, the cost of licensed childcare in the county went up by nearly 40%, averaging $2,315 per month in 2024, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1727976979/marinschoolsorg/mgyhudxyu1ukj6pjmyzd/2024LPCNeedsAssessment.pdf\">report by the Marin County Child Care Commission\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since then, the cost of licensed childcare in the county went up by nearly 40%, averaging $2,315 per month in 2024, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1727976979/marinschoolsorg/mgyhudxyu1ukj6pjmyzd/2024LPCNeedsAssessment.pdf\">report by the Marin County Child Care Commission\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the high cost of living in Marin has made it tough to attract and retain childcare staff, leading to reduced capacity and long waiting lists for families, the report said. Fewer than half of children in working families had access to a licensed childcare space in Marin County, and early childhood educators who can’t afford to live there often commute from other counties.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the high cost of living in Marin has made it tough to attract and retain childcare staff, leading to reduced capacity and long waiting lists for families, the report said. Fewer than half of children in working families had access to a licensed childcare space in Marin County, and early childhood educators who can’t afford to live there often commute from other counties.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When the North Bay Children’s Center opened a new facility in Novato a year ago, the center had state and federal funding to fill a classroom and more than 80 children on a waitlist for subsidized care. But it couldn’t enroll them because it couldn’t find qualified teachers, according to Susan Gilmore, the center’s CEO.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When the North Bay Children’s Center opened a new facility in Novato a year ago, the center had state and federal funding to fill a classroom and more than 80 children on a waitlist for subsidized care. But it couldn’t enroll them because it couldn’t find qualified teachers, according to Susan Gilmore, the center’s CEO.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It took us about eight months before we had the teaching team we needed to open that classroom,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It took us about eight months before we had the teaching team we needed to open that classroom,” she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The shortage of childcare has rippling consequences for businesses like grocery stores and senior living facilities, said Paula Reynolds, director of strategic projects for the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The shortage of childcare has rippling consequences for businesses like grocery stores and senior living facilities, said Paula Reynolds, director of strategic projects for the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They’re so dependent on an enormous workforce showing up for work on a consistent basis,” she said. “It’s the reliability of childcare that has an impact on businesses and their ability to plan and get through their day.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They’re so dependent on an enormous workforce showing up for work on a consistent basis,” she said. “It’s the reliability of childcare that has an impact on businesses and their ability to plan and get through their day.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But opponents of Measure P say employers, not taxpayers, should contribute to the childcare fund. The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers has urged voters to reject the measure, warning it is among a “tsunami” of proposed taxes, bonds and fees coming before Marin County voters at a time when they’re already pinched by inflation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But opponents of Measure P say employers, not taxpayers, should contribute to the childcare fund. The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers has urged voters to reject the measure, warning it is among a “tsunami” of proposed taxes, bonds and fees coming before Marin County voters at a time when they’re already pinched by inflation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Affordability is at a breaking point,” the coalition said on its website. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Affordability is at a breaking point,” the coalition said on its website. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103074\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The “Wobbly Walkers” head to the playground at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103074\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The “Wobbly Walkers” head to the playground at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lucy Dilworth, a member of the coalition’s board, declined a request for an interview.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But proponents of the measure say it might be too risky to wait for another election. \u003ca href=\"https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/43/index.htm\">Proposition 43\u003c/a>, a statewide measure on this November’s ballot, would require future citizen-led ballot initiatives to secure a supermajority, or two-thirds support, to pass. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But proponents of the measure say it might be too risky to wait for another election. \u003ca href=\"https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/43/index.htm\">Proposition 43\u003c/a>, a statewide measure on this November’s ballot, would require future citizen-led ballot initiatives to secure a supermajority, or two-thirds support, to pass. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2016, voters in Marin County fell just 3 percentage points shy of meeting that supermajority threshold when it first tried to pass a childcare funding measure. But since then, a series of court decisions made it easier to pass similar citizen-led tax initiatives. But if voters approve Prop 43 this November, that may not be the case in the future. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2016, voters in Marin County fell just 3 percentage points shy of meeting that supermajority threshold when it first tried to pass a childcare funding measure. But since then, a series of court decisions made it easier to pass similar citizen-led tax initiatives. But if voters approve Prop 43 this November, that may not be the case in the future. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Joanne Webster, president of the North Bay Leadership Council, a public advocacy group backing the measure, said she sympathizes with people who are skeptical of new taxes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Joanne Webster, president of the North Bay Leadership Council, a public advocacy group backing the measure, said she sympathizes with people who are skeptical of new taxes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I agree that we should scrutinize every tax,” Webster said. “But we should also consider the cost of doing nothing.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I agree that we should scrutinize every tax,” Webster said. “But we should also consider the cost of doing nothing.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103075\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103075\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She said, “Ten years ago, when we tried this and needed two-thirds [of the vote to pass], it was a slim margin, and that’s a shame because we could’ve collected some $50 million since then, and we wouldn’t be in this situation we’re in now.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She said, “Ten years ago, when we tried this and needed two-thirds [of the vote to pass], it was a slim margin, and that’s a shame because we could’ve collected some $50 million since then, and we wouldn’t be in this situation we’re in now.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers also said the measure lacks a clear plan for how the money will be spent, but supporters argue that flexibility is part of the design. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If approved, an advisory council appointed by county supervisors will assess the biggest needs and recommend a spending plan.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s structured that way so we can be nimble and react to what’s happening in our local community with childcare, and be able to pivot if we need to lean heavily one year into [investing in the] workforce or lean more heavily into building more facilities another year,” Gilmore said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Ravenswood, the school district proposed the parcel tax to fund several priorities, including childcare, after conducting surveys and finding that it was a high priority for residents within its boundaries. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103076\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play in a yard at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Voters passed the measure in 2024, and revenue from the tax began to reach the working-class community over the summer. Pace said home-based childcare providers are starting to get funding to cover tuition for families who qualify for subsidized care. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Voters passed the measure in 2024, and revenue from the tax began to reach the working-class community over the summer. Pace said home-based childcare providers are starting to get funding to cover tuition for families who qualify for subsidized care. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Pace said her staff visits childcare programs to verify the money is directly benefiting residents.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are being hyper vigilant and intentional about the tax fund only serving families and providers in this community,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some of the funding also goes toward recruiting people who live in the district to become early childhood educators. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That has helped stabilize staffing at All Five, a preschool in Menlo Park, and it’s given parents like Gloria Pirir a chance to go from volunteering in the classroom to working in one.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That has helped stabilize staffing at All Five, a preschool in Menlo Park, and it’s given parents like Gloria Pirir a chance to go from volunteering in the classroom to working in one.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Pirir said she was inspired to become an early educator after seeing her daughter’s teachers help young kids manage their emotions and resolve conflicts. She said the teachers helped her sign up for classes, and she connected to a county program that provided tuition assistance and coaching to help her earn an associate teacher permit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Pirir said she was inspired to become an early educator after seeing her daughter’s teachers help young kids manage their emotions and resolve conflicts. She said the teachers helped her sign up for classes, and she connected to a county program that provided tuition assistance and coaching to help her earn an associate teacher permit.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Everything became possible because the teachers encouraged me. They said, ‘I know you’re a single mom, but you can do it, Gloria,’” she said. “The teachers believed in me.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Everything became possible because the teachers encouraged me. They said, ‘I know you’re a single mom, but you can do it, Gloria,’” she said. “The teachers believed in me.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated how the parcel tax in the Ravenswood City School District gets distributed.\u003c/em> \u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated how the parcel tax in the Ravenswood City School District gets distributed.\u003c/em> \u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Marin County’s Measure P proposes adopting a special parcel tax to increase access to childcare. If it passes, the Bay Area county would be the fourth in eight years to create a local solution to a broken market. ",
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"title": "As Costs Crush Families, This Bay Area County Could Be Latest to Subsidize Childcare | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A regional movement to help families afford childcare and support its littlest learners is reaching Marin County, home to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/topics/childcare/price-by-age-care-setting-2022\">some of the highest childcare prices in the nation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If voters approve Measure P, a parcel tax that would raise about $12.5 million per year over 15 years, Marin would become the fourth Bay Area county in eight years to come up with a dedicated funding stream for childcare. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2018, San Francisco, Alameda and Sonoma counties have raised several hundred million dollars through special taxes to subsidize childcare spots for families, add more childcare facilities and increase wages for early childhood educators to help them stay in the field. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">San Francisco, for example, uses revenue from a tax on commercial buildings to cover up to $36,000 per year in childcare for low-income families. Meanwhile, Alameda County uses funds from a sales tax to boost \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055336/alameda-county-is-giving-cash-to-child-care-providers-other-bay-area-counties-are-envious\">early childhood educators\u003c/a>’ wages to at least $25 per hour. A statewide survey shows their pay often starts \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/data-snapshot/california-wages-2020-to-2025/\">below the $20 state minimum wage\u003c/a> for fast-food workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More recently, revenue from a parcel tax approved by voters in 2024 in a small San Mateo County school district is starting to flow to families and childcare providers in East Palo Alto and a section of Menlo Park.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103078\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-22-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marcela Bonilla (left) works with Karen Pace, executive director of Ravenswood Early Learning, at All Five in Menlo Park on Sept. 25, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates say a local fund is needed to \u003ca href=\"https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/The-Economics-of-Childcare-Supply-09-14-final.pdf\">fix a broken market\u003c/a> where parents struggle to afford the full cost of childcare, yet providers barely break even. To do so, they need to keep costs down by minimizing what they spend on labor. But low wages have also led to high turnover at childcare programs, according to \u003ca href=\"https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/data-snapshot/california-program-profiles-2024/\">research by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment\u003c/a> at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s a math problem,” said Karen Pace, executive director of Ravenswood Early Learning, a nonprofit receiving some of the parcel tax revenue from the Ravenswood City School District. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We need to charge tuition that matches what families can pay and still have a nice life, and we need to pay early childhood educators enough to live in the community and support their families and have a nice life,” she said. “There has to be other financial support.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Statewide, demand for childcare far exceeds supply. Nearly 2 million children across California are eligible for state-subsidized childcare programs, but there isn’t enough funding to meet demand, according to an \u003ca href=\"https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/understanding-californias-1-8-million-gap-in-publicly-funded-child-care/\">analysis by the California Budget and Policy Center\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was the scenario in Marin County a decade ago when hundreds of low-income families couldn’t get a spot. A coalition of parents and advocates put forward a sales tax measure to augment the state’s funding and subsidize childcare for residents. But the measure didn’t pass.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, the cost of licensed childcare in the county went up by nearly 40%, averaging $2,315 per month in 2024, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1727976979/marinschoolsorg/mgyhudxyu1ukj6pjmyzd/2024LPCNeedsAssessment.pdf\">report by the Marin County Child Care Commission\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the high cost of living in Marin has made it tough to attract and retain childcare staff, leading to reduced capacity and long waiting lists for families, the report said. Fewer than half of children in working families had access to a licensed childcare space in Marin County, and early childhood educators who can’t afford to live there often commute from other counties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the North Bay Children’s Center opened a new facility in Novato a year ago, the center had state and federal funding to fill a classroom and more than 80 children on a waitlist for subsidized care. But it couldn’t enroll them because it couldn’t find qualified teachers, according to Susan Gilmore, the center’s CEO.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It took us about eight months before we had the teaching team we needed to open that classroom,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shortage of childcare has rippling consequences for businesses like grocery stores and senior living facilities, said Paula Reynolds, director of strategic projects for the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They’re so dependent on an enormous workforce showing up for work on a consistent basis,” she said. “It’s the reliability of childcare that has an impact on businesses and their ability to plan and get through their day.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But opponents of Measure P say employers, not taxpayers, should contribute to the childcare fund. The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers has urged voters to reject the measure, warning it is among a “tsunami” of proposed taxes, bonds and fees coming before Marin County voters at a time when they’re already pinched by inflation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Affordability is at a breaking point,” the coalition said on its website. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103074\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The “Wobbly Walkers” head to the playground at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lucy Dilworth, a member of the coalition’s board, declined a request for an interview.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But proponents of the measure say it might be too risky to wait for another election. \u003ca href=\"https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/43/index.htm\">Proposition 43\u003c/a>, a statewide measure on this November’s ballot, would require future citizen-led ballot initiatives to secure a supermajority, or two-thirds support, to pass. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2016, voters in Marin County fell just 3 percentage points shy of meeting that supermajority threshold when it first tried to pass a childcare funding measure. But since then, a series of court decisions made it easier to pass similar citizen-led tax initiatives. But if voters approve Prop 43 this November, that may not be the case in the future. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joanne Webster, president of the North Bay Leadership Council, a public advocacy group backing the measure, said she sympathizes with people who are skeptical of new taxes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I agree that we should scrutinize every tax,” Webster said. “But we should also consider the cost of doing nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103075\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said, “Ten years ago, when we tried this and needed two-thirds [of the vote to pass], it was a slim margin, and that’s a shame because we could’ve collected some $50 million since then, and we wouldn’t be in this situation we’re in now.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers also said the measure lacks a clear plan for how the money will be spent, but supporters argue that flexibility is part of the design. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If approved, an advisory council appointed by county supervisors will assess the biggest needs and recommend a spending plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s structured that way so we can be nimble and react to what’s happening in our local community with childcare, and be able to pivot if we need to lean heavily one year into [investing in the] workforce or lean more heavily into building more facilities another year,” Gilmore said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Ravenswood, the school district proposed the parcel tax to fund several priorities, including childcare, after conducting surveys and finding that it was a high priority for residents within its boundaries. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103076\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/260925-ChildcareBallotMeasure-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students play in a yard at All Five, an early childhood education program in Menlo Park, on Sept. 25, 2026. The nonprofit serves children from 6 weeks old until they start kindergarten, drawing families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voters passed the measure in 2024, and revenue from the tax began to reach the working-class community over the summer. Pace said home-based childcare providers are starting to get funding to cover tuition for families who qualify for subsidized care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pace said her staff visits childcare programs to verify the money is directly benefiting residents.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We are being hyper vigilant and intentional about the tax fund only serving families and providers in this community,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of the funding also goes toward recruiting people who live in the district to become early childhood educators. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That has helped stabilize staffing at All Five, a preschool in Menlo Park, and it’s given parents like Gloria Pirir a chance to go from volunteering in the classroom to working in one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pirir said she was inspired to become an early educator after seeing her daughter’s teachers help young kids manage their emotions and resolve conflicts. She said the teachers helped her sign up for classes, and she connected to a county program that provided tuition assistance and coaching to help her earn an associate teacher permit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Everything became possible because the teachers encouraged me. They said, ‘I know you’re a single mom, but you can do it, Gloria,’” she said. “The teachers believed in me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated how the parcel tax in the Ravenswood City School District gets distributed.\u003c/em> \u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "former-benicia-elementary-teacher-found-guilty-of-sexually-abusing-his-students",
"title": "‘Justice Was Served’: Former Benicia Elementary Teacher Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing His Students",
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"headTitle": "‘Justice Was Served’: Former Benicia Elementary Teacher Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing His Students | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Editor’s Note: This story includes details of alleged sexual misconduct against minors.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A jury on Thursday found a former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/benicia\">Benicia\u003c/a> teacher guilty of sexually abusing four students at Robert Semple Elementary School, bringing to a close a criminal case that rocked the waterfront community and highlighted statewide gaps in educator vetting. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Matthew Shelton, 44, faced 12 felony counts of lewd acts with a child. He was convicted of 11 of those counts. The jury declared a mistrial for the remaining count. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was not the first time Shelton had been on trial for sexually abusing elementary students. Nearly two decades ago, Shelton stood trial over similar allegations that he sexually abused students at Phillips Edison Elementary School, a charter school in Napa. The jury acquitted him in 2008 after deliberating for just 20 minutes. The Benicia Unified School District hired him months later. Shelton then taught at the West Contra Costa Unified School District before returning to Benicia in 2015. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the victims of the alleged abuse in Napa, who testified in Shelton’s trial this month, said the verdict felt like a long time coming. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Justice was served. We’re finally here. Almost 20 years later,” she told KQED. This news organization does not name victims of alleged abuse without their consent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman, now in her 20s, said she testified on behalf of the girls in Benicia — and to make sure Shelton did not escape justice a second time.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It brought me back to being that third-grader and not being believed,” she said, adding that testifying as an adult felt different. “I felt like I had a voice this time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman was among seven former students from two school districts, ranging in ages from teens to adults in their late 20s, who took the stand over three weeks to testify against Shelton. They alleged that between 2007 and late 2022, he touched their butts, their crotch area, or that he made them touch his penis. Most of the abuse occurred in his classroom, including while other students were present. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101867\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matthew Shelton holds hands with his wife Brandy Shelton as he walks into the Solano County Law and Justice Center for his court hearing in Fairfield on Sept. 28, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Shelton was acquitted in 2008, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing — the state agency charged with determining who is fit to teach in California public schools — considered whether to discipline him, ultimately issuing a private admonishment. Such punishments, which are rare, are hidden from the public and must be expunged by the state and employers within three years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While making the case to the state for why he should be allowed to continue teaching, Shelton said he was willing to “put this event behind him” for future students who could benefit from his educational experience. He told the state panel of volunteers who reviewed his case that he changed his teaching practices, putting neon orange tape on the floor by his desk to create a physical barrier students were not allowed to cross, according to audio from the review played for the jury. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The state allowed him to keep his license, and Shelton worked hard to ingratiate himself with Benicia parents and school administrators so future victims would not be believed, Shapiro said. Shapiro said when girls first reported inappropriate touching by Shelton to the Robert Semple Elementary principal, Christina Moore, in December 2022, they did not think their principal believed them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the trial, prosecutors played footage showing she told an officer the girls in Shelton’s class were 10 years old and hormonal, and that there was “a lot of emotion” in the classroom. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moore was put on leave the day after the verdict. Reached by phone, she declined to comment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“[Shelton] thought that if he were valued by the school district, even if those students and victims did come forward, they likely would not make their way to the police department and certainly would not have the strength to make it into court,” Shapiro said. “The defendant was wrong.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shelton’s defense attorney, Amanda Bevins, declined to comment on the verdict on Thursday. She had argued in her closing statement on Tuesday that multiple girls making allegations did not mean the claims were true.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Repetition is not corroboration,” Bevins said. “The argument assumes the accounts developed independently. The evidence shows the opposite.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>She told the jury that the Benicia victims’ allegations became more detailed and egregious over time, beginning with claims of hugs and pinches on the arm that eventually morphed into accusations of sexual abuse. The girls’ memories, she said, had become “contaminated” by outside influences, from classmates and parents to attorneys posting ads online seeking victims of Shelton to represent in civil lawsuits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shelton acknowledged that he hugged students at Robert Semple Elementary School, and Bevins noted the school had no policy against touching students. She said no other students in Shelton’s classroom independently corroborated the girls’ claims that he touched their butts.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“If the prosecution’s theory is true, and Shelton was touching girls’ bottoms every day, multiple times a day, in front of the classroom, where is the corroboration? Where is the immediate outcry?” Bevins said. “It’s not there.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said another one of the girls’ claims that Shelton reached in the back seat of the car he was driving — then touched her crotch while he smiled — was either impossible or nearly impossible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101868\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-21-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Solano County Law and Justice Center in Fairfield on Sept. 28, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of the girls who accused Shelton of sexually abusing them at Phillips Edison Elementary School in Napa testified again at this trial. Bevins described the students as obstructive during their testimonies. One answered several of the defense attorney’s questions by saying she could not remember. Bevins said the other student appeared “angry” and “out for vengeance.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former Napa student alleged during the trial that Shelton touched her crotch and made her touch his penis when she was in the third grade. Shapiro asked her to describe his demeanor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said Shelton would smile. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Like he’s doing now,” she said from the witness stand. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview with KQED after the verdict, the former student said she could feel him looking at her “deep within her soul” and his expression brought her back to being a third-grader in his classroom all over again.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She is still dealing with the trauma, she said, and struggles to trust male teachers around her own daughter. Sending her daughter to third-grade was the hardest, she said. But she said the guilty verdict closes a painful chapter for her. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She now works for an organization that advocates for victims of domestic violence and assault. “Being the voice for others is the whole purpose I’m put on this earth for.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the criminal trial is over, Benicia Unified still faces three lawsuits alleging the district failed to protect its students when administrators hired Shelton in 2008. During the trial, the prosecutor presented evidence that appeared to show the state had notified the school district that it privately admonished Shelton. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They really dropped the ball,” said the mother of one of the girls suing Benicia Unified, who also testified at the trial. KQED is not naming her to protect her daughter’s identity. “They allowed someone like this inside of our school system. Somebody who was supposed to be a trusted figure.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a written statement, the Benicia Unified superintendent, Chris Calabrese, said the district’s focus is on the well-being and safety of its students.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We are committed to maintaining strong hiring and screening practices, clear reporting procedures, staff training, and a school culture where students feel safe and heard,” Calabrese said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the mom said the issue extends beyond the district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Shelton agreed to resign from Benicia Unified in 2023 following complaints he touched students inappropriately, he was hired as an assistant principal at Helms Middle School in West Contra Costa Unified. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the job application, Shelton listed as his supervisor a former teaching colleague and identified her as a principal, which she was not. Shelton acknowledged to the jury he lied and that he expected the teacher to provide a favorable reference. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Why didn’t they protect the children there?” the mother said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A spokesperson for West Contra Costa Unified said the district conducts reference checks when hiring and information during that process is “carefully vetted.” The district spokesperson said officials there placed Shelton on administrative leave in August 2023 after receiving an anonymous complaint.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2025, California public school administrators have been required to ask every single previous employing school whether teaching candidates were reported to the state for credible or substantiated reports of egregious misconduct. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097322/california-teacher-misconduct-bill-administrator-discipline-al-muratsuchi\">new law\u003c/a>, which goes into effect next year and was prompted by a \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">KQED-ProPublica investigation\u003c/a>, clarifies administrators who fail to do so may be subject to discipline by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But some school administrators say contacting every former employing school and getting their responses leaves room for error, since prospective teachers can omit information, or lie. Two California bills proposed this year would have created a searchable database to allow hiring schools to determine whether prospective teachers had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093249/california-teacher-misconduct-database-bill-failed-al-muratsuchi\">both killed\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shelton is scheduled for sentencing in December. He faces life in prison.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s Note: This story includes details of alleged sexual misconduct against minors.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A jury on Thursday found a former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/benicia\">Benicia\u003c/a> teacher guilty of sexually abusing four students at Robert Semple Elementary School, bringing to a close a criminal case that rocked the waterfront community and highlighted statewide gaps in educator vetting. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A jury on Thursday found a former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/benicia\">Benicia\u003c/a> teacher guilty of sexually abusing four students at Robert Semple Elementary School, bringing to a close a criminal case that rocked the waterfront community and highlighted statewide gaps in educator vetting. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Matthew Shelton, 44, faced 12 felony counts of lewd acts with a child. He was convicted of 11 of those counts. The jury declared a mistrial for the remaining count. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Matthew Shelton, 44, faced 12 felony counts of lewd acts with a child. He was convicted of 11 of those counts. The jury declared a mistrial for the remaining count. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This was not the first time Shelton had been on trial for sexually abusing elementary students. Nearly two decades ago, Shelton stood trial over similar allegations that he sexually abused students at Phillips Edison Elementary School, a charter school in Napa. The jury acquitted him in 2008 after deliberating for just 20 minutes. The Benicia Unified School District hired him months later. Shelton then taught at the West Contra Costa Unified School District before returning to Benicia in 2015. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This was not the first time Shelton had been on trial for sexually abusing elementary students. Nearly two decades ago, Shelton stood trial over similar allegations that he sexually abused students at Phillips Edison Elementary School, a charter school in Napa. The jury acquitted him in 2008 after deliberating for just 20 minutes. The Benicia Unified School District hired him months later. Shelton then taught at the West Contra Costa Unified School District before returning to Benicia in 2015. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of the victims of the alleged abuse in Napa, who testified in Shelton’s trial this month, said the verdict felt like a long time coming. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of the victims of the alleged abuse in Napa, who testified in Shelton’s trial this month, said the verdict felt like a long time coming. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Justice was served. We’re finally here. Almost 20 years later,” she told KQED. This news organization does not name victims of alleged abuse without their consent.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Justice was served. We’re finally here. Almost 20 years later,” she told KQED. This news organization does not name victims of alleged abuse without their consent.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The woman, now in her 20s, said she testified on behalf of the girls in Benicia — and to make sure Shelton did not escape justice a second time.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It brought me back to being that third-grader and not being believed,” she said, adding that testifying as an adult felt different. “I felt like I had a voice this time.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The woman, now in her 20s, said she testified on behalf of the girls in Benicia — and to make sure Shelton did not escape justice a second time.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It brought me back to being that third-grader and not being believed,” she said, adding that testifying as an adult felt different. “I felt like I had a voice this time.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The woman was among seven former students from two school districts, ranging in ages from teens to adults in their late 20s, who took the stand over three weeks to testify against Shelton. They alleged that between 2007 and late 2022, he touched their butts, their crotch area, or that he made them touch his penis. Most of the abuse occurred in his classroom, including while other students were present. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The woman was among seven former students from two school districts, ranging in ages from teens to adults in their late 20s, who took the stand over three weeks to testify against Shelton. They alleged that between 2007 and late 2022, he touched their butts, their crotch area, or that he made them touch his penis. Most of the abuse occurred in his classroom, including while other students were present. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101867\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matthew Shelton holds hands with his wife Brandy Shelton as he walks into the Solano County Law and Justice Center for his court hearing in Fairfield on Sept. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Shelton was acquitted in 2008, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing — the state agency charged with determining who is fit to teach in California public schools — considered whether to discipline him, ultimately issuing a private admonishment. Such punishments, which are rare, are hidden from the public and must be expunged by the state and employers within three years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After Shelton was acquitted in 2008, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing — the state agency charged with determining who is fit to teach in California public schools — considered whether to discipline him, ultimately issuing a private admonishment. Such punishments, which are rare, are hidden from the public and must be expunged by the state and employers within three years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While making the case to the state for why he should be allowed to continue teaching, Shelton said he was willing to “put this event behind him” for future students who could benefit from his educational experience. He told the state panel of volunteers who reviewed his case that he changed his teaching practices, putting neon orange tape on the floor by his desk to create a physical barrier students were not allowed to cross, according to audio from the review played for the jury. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While making the case to the state for why he should be allowed to continue teaching, Shelton said he was willing to “put this event behind him” for future students who could benefit from his educational experience. He told the state panel of volunteers who reviewed his case that he changed his teaching practices, putting neon orange tape on the floor by his desk to create a physical barrier students were not allowed to cross, according to audio from the review played for the jury. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The state allowed him to keep his license, and Shelton worked hard to ingratiate himself with Benicia parents and school administrators so future victims would not be believed, Shapiro said. Shapiro said when girls first reported inappropriate touching by Shelton to the Robert Semple Elementary principal, Christina Moore, in December 2022, they did not think their principal believed them.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The state allowed him to keep his license, and Shelton worked hard to ingratiate himself with Benicia parents and school administrators so future victims would not be believed, Shapiro said. Shapiro said when girls first reported inappropriate touching by Shelton to the Robert Semple Elementary principal, Christina Moore, in December 2022, they did not think their principal believed them.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During the trial, prosecutors played footage showing she told an officer the girls in Shelton’s class were 10 years old and hormonal, and that there was “a lot of emotion” in the classroom. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>During the trial, prosecutors played footage showing she told an officer the girls in Shelton’s class were 10 years old and hormonal, and that there was “a lot of emotion” in the classroom. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Moore was put on leave the day after the verdict. Reached by phone, she declined to comment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[Shelton] thought that if he were valued by the school district, even if those students and victims did come forward, they likely would not make their way to the police department and certainly would not have the strength to make it into court,” Shapiro said. “The defendant was wrong.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“[Shelton] thought that if he were valued by the school district, even if those students and victims did come forward, they likely would not make their way to the police department and certainly would not have the strength to make it into court,” Shapiro said. “The defendant was wrong.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shelton’s defense attorney, Amanda Bevins, declined to comment on the verdict on Thursday. She had argued in her closing statement on Tuesday that multiple girls making allegations did not mean the claims were true.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Repetition is not corroboration,” Bevins said. “The argument assumes the accounts developed independently. The evidence shows the opposite.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>She told the jury that the Benicia victims’ allegations became more detailed and egregious over time, beginning with claims of hugs and pinches on the arm that eventually morphed into accusations of sexual abuse. The girls’ memories, she said, had become “contaminated” by outside influences, from classmates and parents to attorneys posting ads online seeking victims of Shelton to represent in civil lawsuits. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shelton acknowledged that he hugged students at Robert Semple Elementary School, and Bevins noted the school had no policy against touching students. She said no other students in Shelton’s classroom independently corroborated the girls’ claims that he touched their butts.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“If the prosecution’s theory is true, and Shelton was touching girls’ bottoms every day, multiple times a day, in front of the classroom, where is the corroboration? Where is the immediate outcry?” Bevins said. “It’s not there.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Shelton acknowledged that he hugged students at Robert Semple Elementary School, and Bevins noted the school had no policy against touching students. She said no other students in Shelton’s classroom independently corroborated the girls’ claims that he touched their butts.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“If the prosecution’s theory is true, and Shelton was touching girls’ bottoms every day, multiple times a day, in front of the classroom, where is the corroboration? Where is the immediate outcry?” Bevins said. “It’s not there.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She said another one of the girls’ claims that Shelton reached in the back seat of the car he was driving — then touched her crotch while he smiled — was either impossible or nearly impossible. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She said another one of the girls’ claims that Shelton reached in the back seat of the car he was driving — then touched her crotch while he smiled — was either impossible or nearly impossible. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Two of the girls who accused Shelton of sexually abusing them at Phillips Edison Elementary School in Napa testified again at this trial. Bevins described the students as obstructive during their testimonies. One answered several of the defense attorney’s questions by saying she could not remember. Bevins said the other student appeared “angry” and “out for vengeance.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Two of the girls who accused Shelton of sexually abusing them at Phillips Edison Elementary School in Napa testified again at this trial. Bevins described the students as obstructive during their testimonies. One answered several of the defense attorney’s questions by saying she could not remember. Bevins said the other student appeared “angry” and “out for vengeance.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The former Napa student alleged during the trial that Shelton touched her crotch and made her touch his penis when she was in the third grade. Shapiro asked her to describe his demeanor.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Like he’s doing now,” she said from the witness stand. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED after the verdict, the former student said she could feel him looking at her “deep within her soul” and his expression brought her back to being a third-grader in his classroom all over again.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED after the verdict, the former student said she could feel him looking at her “deep within her soul” and his expression brought her back to being a third-grader in his classroom all over again.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She is still dealing with the trauma, she said, and struggles to trust male teachers around her own daughter. Sending her daughter to third-grade was the hardest, she said. But she said the guilty verdict closes a painful chapter for her. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She is still dealing with the trauma, she said, and struggles to trust male teachers around her own daughter. Sending her daughter to third-grade was the hardest, she said. But she said the guilty verdict closes a painful chapter for her. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She now works for an organization that advocates for victims of domestic violence and assault. “Being the voice for others is the whole purpose I’m put on this earth for.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the criminal trial is over, Benicia Unified still faces three lawsuits alleging the district failed to protect its students when administrators hired Shelton in 2008. During the trial, the prosecutor presented evidence that appeared to show the state had notified the school district that it privately admonished Shelton. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While the criminal trial is over, Benicia Unified still faces three lawsuits alleging the district failed to protect its students when administrators hired Shelton in 2008. During the trial, the prosecutor presented evidence that appeared to show the state had notified the school district that it privately admonished Shelton. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They really dropped the ball,” said the mother of one of the girls suing Benicia Unified, who also testified at the trial. KQED is not naming her to protect her daughter’s identity. “They allowed someone like this inside of our school system. Somebody who was supposed to be a trusted figure.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They really dropped the ball,” said the mother of one of the girls suing Benicia Unified, who also testified at the trial. KQED is not naming her to protect her daughter’s identity. “They allowed someone like this inside of our school system. Somebody who was supposed to be a trusted figure.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a written statement, the Benicia Unified superintendent, Chris Calabrese, said the district’s focus is on the well-being and safety of its students.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are committed to maintaining strong hiring and screening practices, clear reporting procedures, staff training, and a school culture where students feel safe and heard,” Calabrese said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the mom said the issue extends beyond the district. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Shelton agreed to resign from Benicia Unified in 2023 following complaints he touched students inappropriately, he was hired as an assistant principal at Helms Middle School in West Contra Costa Unified. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>After Shelton agreed to resign from Benicia Unified in 2023 following complaints he touched students inappropriately, he was hired as an assistant principal at Helms Middle School in West Contra Costa Unified. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the job application, Shelton listed as his supervisor a former teaching colleague and identified her as a principal, which she was not. Shelton acknowledged to the jury he lied and that he expected the teacher to provide a favorable reference. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the job application, Shelton listed as his supervisor a former teaching colleague and identified her as a principal, which she was not. Shelton acknowledged to the jury he lied and that he expected the teacher to provide a favorable reference. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Why didn’t they protect the children there?” the mother said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for West Contra Costa Unified said the district conducts reference checks when hiring and information during that process is “carefully vetted.” The district spokesperson said officials there placed Shelton on administrative leave in August 2023 after receiving an anonymous complaint.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for West Contra Costa Unified said the district conducts reference checks when hiring and information during that process is “carefully vetted.” The district spokesperson said officials there placed Shelton on administrative leave in August 2023 after receiving an anonymous complaint.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since 2025, California public school administrators have been required to ask every single previous employing school whether teaching candidates were reported to the state for credible or substantiated reports of egregious misconduct. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097322/california-teacher-misconduct-bill-administrator-discipline-al-muratsuchi\">new law\u003c/a>, which goes into effect next year and was prompted by a \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">KQED-ProPublica investigation\u003c/a>, clarifies administrators who fail to do so may be subject to discipline by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since 2025, California public school administrators have been required to ask every single previous employing school whether teaching candidates were reported to the state for credible or substantiated reports of egregious misconduct. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097322/california-teacher-misconduct-bill-administrator-discipline-al-muratsuchi\">new law\u003c/a>, which goes into effect next year and was prompted by a \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">KQED-ProPublica investigation\u003c/a>, clarifies administrators who fail to do so may be subject to discipline by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But some school administrators say contacting every former employing school and getting their responses leaves room for error, since prospective teachers can omit information, or lie. Two California bills proposed this year would have created a searchable database to allow hiring schools to determine whether prospective teachers had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But some school administrators say contacting every former employing school and getting their responses leaves room for error, since prospective teachers can omit information, or lie. Two California bills proposed this year would have created a searchable database to allow hiring schools to determine whether prospective teachers had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093249/california-teacher-misconduct-database-bill-failed-al-muratsuchi\">both killed\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093249/california-teacher-misconduct-database-bill-failed-al-muratsuchi\">both killed\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shelton is scheduled for sentencing in December. He faces life in prison.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A Solano County jury found Matthew Shelton guilty of sexually abusing Benicia students. He was acquitted of similar allegations in Napa.\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Editor’s Note: This story includes details of alleged sexual misconduct against minors.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A jury on Thursday found a former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/benicia\">Benicia\u003c/a> teacher guilty of sexually abusing four students at Robert Semple Elementary School, bringing to a close a criminal case that rocked the waterfront community and highlighted statewide gaps in educator vetting. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Matthew Shelton, 44, faced 12 felony counts of lewd acts with a child. He was convicted of 11 of those counts. The jury declared a mistrial for the remaining count. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was not the first time Shelton had been on trial for sexually abusing elementary students. Nearly two decades ago, Shelton stood trial over similar allegations that he sexually abused students at Phillips Edison Elementary School, a charter school in Napa. The jury acquitted him in 2008 after deliberating for just 20 minutes. The Benicia Unified School District hired him months later. Shelton then taught at the West Contra Costa Unified School District before returning to Benicia in 2015. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the victims of the alleged abuse in Napa, who testified in Shelton’s trial this month, said the verdict felt like a long time coming. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Justice was served. We’re finally here. Almost 20 years later,” she told KQED. This news organization does not name victims of alleged abuse without their consent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman, now in her 20s, said she testified on behalf of the girls in Benicia — and to make sure Shelton did not escape justice a second time.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It brought me back to being that third-grader and not being believed,” she said, adding that testifying as an adult felt different. “I felt like I had a voice this time.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman was among seven former students from two school districts, ranging in ages from teens to adults in their late 20s, who took the stand over three weeks to testify against Shelton. They alleged that between 2007 and late 2022, he touched their butts, their crotch area, or that he made them touch his penis. Most of the abuse occurred in his classroom, including while other students were present. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101867\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-16-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matthew Shelton holds hands with his wife Brandy Shelton as he walks into the Solano County Law and Justice Center for his court hearing in Fairfield on Sept. 28, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Shelton was acquitted in 2008, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing — the state agency charged with determining who is fit to teach in California public schools — considered whether to discipline him, ultimately issuing a private admonishment. Such punishments, which are rare, are hidden from the public and must be expunged by the state and employers within three years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While making the case to the state for why he should be allowed to continue teaching, Shelton said he was willing to “put this event behind him” for future students who could benefit from his educational experience. He told the state panel of volunteers who reviewed his case that he changed his teaching practices, putting neon orange tape on the floor by his desk to create a physical barrier students were not allowed to cross, according to audio from the review played for the jury. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The state allowed him to keep his license, and Shelton worked hard to ingratiate himself with Benicia parents and school administrators so future victims would not be believed, Shapiro said. Shapiro said when girls first reported inappropriate touching by Shelton to the Robert Semple Elementary principal, Christina Moore, in December 2022, they did not think their principal believed them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the trial, prosecutors played footage showing she told an officer the girls in Shelton’s class were 10 years old and hormonal, and that there was “a lot of emotion” in the classroom. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moore was put on leave the day after the verdict. Reached by phone, she declined to comment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“[Shelton] thought that if he were valued by the school district, even if those students and victims did come forward, they likely would not make their way to the police department and certainly would not have the strength to make it into court,” Shapiro said. “The defendant was wrong.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shelton’s defense attorney, Amanda Bevins, declined to comment on the verdict on Thursday. She had argued in her closing statement on Tuesday that multiple girls making allegations did not mean the claims were true.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Repetition is not corroboration,” Bevins said. “The argument assumes the accounts developed independently. The evidence shows the opposite.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>She told the jury that the Benicia victims’ allegations became more detailed and egregious over time, beginning with claims of hugs and pinches on the arm that eventually morphed into accusations of sexual abuse. The girls’ memories, she said, had become “contaminated” by outside influences, from classmates and parents to attorneys posting ads online seeking victims of Shelton to represent in civil lawsuits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shelton acknowledged that he hugged students at Robert Semple Elementary School, and Bevins noted the school had no policy against touching students. She said no other students in Shelton’s classroom independently corroborated the girls’ claims that he touched their butts.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“If the prosecution’s theory is true, and Shelton was touching girls’ bottoms every day, multiple times a day, in front of the classroom, where is the corroboration? Where is the immediate outcry?” Bevins said. “It’s not there.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said another one of the girls’ claims that Shelton reached in the back seat of the car he was driving — then touched her crotch while he smiled — was either impossible or nearly impossible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-21-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101868\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-21-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-21-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/20260928_BeniciaTeacherTrial_GC-21-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Solano County Law and Justice Center in Fairfield on Sept. 28, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of the girls who accused Shelton of sexually abusing them at Phillips Edison Elementary School in Napa testified again at this trial. Bevins described the students as obstructive during their testimonies. One answered several of the defense attorney’s questions by saying she could not remember. Bevins said the other student appeared “angry” and “out for vengeance.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former Napa student alleged during the trial that Shelton touched her crotch and made her touch his penis when she was in the third grade. Shapiro asked her to describe his demeanor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said Shelton would smile. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Like he’s doing now,” she said from the witness stand. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview with KQED after the verdict, the former student said she could feel him looking at her “deep within her soul” and his expression brought her back to being a third-grader in his classroom all over again.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She is still dealing with the trauma, she said, and struggles to trust male teachers around her own daughter. Sending her daughter to third-grade was the hardest, she said. But she said the guilty verdict closes a painful chapter for her. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She now works for an organization that advocates for victims of domestic violence and assault. “Being the voice for others is the whole purpose I’m put on this earth for.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the criminal trial is over, Benicia Unified still faces three lawsuits alleging the district failed to protect its students when administrators hired Shelton in 2008. During the trial, the prosecutor presented evidence that appeared to show the state had notified the school district that it privately admonished Shelton. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They really dropped the ball,” said the mother of one of the girls suing Benicia Unified, who also testified at the trial. KQED is not naming her to protect her daughter’s identity. “They allowed someone like this inside of our school system. Somebody who was supposed to be a trusted figure.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a written statement, the Benicia Unified superintendent, Chris Calabrese, said the district’s focus is on the well-being and safety of its students.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We are committed to maintaining strong hiring and screening practices, clear reporting procedures, staff training, and a school culture where students feel safe and heard,” Calabrese said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the mom said the issue extends beyond the district. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Shelton agreed to resign from Benicia Unified in 2023 following complaints he touched students inappropriately, he was hired as an assistant principal at Helms Middle School in West Contra Costa Unified. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the job application, Shelton listed as his supervisor a former teaching colleague and identified her as a principal, which she was not. Shelton acknowledged to the jury he lied and that he expected the teacher to provide a favorable reference. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Why didn’t they protect the children there?” the mother said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A spokesperson for West Contra Costa Unified said the district conducts reference checks when hiring and information during that process is “carefully vetted.” The district spokesperson said officials there placed Shelton on administrative leave in August 2023 after receiving an anonymous complaint.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2025, California public school administrators have been required to ask every single previous employing school whether teaching candidates were reported to the state for credible or substantiated reports of egregious misconduct. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12097322/california-teacher-misconduct-bill-administrator-discipline-al-muratsuchi\">new law\u003c/a>, which goes into effect next year and was prompted by a \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">KQED-ProPublica investigation\u003c/a>, clarifies administrators who fail to do so may be subject to discipline by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But some school administrators say contacting every former employing school and getting their responses leaves room for error, since prospective teachers can omit information, or lie. Two California bills proposed this year would have created a searchable database to allow hiring schools to determine whether prospective teachers had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093249/california-teacher-misconduct-database-bill-failed-al-muratsuchi\">both killed\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shelton is scheduled for sentencing in December. He faces life in prison.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Faculty and Students Protest CSU Event, Demand Higher Pay and Job Security",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A group of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> Faculty Association union members and students rallied in San José on Thursday to protest a speech by the state university system’s chancellor, demanding higher pay and more job security protections against AI.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lecturers, faculty members and students from Sacramento and San José State University marched in the rain in front of the city’s Signia Hilton Hotel, which hosted California State University’s 2026 Student Success Symposium.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Holding signs that read “CSU unfair to labor” and “Step up or strike out,” they called on CSU Chancellor Mildred García, who was giving a speech at the event. They chanted, “What do we want? Fair contracts! When do we want it? Now!”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We want to be heard at the bargaining table and let her know that faculty is present at San José State,” said Ginevra Marta Scherini, a lecturer at the university. “We want fair bargaining and good outcomes for our contracts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12037915\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tower Hall at San José State University on April 3, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July, the faculty union declared an impasse in contract negotiations after \u003ca href=\"https://www.calfac.org/cfa-declares-impasse-in-contract-bargaining-negotiations/\">CSU returned with a proposal\u003c/a> that would cut their health benefits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scherini, who said she’s been working at the university for five years and teaches in three different departments, still has to work a second job to afford living in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also said she’s worried about how SJSU and CSU’s interest in AI will impact her job security.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/technology/ai-empowered-csu/Pages/ai-timeline.aspx\">CSU launched its AI Initiative in 2025\u003c/a> with the goal of becoming the “nation’s first and largest AI-empowered university system,” partnering with the governor’s office, Adobe, OpenAI, NVIDIA and other tech companies to implement more AI tools for students, staff and faculty members.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upstairs, above the lobby, administrators and presidents from each of the 22 CSU campuses listened to García’s plans for increasing academic success, graduation rates and hiring rates in the coming few years. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>“The CSU has never been and will not now be reckless with our students’ futures,” García said at the symposium.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Personally, I’m a waitress on Fridays so that I can make ends meet,” Scherini said. “If we’re having to juggle two, three jobs to make ends meet, that’s going to directly impact their learning outcomes.” She said she has been going to AI training sessions, but the policies around how AI usage on campus are still vague.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“One of the major guardrails I hope to see come out is to make sure that artificial intelligence isn’t used to replace faculty and substitute for classroom learning,” Scherini added.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">San José State University spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald told KQED at the event that the university is keeping its AI policies “more open” to allow professors and lecturers to freely decide how they want it to be used in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The university hears those concerns, the provost hears those concerns, and it’s a matter of how prescriptive you are about AI and AI usage,” McDonald said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lecturers, faculty members and students from Sacramento and San José State University marched in the rain in front of the city’s Signia Hilton Hotel, which hosted California State University’s 2026 Student Success Symposium.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Holding signs that read “CSU unfair to labor” and “Step up or strike out,” they called on CSU Chancellor Mildred García, who was giving a speech at the event. They chanted, “What do we want? Fair contracts! When do we want it? Now!”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We want to be heard at the bargaining table and let her know that faculty is present at San José State,” said Ginevra Marta Scherini, a lecturer at the university. “We want fair bargaining and good outcomes for our contracts.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/technology/ai-empowered-csu/Pages/ai-timeline.aspx\">CSU launched its AI Initiative in 2025\u003c/a> with the goal of becoming the “nation’s first and largest AI-empowered university system,” partnering with the governor’s office, Adobe, OpenAI, NVIDIA and other tech companies to implement more AI tools for students, staff and faculty members.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Upstairs, above the lobby, administrators and presidents from each of the 22 CSU campuses listened to García’s plans for increasing academic success, graduation rates and hiring rates in the coming few years. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>“The CSU has never been and will not now be reckless with our students’ futures,” García said at the symposium.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Personally, I’m a waitress on Fridays so that I can make ends meet,” Scherini said. “If we’re having to juggle two, three jobs to make ends meet, that’s going to directly impact their learning outcomes.” She said she has been going to AI training sessions, but the policies around how AI usage on campus are still vague.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“One of the major guardrails I hope to see come out is to make sure that artificial intelligence isn’t used to replace faculty and substitute for classroom learning,” Scherini added.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San José State University spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald told KQED at the event that the university is keeping its AI policies “more open” to allow professors and lecturers to freely decide how they want it to be used in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The university hears those concerns, the provost hears those concerns, and it’s a matter of how prescriptive you are about AI and AI usage,” McDonald said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The rally follows a recent impasse in contract negotiations between the faculty union and California State University.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A group of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> Faculty Association union members and students rallied in San José on Thursday to protest a speech by the state university system’s chancellor, demanding higher pay and more job security protections against AI.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lecturers, faculty members and students from Sacramento and San José State University marched in the rain in front of the city’s Signia Hilton Hotel, which hosted California State University’s 2026 Student Success Symposium.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Holding signs that read “CSU unfair to labor” and “Step up or strike out,” they called on CSU Chancellor Mildred García, who was giving a speech at the event. They chanted, “What do we want? Fair contracts! When do we want it? Now!”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We want to be heard at the bargaining table and let her know that faculty is present at San José State,” said Ginevra Marta Scherini, a lecturer at the university. “We want fair bargaining and good outcomes for our contracts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12037915\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20240403_SJSUFILE_GC-11-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tower Hall at San José State University on April 3, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July, the faculty union declared an impasse in contract negotiations after \u003ca href=\"https://www.calfac.org/cfa-declares-impasse-in-contract-bargaining-negotiations/\">CSU returned with a proposal\u003c/a> that would cut their health benefits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scherini, who said she’s been working at the university for five years and teaches in three different departments, still has to work a second job to afford living in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also said she’s worried about how SJSU and CSU’s interest in AI will impact her job security.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/technology/ai-empowered-csu/Pages/ai-timeline.aspx\">CSU launched its AI Initiative in 2025\u003c/a> with the goal of becoming the “nation’s first and largest AI-empowered university system,” partnering with the governor’s office, Adobe, OpenAI, NVIDIA and other tech companies to implement more AI tools for students, staff and faculty members.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upstairs, above the lobby, administrators and presidents from each of the 22 CSU campuses listened to García’s plans for increasing academic success, graduation rates and hiring rates in the coming few years. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>“The CSU has never been and will not now be reckless with our students’ futures,” García said at the symposium.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Personally, I’m a waitress on Fridays so that I can make ends meet,” Scherini said. “If we’re having to juggle two, three jobs to make ends meet, that’s going to directly impact their learning outcomes.” She said she has been going to AI training sessions, but the policies around how AI usage on campus are still vague.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“One of the major guardrails I hope to see come out is to make sure that artificial intelligence isn’t used to replace faculty and substitute for classroom learning,” Scherini added.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">San José State University spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald told KQED at the event that the university is keeping its AI policies “more open” to allow professors and lecturers to freely decide how they want it to be used in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The university hears those concerns, the provost hears those concerns, and it’s a matter of how prescriptive you are about AI and AI usage,” McDonald said.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "new-study-shows-low-income-students-gain-most-from-transitional-kindergarten",
"title": "New Study Shows Low-Income Students Gain Most From Transitional Kindergarten",
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"headTitle": "New Study Shows Low-Income Students Gain Most From Transitional Kindergarten | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first children to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082904/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close\">attend transitional kindergarten\u003c/a> when it began in California public schools more than a decade ago made significant learning gains that persisted into later elementary school years, according to a new UC Berkeley study.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Children from lower-income families \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11989955/what-to-expect-when-enrolling-your-child-in-transitional-kindergarten\">benefited the most from TK\u003c/a>, according to \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/universal-prek-california-education-reforms-brief\">a research brief published Thursday\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They gained about seven more months of learning in reading and math by third grade compared to students from the same school who did not attend TK. What’s more, the children who got an extra year of preschool in addition to TK made the biggest strides. The effects were larger and longer-lasting when they attended well-funded elementary schools. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers said the evidence shows that two major education reforms that happened around the time TK started in 2012 combined to narrow deep and \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-k-12-test-scores/\">longstanding achievement gaps\u003c/a> in California schools. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12069031\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children at Mission Kids Preschool in San Francisco raise their hands to ask Senator Alex Padilla a question on June 1, 2021. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those changes include the expansion of the California State Preschool Program, or CSPP, which is free to income-eligible 3- and 4-year-olds, and the Local Control Funding Formula, which directs more resources to high-need students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s this trifecta of public policies — TK, State Preschool and more equitable school funding — that has been the catalyst accelerating young children’s growth,” said Rucker Johnson, an economist and public policy professor at UC Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California introduced transitional kindergarten to address disparities that begin even before children enter kindergarten. The state’s previous Dec. 2 cutoff date to begin kindergarten was among the latest in the nation, which meant that some kids who were turning 5 in the fall were entering kindergarten when they were still 4. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This led families who could afford childcare or preschool on their own to delay entry, giving their kids a developmental advantage, while lower-income families typically couldn’t. By shifting the cutoff date to Sept. 1, and enrolling kids who were almost 5 in TK, lawmakers hoped that an extra year of early education would help them develop the necessary skills to succeed in kindergarten. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson said his research found that TK alone doesn’t solve the achievement gap. Instead, its efficacy hinges on what happens to children before, during and after they complete the grade. The benefits of TK were greater for low-income kids who first attended CSPP when they were 3 and persisted when they were in elementary schools that had more resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“You could think of each of these three policies having an independent effect that you could add, like two plus two plus two is six,” Johnson said. “But what we’re finding is that the effects are not additive but multiplicative. When you invest early, they actually make the efficacy of subsequent investments more effective. And so two plus two might equal eight.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin Land, a policy analyst and co-author of the study, said the findings suggest that children who attended CSPP might have gotten more out of TK because they started in a high-quality program. The program is modeled after Head Start but is less known than the federal antipoverty program. It provides play-based learning and family support services. Classroom sizes are smaller than TK and are often staffed by educators who speak children’s home languages.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"An adult's hands lay on top of a little kid's hands while making something with clay.\" class=\"wp-image-12007545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Preschoolers work with clay and flowers under a tented canopy at the North Bay Children’s Center in Healdsburg on Oct. 2, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“CSPP appears to have played an important role,” Land said. “If they have that year of preschool where it’s not so academic and they’re around other children their age before entering these more formal TK environments, that was important for them.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two years of early education made a difference for her family, said Selam Mulatu, a Bay Area mom who enrolled all three of her children in CSPP. She said her oldest, who is 9, began reading when he started kindergarten and now, “I can’t get him off of books.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“He really enjoyed the hands-on activities [in preschool],” Mulatu said. “He would come home with so many crafts and tracing and artwork. I think that really helped with coordination and just got him really excited to learn. We read a lot at home too — we’re big readers — so I think that contributes, as well.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mulatu said when she became a first-time parent, she assumed that children couldn’t enroll in public schools until they were 6 years old. But a relative told her about Franklin Preschool, a CSPP program run by the Berkeley Unified School District, and she learned she qualified for it based on her income as a waitress.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The preschool does a great job exposing them to so many different activities like gardening, reading, socializing. You cannot do all of that as a working mother,” she said. “I think it’s so important to have these systems because they fill in the gap that parents cannot meet.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the evidence of CSPP’s benefits, enrollment has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent data show only 18% of eligible 3-year-olds are enrolled in CSPP, even though in recent years the program has expanded to reach two-thirds of young children in California, including those from middle-income families, Land said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2603.asp\">Families who earn up to 100% of the state median income\u003c/a>, which is $136,044 for a family of four, qualify. The program can be offered in elementary schools, licensed child care centers or community-based organizations like the YMCA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-1408498187.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-1408498187.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-1408498187-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-1408498187-1536x1079.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chalk art decorates pavement outside of an old bus operating as a preschool at the Aspire Monarch Academy school in Oakland on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Land said now that TK is universally available to all 4-year-olds, regardless of their family’s income, the state could focus on strengthening CSPP and getting more eligible 3-year-olds into the program.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Because enrollment is lower than the budget suggests it should be, I think there’s a temptation to say, ‘Oh, families don’t want that because they’re not showing up for it and we should fund other things,’” he said. “That would be a tragedy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson, meanwhile, said that given that more than half of young children in California are learning English alongside their home language, the state could do more to meet the needs of these dual language learners. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research unrelated to this study has found that encouraging home language use in classrooms leads to stronger outcomes for these children. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We put a lot of emphasis on making sure children are ready for school, but we want to make sure schools are ready for children,” he said. “We’re the largest and most diverse state system in the country, so the lessons that we’re drawing out for California are a roadmap for many other state systems.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12069031\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children at Mission Kids Preschool in San Francisco raise their hands to ask Senator Alex Padilla a question on June 1, 2021.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those changes include the expansion of the California State Preschool Program, or CSPP, which is free to income-eligible 3- and 4-year-olds, and the Local Control Funding Formula, which directs more resources to high-need students. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Those changes include the expansion of the California State Preschool Program, or CSPP, which is free to income-eligible 3- and 4-year-olds, and the Local Control Funding Formula, which directs more resources to high-need students. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s this trifecta of public policies — TK, State Preschool and more equitable school funding — that has been the catalyst accelerating young children’s growth,” said Rucker Johnson, an economist and public policy professor at UC Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s this trifecta of public policies — TK, State Preschool and more equitable school funding — that has been the catalyst accelerating young children’s growth,” said Rucker Johnson, an economist and public policy professor at UC Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California introduced transitional kindergarten to address disparities that begin even before children enter kindergarten. The state’s previous Dec. 2 cutoff date to begin kindergarten was among the latest in the nation, which meant that some kids who were turning 5 in the fall were entering kindergarten when they were still 4. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California introduced transitional kindergarten to address disparities that begin even before children enter kindergarten. The state’s previous Dec. 2 cutoff date to begin kindergarten was among the latest in the nation, which meant that some kids who were turning 5 in the fall were entering kindergarten when they were still 4. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This led families who could afford childcare or preschool on their own to delay entry, giving their kids a developmental advantage, while lower-income families typically couldn’t. By shifting the cutoff date to Sept. 1, and enrolling kids who were almost 5 in TK, lawmakers hoped that an extra year of early education would help them develop the necessary skills to succeed in kindergarten. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This led families who could afford childcare or preschool on their own to delay entry, giving their kids a developmental advantage, while lower-income families typically couldn’t. By shifting the cutoff date to Sept. 1, and enrolling kids who were almost 5 in TK, lawmakers hoped that an extra year of early education would help them develop the necessary skills to succeed in kindergarten. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Johnson said his research found that TK alone doesn’t solve the achievement gap. Instead, its efficacy hinges on what happens to children before, during and after they complete the grade. The benefits of TK were greater for low-income kids who first attended CSPP when they were 3 and persisted when they were in elementary schools that had more resources. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Johnson said his research found that TK alone doesn’t solve the achievement gap. Instead, its efficacy hinges on what happens to children before, during and after they complete the grade. The benefits of TK were greater for low-income kids who first attended CSPP when they were 3 and persisted when they were in elementary schools that had more resources. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You could think of each of these three policies having an independent effect that you could add, like two plus two plus two is six,” Johnson said. “But what we’re finding is that the effects are not additive but multiplicative. When you invest early, they actually make the efficacy of subsequent investments more effective. And so two plus two might equal eight.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You could think of each of these three policies having an independent effect that you could add, like two plus two plus two is six,” Johnson said. “But what we’re finding is that the effects are not additive but multiplicative. When you invest early, they actually make the efficacy of subsequent investments more effective. And so two plus two might equal eight.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Austin Land, a policy analyst and co-author of the study, said the findings suggest that children who attended CSPP might have gotten more out of TK because they started in a high-quality program. The program is modeled after Head Start but is less known than the federal antipoverty program. It provides play-based learning and family support services. Classroom sizes are smaller than TK and are often staffed by educators who speak children’s home languages.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Austin Land, a policy analyst and co-author of the study, said the findings suggest that children who attended CSPP might have gotten more out of TK because they started in a high-quality program. The program is modeled after Head Start but is less known than the federal antipoverty program. It provides play-based learning and family support services. Classroom sizes are smaller than TK and are often staffed by educators who speak children’s home languages.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“CSPP appears to have played an important role,” Land said. “If they have that year of preschool where it’s not so academic and they’re around other children their age before entering these more formal TK environments, that was important for them.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“CSPP appears to have played an important role,” Land said. “If they have that year of preschool where it’s not so academic and they’re around other children their age before entering these more formal TK environments, that was important for them.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Two years of early education made a difference for her family, said Selam Mulatu, a Bay Area mom who enrolled all three of her children in CSPP. She said her oldest, who is 9, began reading when he started kindergarten and now, “I can’t get him off of books.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Two years of early education made a difference for her family, said Selam Mulatu, a Bay Area mom who enrolled all three of her children in CSPP. She said her oldest, who is 9, began reading when he started kindergarten and now, “I can’t get him off of books.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He really enjoyed the hands-on activities [in preschool],” Mulatu said. “He would come home with so many crafts and tracing and artwork. I think that really helped with coordination and just got him really excited to learn. We read a lot at home too — we’re big readers — so I think that contributes, as well.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He really enjoyed the hands-on activities [in preschool],” Mulatu said. “He would come home with so many crafts and tracing and artwork. I think that really helped with coordination and just got him really excited to learn. We read a lot at home too — we’re big readers — so I think that contributes, as well.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mulatu said when she became a first-time parent, she assumed that children couldn’t enroll in public schools until they were 6 years old. But a relative told her about Franklin Preschool, a CSPP program run by the Berkeley Unified School District, and she learned she qualified for it based on her income as a waitress.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Mulatu said when she became a first-time parent, she assumed that children couldn’t enroll in public schools until they were 6 years old. But a relative told her about Franklin Preschool, a CSPP program run by the Berkeley Unified School District, and she learned she qualified for it based on her income as a waitress.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The preschool does a great job exposing them to so many different activities like gardening, reading, socializing. You cannot do all of that as a working mother,” she said. “I think it’s so important to have these systems because they fill in the gap that parents cannot meet.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The preschool does a great job exposing them to so many different activities like gardening, reading, socializing. You cannot do all of that as a working mother,” she said. “I think it’s so important to have these systems because they fill in the gap that parents cannot meet.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite the evidence of CSPP’s benefits, enrollment has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent data show only 18% of eligible 3-year-olds are enrolled in CSPP, even though in recent years the program has expanded to reach two-thirds of young children in California, including those from middle-income families, Land said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2603.asp\">Families who earn up to 100% of the state median income\u003c/a>, which is $136,044 for a family of four, qualify. The program can be offered in elementary schools, licensed child care centers or community-based organizations like the YMCA.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2603.asp\">Families who earn up to 100% of the state median income\u003c/a>, which is $136,044 for a family of four, qualify. The program can be offered in elementary schools, licensed child care centers or community-based organizations like the YMCA.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Land said now that TK is universally available to all 4-year-olds, regardless of their family’s income, the state could focus on strengthening CSPP and getting more eligible 3-year-olds into the program.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Land said now that TK is universally available to all 4-year-olds, regardless of their family’s income, the state could focus on strengthening CSPP and getting more eligible 3-year-olds into the program.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Because enrollment is lower than the budget suggests it should be, I think there’s a temptation to say, ‘Oh, families don’t want that because they’re not showing up for it and we should fund other things,’” he said. “That would be a tragedy.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Because enrollment is lower than the budget suggests it should be, I think there’s a temptation to say, ‘Oh, families don’t want that because they’re not showing up for it and we should fund other things,’” he said. “That would be a tragedy.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Johnson, meanwhile, said that given that more than half of young children in California are learning English alongside their home language, the state could do more to meet the needs of these dual language learners. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Research unrelated to this study has found that encouraging home language use in classrooms leads to stronger outcomes for these children. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We put a lot of emphasis on making sure children are ready for school, but we want to make sure schools are ready for children,” he said. “We’re the largest and most diverse state system in the country, so the lessons that we’re drawing out for California are a roadmap for many other state systems.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "UC Berkeley researchers found that children from lower-income families benefited the most from TK, and that those who got an extra year of preschool in addition to TK made even bigger strides.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first children to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082904/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close\">attend transitional kindergarten\u003c/a> when it began in California public schools more than a decade ago made significant learning gains that persisted into later elementary school years, according to a new UC Berkeley study.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Children from lower-income families \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11989955/what-to-expect-when-enrolling-your-child-in-transitional-kindergarten\">benefited the most from TK\u003c/a>, according to \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/universal-prek-california-education-reforms-brief\">a research brief published Thursday\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They gained about seven more months of learning in reading and math by third grade compared to students from the same school who did not attend TK. What’s more, the children who got an extra year of preschool in addition to TK made the biggest strides. The effects were larger and longer-lasting when they attended well-funded elementary schools. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers said the evidence shows that two major education reforms that happened around the time TK started in 2012 combined to narrow deep and \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-k-12-test-scores/\">longstanding achievement gaps\u003c/a> in California schools. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12069031\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children at Mission Kids Preschool in San Francisco raise their hands to ask Senator Alex Padilla a question on June 1, 2021. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those changes include the expansion of the California State Preschool Program, or CSPP, which is free to income-eligible 3- and 4-year-olds, and the Local Control Funding Formula, which directs more resources to high-need students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s this trifecta of public policies — TK, State Preschool and more equitable school funding — that has been the catalyst accelerating young children’s growth,” said Rucker Johnson, an economist and public policy professor at UC Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California introduced transitional kindergarten to address disparities that begin even before children enter kindergarten. The state’s previous Dec. 2 cutoff date to begin kindergarten was among the latest in the nation, which meant that some kids who were turning 5 in the fall were entering kindergarten when they were still 4. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This led families who could afford childcare or preschool on their own to delay entry, giving their kids a developmental advantage, while lower-income families typically couldn’t. By shifting the cutoff date to Sept. 1, and enrolling kids who were almost 5 in TK, lawmakers hoped that an extra year of early education would help them develop the necessary skills to succeed in kindergarten. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson said his research found that TK alone doesn’t solve the achievement gap. Instead, its efficacy hinges on what happens to children before, during and after they complete the grade. The benefits of TK were greater for low-income kids who first attended CSPP when they were 3 and persisted when they were in elementary schools that had more resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“You could think of each of these three policies having an independent effect that you could add, like two plus two plus two is six,” Johnson said. “But what we’re finding is that the effects are not additive but multiplicative. When you invest early, they actually make the efficacy of subsequent investments more effective. And so two plus two might equal eight.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin Land, a policy analyst and co-author of the study, said the findings suggest that children who attended CSPP might have gotten more out of TK because they started in a high-quality program. The program is modeled after Head Start but is less known than the federal antipoverty program. It provides play-based learning and family support services. Classroom sizes are smaller than TK and are often staffed by educators who speak children’s home languages.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"An adult's hands lay on top of a little kid's hands while making something with clay.\" class=\"wp-image-12007545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241002-CHILDCARE-AND-CLIMATE-CHANGE-MD-02-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Preschoolers work with clay and flowers under a tented canopy at the North Bay Children’s Center in Healdsburg on Oct. 2, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“CSPP appears to have played an important role,” Land said. “If they have that year of preschool where it’s not so academic and they’re around other children their age before entering these more formal TK environments, that was important for them.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two years of early education made a difference for her family, said Selam Mulatu, a Bay Area mom who enrolled all three of her children in CSPP. She said her oldest, who is 9, began reading when he started kindergarten and now, “I can’t get him off of books.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“He really enjoyed the hands-on activities [in preschool],” Mulatu said. “He would come home with so many crafts and tracing and artwork. I think that really helped with coordination and just got him really excited to learn. We read a lot at home too — we’re big readers — so I think that contributes, as well.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mulatu said when she became a first-time parent, she assumed that children couldn’t enroll in public schools until they were 6 years old. But a relative told her about Franklin Preschool, a CSPP program run by the Berkeley Unified School District, and she learned she qualified for it based on her income as a waitress.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The preschool does a great job exposing them to so many different activities like gardening, reading, socializing. You cannot do all of that as a working mother,” she said. “I think it’s so important to have these systems because they fill in the gap that parents cannot meet.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the evidence of CSPP’s benefits, enrollment has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent data show only 18% of eligible 3-year-olds are enrolled in CSPP, even though in recent years the program has expanded to reach two-thirds of young children in California, including those from middle-income families, Land said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/mb2603.asp\">Families who earn up to 100% of the state median income\u003c/a>, which is $136,044 for a family of four, qualify. The program can be offered in elementary schools, licensed child care centers or community-based organizations like the YMCA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-1408498187.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-1408498187.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-1408498187-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/GettyImages-1408498187-1536x1079.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chalk art decorates pavement outside of an old bus operating as a preschool at the Aspire Monarch Academy school in Oakland on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Land said now that TK is universally available to all 4-year-olds, regardless of their family’s income, the state could focus on strengthening CSPP and getting more eligible 3-year-olds into the program.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Because enrollment is lower than the budget suggests it should be, I think there’s a temptation to say, ‘Oh, families don’t want that because they’re not showing up for it and we should fund other things,’” he said. “That would be a tragedy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson, meanwhile, said that given that more than half of young children in California are learning English alongside their home language, the state could do more to meet the needs of these dual language learners. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research unrelated to this study has found that encouraging home language use in classrooms leads to stronger outcomes for these children. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We put a lot of emphasis on making sure children are ready for school, but we want to make sure schools are ready for children,” he said. “We’re the largest and most diverse state system in the country, so the lessons that we’re drawing out for California are a roadmap for many other state systems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "cornell-7-case-puts-spotlight-on-stanfords-move-to-halt-sexual-violence-resistance-training",
"title": "‘Cornell 7’ Case Puts Spotlight on Stanford’s Move to Halt Sexual Violence Resistance Training",
"publishDate": 1792692839,
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"headTitle": "‘Cornell 7’ Case Puts Spotlight on Stanford’s Move to Halt Sexual Violence Resistance Training | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Editor’s note, Oct. 21: Stanford University said last week it would reinstate the Flip the Script sexual violence prevention program, and confirmed that it would be funded for the next three years. For more updates on this story, listen to the audio featured above.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/stanford-university\">Stanford University\u003c/a>’s decision to pause a sexual violence resistance program — one of the very few that research shows significantly decreases the risk of campus sexual assault — has drawn new scrutiny from students after an investigation into an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house at Cornell University. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education program, also known as “Flip the Script,” teaches young women to identify and respond to risks, dissect relationships and learn the basics of physical defense. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cornell introduced the program last year, a year after the alleged assault inside the school’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Stanford has piloted and run the same training program in different formats since 2018, but officials put it on hold before fall quarter began last month, telling student workers that the decision was due to budget constraints. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It was halfway through the summer that we got an email from our boss basically saying, ‘I’m really sorry, this is what’s happening around budget cuts, and for this reason the program will no longer be offered,’” said senior Kirsten Lees, who worked as a facilitator of the program last year. The university said in a statement that the pause was not primarily a budget decision.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students and professors who had fought to bring the program to campus were shocked and devastated. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then in September, the Cornell accuser, identified as “Jane Doe” in legal documents, sued the New York university and seven men who she alleges coerced her into taking ketamine and raped her in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shocking allegations thrust conversations about campus sexual violence and schools’ responses to it into the national spotlight — and compounded the Stanford students’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I think the main question that a lot of people are wondering is … could this happen here? Is our culture and our fraternities any different?” said Pelagia Martin, a 21-year-old Stanford senior.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104117\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford senior Pelagia Martin poses for a portrait at the Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Until recently, Martin worked in the school’s Title IX and Title VI Office, known by the acronym SHARE for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education. She said her resignation has a lot “to do with Flip the Script being cut.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program, she said, “changed the way that people thought about sexual violence and taught them actionable skills.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be on the survivor to protect themselves,” she told KQED. “But we don’t live in that kind of world, and it is a shame that we lost a program that allowed people to actually protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flip the Script’s origins\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2015, Chanel Miller’s assault outside a Stanford fraternity party spurred a nationwide reckoning around campus sexual violence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That year, the university conducted an independent climate survey asking students about their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct, and found that just 1.9% of participants had experiences meeting Stanford’s definition of sexual assault. It caused \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/31/students-alumni-faculty-pressure-stanford-to-revisit-campus-climate-survey/\">widespread outrage\u003c/a> from students and faculty who said the results underrepresented students’ experiences because of the language of questions and narrow definition of assault. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2019, Stanford participated in an Association of American Universities climate survey that found \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/10/aau-2019-survey-sexual-assault-harassment-stanford\">38.5% of undergraduate women\u003c/a> in their fourth year had experienced some form of sexual violence since entering college. A similar study in 2024 found that figure was only slightly lower, \u003ca href=\"https://irds.stanford.edu/sexual-assault-surveys/2024\">at 32.3%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104119\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s heartbreaking,” said Stanford professor Michele Dauber, who was instrumental in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673193/total-recall-judge-aaron-persky-voted-out\">successful recall\u003c/a> of Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who presided over the trial of Miller’s attacker, Brock Turner. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dauber began advocating to implement Flip the Script after seeing results from its first randomized control trial in 2015, which found that the 12-hour informational and resistance training course geared toward college women reduced instances of rape by almost 50% and attempted sexual assaults by more than 60% among participants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those outcomes were “unheard of,” according to Dr. Clea Sarnquist, who researches gender-based violence intervention at Stanford Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“There’s really no other programming that has that level of evidence,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2018, Stanford introduced Flip the Script as a research project. During the first year, 81 students completed the training.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers intended to roll out a larger trial the following year, but that effort was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104116\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s been offered intermittently since. Sarnquist said the program returned to campus in the fall of 2022 as part of a multi-site trial, but that effort was defunded in late 2023 due to “changing funder priorities.” In the fall of 2025, Stanford’s SHARE Office reinstated Flip the Script as an optional training available to students.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lees said at first, it was difficult to get the reinstated program off the ground. It had just four participants that fall, according to the university.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But after increasing outreach and introducing a for-credit class option, five enrolled in the winter and 14 completed the training in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We had a motto toward the end of the year of just keeping our foot on the gas,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We had a lot of plans around how to bring Flip the Script to other aspects of campus, whether that be having dorm-led sessions, bringing it to sororities as part of their onboarding training, having the Women’s Community Center host workshops,” she continued. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, while Lees was completing her thesis in Cape Town over the summer, she got the email that the program would no longer be offered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘We pleaded with her’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the years since Miller’s assault on campus, Dauber has remained a leading critic of Stanford’s efforts to prevent sexual violence. In 2024, before retiring, she urged the campus to expand Flip the Script. She and a colleague met with Provost Jenny Martinez to share the details of the program and research showing its efficacy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We pleaded with her,” Dauber said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Martinez didn’t tell the professors that she planned to expand Flip the Script, according to Dauber, she did indicate at that meeting that she would retain it as an optional program. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Stanford Daily issue published on Oct. 9, 2026, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dauber said she found out last week, through \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2026/10/01/sexual-assault-awareness-program-cut/\">reporting by the \u003cem>Stanford Daily\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, that it had been cut.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“She never suggested that she would eliminate it, ever,” Dauber said. “Had she suggested that she would eliminate it, I think faculty and students would have reacted very strongly to that, and possibly applied enough pressure to prevent the cancellation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Stanford spokesperson said that the program was paused because of last year’s low enrollment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Given those numbers, we are reassessing how the program fits within Stanford’s broader portfolio of trainings and whether changes would help impact more students,” Angie Davis said via email. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also said that students have felt that a program geared toward women “places the burden in the wrong place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We recognize the importance of awareness and self-defense skills and want students to have access to them, but it shouldn’t be the sole focus of our prevention work,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Dauber said that no one has found an evidence-backed way to do that yet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Meanwhile, 32% of women at Stanford are being assaulted, and we have it in our power to prevent half of that,” she said. “Are we supposed to wait and just let all that assault continue year after year until someone invents a way to train men not to assault that has an equally strong success rate validated by research?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flip the Script does require some investment: Lees had to complete a two-week training over the summer to become a facilitator, student participants are required to make a 12-hour commitment, and according to estimates from the Canada-based Sexual Assault Resistance Education Centre, which facilitates Flip the Script, training 160 women would \u003ca href=\"https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/1032999999/eaaa-enhanced-assess-acknowledge-act-sexual-assault-resistance-education/\">cost about $39,000 in total\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Dauber said it isn’t difficult to scale, especially given the return on investment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Stanford is one of the richest educational institutions on earth, and it absolutely can do this,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Current programs\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to Flip the Script, Stanford canceled a program called “Beyond Sex Ed,” which was a mandatory part of new student orientation, last spring. The programming included Stanford students speaking to freshmen about their experiences with relationships, consent, sex and sexuality throughout college. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This was a really great equalizer for all incoming frosh to get exposure to talking about sex and positive sexuality and consent,” Martin said. “Now that we’ve lost that program, we don’t have a replacement and students continue to lack this sort of education at the very worst times. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Right after orientation, you have your first parties, your first hanging out with people in the dorm, and violence happens quickly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104115\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford’s Title IX office inside the Kingscote Gardens office building on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Davis said the Title IX and VI Office is focused on “holistic education,” including mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students. It also introduced a new 90-minute upstander training course to students and student groups by request this fall, and the office has hired an assistant director for culture and connection, who will develop “additional programming” and is holding drop-in hours at residence halls, sororities and fraternities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sarnquist said that the new upstander training “is a great supplement,” but she doesn’t think it is sufficient as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re an R1 institution,” she said, referring to the highest tier of research universities in the U.S. “We expect our students and our faculty and our staff to meet these incredibly high levels of scholarship and rigor. And so I think we probably owe it to our community to have health and wellbeing programming that meets similarly highly evidence-based [standards].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stanford also has a Confidential Support Team for students affected by sexual assault and relationship violence, and offers consent and communication workshops through the Office of Substance Use Programs Education and Resources (SUPER).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104121\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fall of 2025, a year after Jane Doe’s alleged rape occurred, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.actompkins.org/evidence-based-sexual-violence-intervention-program-returns-to-cornell/\">Advocacy Center of Tompkins County\u003c/a> announced that Cornell would pilot Flip the Script for campus sorority members, along with a parallel program for fraternities. Student leaders \u003ca href=\"https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/Matt%20Klein%20award/2026-MKleinerAward-EmilyLui-AnyaGowda.pdf\">completed two training cohorts in the spring\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Stanford, the school had previously piloted the program before COVID-19, but hadn’t reinstated it after the pandemic until last year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“What the Cornell case really shows is the economic inefficiency and the moral insufficiency of canceling the one program that actually prevents rape on campus,” Dauber said. “From a fiscal perspective, Cornell and Stanford would be way better off preventing these assaults than trying to address the costs after they occur. From a moral perspective, it’s indefensible.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s note, Oct. 21: Stanford University said last week it would reinstate the Flip the Script sexual violence prevention program, and confirmed that it would be funded for the next three years. For more updates on this story, listen to the audio featured above.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s note, Oct. 21: Stanford University said last week it would reinstate the Flip the Script sexual violence prevention program, and confirmed that it would be funded for the next three years. For more updates on this story, listen to the audio featured above.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/stanford-university\">Stanford University\u003c/a>’s decision to pause a sexual violence resistance program — one of the very few that research shows significantly decreases the risk of campus sexual assault — has drawn new scrutiny from students after an investigation into an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house at Cornell University. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/stanford-university\">Stanford University\u003c/a>’s decision to pause a sexual violence resistance program — one of the very few that research shows significantly decreases the risk of campus sexual assault — has drawn new scrutiny from students after an investigation into an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house at Cornell University. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education program, also known as “Flip the Script,” teaches young women to identify and respond to risks, dissect relationships and learn the basics of physical defense. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education program, also known as “Flip the Script,” teaches young women to identify and respond to risks, dissect relationships and learn the basics of physical defense. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cornell introduced the program last year, a year after the alleged assault inside the school’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Stanford has piloted and run the same training program in different formats since 2018, but officials put it on hold before fall quarter began last month, telling student workers that the decision was due to budget constraints. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cornell introduced the program last year, a year after the alleged assault inside the school’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Stanford has piloted and run the same training program in different formats since 2018, but officials put it on hold before fall quarter began last month, telling student workers that the decision was due to budget constraints. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It was halfway through the summer that we got an email from our boss basically saying, ‘I’m really sorry, this is what’s happening around budget cuts, and for this reason the program will no longer be offered,’” said senior Kirsten Lees, who worked as a facilitator of the program last year. The university said in a statement that the pause was not primarily a budget decision.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It was halfway through the summer that we got an email from our boss basically saying, ‘I’m really sorry, this is what’s happening around budget cuts, and for this reason the program will no longer be offered,’” said senior Kirsten Lees, who worked as a facilitator of the program last year. The university said in a statement that the pause was not primarily a budget decision.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104120\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Students and professors who had fought to bring the program to campus were shocked and devastated. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Students and professors who had fought to bring the program to campus were shocked and devastated. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then in September, the Cornell accuser, identified as “Jane Doe” in legal documents, sued the New York university and seven men who she alleges coerced her into taking ketamine and raped her in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Then in September, the Cornell accuser, identified as “Jane Doe” in legal documents, sued the New York university and seven men who she alleges coerced her into taking ketamine and raped her in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The shocking allegations thrust conversations about campus sexual violence and schools’ responses to it into the national spotlight — and compounded the Stanford students’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The shocking allegations thrust conversations about campus sexual violence and schools’ responses to it into the national spotlight — and compounded the Stanford students’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think the main question that a lot of people are wondering is … could this happen here? Is our culture and our fraternities any different?” said Pelagia Martin, a 21-year-old Stanford senior.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I think the main question that a lot of people are wondering is … could this happen here? Is our culture and our fraternities any different?” said Pelagia Martin, a 21-year-old Stanford senior.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104117\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford senior Pelagia Martin poses for a portrait at the Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104117\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford senior Pelagia Martin poses for a portrait at the Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Until recently, Martin worked in the school’s Title IX and Title VI Office, known by the acronym SHARE for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education. She said her resignation has a lot “to do with Flip the Script being cut.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Until recently, Martin worked in the school’s Title IX and Title VI Office, known by the acronym SHARE for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education. She said her resignation has a lot “to do with Flip the Script being cut.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The program, she said, “changed the way that people thought about sexual violence and taught them actionable skills.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The program, she said, “changed the way that people thought about sexual violence and taught them actionable skills.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be on the survivor to protect themselves,” she told KQED. “But we don’t live in that kind of world, and it is a shame that we lost a program that allowed people to actually protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be on the survivor to protect themselves,” she told KQED. “But we don’t live in that kind of world, and it is a shame that we lost a program that allowed people to actually protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Flip the Script’s origins",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flip the Script’s origins\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flip the Script’s origins\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2015, Chanel Miller’s assault outside a Stanford fraternity party spurred a nationwide reckoning around campus sexual violence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2015, Chanel Miller’s assault outside a Stanford fraternity party spurred a nationwide reckoning around campus sexual violence.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That year, the university conducted an independent climate survey asking students about their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct, and found that just 1.9% of participants had experiences meeting Stanford’s definition of sexual assault. It caused \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/31/students-alumni-faculty-pressure-stanford-to-revisit-campus-climate-survey/\">widespread outrage\u003c/a> from students and faculty who said the results underrepresented students’ experiences because of the language of questions and narrow definition of assault. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That year, the university conducted an independent climate survey asking students about their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct, and found that just 1.9% of participants had experiences meeting Stanford’s definition of sexual assault. It caused \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/31/students-alumni-faculty-pressure-stanford-to-revisit-campus-climate-survey/\">widespread outrage\u003c/a> from students and faculty who said the results underrepresented students’ experiences because of the language of questions and narrow definition of assault. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2019, Stanford participated in an Association of American Universities climate survey that found \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/10/aau-2019-survey-sexual-assault-harassment-stanford\">38.5% of undergraduate women\u003c/a> in their fourth year had experienced some form of sexual violence since entering college. A similar study in 2024 found that figure was only slightly lower, \u003ca href=\"https://irds.stanford.edu/sexual-assault-surveys/2024\">at 32.3%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104119\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s heartbreaking,” said Stanford professor Michele Dauber, who was instrumental in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673193/total-recall-judge-aaron-persky-voted-out\">successful recall\u003c/a> of Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who presided over the trial of Miller’s attacker, Brock Turner. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dauber began advocating to implement Flip the Script after seeing results from its first randomized control trial in 2015, which found that the 12-hour informational and resistance training course geared toward college women reduced instances of rape by almost 50% and attempted sexual assaults by more than 60% among participants.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those outcomes were “unheard of,” according to Dr. Clea Sarnquist, who researches gender-based violence intervention at Stanford Medicine.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s really no other programming that has that level of evidence,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104116\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104116\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s been offered intermittently since. Sarnquist said the program returned to campus in the fall of 2022 as part of a multi-site trial, but that effort was defunded in late 2023 due to “changing funder priorities.” In the fall of 2025, Stanford’s SHARE Office reinstated Flip the Script as an optional training available to students.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lees said at first, it was difficult to get the reinstated program off the ground. It had just four participants that fall, according to the university.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But after increasing outreach and introducing a for-credit class option, five enrolled in the winter and 14 completed the training in the spring.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We had a motto toward the end of the year of just keeping our foot on the gas,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We had a lot of plans around how to bring Flip the Script to other aspects of campus, whether that be having dorm-led sessions, bringing it to sororities as part of their onboarding training, having the Women’s Community Center host workshops,” she continued. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then, while Lees was completing her thesis in Cape Town over the summer, she got the email that the program would no longer be offered. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the years since Miller’s assault on campus, Dauber has remained a leading critic of Stanford’s efforts to prevent sexual violence. In 2024, before retiring, she urged the campus to expand Flip the Script. She and a colleague met with Provost Jenny Martinez to share the details of the program and research showing its efficacy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While Martinez didn’t tell the professors that she planned to expand Flip the Script, according to Dauber, she did indicate at that meeting that she would retain it as an optional program. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Stanford Daily issue published on Oct. 9, 2026, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dauber said she found out last week, through \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2026/10/01/sexual-assault-awareness-program-cut/\">reporting by the \u003cem>Stanford Daily\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, that it had been cut.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Dauber said she found out last week, through \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2026/10/01/sexual-assault-awareness-program-cut/\">reporting by the \u003cem>Stanford Daily\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, that it had been cut.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“She never suggested that she would eliminate it, ever,” Dauber said. “Had she suggested that she would eliminate it, I think faculty and students would have reacted very strongly to that, and possibly applied enough pressure to prevent the cancellation.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A Stanford spokesperson said that the program was paused because of last year’s low enrollment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Given those numbers, we are reassessing how the program fits within Stanford’s broader portfolio of trainings and whether changes would help impact more students,” Angie Davis said via email. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She also said that students have felt that a program geared toward women “places the burden in the wrong place.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We recognize the importance of awareness and self-defense skills and want students to have access to them, but it shouldn’t be the sole focus of our prevention work,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Dauber said that no one has found an evidence-backed way to do that yet.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Meanwhile, 32% of women at Stanford are being assaulted, and we have it in our power to prevent half of that,” she said. “Are we supposed to wait and just let all that assault continue year after year until someone invents a way to train men not to assault that has an equally strong success rate validated by research?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Flip the Script does require some investment: Lees had to complete a two-week training over the summer to become a facilitator, student participants are required to make a 12-hour commitment, and according to estimates from the Canada-based Sexual Assault Resistance Education Centre, which facilitates Flip the Script, training 160 women would \u003ca href=\"https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/1032999999/eaaa-enhanced-assess-acknowledge-act-sexual-assault-resistance-education/\">cost about $39,000 in total\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Flip the Script does require some investment: Lees had to complete a two-week training over the summer to become a facilitator, student participants are required to make a 12-hour commitment, and according to estimates from the Canada-based Sexual Assault Resistance Education Centre, which facilitates Flip the Script, training 160 women would \u003ca href=\"https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/1032999999/eaaa-enhanced-assess-acknowledge-act-sexual-assault-resistance-education/\">cost about $39,000 in total\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Dauber said it isn’t difficult to scale, especially given the return on investment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition to Flip the Script, Stanford canceled a program called “Beyond Sex Ed,” which was a mandatory part of new student orientation, last spring. The programming included Stanford students speaking to freshmen about their experiences with relationships, consent, sex and sexuality throughout college. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In addition to Flip the Script, Stanford canceled a program called “Beyond Sex Ed,” which was a mandatory part of new student orientation, last spring. The programming included Stanford students speaking to freshmen about their experiences with relationships, consent, sex and sexuality throughout college. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This was a really great equalizer for all incoming frosh to get exposure to talking about sex and positive sexuality and consent,” Martin said. “Now that we’ve lost that program, we don’t have a replacement and students continue to lack this sort of education at the very worst times. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This was a really great equalizer for all incoming frosh to get exposure to talking about sex and positive sexuality and consent,” Martin said. “Now that we’ve lost that program, we don’t have a replacement and students continue to lack this sort of education at the very worst times. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Right after orientation, you have your first parties, your first hanging out with people in the dorm, and violence happens quickly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Right after orientation, you have your first parties, your first hanging out with people in the dorm, and violence happens quickly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104115\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford’s Title IX office inside the Kingscote Gardens office building on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104115\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford’s Title IX office inside the Kingscote Gardens office building on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Davis said the Title IX and VI Office is focused on “holistic education,” including mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students. It also introduced a new 90-minute upstander training course to students and student groups by request this fall, and the office has hired an assistant director for culture and connection, who will develop “additional programming” and is holding drop-in hours at residence halls, sororities and fraternities.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Davis said the Title IX and VI Office is focused on “holistic education,” including mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students. It also introduced a new 90-minute upstander training course to students and student groups by request this fall, and the office has hired an assistant director for culture and connection, who will develop “additional programming” and is holding drop-in hours at residence halls, sororities and fraternities.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sarnquist said that the new upstander training “is a great supplement,” but she doesn’t think it is sufficient as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sarnquist said that the new upstander training “is a great supplement,” but she doesn’t think it is sufficient as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re an R1 institution,” she said, referring to the highest tier of research universities in the U.S. “We expect our students and our faculty and our staff to meet these incredibly high levels of scholarship and rigor. And so I think we probably owe it to our community to have health and wellbeing programming that meets similarly highly evidence-based [standards].”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re an R1 institution,” she said, referring to the highest tier of research universities in the U.S. “We expect our students and our faculty and our staff to meet these incredibly high levels of scholarship and rigor. And so I think we probably owe it to our community to have health and wellbeing programming that meets similarly highly evidence-based [standards].”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stanford also has a Confidential Support Team for students affected by sexual assault and relationship violence, and offers consent and communication workshops through the Office of Substance Use Programs Education and Resources (SUPER).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Stanford also has a Confidential Support Team for students affected by sexual assault and relationship violence, and offers consent and communication workshops through the Office of Substance Use Programs Education and Resources (SUPER).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104121\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104121\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In fall of 2025, a year after Jane Doe’s alleged rape occurred, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.actompkins.org/evidence-based-sexual-violence-intervention-program-returns-to-cornell/\">Advocacy Center of Tompkins County\u003c/a> announced that Cornell would pilot Flip the Script for campus sorority members, along with a parallel program for fraternities. Student leaders \u003ca href=\"https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/Matt%20Klein%20award/2026-MKleinerAward-EmilyLui-AnyaGowda.pdf\">completed two training cohorts in the spring\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In fall of 2025, a year after Jane Doe’s alleged rape occurred, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.actompkins.org/evidence-based-sexual-violence-intervention-program-returns-to-cornell/\">Advocacy Center of Tompkins County\u003c/a> announced that Cornell would pilot Flip the Script for campus sorority members, along with a parallel program for fraternities. Student leaders \u003ca href=\"https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/Matt%20Klein%20award/2026-MKleinerAward-EmilyLui-AnyaGowda.pdf\">completed two training cohorts in the spring\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Like Stanford, the school had previously piloted the program before COVID-19, but hadn’t reinstated it after the pandemic until last year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Like Stanford, the school had previously piloted the program before COVID-19, but hadn’t reinstated it after the pandemic until last year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“What the Cornell case really shows is the economic inefficiency and the moral insufficiency of canceling the one program that actually prevents rape on campus,” Dauber said. “From a fiscal perspective, Cornell and Stanford would be way better off preventing these assaults than trying to address the costs after they occur. From a moral perspective, it’s indefensible.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“What the Cornell case really shows is the economic inefficiency and the moral insufficiency of canceling the one program that actually prevents rape on campus,” Dauber said. “From a fiscal perspective, Cornell and Stanford would be way better off preventing these assaults than trying to address the costs after they occur. From a moral perspective, it’s indefensible.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The Flip the Script program is one of the few shown to significantly decrease the risk of campus sexual assault among participants. Those who fought to bring it to Stanford were shocked when it was put on hold.",
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"title": "‘Cornell 7’ Case Puts Spotlight on Stanford’s Move to Halt Sexual Violence Resistance Training | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>Editor’s note, Oct. 21: Stanford University said last week it would reinstate the Flip the Script sexual violence prevention program, and confirmed that it would be funded for the next three years. For more updates on this story, listen to the audio featured above.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/stanford-university\">Stanford University\u003c/a>’s decision to pause a sexual violence resistance program — one of the very few that research shows significantly decreases the risk of campus sexual assault — has drawn new scrutiny from students after an investigation into an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house at Cornell University. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education program, also known as “Flip the Script,” teaches young women to identify and respond to risks, dissect relationships and learn the basics of physical defense. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cornell introduced the program last year, a year after the alleged assault inside the school’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Stanford has piloted and run the same training program in different formats since 2018, but officials put it on hold before fall quarter began last month, telling student workers that the decision was due to budget constraints. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It was halfway through the summer that we got an email from our boss basically saying, ‘I’m really sorry, this is what’s happening around budget cuts, and for this reason the program will no longer be offered,’” said senior Kirsten Lees, who worked as a facilitator of the program last year. The university said in a statement that the pause was not primarily a budget decision.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-29-KQED-f52865f8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students and professors who had fought to bring the program to campus were shocked and devastated. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then in September, the Cornell accuser, identified as “Jane Doe” in legal documents, sued the New York university and seven men who she alleges coerced her into taking ketamine and raped her in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shocking allegations thrust conversations about campus sexual violence and schools’ responses to it into the national spotlight — and compounded the Stanford students’ concerns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I think the main question that a lot of people are wondering is … could this happen here? Is our culture and our fraternities any different?” said Pelagia Martin, a 21-year-old Stanford senior.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104117\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-19-KQED-30ff3d77-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford senior Pelagia Martin poses for a portrait at the Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Until recently, Martin worked in the school’s Title IX and Title VI Office, known by the acronym SHARE for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education. She said her resignation has a lot “to do with Flip the Script being cut.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program, she said, “changed the way that people thought about sexual violence and taught them actionable skills.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be on the survivor to protect themselves,” she told KQED. “But we don’t live in that kind of world, and it is a shame that we lost a program that allowed people to actually protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flip the Script’s origins\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2015, Chanel Miller’s assault outside a Stanford fraternity party spurred a nationwide reckoning around campus sexual violence.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That year, the university conducted an independent climate survey asking students about their experiences with prohibited sexual conduct, and found that just 1.9% of participants had experiences meeting Stanford’s definition of sexual assault. It caused \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/31/students-alumni-faculty-pressure-stanford-to-revisit-campus-climate-survey/\">widespread outrage\u003c/a> from students and faculty who said the results underrepresented students’ experiences because of the language of questions and narrow definition of assault. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2019, Stanford participated in an Association of American Universities climate survey that found \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/10/aau-2019-survey-sexual-assault-harassment-stanford\">38.5% of undergraduate women\u003c/a> in their fourth year had experienced some form of sexual violence since entering college. A similar study in 2024 found that figure was only slightly lower, \u003ca href=\"https://irds.stanford.edu/sexual-assault-surveys/2024\">at 32.3%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104119\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-23-KQED-83778d3d-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s heartbreaking,” said Stanford professor Michele Dauber, who was instrumental in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11673193/total-recall-judge-aaron-persky-voted-out\">successful recall\u003c/a> of Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who presided over the trial of Miller’s attacker, Brock Turner. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dauber began advocating to implement Flip the Script after seeing results from its first randomized control trial in 2015, which found that the 12-hour informational and resistance training course geared toward college women reduced instances of rape by almost 50% and attempted sexual assaults by more than 60% among participants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those outcomes were “unheard of,” according to Dr. Clea Sarnquist, who researches gender-based violence intervention at Stanford Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“There’s really no other programming that has that level of evidence,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2018, Stanford introduced Flip the Script as a research project. During the first year, 81 students completed the training.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers intended to roll out a larger trial the following year, but that effort was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104116\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-12-KQED-b8cd0da6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chanel Miller Contemplative Garden on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s been offered intermittently since. Sarnquist said the program returned to campus in the fall of 2022 as part of a multi-site trial, but that effort was defunded in late 2023 due to “changing funder priorities.” In the fall of 2025, Stanford’s SHARE Office reinstated Flip the Script as an optional training available to students.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lees said at first, it was difficult to get the reinstated program off the ground. It had just four participants that fall, according to the university.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But after increasing outreach and introducing a for-credit class option, five enrolled in the winter and 14 completed the training in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We had a motto toward the end of the year of just keeping our foot on the gas,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We had a lot of plans around how to bring Flip the Script to other aspects of campus, whether that be having dorm-led sessions, bringing it to sororities as part of their onboarding training, having the Women’s Community Center host workshops,” she continued. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, while Lees was completing her thesis in Cape Town over the summer, she got the email that the program would no longer be offered. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘We pleaded with her’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the years since Miller’s assault on campus, Dauber has remained a leading critic of Stanford’s efforts to prevent sexual violence. In 2024, before retiring, she urged the campus to expand Flip the Script. She and a colleague met with Provost Jenny Martinez to share the details of the program and research showing its efficacy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We pleaded with her,” Dauber said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Martinez didn’t tell the professors that she planned to expand Flip the Script, according to Dauber, she did indicate at that meeting that she would retain it as an optional program. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-36-KQED-223af1c4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Stanford Daily issue published on Oct. 9, 2026, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dauber said she found out last week, through \u003ca href=\"https://stanforddaily.com/2026/10/01/sexual-assault-awareness-program-cut/\">reporting by the \u003cem>Stanford Daily\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, that it had been cut.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“She never suggested that she would eliminate it, ever,” Dauber said. “Had she suggested that she would eliminate it, I think faculty and students would have reacted very strongly to that, and possibly applied enough pressure to prevent the cancellation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Stanford spokesperson said that the program was paused because of last year’s low enrollment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Given those numbers, we are reassessing how the program fits within Stanford’s broader portfolio of trainings and whether changes would help impact more students,” Angie Davis said via email. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also said that students have felt that a program geared toward women “places the burden in the wrong place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We recognize the importance of awareness and self-defense skills and want students to have access to them, but it shouldn’t be the sole focus of our prevention work,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Dauber said that no one has found an evidence-backed way to do that yet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Meanwhile, 32% of women at Stanford are being assaulted, and we have it in our power to prevent half of that,” she said. “Are we supposed to wait and just let all that assault continue year after year until someone invents a way to train men not to assault that has an equally strong success rate validated by research?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flip the Script does require some investment: Lees had to complete a two-week training over the summer to become a facilitator, student participants are required to make a 12-hour commitment, and according to estimates from the Canada-based Sexual Assault Resistance Education Centre, which facilitates Flip the Script, training 160 women would \u003ca href=\"https://www.blueprintsprograms.org/programs/1032999999/eaaa-enhanced-assess-acknowledge-act-sexual-assault-resistance-education/\">cost about $39,000 in total\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Dauber said it isn’t difficult to scale, especially given the return on investment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Stanford is one of the richest educational institutions on earth, and it absolutely can do this,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Current programs\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to Flip the Script, Stanford canceled a program called “Beyond Sex Ed,” which was a mandatory part of new student orientation, last spring. The programming included Stanford students speaking to freshmen about their experiences with relationships, consent, sex and sexuality throughout college. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This was a really great equalizer for all incoming frosh to get exposure to talking about sex and positive sexuality and consent,” Martin said. “Now that we’ve lost that program, we don’t have a replacement and students continue to lack this sort of education at the very worst times. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Right after orientation, you have your first parties, your first hanging out with people in the dorm, and violence happens quickly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104115\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-4-KQED-c6bb3c39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stanford’s Title IX office inside the Kingscote Gardens office building on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Davis said the Title IX and VI Office is focused on “holistic education,” including mandatory Title IX training for all incoming students. It also introduced a new 90-minute upstander training course to students and student groups by request this fall, and the office has hired an assistant director for culture and connection, who will develop “additional programming” and is holding drop-in hours at residence halls, sororities and fraternities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sarnquist said that the new upstander training “is a great supplement,” but she doesn’t think it is sufficient as comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“We’re an R1 institution,” she said, referring to the highest tier of research universities in the U.S. “We expect our students and our faculty and our staff to meet these incredibly high levels of scholarship and rigor. And so I think we probably owe it to our community to have health and wellbeing programming that meets similarly highly evidence-based [standards].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stanford also has a Confidential Support Team for students affected by sexual assault and relationship violence, and offers consent and communication workshops through the Office of Substance Use Programs Education and Resources (SUPER).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12104121\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261012-StanfordReax-NG-32-KQED-662d5581-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The campus of Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 12, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fall of 2025, a year after Jane Doe’s alleged rape occurred, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.actompkins.org/evidence-based-sexual-violence-intervention-program-returns-to-cornell/\">Advocacy Center of Tompkins County\u003c/a> announced that Cornell would pilot Flip the Script for campus sorority members, along with a parallel program for fraternities. Student leaders \u003ca href=\"https://health.cornell.edu/sites/health/files/docs/Matt%20Klein%20award/2026-MKleinerAward-EmilyLui-AnyaGowda.pdf\">completed two training cohorts in the spring\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Stanford, the school had previously piloted the program before COVID-19, but hadn’t reinstated it after the pandemic until last year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“What the Cornell case really shows is the economic inefficiency and the moral insufficiency of canceling the one program that actually prevents rape on campus,” Dauber said. “From a fiscal perspective, Cornell and Stanford would be way better off preventing these assaults than trying to address the costs after they occur. From a moral perspective, it’s indefensible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-school-test-scores-up-but-just-a-little-as-progress-slows-in-k-12-classes",
"title": "California School Test Scores Up, but Just a Little, as Progress Slows in K-12 Classes",
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"headTitle": "California School Test Scores Up, but Just a Little, as Progress Slows in K-12 Classes | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s K-12 student test scores improved slightly in almost all categories last year, but progress slowed following a post-pandemic surge, according to state data released this week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s slow but steady improvement,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education. “It suggests we’re continuing to come out of the pandemic, and there’s still a lot of work to do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The percentage of students proficient in math jumped just over 1 percentage point – to 38.5% – and the number of students proficient in English language arts rose half a percentage point, 49.3%. Science scores increased 3.3% percentage points, to 36%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086383\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students read during class at Sylvia Mendez Elementary School in Berkeley on June 3, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the first time, the state released its \u003ca href=\"https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/\">enrollment\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://caaspp-elpac.ets.org/caaspp/\">test score\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.caschooldashboard.org/login\">California School Dashboard\u003c/a> data together, making it easier for school districts to communicate with parents and the public and for policymakers to analyze gains and declines across broad categories. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the gains, though, scores were lower for some student groups, including white and Asian students, compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools to close for in-person learning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Enrollment decline continues\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Statewide enrollment, which has been falling for a decade, plunged to 5.7 million – a loss of 74,000 students from last year. Because the state funds schools based on the number of students who show up every day, the declining numbers will mean less revenue for many districts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Amid the enrollment numbers, a few changes stood out. The number of students with disabilities jumped 25% over the past decade, to 850,822. And the number of English learners dropped 30% over that same time period due to a decline in immigration among other factors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chronic absenteeism, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2023/09/soaring-chronic-absenteeism-in-california-schools-is-at-pivotal-moment/\">which hit 30%\u003c/a> just after the pandemic, dropped to 18% last year, a decline of more than 1 percentage point from the previous year. Prior to the pandemic, only about 12% of students were chronically absent, or gone from school at least 10% of the school year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Test scores and just about every other academic indicator among California’s K-12 students collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but rebounded significantly the first few years back to in-person learning. That progress appears to have settled, at least for now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Darling-Hammond predicted English language arts scores will rise in the next few years, as a handful of sweeping state reforms go into effect: \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/08/california-tk/\">transitional kindergarten\u003c/a>, dyslexia screening, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/07/literacy-california/\">literacy coaches\u003c/a> for elementary teachers and a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/07/literacy-california/\">phonics-based reading curriculum\u003c/a>, among others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More grads, better prepared\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2026/09/highlands-charter-school-california/\">Highlands charter school\u003c/a>, the embattled Sacramento school for adults seeking high school diplomas, loomed large over the data. Last year, Highlands and its sister school, California Innovative Career Academy, had such high enrollments – 17,513 combined – and such low graduation rates – less than 2% – that they skewed graduation data for the entire state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California Department of Education staff presented numbers with and without Highlands. Including Highlands, the state graduation rate was 87.9%, a slight increase from the previous year. Excluding Highlands, the rate was almost 2 percentage points higher – 89.7%, the highest rate in decades in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Highlands, under new leadership, winnowed its enrollment this year and is seeking to improve its outcomes after the State Auditor blasted it last year for alleged mismanagement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The state’s high school graduates also showed improvements in college and career preparation. According to the dashboard, the percentage of students who completed a career pathway or the A-G classes required for admission to the state’s public universities climbed 2.2 percentage points, to 55.2%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/10/student-test-scores-california/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s K-12 student test scores improved slightly in almost all categories last year, but progress slowed following a post-pandemic surge, according to state data released this week.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086383\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students read during class at Sylvia Mendez Elementary School in Berkeley on June 3, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For the first time, the state released its \u003ca href=\"https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/\">enrollment\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://caaspp-elpac.ets.org/caaspp/\">test score\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.caschooldashboard.org/login\">California School Dashboard\u003c/a> data together, making it easier for school districts to communicate with parents and the public and for policymakers to analyze gains and declines across broad categories. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite the gains, though, scores were lower for some student groups, including white and Asian students, compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools to close for in-person learning. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Despite the gains, though, scores were lower for some student groups, including white and Asian students, compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools to close for in-person learning. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Statewide enrollment, which has been falling for a decade, plunged to 5.7 million – a loss of 74,000 students from last year. Because the state funds schools based on the number of students who show up every day, the declining numbers will mean less revenue for many districts.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Statewide enrollment, which has been falling for a decade, plunged to 5.7 million – a loss of 74,000 students from last year. Because the state funds schools based on the number of students who show up every day, the declining numbers will mean less revenue for many districts.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Amid the enrollment numbers, a few changes stood out. The number of students with disabilities jumped 25% over the past decade, to 850,822. And the number of English learners dropped 30% over that same time period due to a decline in immigration among other factors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chronic absenteeism, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2023/09/soaring-chronic-absenteeism-in-california-schools-is-at-pivotal-moment/\">which hit 30%\u003c/a> just after the pandemic, dropped to 18% last year, a decline of more than 1 percentage point from the previous year. Prior to the pandemic, only about 12% of students were chronically absent, or gone from school at least 10% of the school year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Test scores and just about every other academic indicator among California’s K-12 students collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but rebounded significantly the first few years back to in-person learning. That progress appears to have settled, at least for now.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Test scores and just about every other academic indicator among California’s K-12 students collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but rebounded significantly the first few years back to in-person learning. That progress appears to have settled, at least for now.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Darling-Hammond predicted English language arts scores will rise in the next few years, as a handful of sweeping state reforms go into effect: \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/08/california-tk/\">transitional kindergarten\u003c/a>, dyslexia screening, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/07/literacy-california/\">literacy coaches\u003c/a> for elementary teachers and a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/07/literacy-california/\">phonics-based reading curriculum\u003c/a>, among others.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Darling-Hammond predicted English language arts scores will rise in the next few years, as a handful of sweeping state reforms go into effect: \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/08/california-tk/\">transitional kindergarten\u003c/a>, dyslexia screening, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/07/literacy-california/\">literacy coaches\u003c/a> for elementary teachers and a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/07/literacy-california/\">phonics-based reading curriculum\u003c/a>, among others.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2026/09/highlands-charter-school-california/\">Highlands charter school\u003c/a>, the embattled Sacramento school for adults seeking high school diplomas, loomed large over the data. Last year, Highlands and its sister school, California Innovative Career Academy, had such high enrollments – 17,513 combined – and such low graduation rates – less than 2% – that they skewed graduation data for the entire state.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2026/09/highlands-charter-school-california/\">Highlands charter school\u003c/a>, the embattled Sacramento school for adults seeking high school diplomas, loomed large over the data. Last year, Highlands and its sister school, California Innovative Career Academy, had such high enrollments – 17,513 combined – and such low graduation rates – less than 2% – that they skewed graduation data for the entire state.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California Department of Education staff presented numbers with and without Highlands. Including Highlands, the state graduation rate was 87.9%, a slight increase from the previous year. Excluding Highlands, the rate was almost 2 percentage points higher – 89.7%, the highest rate in decades in California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California Department of Education staff presented numbers with and without Highlands. Including Highlands, the state graduation rate was 87.9%, a slight increase from the previous year. Excluding Highlands, the rate was almost 2 percentage points higher – 89.7%, the highest rate in decades in California.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Highlands, under new leadership, winnowed its enrollment this year and is seeking to improve its outcomes after the State Auditor blasted it last year for alleged mismanagement.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The state’s high school graduates also showed improvements in college and career preparation. According to the dashboard, the percentage of students who completed a career pathway or the A-G classes required for admission to the state’s public universities climbed 2.2 percentage points, to 55.2%.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The state’s high school graduates also showed improvements in college and career preparation. According to the dashboard, the percentage of students who completed a career pathway or the A-G classes required for admission to the state’s public universities climbed 2.2 percentage points, to 55.2%.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/10/student-test-scores-california/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "K-12 student test scores rose slightly last year in California, while enrollment numbers dropped.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>’s K-12 student test scores improved slightly in almost all categories last year, but progress slowed following a post-pandemic surge, according to state data released this week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s slow but steady improvement,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education. “It suggests we’re continuing to come out of the pandemic, and there’s still a lot of work to do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The percentage of students proficient in math jumped just over 1 percentage point – to 38.5% – and the number of students proficient in English language arts rose half a percentage point, 49.3%. Science scores increased 3.3% percentage points, to 36%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086383\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260603-BerkeleySchoolsLiteracy-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students read during class at Sylvia Mendez Elementary School in Berkeley on June 3, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the first time, the state released its \u003ca href=\"https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/\">enrollment\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://caaspp-elpac.ets.org/caaspp/\">test score\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.caschooldashboard.org/login\">California School Dashboard\u003c/a> data together, making it easier for school districts to communicate with parents and the public and for policymakers to analyze gains and declines across broad categories. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the gains, though, scores were lower for some student groups, including white and Asian students, compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools to close for in-person learning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Enrollment decline continues\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Statewide enrollment, which has been falling for a decade, plunged to 5.7 million – a loss of 74,000 students from last year. Because the state funds schools based on the number of students who show up every day, the declining numbers will mean less revenue for many districts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Amid the enrollment numbers, a few changes stood out. The number of students with disabilities jumped 25% over the past decade, to 850,822. And the number of English learners dropped 30% over that same time period due to a decline in immigration among other factors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chronic absenteeism, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2023/09/soaring-chronic-absenteeism-in-california-schools-is-at-pivotal-moment/\">which hit 30%\u003c/a> just after the pandemic, dropped to 18% last year, a decline of more than 1 percentage point from the previous year. Prior to the pandemic, only about 12% of students were chronically absent, or gone from school at least 10% of the school year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Test scores and just about every other academic indicator among California’s K-12 students collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but rebounded significantly the first few years back to in-person learning. That progress appears to have settled, at least for now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Darling-Hammond predicted English language arts scores will rise in the next few years, as a handful of sweeping state reforms go into effect: \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/08/california-tk/\">transitional kindergarten\u003c/a>, dyslexia screening, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/07/literacy-california/\">literacy coaches\u003c/a> for elementary teachers and a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/07/literacy-california/\">phonics-based reading curriculum\u003c/a>, among others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More grads, better prepared\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2026/09/highlands-charter-school-california/\">Highlands charter school\u003c/a>, the embattled Sacramento school for adults seeking high school diplomas, loomed large over the data. Last year, Highlands and its sister school, California Innovative Career Academy, had such high enrollments – 17,513 combined – and such low graduation rates – less than 2% – that they skewed graduation data for the entire state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California Department of Education staff presented numbers with and without Highlands. Including Highlands, the state graduation rate was 87.9%, a slight increase from the previous year. Excluding Highlands, the rate was almost 2 percentage points higher – 89.7%, the highest rate in decades in California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Highlands, under new leadership, winnowed its enrollment this year and is seeking to improve its outcomes after the State Auditor blasted it last year for alleged mismanagement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The state’s high school graduates also showed improvements in college and career preparation. According to the dashboard, the percentage of students who completed a career pathway or the A-G classes required for admission to the state’s public universities climbed 2.2 percentage points, to 55.2%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/10/student-test-scores-california/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Don’t Skip the School Board Races on Your Ballot. Here’s Why They Could Be Pivotal",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/educationnews\">school districts\u003c/a> across the Bay Area, years of declining enrollment are forcing major cuts and closures; students’ math and reading scores are in a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">free fall\u003c/a>; and campuses are being confronted with many of our major political fights, from transgender rights to AI regulation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But in many cases, the people elected to navigate these challenges earn that significant power by a margin as small as a couple hundred votes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than half of school board candidates across the U.S. run uncontested in an average election cycle, and voter turnout hovers between 5% and 10%. And school board races tend to be “low information,” meaning voters know little about who the candidates are or where they stand on key issues, many of which are similar across districts throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED asked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">390 candidates vying for 109 school board seats\u003c/a> across the nine-county Bay Area in November for their stance on some of these topics, from potential school closures to cellphone use — information voters can use at a time that education experts say is pivotal to public schools’ success. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have some unambiguously big problems for schools,” said Jon Valant, who directs the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “You can have a big impact, and you can have a big impact at a time when schools are facing a lot of important questions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do school boards actually do?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>School boards oversee large budgets, act as major employers and make policy and curriculum decisions that affect thousands of young people — and have rippling impacts on their wider communities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Public schools] are the primary institutions that we have for preparing people to be contributing members of our society, democracy and economy,” Valant said. “When you’re participating in a school board election, you’re really having a say in the structure of our society more broadly.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bodies have a few main functions: approving a school district’s budget — which for an urban district like San Francisco, tops $1.36 billion — and hiring and evaluating a superintendent, the person “who’s really responsible for running the system,” according to Julie Marsh, a faculty director at Policy Analysis for California Education.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>School boards set priorities, such as student outcome goals and community values, that are supposed to guide decision-making by the superintendent and district staff. They also approve curriculum and labor contracts and can steer high-level policy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Culture war battlegrounds\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less officially, school boards have also become political arenas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Schools and particularly school boards have really become some of the country’s main battlegrounds for its culture wars,” Valant said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He traces the trend back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some groups of parents began organizing and rallying against masking and vaccine mandates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103881\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-1536x1207.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Martha Aguilera, left, with Karen Frost of Moms for Liberty, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand, A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around the same time, groups like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101904708/conservative-mothers-as-a-political-force-in-california\">Moms for Liberty\u003c/a> were on the rise, advocating against curriculum that teaches about LGBTQ rights and race and ethnicity. They began running school board candidates and establishing a sustained presence at school board meetings, sowing fear that public schools are pushing “woke indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen far-right leaders who have been quite successful with this approach where they run well-funded groups, organize and run a candidate on an ideological platform,” Marsh said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She and other experts said the rise of candidates running for the nonpartisan roles backed by political interest groups became especially prominent in the early 2020s. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While these groups’ influence on school board races seems to be dying down in California, Valant said a recent national Brookings survey found that school board members still feel their governance has become more political and partisan in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marsh said that conservative groups have also used the tactic to upend trust in school systems more broadly and “mobilize their base.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a whole strategy of creating a bench for potential candidates for higher office,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1372\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sonja Shaw, Chino Valley Unified School District Board President, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand: A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sonja Shaw, who is in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086044/conservative-activist-sonja-shaw-advances-in-state-superintendent-race\">runoff election for California state superintendent\u003c/a> this November, rose to notoriety as Chino Valley’s school board president in 2023, when she pushed for a policy that would require school staff to notify parents of any change in their children’s gender identity. Shaw made headlines after current state Superintendent Tony Thurmond was heckled and removed from her district’s board meeting after he expressed opposition to the policy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The policy was permanently halted in 2024, after a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with similar campaigns to implement “forced outing” in Rocklin and counties in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also harnessed fear surrounding schools’ policies around LGBTQ students in the final stretch of his 2024 reelection campaign, telling a crowd of about 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, “we will get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He repeatedly told voters: “your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” changing their sex.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Big, big issues’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While “culture war politics” draw attention and tend to spur single-issue candidates to run for school boards, Valant said, “we need really to be focused on some of the core issues in education.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Artificial intelligence] has kind of landed on schools’ laps, and questions about how technology should be embedded into the school day,” he said. “We’ve seen achievement declines across the country and growing gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students. We’ve seen chronic absenteeism and enrollment declines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And, we’ve seen a growing attack on public education across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103883\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nick Melvoin, Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, speaks during a board meeting at the LAUSD headquarters on April 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Melvoin’s Resolution to limit student screen time. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the boards elected this November will be tasked with deciding how their districts will weather shrinking student bodies, and whether to close schools as part of that process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/school-closures\">closure process\u003c/a> is almost always met with strong opposition from families and teachers, but how districts approach it can significantly change how it affects enrollment and trust.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s former superintendent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">resigned under pressure\u003c/a> in 2024 after a botched closure process that strained relationships with the district’s labor unions and many families. But earlier this year, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">reopened the question of school consolidations\u003c/a>, giving Superintendent Maria Su a strict deadline of 2030 to decide whether campuses should shutter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board — including the three members who will be elected this fall — will have final approval over her plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Campus closures can upend longstanding school communities, and National School Board Association president Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs said they have rippling effects on nearby businesses, property values and neighborhood populations if they spur families to move.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of the 140 Bay Area school board candidates who responded to KQED’s question about school closures, 57% said they would consider supporting a proposal from their district to close schools, while 43% said they would oppose the practice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Boards are also setting the course for the future of technology in classrooms, as parent-led backlash expands across the country, blaming overreliance on screens and artificial intelligence for poor learning outcomes. According to a joint Education Scorecard project from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities, falling test scores reflect a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">decadelong “learning recession.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a slate of historic tech-limiting policies, proposed by board member Nick Melvoin, with advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. Districts across the country have moved quickly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096557/a-chromebook-in-the-hand-of-every-child-did-schools-go-too-far\">replicate their model\u003c/a>, including in the Bay Area, from San José to Marin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, the Oakland school board approved new technology restrictions, proposed by board member Rachel Latta, that prohibit students from using individual devices during lunch and passing periods, and mandate training for teachers to reduce 1:1 device use by the fall of 2027. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other districts in San Francisco, San Mateo and Palo Alto have formed ad hoc committees or working groups to consider stricter tech policies, which will be presented to their new boards in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s public school district is relatively behind on limiting tech use — the current board allowed administrators to punt on a stricter cellphone policy last spring, and it uses a controversial AI-assisted reading assessment and tutoring tool with kindergarteners.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Combatting federal attacks\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Voters aren’t just choosing who will make major instructional decisions at their local school districts; Valant said voting in school board elections this November will send an important message amid what he calls a “federal attack” on public schools.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Staying engaged with school boards, with education, with your local public school, is just really important in communicating that public schools are institutions that mean a lot to this country,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since taking office last year, Trump has signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education and created a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/education-freedom-tax-credit-fact-sheet-113147.pdf\">Education Freedom Scholarship Program\u003c/a>, which aims to expand parents’ school choice by allowing them to receive tax credits up to $1,700 that can be used to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling costs, and other educational support.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled-e1791586238561.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091600\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Those together are the biggest change in school policy since at least the early 1990s,” said professor Doug Harris, the director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University. “The idea of open access or universal access to schools is upended. Public education has always involved some public governance, and this eliminates [that].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Valant called the universal private school choice policies, adopted by more than half of U.S. states, not including California, “intentionally hostile to public schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the federal government has suggested that school choice increases competition and will improve public schools, Valant and others worry it will siphon funds away from the public system and toward schools that are able to select which students they serve — and often teach religious material.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from school districts that teach about diversity, equity and inclusion, or promote policies that protect transgender students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In June, the Department of Education launched compliance reviews into SFUSD and three Monterey County school districts over their policies and materials related to gender identity and sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Maria Su testifies during a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on parental rights and school content policies, on June 10, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Wolf/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Later that month, San Francisco Superintendent Su was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086522/congress-to-grill-san-francisco-schools-chief-maria-su-about-gender-ethnic-studies\">called to testify\u003c/a> before Congress about parental rights and “inappropriate” course curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All of that adds up to a current moment that Marsh described as an attack on public education and democracy at large, adding that voting is essential to maintain those institutions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A democracy that focuses on the common good … actually requires people to look out for other kids, not just their own families,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“School boards are one of our few local institutions that are both defending democracy and public education,” she said. “The federal government can’t do anything about our boards — the school board system is well established, and I think we need to defend that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have some unambiguously big problems for schools,” said Jon Valant, who directs the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “You can have a big impact, and you can have a big impact at a time when schools are facing a lot of important questions.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We have some unambiguously big problems for schools,” said Jon Valant, who directs the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “You can have a big impact, and you can have a big impact at a time when schools are facing a lot of important questions.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[Public schools] are the primary institutions that we have for preparing people to be contributing members of our society, democracy and economy,” Valant said. “When you’re participating in a school board election, you’re really having a say in the structure of our society more broadly.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The bodies have a few main functions: approving a school district’s budget — which for an urban district like San Francisco, tops $1.36 billion — and hiring and evaluating a superintendent, the person “who’s really responsible for running the system,” according to Julie Marsh, a faculty director at Policy Analysis for California Education.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The bodies have a few main functions: approving a school district’s budget — which for an urban district like San Francisco, tops $1.36 billion — and hiring and evaluating a superintendent, the person “who’s really responsible for running the system,” according to Julie Marsh, a faculty director at Policy Analysis for California Education.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>School boards set priorities, such as student outcome goals and community values, that are supposed to guide decision-making by the superintendent and district staff. They also approve curriculum and labor contracts and can steer high-level policy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>School boards set priorities, such as student outcome goals and community values, that are supposed to guide decision-making by the superintendent and district staff. They also approve curriculum and labor contracts and can steer high-level policy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Culture war battlegrounds",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Culture war battlegrounds\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Less officially, school boards have also become political arenas.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Schools and particularly school boards have really become some of the country’s main battlegrounds for its culture wars,” Valant said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Schools and particularly school boards have really become some of the country’s main battlegrounds for its culture wars,” Valant said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He traces the trend back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some groups of parents began organizing and rallying against masking and vaccine mandates.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He traces the trend back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some groups of parents began organizing and rallying against masking and vaccine mandates.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103881\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-1536x1207.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Martha Aguilera, left, with Karen Frost of Moms for Liberty, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand, A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103881\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Martha Aguilera, left, with Karen Frost of Moms for Liberty, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand, A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Around the same time, groups like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101904708/conservative-mothers-as-a-political-force-in-california\">Moms for Liberty\u003c/a> were on the rise, advocating against curriculum that teaches about LGBTQ rights and race and ethnicity. They began running school board candidates and establishing a sustained presence at school board meetings, sowing fear that public schools are pushing “woke indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Around the same time, groups like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101904708/conservative-mothers-as-a-political-force-in-california\">Moms for Liberty\u003c/a> were on the rise, advocating against curriculum that teaches about LGBTQ rights and race and ethnicity. They began running school board candidates and establishing a sustained presence at school board meetings, sowing fear that public schools are pushing “woke indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen far-right leaders who have been quite successful with this approach where they run well-funded groups, organize and run a candidate on an ideological platform,” Marsh said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen far-right leaders who have been quite successful with this approach where they run well-funded groups, organize and run a candidate on an ideological platform,” Marsh said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She and other experts said the rise of candidates running for the nonpartisan roles backed by political interest groups became especially prominent in the early 2020s. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She and other experts said the rise of candidates running for the nonpartisan roles backed by political interest groups became especially prominent in the early 2020s. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While these groups’ influence on school board races seems to be dying down in California, Valant said a recent national Brookings survey found that school board members still feel their governance has become more political and partisan in recent years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While these groups’ influence on school board races seems to be dying down in California, Valant said a recent national Brookings survey found that school board members still feel their governance has become more political and partisan in recent years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Marsh said that conservative groups have also used the tactic to upend trust in school systems more broadly and “mobilize their base.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Marsh said that conservative groups have also used the tactic to upend trust in school systems more broadly and “mobilize their base.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s a whole strategy of creating a bench for potential candidates for higher office,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There’s a whole strategy of creating a bench for potential candidates for higher office,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sonja Shaw, Chino Valley Unified School District Board President, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand: A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086196\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sonja Shaw, Chino Valley Unified School District Board President, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand: A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sonja Shaw, who is in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086044/conservative-activist-sonja-shaw-advances-in-state-superintendent-race\">runoff election for California state superintendent\u003c/a> this November, rose to notoriety as Chino Valley’s school board president in 2023, when she pushed for a policy that would require school staff to notify parents of any change in their children’s gender identity. Shaw made headlines after current state Superintendent Tony Thurmond was heckled and removed from her district’s board meeting after he expressed opposition to the policy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sonja Shaw, who is in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086044/conservative-activist-sonja-shaw-advances-in-state-superintendent-race\">runoff election for California state superintendent\u003c/a> this November, rose to notoriety as Chino Valley’s school board president in 2023, when she pushed for a policy that would require school staff to notify parents of any change in their children’s gender identity. Shaw made headlines after current state Superintendent Tony Thurmond was heckled and removed from her district’s board meeting after he expressed opposition to the policy. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The policy was permanently halted in 2024, after a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with similar campaigns to implement “forced outing” in Rocklin and counties in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The policy was permanently halted in 2024, after a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with similar campaigns to implement “forced outing” in Rocklin and counties in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also harnessed fear surrounding schools’ policies around LGBTQ students in the final stretch of his 2024 reelection campaign, telling a crowd of about 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, “we will get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also harnessed fear surrounding schools’ policies around LGBTQ students in the final stretch of his 2024 reelection campaign, telling a crowd of about 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, “we will get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He repeatedly told voters: “your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” changing their sex.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He repeatedly told voters: “your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” changing their sex.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "‘Big, big issues’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Big, big issues’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Big, big issues’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While “culture war politics” draw attention and tend to spur single-issue candidates to run for school boards, Valant said, “we need really to be focused on some of the core issues in education.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>While “culture war politics” draw attention and tend to spur single-issue candidates to run for school boards, Valant said, “we need really to be focused on some of the core issues in education.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[Artificial intelligence] has kind of landed on schools’ laps, and questions about how technology should be embedded into the school day,” he said. “We’ve seen achievement declines across the country and growing gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students. We’ve seen chronic absenteeism and enrollment declines.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“[Artificial intelligence] has kind of landed on schools’ laps, and questions about how technology should be embedded into the school day,” he said. “We’ve seen achievement declines across the country and growing gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students. We’ve seen chronic absenteeism and enrollment declines.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And, we’ve seen a growing attack on public education across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“And, we’ve seen a growing attack on public education across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103883\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nick Melvoin, Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, speaks during a board meeting at the LAUSD headquarters on April 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Melvoin’s Resolution to limit student screen time.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103883\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nick Melvoin, Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, speaks during a board meeting at the LAUSD headquarters on April 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Melvoin’s Resolution to limit student screen time.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the boards elected this November will be tasked with deciding how their districts will weather shrinking student bodies, and whether to close schools as part of that process.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Many of the boards elected this November will be tasked with deciding how their districts will weather shrinking student bodies, and whether to close schools as part of that process.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/school-closures\">closure process\u003c/a> is almost always met with strong opposition from families and teachers, but how districts approach it can significantly change how it affects enrollment and trust.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/school-closures\">closure process\u003c/a> is almost always met with strong opposition from families and teachers, but how districts approach it can significantly change how it affects enrollment and trust.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s former superintendent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">resigned under pressure\u003c/a> in 2024 after a botched closure process that strained relationships with the district’s labor unions and many families. But earlier this year, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">reopened the question of school consolidations\u003c/a>, giving Superintendent Maria Su a strict deadline of 2030 to decide whether campuses should shutter. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s former superintendent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">resigned under pressure\u003c/a> in 2024 after a botched closure process that strained relationships with the district’s labor unions and many families. But earlier this year, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">reopened the question of school consolidations\u003c/a>, giving Superintendent Maria Su a strict deadline of 2030 to decide whether campuses should shutter. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board — including the three members who will be elected this fall — will have final approval over her plan.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The board — including the three members who will be elected this fall — will have final approval over her plan.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Campus closures can upend longstanding school communities, and National School Board Association president Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs said they have rippling effects on nearby businesses, property values and neighborhood populations if they spur families to move.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Campus closures can upend longstanding school communities, and National School Board Association president Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs said they have rippling effects on nearby businesses, property values and neighborhood populations if they spur families to move.\u003c/p>\n"
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"label": "2026 Bay Area Voter Guide",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Of the 140 Bay Area school board candidates who responded to KQED’s question about school closures, 57% said they would consider supporting a proposal from their district to close schools, while 43% said they would oppose the practice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Of the 140 Bay Area school board candidates who responded to KQED’s question about school closures, 57% said they would consider supporting a proposal from their district to close schools, while 43% said they would oppose the practice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Boards are also setting the course for the future of technology in classrooms, as parent-led backlash expands across the country, blaming overreliance on screens and artificial intelligence for poor learning outcomes. According to a joint Education Scorecard project from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities, falling test scores reflect a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">decadelong “learning recession.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Boards are also setting the course for the future of technology in classrooms, as parent-led backlash expands across the country, blaming overreliance on screens and artificial intelligence for poor learning outcomes. According to a joint Education Scorecard project from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities, falling test scores reflect a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">decadelong “learning recession.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a slate of historic tech-limiting policies, proposed by board member Nick Melvoin, with advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. Districts across the country have moved quickly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096557/a-chromebook-in-the-hand-of-every-child-did-schools-go-too-far\">replicate their model\u003c/a>, including in the Bay Area, from San José to Marin.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a slate of historic tech-limiting policies, proposed by board member Nick Melvoin, with advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. Districts across the country have moved quickly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096557/a-chromebook-in-the-hand-of-every-child-did-schools-go-too-far\">replicate their model\u003c/a>, including in the Bay Area, from San José to Marin.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last week, the Oakland school board approved new technology restrictions, proposed by board member Rachel Latta, that prohibit students from using individual devices during lunch and passing periods, and mandate training for teachers to reduce 1:1 device use by the fall of 2027. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last week, the Oakland school board approved new technology restrictions, proposed by board member Rachel Latta, that prohibit students from using individual devices during lunch and passing periods, and mandate training for teachers to reduce 1:1 device use by the fall of 2027. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other districts in San Francisco, San Mateo and Palo Alto have formed ad hoc committees or working groups to consider stricter tech policies, which will be presented to their new boards in the spring.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other districts in San Francisco, San Mateo and Palo Alto have formed ad hoc committees or working groups to consider stricter tech policies, which will be presented to their new boards in the spring.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s public school district is relatively behind on limiting tech use — the current board allowed administrators to punt on a stricter cellphone policy last spring, and it uses a controversial AI-assisted reading assessment and tutoring tool with kindergarteners.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s public school district is relatively behind on limiting tech use — the current board allowed administrators to punt on a stricter cellphone policy last spring, and it uses a controversial AI-assisted reading assessment and tutoring tool with kindergarteners.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Combatting federal attacks",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Voters aren’t just choosing who will make major instructional decisions at their local school districts; Valant said voting in school board elections this November will send an important message amid what he calls a “federal attack” on public schools.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Voters aren’t just choosing who will make major instructional decisions at their local school districts; Valant said voting in school board elections this November will send an important message amid what he calls a “federal attack” on public schools.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Staying engaged with school boards, with education, with your local public school, is just really important in communicating that public schools are institutions that mean a lot to this country,” he said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Staying engaged with school boards, with education, with your local public school, is just really important in communicating that public schools are institutions that mean a lot to this country,” he said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since taking office last year, Trump has signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education and created a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/education-freedom-tax-credit-fact-sheet-113147.pdf\">Education Freedom Scholarship Program\u003c/a>, which aims to expand parents’ school choice by allowing them to receive tax credits up to $1,700 that can be used to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling costs, and other educational support.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since taking office last year, Trump has signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education and created a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/education-freedom-tax-credit-fact-sheet-113147.pdf\">Education Freedom Scholarship Program\u003c/a>, which aims to expand parents’ school choice by allowing them to receive tax credits up to $1,700 that can be used to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling costs, and other educational support.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled-e1791586238561.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091600\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled-e1791586238561.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091600\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Those together are the biggest change in school policy since at least the early 1990s,” said professor Doug Harris, the director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University. “The idea of open access or universal access to schools is upended. Public education has always involved some public governance, and this eliminates [that].”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Those together are the biggest change in school policy since at least the early 1990s,” said professor Doug Harris, the director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University. “The idea of open access or universal access to schools is upended. Public education has always involved some public governance, and this eliminates [that].”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Valant called the universal private school choice policies, adopted by more than half of U.S. states, not including California, “intentionally hostile to public schools.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Valant called the universal private school choice policies, adopted by more than half of U.S. states, not including California, “intentionally hostile to public schools.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the federal government has suggested that school choice increases competition and will improve public schools, Valant and others worry it will siphon funds away from the public system and toward schools that are able to select which students they serve — and often teach religious material.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While the federal government has suggested that school choice increases competition and will improve public schools, Valant and others worry it will siphon funds away from the public system and toward schools that are able to select which students they serve — and often teach religious material.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from school districts that teach about diversity, equity and inclusion, or promote policies that protect transgender students. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from school districts that teach about diversity, equity and inclusion, or promote policies that protect transgender students. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In June, the Department of Education launched compliance reviews into SFUSD and three Monterey County school districts over their policies and materials related to gender identity and sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In June, the Department of Education launched compliance reviews into SFUSD and three Monterey County school districts over their policies and materials related to gender identity and sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Later that month, San Francisco Superintendent Su was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086522/congress-to-grill-san-francisco-schools-chief-maria-su-about-gender-ethnic-studies\">called to testify\u003c/a> before Congress about parental rights and “inappropriate” course curriculum.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>All of that adds up to a current moment that Marsh described as an attack on public education and democracy at large, adding that voting is essential to maintain those institutions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A democracy that focuses on the common good … actually requires people to look out for other kids, not just their own families,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“School boards are one of our few local institutions that are both defending democracy and public education,” she said. “The federal government can’t do anything about our boards — the school board system is well established, and I think we need to defend that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“School boards are one of our few local institutions that are both defending democracy and public education,” she said. “The federal government can’t do anything about our boards — the school board system is well established, and I think we need to defend that.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Public schools across the Bay Area are facing “some unambiguously big problems,” education experts say, but the elections for local school boards often fly under the radar.",
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"title": "Don’t Skip the School Board Races on Your Ballot. Here’s Why They Could Be Pivotal | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/educationnews\">school districts\u003c/a> across the Bay Area, years of declining enrollment are forcing major cuts and closures; students’ math and reading scores are in a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">free fall\u003c/a>; and campuses are being confronted with many of our major political fights, from transgender rights to AI regulation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But in many cases, the people elected to navigate these challenges earn that significant power by a margin as small as a couple hundred votes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More than half of school board candidates across the U.S. run uncontested in an average election cycle, and voter turnout hovers between 5% and 10%. And school board races tend to be “low information,” meaning voters know little about who the candidates are or where they stand on key issues, many of which are similar across districts throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>KQED asked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/voterguide\">390 candidates vying for 109 school board seats\u003c/a> across the nine-county Bay Area in November for their stance on some of these topics, from potential school closures to cellphone use — information voters can use at a time that education experts say is pivotal to public schools’ success. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have some unambiguously big problems for schools,” said Jon Valant, who directs the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “You can have a big impact, and you can have a big impact at a time when schools are facing a lot of important questions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do school boards actually do?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>School boards oversee large budgets, act as major employers and make policy and curriculum decisions that affect thousands of young people — and have rippling impacts on their wider communities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Public schools] are the primary institutions that we have for preparing people to be contributing members of our society, democracy and economy,” Valant said. “When you’re participating in a school board election, you’re really having a say in the structure of our society more broadly.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The bodies have a few main functions: approving a school district’s budget — which for an urban district like San Francisco, tops $1.36 billion — and hiring and evaluating a superintendent, the person “who’s really responsible for running the system,” according to Julie Marsh, a faculty director at Policy Analysis for California Education.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>School boards set priorities, such as student outcome goals and community values, that are supposed to guide decision-making by the superintendent and district staff. They also approve curriculum and labor contracts and can steer high-level policy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Culture war battlegrounds\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less officially, school boards have also become political arenas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Schools and particularly school boards have really become some of the country’s main battlegrounds for its culture wars,” Valant said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He traces the trend back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some groups of parents began organizing and rallying against masking and vaccine mandates.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103881\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/MomsLibertyGetty-52a1d437-1536x1207.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Martha Aguilera, left, with Karen Frost of Moms for Liberty, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand, A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around the same time, groups like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101904708/conservative-mothers-as-a-political-force-in-california\">Moms for Liberty\u003c/a> were on the rise, advocating against curriculum that teaches about LGBTQ rights and race and ethnicity. They began running school board candidates and establishing a sustained presence at school board meetings, sowing fear that public schools are pushing “woke indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen far-right leaders who have been quite successful with this approach where they run well-funded groups, organize and run a candidate on an ideological platform,” Marsh said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She and other experts said the rise of candidates running for the nonpartisan roles backed by political interest groups became especially prominent in the early 2020s. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While these groups’ influence on school board races seems to be dying down in California, Valant said a recent national Brookings survey found that school board members still feel their governance has become more political and partisan in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marsh said that conservative groups have also used the tactic to upend trust in school systems more broadly and “mobilize their base.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a whole strategy of creating a bench for potential candidates for higher office,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1372\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Sonja-Shaw-Getty-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sonja Shaw, Chino Valley Unified School District Board President, speaks at the California Policy Center and PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids) event, “A Line in the Sand: A Rally for Parental Rights,” at Rancho Madera Community Park in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sonja Shaw, who is in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086044/conservative-activist-sonja-shaw-advances-in-state-superintendent-race\">runoff election for California state superintendent\u003c/a> this November, rose to notoriety as Chino Valley’s school board president in 2023, when she pushed for a policy that would require school staff to notify parents of any change in their children’s gender identity. Shaw made headlines after current state Superintendent Tony Thurmond was heckled and removed from her district’s board meeting after he expressed opposition to the policy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The policy was permanently halted in 2024, after a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with similar campaigns to implement “forced outing” in Rocklin and counties in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump also harnessed fear surrounding schools’ policies around LGBTQ students in the final stretch of his 2024 reelection campaign, telling a crowd of about 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, “we will get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He repeatedly told voters: “your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,” changing their sex.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Big, big issues’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While “culture war politics” draw attention and tend to spur single-issue candidates to run for school boards, Valant said, “we need really to be focused on some of the core issues in education.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Artificial intelligence] has kind of landed on schools’ laps, and questions about how technology should be embedded into the school day,” he said. “We’ve seen achievement declines across the country and growing gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students. We’ve seen chronic absenteeism and enrollment declines.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And, we’ve seen a growing attack on public education across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103883\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/LAUSDScreenTimeGetty-d975feb9-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nick Melvoin, Member of the Los Angeles Unified School District, speaks during a board meeting at the LAUSD headquarters on April 21, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Melvoin’s Resolution to limit student screen time. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the boards elected this November will be tasked with deciding how their districts will weather shrinking student bodies, and whether to close schools as part of that process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/school-closures\">closure process\u003c/a> is almost always met with strong opposition from families and teachers, but how districts approach it can significantly change how it affects enrollment and trust.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s former superintendent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">resigned under pressure\u003c/a> in 2024 after a botched closure process that strained relationships with the district’s labor unions and many families. But earlier this year, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095382/as-sfusd-welcomes-back-students-officials-plan-to-revamp-enrollment-consider-closures\">reopened the question of school consolidations\u003c/a>, giving Superintendent Maria Su a strict deadline of 2030 to decide whether campuses should shutter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board — including the three members who will be elected this fall — will have final approval over her plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Campus closures can upend longstanding school communities, and National School Board Association president Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs said they have rippling effects on nearby businesses, property values and neighborhood populations if they spur families to move.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of the 140 Bay Area school board candidates who responded to KQED’s question about school closures, 57% said they would consider supporting a proposal from their district to close schools, while 43% said they would oppose the practice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Boards are also setting the course for the future of technology in classrooms, as parent-led backlash expands across the country, blaming overreliance on screens and artificial intelligence for poor learning outcomes. According to a joint Education Scorecard project from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities, falling test scores reflect a \u003ca href=\"https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/why-us-test-scores-are-generation-long-decline\">decadelong “learning recession.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a slate of historic tech-limiting policies, proposed by board member Nick Melvoin, with advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. Districts across the country have moved quickly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096557/a-chromebook-in-the-hand-of-every-child-did-schools-go-too-far\">replicate their model\u003c/a>, including in the Bay Area, from San José to Marin.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, the Oakland school board approved new technology restrictions, proposed by board member Rachel Latta, that prohibit students from using individual devices during lunch and passing periods, and mandate training for teachers to reduce 1:1 device use by the fall of 2027. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other districts in San Francisco, San Mateo and Palo Alto have formed ad hoc committees or working groups to consider stricter tech policies, which will be presented to their new boards in the spring.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s public school district is relatively behind on limiting tech use — the current board allowed administrators to punt on a stricter cellphone policy last spring, and it uses a controversial AI-assisted reading assessment and tutoring tool with kindergarteners.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Combatting federal attacks\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Voters aren’t just choosing who will make major instructional decisions at their local school districts; Valant said voting in school board elections this November will send an important message amid what he calls a “federal attack” on public schools.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Staying engaged with school boards, with education, with your local public school, is just really important in communicating that public schools are institutions that mean a lot to this country,” he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since taking office last year, Trump has signed an executive order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education and created a federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/education-freedom-tax-credit-fact-sheet-113147.pdf\">Education Freedom Scholarship Program\u003c/a>, which aims to expand parents’ school choice by allowing them to receive tax credits up to $1,700 that can be used to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling costs, and other educational support.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2285787606-scaled-e1791586238561.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091600\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Those together are the biggest change in school policy since at least the early 1990s,” said professor Doug Harris, the director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University. “The idea of open access or universal access to schools is upended. Public education has always involved some public governance, and this eliminates [that].”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Valant called the universal private school choice policies, adopted by more than half of U.S. states, not including California, “intentionally hostile to public schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the federal government has suggested that school choice increases competition and will improve public schools, Valant and others worry it will siphon funds away from the public system and toward schools that are able to select which students they serve — and often teach religious material.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from school districts that teach about diversity, equity and inclusion, or promote policies that protect transgender students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In June, the Department of Education launched compliance reviews into SFUSD and three Monterey County school districts over their policies and materials related to gender identity and sexual orientation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/MariaSuAP2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Maria Su testifies during a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on parental rights and school content policies, on June 10, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Wolf/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Later that month, San Francisco Superintendent Su was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086522/congress-to-grill-san-francisco-schools-chief-maria-su-about-gender-ethnic-studies\">called to testify\u003c/a> before Congress about parental rights and “inappropriate” course curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All of that adds up to a current moment that Marsh described as an attack on public education and democracy at large, adding that voting is essential to maintain those institutions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A democracy that focuses on the common good … actually requires people to look out for other kids, not just their own families,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“School boards are one of our few local institutions that are both defending democracy and public education,” she said. “The federal government can’t do anything about our boards — the school board system is well established, and I think we need to defend that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sfusd-moves-closer-to-neighborhood-based-enrollment-in-historic-vote",
"title": "SFUSD Moves Closer to Neighborhood-Based Enrollment in Historic Vote",
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"headTitle": "SFUSD Moves Closer to Neighborhood-Based Enrollment in Historic Vote | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sfusd\">public schools\u003c/a> will officially move toward neighborhood-based enrollment after decades of giving families the choice over where they send their children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board directed staff on Tuesday to propose an enrollment policy to take effect in fall 2028 that would ensure San Francisco Unified School District applicants a seat in a school by their home — but drastically reduce the number of campuses they can attend based on where they live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board’s decision, which passed in a 5-2 vote, went against broad parent support to retain the option to apply to any San Francisco public school. But Superintendent Maria Su said she believes the pivot to neighborhood schools is necessary to improve educational quality across the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Families should not have to roll the dice and try their luck in our system,” Su said. “Families should not have to leave where they live to secure their child’s future. The school down the street should be a good option and a certain one.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years, San Francisco families and school district staff have lamented over the “lottery” enrollment system. Introduced in 2011, it aimed to give applicants a broad choice over where they attended school and reduce socio-economic segregation across campuses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each fall, prospective SFUSD applicants submit ranked lists of schools and programs in order of preference, and then wait for an assignment in the spring — determined by an algorithm that considers their home addresses, siblings’ schools and other factors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s long been criticized as unpredictable, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But it’s also been seen as an “escape hatch” for others who don’t feel that the schools in their neighborhoods have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, the school board vowed to scrap the lottery, but putting a new policy in place has proven to be a Herculean task.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s now expected to change in fall of 2028. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Students entering SFUSD elementary schools that year will automatically be assigned to a school near their home — their neighborhood school — first. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If they choose to accept that placement, their enrollment process will end there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, if they would like to apply to a citywide program that the district offers, like its language pathways or kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, they’ll have the option to do so. Like the lottery, there’s no guarantee they’ll nab a seat in one of those coveted schools. It’s unclear what factors will determine who is most likely to get their choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Su acknowledged that the selected proposal, known as “Option C,” wasn’t most parents’ top preference, but she called it the “bold” choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The alternative considered Tuesday, which was dubbed “Option B,” would also have first assigned students to a neighborhood school, but it would have then allowed them to apply to any other school in the district with open seats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12053561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mission Education Center, a bilingual elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood on Aug. 25, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While that system would have maintained more choice for applicants, Su said it would “keep the status quo.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Families who do not trust their neighborhood schools will continue to leave those schools,” she said. “Those schools will remain under-enrolled, and that pattern impacts our southeast neighborhoods the hardest.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the parents who spoke at Tuesday’s packed board meeting voiced concerns about losing the choice that the lottery affords, especially for lower-income families and those who live in the southeast region of the city. And in an engagement survey conducted prior to the meeting, 72% of the nearly 3,000 respondents said Option B would meet their needs, while 48% approved of Option C.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are big equity issues in the district, and when you create a system that favors neighborhood schools with very limited choice, it forces families who are living nearest to those struggling schools to not have options,” said Rebecca Kee, the executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option B was also supported by board members Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray, who voted against Option C. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board previously considered multiple options that would have created enrollment zones, similar to a 2020 policy passed but never adopted, but those were abandoned in earlier discussions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For decades, SFUSD has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and thus, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the current system, one of the tiebreakers that determines who gets a seat at their requested school when it has more requests than seats available is called “CTIP1,” or test score area. Students who live in the census tracts in the city with the lowest average test scores get priority access to a seat, after students with a sibling already in the school, and Pre-K or transitional kindergarten students who live in the school’s attendance area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the board members acknowledged that the lottery provides some students the opportunity to move into better resourced schools. However, Commissioner Matt Alexander said, not all get to do so. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The choice system creates an escape valve for the families that have the most … understand, the most ability to navigate the system,” he said. “But we’re still operating those schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Choice is not a solution, because it doesn’t offer a solution for all of the families,” Alexander continued.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote only sets up a broad framework for the new policy. Staff will now begin to work with demographers to draw maps with attendance area boundaries, determine tiebreaker criteria for citywide school seats and draft a strategic investment plan for next year to begin redistributing district resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges they’ll face is ensuring that each attendance zone has enough seats in neighborhood schools for the students who live there. Modeling with the district’s current attendance boundaries, 19 of the 58 zones, or about 32%, will be short of kindergarten general education seats based on projected residents in 2033.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Staff said that by moving attendance boundaries with new maps, they will be able to eliminate some, but not all, of that shortfall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other levers they might use to increase the number of seats in neighborhoods that fall short are: transitioning a citywide school to a neighborhood school, moving language pathways to schools with seat surpluses, or assigning students to a neighborhood school outside of their attendance zone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to hash out other details, and is expected to vote on the final policy in April.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sfusd\">public schools\u003c/a> will officially move toward neighborhood-based enrollment after decades of giving families the choice over where they send their children.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The school board directed staff on Tuesday to propose an enrollment policy to take effect in fall 2028 that would ensure San Francisco Unified School District applicants a seat in a school by their home — but drastically reduce the number of campuses they can attend based on where they live.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The school board directed staff on Tuesday to propose an enrollment policy to take effect in fall 2028 that would ensure San Francisco Unified School District applicants a seat in a school by their home — but drastically reduce the number of campuses they can attend based on where they live.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The school board’s decision, which passed in a 5-2 vote, went against broad parent support to retain the option to apply to any San Francisco public school. But Superintendent Maria Su said she believes the pivot to neighborhood schools is necessary to improve educational quality across the city.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The school board’s decision, which passed in a 5-2 vote, went against broad parent support to retain the option to apply to any San Francisco public school. But Superintendent Maria Su said she believes the pivot to neighborhood schools is necessary to improve educational quality across the city.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Families should not have to roll the dice and try their luck in our system,” Su said. “Families should not have to leave where they live to secure their child’s future. The school down the street should be a good option and a certain one.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Families should not have to roll the dice and try their luck in our system,” Su said. “Families should not have to leave where they live to secure their child’s future. The school down the street should be a good option and a certain one.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095609\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For years, San Francisco families and school district staff have lamented over the “lottery” enrollment system. Introduced in 2011, it aimed to give applicants a broad choice over where they attended school and reduce socio-economic segregation across campuses.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For years, San Francisco families and school district staff have lamented over the “lottery” enrollment system. Introduced in 2011, it aimed to give applicants a broad choice over where they attended school and reduce socio-economic segregation across campuses.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Each fall, prospective SFUSD applicants submit ranked lists of schools and programs in order of preference, and then wait for an assignment in the spring — determined by an algorithm that considers their home addresses, siblings’ schools and other factors. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Each fall, prospective SFUSD applicants submit ranked lists of schools and programs in order of preference, and then wait for an assignment in the spring — determined by an algorithm that considers their home addresses, siblings’ schools and other factors. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s long been criticized as unpredictable, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But it’s also been seen as an “escape hatch” for others who don’t feel that the schools in their neighborhoods have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s long been criticized as unpredictable, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But it’s also been seen as an “escape hatch” for others who don’t feel that the schools in their neighborhoods have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2018, the school board vowed to scrap the lottery, but putting a new policy in place has proven to be a Herculean task.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2018, the school board vowed to scrap the lottery, but putting a new policy in place has proven to be a Herculean task.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s now expected to change in fall of 2028. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Students entering SFUSD elementary schools that year will automatically be assigned to a school near their home — their neighborhood school — first. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Students entering SFUSD elementary schools that year will automatically be assigned to a school near their home — their neighborhood school — first. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If they choose to accept that placement, their enrollment process will end there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>However, if they would like to apply to a citywide program that the district offers, like its language pathways or kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, they’ll have the option to do so. Like the lottery, there’s no guarantee they’ll nab a seat in one of those coveted schools. It’s unclear what factors will determine who is most likely to get their choice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>However, if they would like to apply to a citywide program that the district offers, like its language pathways or kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, they’ll have the option to do so. Like the lottery, there’s no guarantee they’ll nab a seat in one of those coveted schools. It’s unclear what factors will determine who is most likely to get their choice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Su acknowledged that the selected proposal, known as “Option C,” wasn’t most parents’ top preference, but she called it the “bold” choice. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Su acknowledged that the selected proposal, known as “Option C,” wasn’t most parents’ top preference, but she called it the “bold” choice. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The alternative considered Tuesday, which was dubbed “Option B,” would also have first assigned students to a neighborhood school, but it would have then allowed them to apply to any other school in the district with open seats.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The alternative considered Tuesday, which was dubbed “Option B,” would also have first assigned students to a neighborhood school, but it would have then allowed them to apply to any other school in the district with open seats.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12053561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mission Education Center, a bilingual elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood on Aug. 25, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12053561\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mission Education Center, a bilingual elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood on Aug. 25, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While that system would have maintained more choice for applicants, Su said it would “keep the status quo.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While that system would have maintained more choice for applicants, Su said it would “keep the status quo.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Families who do not trust their neighborhood schools will continue to leave those schools,” she said. “Those schools will remain under-enrolled, and that pattern impacts our southeast neighborhoods the hardest.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Families who do not trust their neighborhood schools will continue to leave those schools,” she said. “Those schools will remain under-enrolled, and that pattern impacts our southeast neighborhoods the hardest.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the parents who spoke at Tuesday’s packed board meeting voiced concerns about losing the choice that the lottery affords, especially for lower-income families and those who live in the southeast region of the city. And in an engagement survey conducted prior to the meeting, 72% of the nearly 3,000 respondents said Option B would meet their needs, while 48% approved of Option C.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Many of the parents who spoke at Tuesday’s packed board meeting voiced concerns about losing the choice that the lottery affords, especially for lower-income families and those who live in the southeast region of the city. And in an engagement survey conducted prior to the meeting, 72% of the nearly 3,000 respondents said Option B would meet their needs, while 48% approved of Option C.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There are big equity issues in the district, and when you create a system that favors neighborhood schools with very limited choice, it forces families who are living nearest to those struggling schools to not have options,” said Rebecca Kee, the executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There are big equity issues in the district, and when you create a system that favors neighborhood schools with very limited choice, it forces families who are living nearest to those struggling schools to not have options,” said Rebecca Kee, the executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Option B was also supported by board members Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray, who voted against Option C. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board previously considered multiple options that would have created enrollment zones, similar to a 2020 policy passed but never adopted, but those were abandoned in earlier discussions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The board previously considered multiple options that would have created enrollment zones, similar to a 2020 policy passed but never adopted, but those were abandoned in earlier discussions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095558\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For decades, SFUSD has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and thus, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For decades, SFUSD has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and thus, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under the current system, one of the tiebreakers that determines who gets a seat at their requested school when it has more requests than seats available is called “CTIP1,” or test score area. Students who live in the census tracts in the city with the lowest average test scores get priority access to a seat, after students with a sibling already in the school, and Pre-K or transitional kindergarten students who live in the school’s attendance area.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under the current system, one of the tiebreakers that determines who gets a seat at their requested school when it has more requests than seats available is called “CTIP1,” or test score area. Students who live in the census tracts in the city with the lowest average test scores get priority access to a seat, after students with a sibling already in the school, and Pre-K or transitional kindergarten students who live in the school’s attendance area.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the board members acknowledged that the lottery provides some students the opportunity to move into better resourced schools. However, Commissioner Matt Alexander said, not all get to do so. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The choice system creates an escape valve for the families that have the most … understand, the most ability to navigate the system,” he said. “But we’re still operating those schools.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The choice system creates an escape valve for the families that have the most … understand, the most ability to navigate the system,” he said. “But we’re still operating those schools.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Choice is not a solution, because it doesn’t offer a solution for all of the families,” Alexander continued.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote only sets up a broad framework for the new policy. Staff will now begin to work with demographers to draw maps with attendance area boundaries, determine tiebreaker criteria for citywide school seats and draft a strategic investment plan for next year to begin redistributing district resources. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote only sets up a broad framework for the new policy. Staff will now begin to work with demographers to draw maps with attendance area boundaries, determine tiebreaker criteria for citywide school seats and draft a strategic investment plan for next year to begin redistributing district resources. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges they’ll face is ensuring that each attendance zone has enough seats in neighborhood schools for the students who live there. Modeling with the district’s current attendance boundaries, 19 of the 58 zones, or about 32%, will be short of kindergarten general education seats based on projected residents in 2033.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges they’ll face is ensuring that each attendance zone has enough seats in neighborhood schools for the students who live there. Modeling with the district’s current attendance boundaries, 19 of the 58 zones, or about 32%, will be short of kindergarten general education seats based on projected residents in 2033.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Staff said that by moving attendance boundaries with new maps, they will be able to eliminate some, but not all, of that shortfall.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other levers they might use to increase the number of seats in neighborhoods that fall short are: transitioning a citywide school to a neighborhood school, moving language pathways to schools with seat surpluses, or assigning students to a neighborhood school outside of their attendance zone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other levers they might use to increase the number of seats in neighborhoods that fall short are: transitioning a citywide school to a neighborhood school, moving language pathways to schools with seat surpluses, or assigning students to a neighborhood school outside of their attendance zone.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to hash out other details, and is expected to vote on the final policy in April.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In a 5-2 vote, the board moved to develop a neighborhood-based enrollment system for public school students — despite considerable opposition by parents districtwide.",
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"title": "SFUSD Moves Closer to Neighborhood-Based Enrollment in Historic Vote | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sfusd\">public schools\u003c/a> will officially move toward neighborhood-based enrollment after decades of giving families the choice over where they send their children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board directed staff on Tuesday to propose an enrollment policy to take effect in fall 2028 that would ensure San Francisco Unified School District applicants a seat in a school by their home — but drastically reduce the number of campuses they can attend based on where they live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board’s decision, which passed in a 5-2 vote, went against broad parent support to retain the option to apply to any San Francisco public school. But Superintendent Maria Su said she believes the pivot to neighborhood schools is necessary to improve educational quality across the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Families should not have to roll the dice and try their luck in our system,” Su said. “Families should not have to leave where they live to secure their child’s future. The school down the street should be a good option and a certain one.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-20-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years, San Francisco families and school district staff have lamented over the “lottery” enrollment system. Introduced in 2011, it aimed to give applicants a broad choice over where they attended school and reduce socio-economic segregation across campuses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Each fall, prospective SFUSD applicants submit ranked lists of schools and programs in order of preference, and then wait for an assignment in the spring — determined by an algorithm that considers their home addresses, siblings’ schools and other factors. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s long been criticized as unpredictable, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But it’s also been seen as an “escape hatch” for others who don’t feel that the schools in their neighborhoods have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, the school board vowed to scrap the lottery, but putting a new policy in place has proven to be a Herculean task.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s now expected to change in fall of 2028. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Students entering SFUSD elementary schools that year will automatically be assigned to a school near their home — their neighborhood school — first. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If they choose to accept that placement, their enrollment process will end there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, if they would like to apply to a citywide program that the district offers, like its language pathways or kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, they’ll have the option to do so. Like the lottery, there’s no guarantee they’ll nab a seat in one of those coveted schools. It’s unclear what factors will determine who is most likely to get their choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Su acknowledged that the selected proposal, known as “Option C,” wasn’t most parents’ top preference, but she called it the “bold” choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The alternative considered Tuesday, which was dubbed “Option B,” would also have first assigned students to a neighborhood school, but it would have then allowed them to apply to any other school in the district with open seats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12053561\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250825-SFUSDMISSIONEDCENTER-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mission Education Center, a bilingual elementary school in the San Francisco Unified School District, in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood on Aug. 25, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While that system would have maintained more choice for applicants, Su said it would “keep the status quo.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Families who do not trust their neighborhood schools will continue to leave those schools,” she said. “Those schools will remain under-enrolled, and that pattern impacts our southeast neighborhoods the hardest.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the parents who spoke at Tuesday’s packed board meeting voiced concerns about losing the choice that the lottery affords, especially for lower-income families and those who live in the southeast region of the city. And in an engagement survey conducted prior to the meeting, 72% of the nearly 3,000 respondents said Option B would meet their needs, while 48% approved of Option C.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are big equity issues in the district, and when you create a system that favors neighborhood schools with very limited choice, it forces families who are living nearest to those struggling schools to not have options,” said Rebecca Kee, the executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option B was also supported by board members Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray, who voted against Option C. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board previously considered multiple options that would have created enrollment zones, similar to a 2020 policy passed but never adopted, but those were abandoned in earlier discussions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095558\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-02-MC-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students arrive at Jose Ortega Elementary School for the first day of their school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For decades, SFUSD has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and thus, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the current system, one of the tiebreakers that determines who gets a seat at their requested school when it has more requests than seats available is called “CTIP1,” or test score area. Students who live in the census tracts in the city with the lowest average test scores get priority access to a seat, after students with a sibling already in the school, and Pre-K or transitional kindergarten students who live in the school’s attendance area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many of the board members acknowledged that the lottery provides some students the opportunity to move into better resourced schools. However, Commissioner Matt Alexander said, not all get to do so. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The choice system creates an escape valve for the families that have the most … understand, the most ability to navigate the system,” he said. “But we’re still operating those schools.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Choice is not a solution, because it doesn’t offer a solution for all of the families,” Alexander continued.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote only sets up a broad framework for the new policy. Staff will now begin to work with demographers to draw maps with attendance area boundaries, determine tiebreaker criteria for citywide school seats and draft a strategic investment plan for next year to begin redistributing district resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094191\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A classroom at Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the biggest challenges they’ll face is ensuring that each attendance zone has enough seats in neighborhood schools for the students who live there. Modeling with the district’s current attendance boundaries, 19 of the 58 zones, or about 32%, will be short of kindergarten general education seats based on projected residents in 2033.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Staff said that by moving attendance boundaries with new maps, they will be able to eliminate some, but not all, of that shortfall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other levers they might use to increase the number of seats in neighborhoods that fall short are: transitioning a citywide school to a neighborhood school, moving language pathways to schools with seat surpluses, or assigning students to a neighborhood school outside of their attendance zone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to hash out other details, and is expected to vote on the final policy in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-francisco-prepares-to-end-its-public-school-lottery-system",
"title": "San Francisco Prepares to End Its Public School Lottery System",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>’s schools could soon pivot to neighborhood-based enrollment, 15 years after the controversial “lottery” system aimed to give families a sweeping choice of schools anywhere in the city, but offered little certainty of where their child would be placed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board is expected to approve one of two plans that would overhaul the San Francisco Unified School District’s student assignment system in favor of a policy staff said will be more predictable and keep more students closer to home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SFUSD’s current enrollment system allows families to apply to any of its elementary school campuses across the city, but does not guarantee students’ acceptance in any specific one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Critics have called the system stressful, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But others are wary of losing the element of choice, especially for families who live in neighborhoods where schools have weathered decades of underinvestment and underenrollment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD’s board and staff have spent late nights discussing possible enrollment options, narrowing down their choices to two last week. Both of the plans on the table on Tuesday night would guarantee students who apply by the enrollment deadline a seat in an assigned elementary school based on their address — and eliminate the requirement that families rank school choices in order to enroll in SFUSD.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095610\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leo Pham leads the way to his classroom after Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board is expected to direct staff to hammer out the details for one of those policies, called “Option B” and “Option C,” for approval by April.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under Option B, students would be given the option to accept a seat at their neighborhood school. They would have the option of applying to other SFUSD schools and could be assigned if there are empty seats. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option C would similarly give applicants the choice to accept their neighborhood school. They could also apply to other campuses, but only those that offer special programs like language pathways, newcomer services or a kindergarten through eighth grade model. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, the board eliminated a third option, Option A, which would have created enrollment zones. Under that policy, students would have been guaranteed a seat in one of three to five elementary schools near their home, but not necessarily their first choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option A was most similar to a policy the district approved in 2020, but never implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic and significant community pushback. That policy would have had applicants rank schools in their attendance zone and assign them based on that list, as well as diversity and tiebreaker considerations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Board members expressed concerns that Option A would be difficult to implement before enrollment for fall of 2028 begins, and poses equity concerns between neighborhoods. It also wouldn’t eliminate some of the perils of the current system — applicants would need to rank multiple schools, likely tour multiple campuses and manage the stress of uncertainty while awaiting an assignment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Option A rivaled Option B in popularity among families who responded to a district engagement survey this fall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of more than 2,700 respondents, 73% said Option A would meet their needs, while 71% said Option B would. Option C received much lower approval, at just 48%. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within those percentages, families’ preferences were starkly divided along neighborhood lines: west side and central neighborhoods favored Option A, while the Southeast leaned toward Option B.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Historically, students in the Sunset and Richmond have been more likely to favor neighborhood schools, while some in the Bayview, Mission Bay and Excelsior have preferred schools outside of their neighborhoods, worried that the schools closest to them don’t have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mirna Vasquez, a Bayview resident whose three children have attended SFUSD schools, said choice remains a priority for her.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My priority looking at schools [was] they provided a bilingual program,” she said. “I realized that schools near to my house, they don’t have it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also said she wanted to send her children to a campus that was “really funded” and had a full staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Overwhelmingly, families who responded to the district’s survey said that for them to enroll a child in a school by their home, they would need an environment that felt safe, has strong math and reading instruction and a stable teaching staff. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Until they guarantee me as a parent, ‘we’re going to fund it,’ maybe I can enroll my children in my neighborhood schools. But if they don’t promise that … I don’t mind driving far away to make sure my kids have better access to, I don’t want to say better education, because I don’t know if that’s true, but more support,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Families who preferred Option A reported much higher levels of satisfaction with the schools near their homes: just 37% in favor of A responded that there was “no acceptable school nearby,” compared to 60% of those who preferred Option B.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For decades, the school district has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and so, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At their final study session before Tuesday’s vote, some board members expressed concerns that either policy could perpetuate the same issues: “I’m very concerned that we would expect similar patterns to repeat, of students from the southeast preferencing schools other than their neighborhood schools [and] going to open spots,” said Vice President Jaime Huling. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12052662\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students at Sanchez Elementary School in San Francisco arrive for their first day of the school year on Aug. 18, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Then, having their schools be underenrolled even though that’s where the most students are, and being faced in April with making decisions about closing schools in the southeast,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Looming in the background is a mandate from the board for Superintendent Maria Su to propose possible school closures and mergers by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The district’s last attempt to close schools in 2024 was abandoned after parents, union representatives and city officials pushed back, in part because they said the campuses set to close or merge would disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Tuesday night’s decision, staff will move forward with redrawing attendance areas for neighborhood schools and making sure there are enough seats for all students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to discuss more specifics, like tiebreaker metrics for assigning students to non-neighborhood schools. The current lottery gives priority to siblings of students enrolled at the school, and those who live in areas of the city with the lowest test scores, among other factors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’ve also directed staff to implement the enrollment change in a way that creates strong, well-resourced schools in every neighborhood. Whether that’s possible under either proposed model, though, remains to be seen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>’s schools could soon pivot to neighborhood-based enrollment, 15 years after the controversial “lottery” system aimed to give families a sweeping choice of schools anywhere in the city, but offered little certainty of where their child would be placed. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The school board is expected to approve one of two plans that would overhaul the San Francisco Unified School District’s student assignment system in favor of a policy staff said will be more predictable and keep more students closer to home. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>SFUSD’s current enrollment system allows families to apply to any of its elementary school campuses across the city, but does not guarantee students’ acceptance in any specific one.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Critics have called the system stressful, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But others are wary of losing the element of choice, especially for families who live in neighborhoods where schools have weathered decades of underinvestment and underenrollment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Critics have called the system stressful, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But others are wary of losing the element of choice, especially for families who live in neighborhoods where schools have weathered decades of underinvestment and underenrollment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD’s board and staff have spent late nights discussing possible enrollment options, narrowing down their choices to two last week. Both of the plans on the table on Tuesday night would guarantee students who apply by the enrollment deadline a seat in an assigned elementary school based on their address — and eliminate the requirement that families rank school choices in order to enroll in SFUSD.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD’s board and staff have spent late nights discussing possible enrollment options, narrowing down their choices to two last week. Both of the plans on the table on Tuesday night would guarantee students who apply by the enrollment deadline a seat in an assigned elementary school based on their address — and eliminate the requirement that families rank school choices in order to enroll in SFUSD.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095610\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leo Pham leads the way to his classroom after Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095610\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leo Pham leads the way to his classroom after Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The board is expected to direct staff to hammer out the details for one of those policies, called “Option B” and “Option C,” for approval by April.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under Option B, students would be given the option to accept a seat at their neighborhood school. They would have the option of applying to other SFUSD schools and could be assigned if there are empty seats. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under Option B, students would be given the option to accept a seat at their neighborhood school. They would have the option of applying to other SFUSD schools and could be assigned if there are empty seats. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Option C would similarly give applicants the choice to accept their neighborhood school. They could also apply to other campuses, but only those that offer special programs like language pathways, newcomer services or a kindergarten through eighth grade model. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Option C would similarly give applicants the choice to accept their neighborhood school. They could also apply to other campuses, but only those that offer special programs like language pathways, newcomer services or a kindergarten through eighth grade model. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last week, the board eliminated a third option, Option A, which would have created enrollment zones. Under that policy, students would have been guaranteed a seat in one of three to five elementary schools near their home, but not necessarily their first choice. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Option A was most similar to a policy the district approved in 2020, but never implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic and significant community pushback. That policy would have had applicants rank schools in their attendance zone and assign them based on that list, as well as diversity and tiebreaker considerations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Option A was most similar to a policy the district approved in 2020, but never implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic and significant community pushback. That policy would have had applicants rank schools in their attendance zone and assign them based on that list, as well as diversity and tiebreaker considerations.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Board members expressed concerns that Option A would be difficult to implement before enrollment for fall of 2028 begins, and poses equity concerns between neighborhoods. It also wouldn’t eliminate some of the perils of the current system — applicants would need to rank multiple schools, likely tour multiple campuses and manage the stress of uncertainty while awaiting an assignment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Board members expressed concerns that Option A would be difficult to implement before enrollment for fall of 2028 begins, and poses equity concerns between neighborhoods. It also wouldn’t eliminate some of the perils of the current system — applicants would need to rank multiple schools, likely tour multiple campuses and manage the stress of uncertainty while awaiting an assignment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Option A rivaled Option B in popularity among families who responded to a district engagement survey this fall.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Of more than 2,700 respondents, 73% said Option A would meet their needs, while 71% said Option B would. Option C received much lower approval, at just 48%. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Of more than 2,700 respondents, 73% said Option A would meet their needs, while 71% said Option B would. Option C received much lower approval, at just 48%. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Within those percentages, families’ preferences were starkly divided along neighborhood lines: west side and central neighborhoods favored Option A, while the Southeast leaned toward Option B.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Within those percentages, families’ preferences were starkly divided along neighborhood lines: west side and central neighborhoods favored Option A, while the Southeast leaned toward Option B.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Historically, students in the Sunset and Richmond have been more likely to favor neighborhood schools, while some in the Bayview, Mission Bay and Excelsior have preferred schools outside of their neighborhoods, worried that the schools closest to them don’t have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Historically, students in the Sunset and Richmond have been more likely to favor neighborhood schools, while some in the Bayview, Mission Bay and Excelsior have preferred schools outside of their neighborhoods, worried that the schools closest to them don’t have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mirna Vasquez, a Bayview resident whose three children have attended SFUSD schools, said choice remains a priority for her.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Mirna Vasquez, a Bayview resident whose three children have attended SFUSD schools, said choice remains a priority for her.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My priority looking at schools [was] they provided a bilingual program,” she said. “I realized that schools near to my house, they don’t have it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She also said she wanted to send her children to a campus that was “really funded” and had a full staff.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She also said she wanted to send her children to a campus that was “really funded” and had a full staff.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Overwhelmingly, families who responded to the district’s survey said that for them to enroll a child in a school by their home, they would need an environment that felt safe, has strong math and reading instruction and a stable teaching staff. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Until they guarantee me as a parent, ‘we’re going to fund it,’ maybe I can enroll my children in my neighborhood schools. But if they don’t promise that … I don’t mind driving far away to make sure my kids have better access to, I don’t want to say better education, because I don’t know if that’s true, but more support,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Families who preferred Option A reported much higher levels of satisfaction with the schools near their homes: just 37% in favor of A responded that there was “no acceptable school nearby,” compared to 60% of those who preferred Option B.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For decades, the school district has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and so, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For decades, the school district has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and so, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At their final study session before Tuesday’s vote, some board members expressed concerns that either policy could perpetuate the same issues: “I’m very concerned that we would expect similar patterns to repeat, of students from the southeast preferencing schools other than their neighborhood schools [and] going to open spots,” said Vice President Jaime Huling. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "As SFUSD moves to replace its lottery with neighborhood schools, parents in underfunded areas worry the new policy could leave their local campuses behind. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>’s schools could soon pivot to neighborhood-based enrollment, 15 years after the controversial “lottery” system aimed to give families a sweeping choice of schools anywhere in the city, but offered little certainty of where their child would be placed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The school board is expected to approve one of two plans that would overhaul the San Francisco Unified School District’s student assignment system in favor of a policy staff said will be more predictable and keep more students closer to home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SFUSD’s current enrollment system allows families to apply to any of its elementary school campuses across the city, but does not guarantee students’ acceptance in any specific one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Critics have called the system stressful, confusing, and frustrating enough to turn some families away from the city’s public school system entirely. But others are wary of losing the element of choice, especially for families who live in neighborhoods where schools have weathered decades of underinvestment and underenrollment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD’s board and staff have spent late nights discussing possible enrollment options, narrowing down their choices to two last week. Both of the plans on the table on Tuesday night would guarantee students who apply by the enrollment deadline a seat in an assigned elementary school based on their address — and eliminate the requirement that families rank school choices in order to enroll in SFUSD.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095610\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/081726-SFUSDFirstDay-33-MC_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Leo Pham leads the way to his classroom after Jose Ortega Elementary School’s first morning circle of the school year on Aug. 17, 2026, in San Francisco. (Miles Cull/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board is expected to direct staff to hammer out the details for one of those policies, called “Option B” and “Option C,” for approval by April.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under Option B, students would be given the option to accept a seat at their neighborhood school. They would have the option of applying to other SFUSD schools and could be assigned if there are empty seats. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option C would similarly give applicants the choice to accept their neighborhood school. They could also apply to other campuses, but only those that offer special programs like language pathways, newcomer services or a kindergarten through eighth grade model. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, the board eliminated a third option, Option A, which would have created enrollment zones. Under that policy, students would have been guaranteed a seat in one of three to five elementary schools near their home, but not necessarily their first choice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Option A was most similar to a policy the district approved in 2020, but never implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic and significant community pushback. That policy would have had applicants rank schools in their attendance zone and assign them based on that list, as well as diversity and tiebreaker considerations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Board members expressed concerns that Option A would be difficult to implement before enrollment for fall of 2028 begins, and poses equity concerns between neighborhoods. It also wouldn’t eliminate some of the perils of the current system — applicants would need to rank multiple schools, likely tour multiple campuses and manage the stress of uncertainty while awaiting an assignment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Option A rivaled Option B in popularity among families who responded to a district engagement survey this fall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of more than 2,700 respondents, 73% said Option A would meet their needs, while 71% said Option B would. Option C received much lower approval, at just 48%. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within those percentages, families’ preferences were starkly divided along neighborhood lines: west side and central neighborhoods favored Option A, while the Southeast leaned toward Option B.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Historically, students in the Sunset and Richmond have been more likely to favor neighborhood schools, while some in the Bayview, Mission Bay and Excelsior have preferred schools outside of their neighborhoods, worried that the schools closest to them don’t have the resources their kids need. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mirna Vasquez, a Bayview resident whose three children have attended SFUSD schools, said choice remains a priority for her.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My priority looking at schools [was] they provided a bilingual program,” she said. “I realized that schools near to my house, they don’t have it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also said she wanted to send her children to a campus that was “really funded” and had a full staff.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260806_SFUSDNEWSCHOOL_GC-36-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mission Bay Elementary School in San Francisco on Aug. 6, 2026. Mission Bay School is the first new public SFUSD school to open in 20 years. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Overwhelmingly, families who responded to the district’s survey said that for them to enroll a child in a school by their home, they would need an environment that felt safe, has strong math and reading instruction and a stable teaching staff. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Until they guarantee me as a parent, ‘we’re going to fund it,’ maybe I can enroll my children in my neighborhood schools. But if they don’t promise that … I don’t mind driving far away to make sure my kids have better access to, I don’t want to say better education, because I don’t know if that’s true, but more support,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Families who preferred Option A reported much higher levels of satisfaction with the schools near their homes: just 37% in favor of A responded that there was “no acceptable school nearby,” compared to 60% of those who preferred Option B.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For decades, the school district has struggled to ensure that schools in lower-income neighborhoods and where students have had lower academic performance rates receive equitable resources, staff and programs — creating a loop of underenrollment, and so, a lack of funding, for schools with the most acute needs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At their final study session before Tuesday’s vote, some board members expressed concerns that either policy could perpetuate the same issues: “I’m very concerned that we would expect similar patterns to repeat, of students from the southeast preferencing schools other than their neighborhood schools [and] going to open spots,” said Vice President Jaime Huling. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12052662\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students at Sanchez Elementary School in San Francisco arrive for their first day of the school year on Aug. 18, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Then, having their schools be underenrolled even though that’s where the most students are, and being faced in April with making decisions about closing schools in the southeast,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Looming in the background is a mandate from the board for Superintendent Maria Su to propose possible school closures and mergers by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The district’s last attempt to close schools in 2024 was abandoned after parents, union representatives and city officials pushed back, in part because they said the campuses set to close or merge would disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Tuesday night’s decision, staff will move forward with redrawing attendance areas for neighborhood schools and making sure there are enough seats for all students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The board will meet again in November to discuss more specifics, like tiebreaker metrics for assigning students to non-neighborhood schools. The current lottery gives priority to siblings of students enrolled at the school, and those who live in areas of the city with the lowest test scores, among other factors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They’ve also directed staff to implement the enrollment change in a way that creates strong, well-resourced schools in every neighborhood. Whether that’s possible under either proposed model, though, remains to be seen.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
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"description": "Get informed in minutes with our Voter Guide for California’s November 3 election."
},
"podcasts-radio": {},
"video-tv": {},
"events": {},
"support": {}
}
}
}
