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"content": "\u003cp>The Trump administration said \u003ca href=\"https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-freezes-child-care-family-assistance-grants-five-states-fraud-concerns.html\">it’s freezing more than $10 billion in federal funds\u003c/a> for child care subsidies, social services and cash aid for low-income families in California and four other blue states until tighter restrictions are met.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In letters sent late Tuesday to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the leaders of Minnesota, New York, Illinois and Colorado, officials from the Administration for Children and Families said the department would restrict access to three funds — including one that helps pay for CalWORKs, California’s welfare program for families — because it “has reason to believe” the benefits were fraudulently going to noncitizens. The letters did not outline evidence of fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The administration demanded that the states submit documentation, like attendance records at child care programs, and justify their spending before they could access the funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It may take some time to see any potential impact because the funds are rolled out incrementally, and California outmatches federal dollars to pay for its child care programs. In the current state budget, $2.2 billion in federal dollars go towards California’s $7.3-billion spending on child care, according to H.D. Palmer, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Finance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, representatives from the California Department of Social Services said the funds are critical lifelines to low-income parents to help them afford safe, reliable child care so they can go to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state of California aggressively investigates and prosecutes fraud,” department spokesman Jason Montiel said. “Using unsupported allegations to withhold child care funding only from states that didn’t vote for the president doesn’t stop fraud — it harms struggling moms and dads, President Trump claims to be fighting for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12069031\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12069031\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/020_SanFrancisco_AlexPadillaMissionKids_06012021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" 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-caption-text\">Children at Mission Kids Preschool in San Francisco raise their hands to ask Senator Alex Padilla a question on June 1, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Max Arias, leader of a union representing some 70,000 in-home child care providers in California, said he feared any loss of funding could hobble an already unstable child care system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sudden changes to child care access caused by freezes have the potential to ravage our economy and force employers to face unpredictable workforce shortages,” Arias, chairperson of Child Care Providers United, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The funding freeze stems from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/01/01/nx-s1-5661705/trump-administration-freezes-child-care-funds-in-minnesota-after-claims-of-fraud\">video from a conservative influencer \u003c/a>claiming without evidence that child care centers operated by Somali residents in Minnesota committed fraud. The allegation prompted the ACF to suggest \u003ca href=\"https://acf.gov/media/press/2026/hhs-close-biden-era-loophole-child-care\">tightening rules around how federal child care funds get distributed\u003c/a>, like paying child care programs based on attendance instead of enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027906/local-head-start-program-scrambles-to-keep-supporting-kids-amid-trumps-funding-freezes\">a similar funding freeze to Head Start grantees\u003c/a> caused payment delays to dozens of local programs.[aside postID=news_12065196 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251120-FAMILIESFINANCIALINSECURITY-23-BL-KQED.jpg']Advocates said they were alarmed that the federal administration would pause funding to programs that assist children and families over an unsubstantiated video.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do not believe this is a responsible way to govern, and we expect California leaders to stand up for our kids, families and providers,” said Stacy Lee, a child care policy expert at Children Now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the leader of a Bay Area nonprofit that provides subsidized child care to about 4,000 low-income families in the Bay Area said he won’t let the funding freeze disrupt services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our families can rely on us, our staff can rely on us to be there,” Scott Moore, CEO of Kidango, told KQED in a phone interview on Tuesday. 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"content": "\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\u003cp>Facing a mountain of lawsuits, California K-12 schools will have a system in place beginning this year to prevent teachers and other staff from sexually abusing students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new California law creates an array of measures to educate school staff, beef up reporting requirements and stop teachers credibly accused of abuse from getting jobs at other districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb848\">Senate Bill 848\u003c/a>, goes into effect Jan. 1 and schools must have protocols in place by July. The law applies to all schools, including private schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m proud to see this bill move forward. It’s been really personal for me,” \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/sasha-renee-perez-187431\">state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez\u003c/a>, the bill’s author, told CalMatters after it passed. “For survivors, this is an important step toward justice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Avalanche of lawsuits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The law stems from a previous California law that made it easier for victims to sue school districts and counties. Under \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB218\">AB 218\u003c/a>, which went into effect in 2020, victims can file suit until age 40 or even older if they didn’t remember being abused until later in life. That’s led to an avalanche of lawsuits and much greater public awareness of the scope of the problem.[aside postID=news_12050399 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GenericClassroomGetty.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, victims have filed more than 1,000 lawsuits against school districts and counties, with some resulting in enormous payouts. A jury in Riverside County in 2023 handed Moreno Valley Unified a $135 million verdict over abuse allegations, and Los Angeles Unified faces more than $500 million in claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, California schools face \u003ca href=\"https://www.fcmat.org/PublicationsReports/child-sexual-assault-fiscal-implications-report.pdf\">nearly $3 billion in sex abuse claims\u003c/a> from former students, according to the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a state agency that helps school districts with financial matters. Some of the incidents occurred decades ago, as early as the 1940s, and some of the payouts have been so large that they’ve led districts to financial insolvency.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>School accountability\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While the new law doesn’t address the lawsuits, it does institute measures intended to stop future abuse and hold schools more accountable. It requires schools to write comprehensive policies on appropriate behavior, and train students, teachers, coaches and other school staff on recognizing and reporting misconduct. It also broadens the number of staff who are required to report abuse allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most noteworthy requirement is creating a database of teachers credibly accused of abuse. The database, to be administered by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, will be available to schools during their hiring processes. The aim is to stop teachers who’ve abused students from quitting and getting rehired elsewhere, only to abuse more students. Teachers who’ve been cleared of wrongdoing will be removed from the database.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pérez, a Democrat from Alhambra, said she was inspired to author the new law after reading about \u003ca href=\"https://www.businessinsider.com/40-years-of-sexual-misconduct-at-rosemead-california-high-school-2023-9?investigative=64b6dc464228262bfe7edd25\">generations of abuse\u003c/a> at Rosemead High School, which is in her district. She also \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/09/sexual-abuse-california-schools/\">told CaMatters\u003c/a> that she was the victim of a teacher’s unwanted attention when she was in high school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are now dollars and cents being assigned to these cases,” she said in September. “It’s really opened up this conversation about what can we do to better prevent this abuse from happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/12/sex-abuse-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\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\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\u003cp>Facing a mountain of lawsuits, California K-12 schools will have a system in place beginning this year to prevent teachers and other staff from sexually abusing students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new California law creates an array of measures to educate school staff, beef up reporting requirements and stop teachers credibly accused of abuse from getting jobs at other districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb848\">Senate Bill 848\u003c/a>, goes into effect Jan. 1 and schools must have protocols in place by July. The law applies to all schools, including private schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m proud to see this bill move forward. It’s been really personal for me,” \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/sasha-renee-perez-187431\">state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez\u003c/a>, the bill’s author, told CalMatters after it passed. “For survivors, this is an important step toward justice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Avalanche of lawsuits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The law stems from a previous California law that made it easier for victims to sue school districts and counties. Under \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB218\">AB 218\u003c/a>, which went into effect in 2020, victims can file suit until age 40 or even older if they didn’t remember being abused until later in life. That’s led to an avalanche of lawsuits and much greater public awareness of the scope of the problem.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, victims have filed more than 1,000 lawsuits against school districts and counties, with some resulting in enormous payouts. A jury in Riverside County in 2023 handed Moreno Valley Unified a $135 million verdict over abuse allegations, and Los Angeles Unified faces more than $500 million in claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, California schools face \u003ca href=\"https://www.fcmat.org/PublicationsReports/child-sexual-assault-fiscal-implications-report.pdf\">nearly $3 billion in sex abuse claims\u003c/a> from former students, according to the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a state agency that helps school districts with financial matters. Some of the incidents occurred decades ago, as early as the 1940s, and some of the payouts have been so large that they’ve led districts to financial insolvency.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>School accountability\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While the new law doesn’t address the lawsuits, it does institute measures intended to stop future abuse and hold schools more accountable. It requires schools to write comprehensive policies on appropriate behavior, and train students, teachers, coaches and other school staff on recognizing and reporting misconduct. It also broadens the number of staff who are required to report abuse allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most noteworthy requirement is creating a database of teachers credibly accused of abuse. The database, to be administered by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, will be available to schools during their hiring processes. The aim is to stop teachers who’ve abused students from quitting and getting rehired elsewhere, only to abuse more students. Teachers who’ve been cleared of wrongdoing will be removed from the database.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pérez, a Democrat from Alhambra, said she was inspired to author the new law after reading about \u003ca href=\"https://www.businessinsider.com/40-years-of-sexual-misconduct-at-rosemead-california-high-school-2023-9?investigative=64b6dc464228262bfe7edd25\">generations of abuse\u003c/a> at Rosemead High School, which is in her district. She also \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/09/sexual-abuse-california-schools/\">told CaMatters\u003c/a> that she was the victim of a teacher’s unwanted attention when she was in high school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are now dollars and cents being assigned to these cases,” she said in September. “It’s really opened up this conversation about what can we do to better prevent this abuse from happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/12/sex-abuse-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\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "She Stops School Fights Before They Start. Oakland May Cut Her Job",
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"content": "\u003cp>At Castlemont High School in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/deep-east-oakland\">Deep East Oakland\u003c/a>, Phelisha Saffold stands in the sunshine surveying the courtyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today is a good day out,” she says as students sit in clusters, talking and eating lunch. “Drama-free.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She points out the cheerleaders. “They’re not hyphy about nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few yards away, the boys are doing their thing. The courtyard is filled with lively chatter; there are no raised voices, which would signal that things could go sideways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s when your antennas come on, and you want to put your ear to it,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over two years working as a school-based violence interrupter at Castlemont, Saffold, 54, has learned to decipher the signs that can precipitate a fight. Yelling is obvious, but sometimes they’re more subtle: A student just seems different one day. Maybe they’re quiet or grumpy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s duty is to get ahead of conflicts before they boil over into brawls — or worse. It’s a job that took on renewed urgency after a student was shot and injured at the city’s Skyline High School last month, but with Oakland schools \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067547/oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis\">facing a crippling budget shortfall\u003c/a>, the future of that work is in doubt.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Someone for students to turn to\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The term “violence interrupter” doesn’t mean much to Saffold’s students. To them, she’s a mediator, mentor and confidant. She’s got a dozen “school daughters” who call her “mom,” but her vibe is more cool auntie than nagging parent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This work is a long game — less about swooping in right before a squabble breaks out than it is about building relationships far ahead of time, when there’s no sign of trouble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066519\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066519\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students Realidy (left), 16, and Nevaeh, 16, talk in the hallway at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My goal is to get them to understand that they could trust me and they could count on me,” she says. “A lot of the students are not used to that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She buys gift cards to celebrate good grades and takes students out to eat, or to a food pantry, if they don’t have groceries at home. For her, that’s part of preventing violence: addressing conditions like neglect and hunger that can give rise to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She checks in on kids, like, ‘Hey, why are you not in class? Are you feeling good today?’ Like, anything and everything,” says 16-year-old junior Nevaeh, who asked to be identified by only her first name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold spends most of her time listening to students. All day, they approach her with updates about their minor beefs or major family troubles. They vent and ask for advice, and in between, they keep her keyed into conflicts brewing out of her view on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You hear that somebody’s about to get into a fight, but she already knows, so she’s stopping both of the girls,” Nevaeh says. “She’ll let other staff members know. She’s like, ‘Watch out for them.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066525\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At lunchtime one day in early December, instead of going outside to eat and talk with friends, Nevaeh and a handful of other students seat themselves at desks circled around Saffold, who greets them with, “There go my girls!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re here to discuss gossip and rumors, one of the biggest sources of campus drama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to talk about how to navigate around he-say she-say and how to solve your own issues without it escalating,” Saffold says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with the two other members of the school’s violence prevention team, Saffold created this twice-monthly group to focus on building students’ communication skills. It’s voluntary and open to anyone, but it usually ends up being a group of mostly girls who work closely with them.[aside postID=news_11861142 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/02/RS47159_032_Oakland_SkylineHSFootballPractice_02032021-qut-1020x679.jpg']Today, Saffold asks 15-year-old sophomore Kay’Lonnie Jackson to talk about a conflict she’d just worked through. Jackson and two other girls in the group had been clashing over some gossip all week, and that morning they’d finally put it to rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our beef was over some he-say she-say stuff, and both of us was in the wrong for listening and dragging on the beef,” Kay’Lonnie says. “So as a young lady, I went up to her and addressed myself where I was wrong, and she addressed herself where she was wrong and we apologized to each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is Saffold’s goal: to teach students the skills to defuse arguments and think before they react to provocation. Progress is hard won. In this case, Saffold had met with the girls several times over three days to mediate the dispute before they eventually ended it themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Y’all was driving me crazy this week,” she says. “I felt like I wasn’t getting nowhere. So for you guys to call me today and y’all pretty much fixed it on y’all own, it just made me super proud. It let me know that you guys are listening to what I’m saying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Saffold dispenses advice, it comes from someone who’s been there: She was once a student at Castlemont — and a self-described hothead who got into her share of fights and ended up in continuation school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066523\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066523\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (center), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with students during lunch at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Things have changed since her high school days. She recognizes the rumor mill that drives conflict, but technology has supercharged it. There’s social media, with its ability to broadcast a slight campus-wide in a second, and the way smartphones have turned students into amateur PIs. “They’ll record a conversation and take it to another student and say, ‘I got proof that this has been said,’” she explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Saffold knows this community because it’s hers. She grew up in East Oakland, “so nine times out of ten if something is going on, I might know your mother, your grandmother, your uncle, your cousin,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this work, that is as important as the training violence interrupters receive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They use that credibility, they use that experience, to gain trust with the individuals that they’re working with,” said David Muhammad, executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, which works to reduce violence and incarceration. “They serve as an example for these young people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s connections help when she needs to involve students’ families to end a conflict — which sometimes means persuading a dad, aunt or cousin not to take things into their own hands and retaliate on behalf of their student.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Vital work at risk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Today, most large urban districts in the country have some kind of violence intervention specialists on campus, said Muhammad, who has helped lead gun violence prevention strategies in cities nationwide, including Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here, Saffold is part of a violence prevention ecosystem developed after the district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893831/oakland-eliminated-its-school-police-force-so-what-happens-now\">dissolved its school police department\u003c/a> in the wake of the George Floyd protests and committed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11989638/how-oakland-schools-strive-to-defuse-conflict-without-police-intervention\">overhauling its approach to safety\u003c/a>. She works with the former school security officers, now called “culture keepers,” who are focused on de-escalation and trauma-informed restorative practices, along with counselors and social workers, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066522\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066522\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (center), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with Tierra Rogers (left), a gender violence specialist, and Ebony Gray, a case manager, at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two of her closest allies on campus are the gender-based-violence specialist, who focuses on dating violence, sexual assault and exploitation, and the life coach, something between a mentor and a case manager who works intensively with students. The trio are part of a pilot program rolled out at seven high schools across the district beginning in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These three-person School Violence Intervention and Prevention Program teams are paid for by the city’s Department of Violence Prevention using money voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/Government/City-Council-Leadership/Measures/Measure-Z-Reports-and-Evaluations\">allocated for improving public safety\u003c/a> through 2014’s Measure Z. The department funds community-based organizations like Saffold’s employer, the nonprofit Youth Alive, to carry out the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/files/assets/city/v/1/city-administrator/documents/measure-z/final-interim-eval-school-vip-12.10.24.pdf\">A city-funded evaluation of the program\u003c/a> by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization, found that from its start in 2022-23 through the end of the 2023-24 school year, violence interrupters held 681 mediations. Almost 60% were proactive, while 11% were aimed at preventing retaliation. Overall, evaluators called the pilot program “promising,” though they noted that it was understaffed and underresourced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064018/oakland-violence-prevention-program-at-risk-as-skyline-high-shooting-renews-urgency\">funding is set to sunset\u003c/a> at the end of the school year, and the district is in no position to pick up the tab — the Oakland school board \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/12/11/ousd-oakland-public-school-board-vote-102-million-cuts/\">just approved a plan to cut $100 million\u003c/a> from next year’s budget amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067547/oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis\">leadership turmoil\u003c/a> as it looks to avoid another state takeover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson Alegria, the district’s newly minted executive director of safety, said administrators parsing data to try to streamline the program might pare away positions at some schools and staff up at others. But the program as a whole, he said, would stay largely intact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066524\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066524\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold, a school-based violence interrupter, sits at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Safety is a top priority,” he said. “We want to make sure everybody understands that safety is not one of those things that we’re putting on the table to be cut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School board director Mike Hutchinson, who chairs the Budget and Finance Committee, has doubts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an extreme financial crisis of the likes we’ve never seen,” he said, noting that it could be a struggle for the district to fund even its core educational programming. “I’m concerned about a lot of our programs, from our culture keepers on campus to our restorative justice programs to definitely our violence interruption teams.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hutchinson said he plans to sit down with the head of the Department of Violence Prevention to discuss alternative funding sources, citing the Skyline High shooting as proof the district needs to double down on violence interrupters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Castlemont’s principal, Joseph Blasher, their work is essential. “You can’t learn if you don’t feel safe,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits campus violence prevention efforts for helping to \u003ca href=\"https://dashboards.ousd.org/views/ChronicAbsence_0/Comparison?%3Aembed=y&%3Adisplay_count=no&%3Arender=false#40\">boost\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://dashboards.ousd.org/views/AbsenceDasboardPublic/AbsenceAnalysisSnapshot?%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y\">attendance\u003c/a> and cohort \u003ca href=\"https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqcensus/CohRate.aspx?cds=01612590125161&agglevel=school&year=2024-25&initrow=&ro=y\">graduation rates\u003c/a> and get families more engaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I couldn’t imagine all of us just having to leave the campus. That would just be traumatizing,” Saffold said. “Not just for the students — I think for us as well, because we build these bonds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More than just a job\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Bonding with teenagers and getting them to open up, even those Saffold has grown closest to, is a skill that takes constant upkeep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s is on display when she spots junior Tamiya Easley, 17, at lunch one afternoon. “You know we need to talk, right?” Saffold says. “About yesterday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tamiya tries to dodge her. “What did I do yesterday?” she asks. “I didn’t even do nothing yesterday!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068134\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (right), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with a student at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to talk about it,” Saffold says with a laugh. She gives Tamiya a sly smile and another warm “We’ll talk about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That disarms Tamiya. “Oh, when I was upstairs tripping?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yes, you of all people,” Saffold says with a tone that lets Tamiya know she expected better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mom! It’s because I don’t like disrespect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tamiya explains that she heard some students had been talking about her. She got heated and they got defensive. But she ended up apologizing and it blew over.[aside postID=news_12064511 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251118_SKYLINE_WALKOUT_GH-18-KQED.jpg']Saffold applauds. “That’s what I’m talking about!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My anger got the best of me. I know that,” Tamiya says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold often reminds her students that this isn’t just a job for her. She loves it, but it’s more than that. It’s deeply personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to say it’s what saved my life, but it’s what helps me get through the loss of my son,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s son was shot and killed four years ago, when he was 28. And her son’s father died the same way 32 years ago. She said neither of them was in a gang or violent. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She tells students their stories to drive home a point: “If you’re kicking off violence, you’re not going to always be the winner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She keeps it real,” 16-year-old sophomore Kamarion Warner says, sitting across from Saffold during the lunchtime group meeting. Saffold proved to him how much she cares about students when he briefly moved to Stockton in ninth grade and she enlisted her granddaughter, who lives there, to take him under her wing at school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She wants you to succeed,” Kamarion says. “You just have to be willing to listen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m trying to change lives. You guys know my story,” she tells the group. “If I could just save one of y’all, then I feel like I’ve succeeded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A recent shooting at Skyline High School brought renewed urgency to the job done by “violence interrupters,” who play a big role in keeping students safe. But OUSD’s budget shortfall means the future of that work is in doubt. ",
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"title": "She Stops School Fights Before They Start. Oakland May Cut Her Job | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At Castlemont High School in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/deep-east-oakland\">Deep East Oakland\u003c/a>, Phelisha Saffold stands in the sunshine surveying the courtyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today is a good day out,” she says as students sit in clusters, talking and eating lunch. “Drama-free.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She points out the cheerleaders. “They’re not hyphy about nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few yards away, the boys are doing their thing. The courtyard is filled with lively chatter; there are no raised voices, which would signal that things could go sideways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s when your antennas come on, and you want to put your ear to it,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over two years working as a school-based violence interrupter at Castlemont, Saffold, 54, has learned to decipher the signs that can precipitate a fight. Yelling is obvious, but sometimes they’re more subtle: A student just seems different one day. Maybe they’re quiet or grumpy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s duty is to get ahead of conflicts before they boil over into brawls — or worse. It’s a job that took on renewed urgency after a student was shot and injured at the city’s Skyline High School last month, but with Oakland schools \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067547/oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis\">facing a crippling budget shortfall\u003c/a>, the future of that work is in doubt.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Someone for students to turn to\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The term “violence interrupter” doesn’t mean much to Saffold’s students. To them, she’s a mediator, mentor and confidant. She’s got a dozen “school daughters” who call her “mom,” but her vibe is more cool auntie than nagging parent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This work is a long game — less about swooping in right before a squabble breaks out than it is about building relationships far ahead of time, when there’s no sign of trouble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066519\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066519\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students Realidy (left), 16, and Nevaeh, 16, talk in the hallway at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My goal is to get them to understand that they could trust me and they could count on me,” she says. “A lot of the students are not used to that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She buys gift cards to celebrate good grades and takes students out to eat, or to a food pantry, if they don’t have groceries at home. For her, that’s part of preventing violence: addressing conditions like neglect and hunger that can give rise to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She checks in on kids, like, ‘Hey, why are you not in class? Are you feeling good today?’ Like, anything and everything,” says 16-year-old junior Nevaeh, who asked to be identified by only her first name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold spends most of her time listening to students. All day, they approach her with updates about their minor beefs or major family troubles. They vent and ask for advice, and in between, they keep her keyed into conflicts brewing out of her view on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You hear that somebody’s about to get into a fight, but she already knows, so she’s stopping both of the girls,” Nevaeh says. “She’ll let other staff members know. She’s like, ‘Watch out for them.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066525\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At lunchtime one day in early December, instead of going outside to eat and talk with friends, Nevaeh and a handful of other students seat themselves at desks circled around Saffold, who greets them with, “There go my girls!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re here to discuss gossip and rumors, one of the biggest sources of campus drama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to talk about how to navigate around he-say she-say and how to solve your own issues without it escalating,” Saffold says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with the two other members of the school’s violence prevention team, Saffold created this twice-monthly group to focus on building students’ communication skills. It’s voluntary and open to anyone, but it usually ends up being a group of mostly girls who work closely with them.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Today, Saffold asks 15-year-old sophomore Kay’Lonnie Jackson to talk about a conflict she’d just worked through. Jackson and two other girls in the group had been clashing over some gossip all week, and that morning they’d finally put it to rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our beef was over some he-say she-say stuff, and both of us was in the wrong for listening and dragging on the beef,” Kay’Lonnie says. “So as a young lady, I went up to her and addressed myself where I was wrong, and she addressed herself where she was wrong and we apologized to each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is Saffold’s goal: to teach students the skills to defuse arguments and think before they react to provocation. Progress is hard won. In this case, Saffold had met with the girls several times over three days to mediate the dispute before they eventually ended it themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Y’all was driving me crazy this week,” she says. “I felt like I wasn’t getting nowhere. So for you guys to call me today and y’all pretty much fixed it on y’all own, it just made me super proud. It let me know that you guys are listening to what I’m saying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Saffold dispenses advice, it comes from someone who’s been there: She was once a student at Castlemont — and a self-described hothead who got into her share of fights and ended up in continuation school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066523\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066523\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (center), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with students during lunch at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Things have changed since her high school days. She recognizes the rumor mill that drives conflict, but technology has supercharged it. There’s social media, with its ability to broadcast a slight campus-wide in a second, and the way smartphones have turned students into amateur PIs. “They’ll record a conversation and take it to another student and say, ‘I got proof that this has been said,’” she explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Saffold knows this community because it’s hers. She grew up in East Oakland, “so nine times out of ten if something is going on, I might know your mother, your grandmother, your uncle, your cousin,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this work, that is as important as the training violence interrupters receive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They use that credibility, they use that experience, to gain trust with the individuals that they’re working with,” said David Muhammad, executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, which works to reduce violence and incarceration. “They serve as an example for these young people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s connections help when she needs to involve students’ families to end a conflict — which sometimes means persuading a dad, aunt or cousin not to take things into their own hands and retaliate on behalf of their student.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Vital work at risk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Today, most large urban districts in the country have some kind of violence intervention specialists on campus, said Muhammad, who has helped lead gun violence prevention strategies in cities nationwide, including Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here, Saffold is part of a violence prevention ecosystem developed after the district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893831/oakland-eliminated-its-school-police-force-so-what-happens-now\">dissolved its school police department\u003c/a> in the wake of the George Floyd protests and committed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11989638/how-oakland-schools-strive-to-defuse-conflict-without-police-intervention\">overhauling its approach to safety\u003c/a>. She works with the former school security officers, now called “culture keepers,” who are focused on de-escalation and trauma-informed restorative practices, along with counselors and social workers, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066522\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066522\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (center), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with Tierra Rogers (left), a gender violence specialist, and Ebony Gray, a case manager, at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two of her closest allies on campus are the gender-based-violence specialist, who focuses on dating violence, sexual assault and exploitation, and the life coach, something between a mentor and a case manager who works intensively with students. The trio are part of a pilot program rolled out at seven high schools across the district beginning in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These three-person School Violence Intervention and Prevention Program teams are paid for by the city’s Department of Violence Prevention using money voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/Government/City-Council-Leadership/Measures/Measure-Z-Reports-and-Evaluations\">allocated for improving public safety\u003c/a> through 2014’s Measure Z. The department funds community-based organizations like Saffold’s employer, the nonprofit Youth Alive, to carry out the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/files/assets/city/v/1/city-administrator/documents/measure-z/final-interim-eval-school-vip-12.10.24.pdf\">A city-funded evaluation of the program\u003c/a> by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization, found that from its start in 2022-23 through the end of the 2023-24 school year, violence interrupters held 681 mediations. Almost 60% were proactive, while 11% were aimed at preventing retaliation. Overall, evaluators called the pilot program “promising,” though they noted that it was understaffed and underresourced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064018/oakland-violence-prevention-program-at-risk-as-skyline-high-shooting-renews-urgency\">funding is set to sunset\u003c/a> at the end of the school year, and the district is in no position to pick up the tab — the Oakland school board \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/12/11/ousd-oakland-public-school-board-vote-102-million-cuts/\">just approved a plan to cut $100 million\u003c/a> from next year’s budget amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067547/oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis\">leadership turmoil\u003c/a> as it looks to avoid another state takeover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson Alegria, the district’s newly minted executive director of safety, said administrators parsing data to try to streamline the program might pare away positions at some schools and staff up at others. But the program as a whole, he said, would stay largely intact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066524\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066524\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold, a school-based violence interrupter, sits at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Safety is a top priority,” he said. “We want to make sure everybody understands that safety is not one of those things that we’re putting on the table to be cut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School board director Mike Hutchinson, who chairs the Budget and Finance Committee, has doubts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an extreme financial crisis of the likes we’ve never seen,” he said, noting that it could be a struggle for the district to fund even its core educational programming. “I’m concerned about a lot of our programs, from our culture keepers on campus to our restorative justice programs to definitely our violence interruption teams.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hutchinson said he plans to sit down with the head of the Department of Violence Prevention to discuss alternative funding sources, citing the Skyline High shooting as proof the district needs to double down on violence interrupters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Castlemont’s principal, Joseph Blasher, their work is essential. “You can’t learn if you don’t feel safe,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits campus violence prevention efforts for helping to \u003ca href=\"https://dashboards.ousd.org/views/ChronicAbsence_0/Comparison?%3Aembed=y&%3Adisplay_count=no&%3Arender=false#40\">boost\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://dashboards.ousd.org/views/AbsenceDasboardPublic/AbsenceAnalysisSnapshot?%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y\">attendance\u003c/a> and cohort \u003ca href=\"https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqcensus/CohRate.aspx?cds=01612590125161&agglevel=school&year=2024-25&initrow=&ro=y\">graduation rates\u003c/a> and get families more engaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I couldn’t imagine all of us just having to leave the campus. That would just be traumatizing,” Saffold said. “Not just for the students — I think for us as well, because we build these bonds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More than just a job\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Bonding with teenagers and getting them to open up, even those Saffold has grown closest to, is a skill that takes constant upkeep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s is on display when she spots junior Tamiya Easley, 17, at lunch one afternoon. “You know we need to talk, right?” Saffold says. “About yesterday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tamiya tries to dodge her. “What did I do yesterday?” she asks. “I didn’t even do nothing yesterday!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068134\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (right), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with a student at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to talk about it,” Saffold says with a laugh. She gives Tamiya a sly smile and another warm “We’ll talk about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That disarms Tamiya. “Oh, when I was upstairs tripping?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yes, you of all people,” Saffold says with a tone that lets Tamiya know she expected better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mom! It’s because I don’t like disrespect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tamiya explains that she heard some students had been talking about her. She got heated and they got defensive. But she ended up apologizing and it blew over.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Saffold applauds. “That’s what I’m talking about!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My anger got the best of me. I know that,” Tamiya says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold often reminds her students that this isn’t just a job for her. She loves it, but it’s more than that. It’s deeply personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to say it’s what saved my life, but it’s what helps me get through the loss of my son,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s son was shot and killed four years ago, when he was 28. And her son’s father died the same way 32 years ago. She said neither of them was in a gang or violent. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She tells students their stories to drive home a point: “If you’re kicking off violence, you’re not going to always be the winner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She keeps it real,” 16-year-old sophomore Kamarion Warner says, sitting across from Saffold during the lunchtime group meeting. Saffold proved to him how much she cares about students when he briefly moved to Stockton in ninth grade and she enlisted her granddaughter, who lives there, to take him under her wing at school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She wants you to succeed,” Kamarion says. “You just have to be willing to listen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m trying to change lives. You guys know my story,” she tells the group. “If I could just save one of y’all, then I feel like I’ve succeeded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis",
"title": "Oakland Schools in Turmoil After 2 Key Officials Depart Over Budget Crisis",
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"headTitle": "Oakland Schools in Turmoil After 2 Key Officials Depart Over Budget Crisis | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055977/ousd-just-got-control-of-its-finances-back-from-the-state-its-already-in-major-trouble\">tensions in Oakland’s school district\u003c/a> over how to stave off a massive budget shortfall came to a head when the district’s top financial officer abruptly resigned, and its chief of staff was terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Grant-Dawson, who was brought into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-unified-school-district\">Oakland Unified School District\u003c/a> in 2020 to lead it out of two decades under state oversight, submitted her resignation on Friday, she told KQED. That same day, Chief of Staff Dan Bellino, who’s been with the district since July, was released by interim Superintendent Denise Saddler without warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Bellino confirmed he’d not been given cause for the termination, Grant-Dawson said her decision to leave came after she and Bellino, with other colleagues, led a weekslong budget planning effort to right a $102 million budget deficit projected next year, and planned to present last Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two days before the presentation, she said, Saddler revealed a different plan, crafted without the budget chief’s knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I learned on Monday morning that the superintendent sought to lead in a different direction with the budget scenarios that were ultimately presented to the board. And opted to not inform me and other colleagues in advance of her decision,” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I don’t participate in is side-swiping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12029339 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One parent comforts another as she becomes emotional while making a public comment to the Oakland Unified School District Board about a proposed merger during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement shared with OUSD families, Saddler said she planned to bring on a team of external fiscal experts as the district prepares next year’s budget. Former Oakland City Councilmember Lynette McElhaney will take over as chief of staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As superintendent, it is my job to ensure the district has the right leadership structure, alignment and urgency to meet the work that lies ahead of us,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on social media, Board Vice President Valarie Bachelor said she supported Saddler’s decision, and “her need to develop a Senior Leadership Team that can support our district through the next phase of the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major leadership shakeup comes after months of tension between Oakland’s school leaders.[aside postID=news_12064579 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241009-OAKLAND-YOUTH-VOTE-MD-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Earlier this year, a teachers union-backed board majority overrode adopted budget cuts in favor of a proposal that was ultimately reversed after it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041279/ousd-cancels-controversial-after-school-cuts-but-deep-divisions-within-school-board-remain\">threatened to cancel some after-school programs\u003c/a>. In April, the same cohort \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037315/oakland-school-board-votes-remove-superintendent-sparking-worries-instability\">ousted longtime Superintendent\u003c/a> Kyla Johnson-Trammel. And throughout the year, the board majority has sparred with district staff about how to address a structural funding shortfall and years of declining enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That conflict \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059238/alameda-county-to-oakland-schools-reduce-costs-or-lose-financial-independence-again\">escalated in October\u003c/a>, when the board requested staff bring forward two budget proposals to cut $100 million in ongoing expenditures without closing or merging schools, or directly affecting students at school sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An initial proposal presented by Grant-Dawson last month identified \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064579/oaklands-school-district-must-cut-100-million-its-proposed-plan-doesnt-get-close\">$21 million in cuts\u003c/a> within those bounds. To reach the $100 million figure, though, she said campuses would need to be impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school district. And a school district’s majority of its funds are in schools,” Grant-Dawson said at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since that initial proposal, Grant-Dawson said the senior leadership team had spent many long days developing two plans to realize the other $80 million in cuts necessary to stay solvent next year. She and Bellino had been the main editors of those documents, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District parents, students and supporters attend a board meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We submitted the version we were working on. The whole team saw it and knew it was being submitted,” she told KQED. “I was notified that there was a change made the next day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal that Saddler ultimately presented on Wednesday promises $102 million in cuts through major school site and administrative reductions. But Grant-Dawson said it lacks a roadmap that proves it can be implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no math or evidence behind it,” she said, adding that she believes ultimately, the superintendent presented a plan that “she felt the board wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It accounts for a $20 million boost in revenue from growing attendance in each of the next two years. While the district has seen a 1.8% growth this year so far, it can’t guarantee efforts to recruit students will yield those results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the $21 million in administrative cuts laid out last month, the proposal also recommends slashing another 15-20% of central office spending, and between 7.5-10% from each campus budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12056738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12056738 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified students and parents make signs to support teachers at a ‘solidarity school’ in Diamond Park, Oakland, on May 11, 2023, during an Oakland Unified School District teachers’ strike. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To make such large reductions at school sites would likely require cutting programs or staff funded by restricted sources earmarked for specific purposes, which wouldn’t yield savings that can be reappropriated wherever the district sees fit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another line item reduces special education funding by “restructuring and reducing outside contracts, management, and programmatic elements,” but there is no description of what services and contracts OUSD could reduce while meeting its legal mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality,” Grant-Dawson said, is “you don’t have a list of $100 million that’s legit[imate].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make such large cuts to school site budgets, both Saddler and Grant-Dawson have said the district will have to rethink how many schools it operates.[aside postID=news_12040189 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/Photo3_qed-1020x680.jpg']“From where I sit, there is no feasible or reasonable alternative,” Saddler wrote in her proposal. “The District must be restructured — schools and central offices. If the Board makes a commitment to truly restructure OUSD, it must see it through this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not clear that savings from that effort could be realized by next fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t just flip a switch, especially when you’re trying to drive that magnitude of the change, in one year,” Grant-Dawson said. “We’ve said that if we’re going to do any restructuring work, it takes at least a year to even plan, engage and all those things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal Grant-Dawson said her team had submitted, which was not presented on Wednesday, but was included in the documents given to the board ahead of the vote, suggested that the district might need to borrow money from an external source to bridge the gap as it does that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also remains to be seen whether the school board will follow through on a plan to close schools. In recent years, OUSD’s board has made \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017719/oaklands-school-merger-plan-stalled-districts-huge-deficit-remains\">multiple commitments to do so\u003c/a> that haven’t come to fruition. In 2022, the board approved 11 campus consolidations, but reversed them before they took effect the following year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant-Dawson said she doesn’t believe the board has the appetite to take up that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reading the tea leaves, what I said to the district was, ‘You asked me to help support leading you out of receivership, but I don’t lead people back in,’” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055977/ousd-just-got-control-of-its-finances-back-from-the-state-its-already-in-major-trouble\">tensions in Oakland’s school district\u003c/a> over how to stave off a massive budget shortfall came to a head when the district’s top financial officer abruptly resigned, and its chief of staff was terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Grant-Dawson, who was brought into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-unified-school-district\">Oakland Unified School District\u003c/a> in 2020 to lead it out of two decades under state oversight, submitted her resignation on Friday, she told KQED. That same day, Chief of Staff Dan Bellino, who’s been with the district since July, was released by interim Superintendent Denise Saddler without warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Bellino confirmed he’d not been given cause for the termination, Grant-Dawson said her decision to leave came after she and Bellino, with other colleagues, led a weekslong budget planning effort to right a $102 million budget deficit projected next year, and planned to present last Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two days before the presentation, she said, Saddler revealed a different plan, crafted without the budget chief’s knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I learned on Monday morning that the superintendent sought to lead in a different direction with the budget scenarios that were ultimately presented to the board. And opted to not inform me and other colleagues in advance of her decision,” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I don’t participate in is side-swiping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12029339 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One parent comforts another as she becomes emotional while making a public comment to the Oakland Unified School District Board about a proposed merger during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement shared with OUSD families, Saddler said she planned to bring on a team of external fiscal experts as the district prepares next year’s budget. Former Oakland City Councilmember Lynette McElhaney will take over as chief of staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As superintendent, it is my job to ensure the district has the right leadership structure, alignment and urgency to meet the work that lies ahead of us,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on social media, Board Vice President Valarie Bachelor said she supported Saddler’s decision, and “her need to develop a Senior Leadership Team that can support our district through the next phase of the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major leadership shakeup comes after months of tension between Oakland’s school leaders.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Earlier this year, a teachers union-backed board majority overrode adopted budget cuts in favor of a proposal that was ultimately reversed after it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041279/ousd-cancels-controversial-after-school-cuts-but-deep-divisions-within-school-board-remain\">threatened to cancel some after-school programs\u003c/a>. In April, the same cohort \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037315/oakland-school-board-votes-remove-superintendent-sparking-worries-instability\">ousted longtime Superintendent\u003c/a> Kyla Johnson-Trammel. And throughout the year, the board majority has sparred with district staff about how to address a structural funding shortfall and years of declining enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That conflict \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059238/alameda-county-to-oakland-schools-reduce-costs-or-lose-financial-independence-again\">escalated in October\u003c/a>, when the board requested staff bring forward two budget proposals to cut $100 million in ongoing expenditures without closing or merging schools, or directly affecting students at school sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An initial proposal presented by Grant-Dawson last month identified \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064579/oaklands-school-district-must-cut-100-million-its-proposed-plan-doesnt-get-close\">$21 million in cuts\u003c/a> within those bounds. To reach the $100 million figure, though, she said campuses would need to be impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school district. And a school district’s majority of its funds are in schools,” Grant-Dawson said at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since that initial proposal, Grant-Dawson said the senior leadership team had spent many long days developing two plans to realize the other $80 million in cuts necessary to stay solvent next year. She and Bellino had been the main editors of those documents, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District parents, students and supporters attend a board meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We submitted the version we were working on. The whole team saw it and knew it was being submitted,” she told KQED. “I was notified that there was a change made the next day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal that Saddler ultimately presented on Wednesday promises $102 million in cuts through major school site and administrative reductions. But Grant-Dawson said it lacks a roadmap that proves it can be implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no math or evidence behind it,” she said, adding that she believes ultimately, the superintendent presented a plan that “she felt the board wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It accounts for a $20 million boost in revenue from growing attendance in each of the next two years. While the district has seen a 1.8% growth this year so far, it can’t guarantee efforts to recruit students will yield those results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the $21 million in administrative cuts laid out last month, the proposal also recommends slashing another 15-20% of central office spending, and between 7.5-10% from each campus budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12056738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12056738 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified students and parents make signs to support teachers at a ‘solidarity school’ in Diamond Park, Oakland, on May 11, 2023, during an Oakland Unified School District teachers’ strike. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To make such large reductions at school sites would likely require cutting programs or staff funded by restricted sources earmarked for specific purposes, which wouldn’t yield savings that can be reappropriated wherever the district sees fit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another line item reduces special education funding by “restructuring and reducing outside contracts, management, and programmatic elements,” but there is no description of what services and contracts OUSD could reduce while meeting its legal mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality,” Grant-Dawson said, is “you don’t have a list of $100 million that’s legit[imate].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make such large cuts to school site budgets, both Saddler and Grant-Dawson have said the district will have to rethink how many schools it operates.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“From where I sit, there is no feasible or reasonable alternative,” Saddler wrote in her proposal. “The District must be restructured — schools and central offices. If the Board makes a commitment to truly restructure OUSD, it must see it through this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not clear that savings from that effort could be realized by next fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t just flip a switch, especially when you’re trying to drive that magnitude of the change, in one year,” Grant-Dawson said. “We’ve said that if we’re going to do any restructuring work, it takes at least a year to even plan, engage and all those things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal Grant-Dawson said her team had submitted, which was not presented on Wednesday, but was included in the documents given to the board ahead of the vote, suggested that the district might need to borrow money from an external source to bridge the gap as it does that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also remains to be seen whether the school board will follow through on a plan to close schools. In recent years, OUSD’s board has made \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017719/oaklands-school-merger-plan-stalled-districts-huge-deficit-remains\">multiple commitments to do so\u003c/a> that haven’t come to fruition. In 2022, the board approved 11 campus consolidations, but reversed them before they took effect the following year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant-Dawson said she doesn’t believe the board has the appetite to take up that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reading the tea leaves, what I said to the district was, ‘You asked me to help support leading you out of receivership, but I don’t lead people back in,’” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "as-teacher-strike-looms-san-franciscos-school-board-set-to-review-proposed-funding-cuts",
"title": "As Teacher Strike Looms, San Francisco’s School Board Set to Review Proposed Funding Cuts",
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"headTitle": "As Teacher Strike Looms, San Francisco’s School Board Set to Review Proposed Funding Cuts | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-board-of-education\">school board\u003c/a> on Tuesday will get a first look at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066271/sfusd-has-overspent-for-years-major-cuts-could-have-it-on-the-path-to-stability\">district leaders’ plan to slash spending\u003c/a> by more than $100 million for the second year in a row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed cuts include deeper staffing reductions, changes to middle school schedules and school consolidations as soon as 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su said earlier this month that the reductions aim to pull the district out of state oversight, but parents and teachers are worried about the impact further classroom reductions could have, especially on already vulnerable students and schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is definitely some misalignment … in the sense that … our recommendations are calling out for sustainability in staffing, for mental health, and we’re cutting significant apportionments of positions,” said Vanessa Marrero, who heads Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, SFUSD cut $114 million in ongoing expenses through hundreds of early retirement buy-outs, a strict staffing model and administrative cuts. This year, it needs to identify another $102 million to cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The superintendent’s draft plan — which won’t be finalized until the spring — totals about $70 million in savings by 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046126\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046126\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Unified School District Administrative Offices in San Francisco on April 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under an updated staffing model, only Title I eligible schools will be allocated a social worker. Previously, non-Title I campuses that met specific enrollment criteria were eligible for at least a half-time position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal cuts 45 full-time roles, which could be spread across as many as 90 campuses. The district said it was looking to identify other restricted funding sources to pay for these roles, and to provide flexibility in schools’ discretionary spending to “prioritize investments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other major personnel reductions will come from a change to middle school schedules: campuses will transition from a seven-period block schedule rolled out over the last few years back to six-period school days.[aside postID=news_12066271 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-06-BL_qed-1.jpg']In 2018, the district introduced its “\u003ca href=\"https://mgredesign.sfusd.edu/\">Middle Grades Redesign\u003c/a>” initiative, which created longer class periods and aimed to add elective course opportunities for students. Presidio Middle School transitioned to the seven-period schedule in 2022, and allows students to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/school/presidio-middle-school/departments/electives#:~:text=Presidio%2022%2D23%20Electives,%2C%20Dance%2C%20Music%2C%20Computers)\">choose\u003c/a> four quarter-long arts, computer science, language, health or other advanced courses throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the district, returning to a standard six-period day will prioritize core classes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new schedule would cut 56 classroom teaching positions, and another eight in health. That course material would be folded into other classes, like physical education or science, according to the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Security aide roles across campuses would also be cut in half, as well as 18 assistant principal jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eliminating transportation for 2,500 non-special education students would save another $5 million. Marrero said the current funding serves students in neighborhoods with historically lower average test scores who attend schools further from their homes. Cutting that service could create an additional barrier for some to go to a school of their choice, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039959 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meredith Willa Dodson speaks during a rally to reopen San Francisco Unified Schools at City Hall in San Francisco on March 13, 2021, on the first anniversary of school buildings being closed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another $14.6 million could come from central office personnel and service reductions, an area that the teachers’ union has long said keeps funds away from students. The district made significant reductions by restructuring the office last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We understand that [the district] needs to make cuts, but we don’t yet understand, are these really the best cuts for our students or is there some other way?” said Meredith Dodson, who runs the advocacy group SF Parents. She said families want to know what other cuts were considered and how the ones identified in the fiscal stabilization plan were determined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just looking for that information from the district to understand that that level of analysis was done [to determine] that these are the solutions that bring the minimal amount of harm to kids. I just don’t see it yet,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in the fall of 2027, the district is also suggesting savings of more than $3 million thanks to a “consolidation of [its] educational program portfolio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD leadership has begun to discuss reconsidering school closures, after a controversial plan to shutter 11 schools was shelved last fall. Su took over in the wake of the closure crisis, and has prioritized the district’s budget before addressing its footprint, but she said last month that after the fiscal stabilization plan is complete this year, it would be time to take back up the initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064757\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064757 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, K-5 students, and their families at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy rally at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco on Oct. 9, 2024, to protest against the potential closure of the school. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SFUSD, like many districts in the state, faces declining enrollment, and campuses across the city have hundreds of empty seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While shuttering schools alone won’t save the district significant amounts of money, the district has said that having fewer schools could allow for more robust staffing and make room for more specialized programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dodson said showing families those potential benefits will be key to garnering community support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a parent to be told that their school is going to be closed, and to be okay with it, I think they would have to believe that there’s better education on the other side of that for their kid,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reductions planned so far are still about $30 million shy of what the district will need to cut to avoid deficit spending. And, SFUSD currently faces an escalating threat of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066097/sfusd-teachers-overwhelmingly-vote-to-authorize-the-first-strike-in-49-years\">teacher strike after months\u003c/a> of halting negotiations over a new two-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While SFUSD has said it cannot meet the educators’ demands due to the budget crisis, the union has signaled that members are prepared to strike over wages, staffing demands and more subsidized health care benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-board-of-education\">school board\u003c/a> on Tuesday will get a first look at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066271/sfusd-has-overspent-for-years-major-cuts-could-have-it-on-the-path-to-stability\">district leaders’ plan to slash spending\u003c/a> by more than $100 million for the second year in a row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed cuts include deeper staffing reductions, changes to middle school schedules and school consolidations as soon as 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su said earlier this month that the reductions aim to pull the district out of state oversight, but parents and teachers are worried about the impact further classroom reductions could have, especially on already vulnerable students and schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is definitely some misalignment … in the sense that … our recommendations are calling out for sustainability in staffing, for mental health, and we’re cutting significant apportionments of positions,” said Vanessa Marrero, who heads Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, SFUSD cut $114 million in ongoing expenses through hundreds of early retirement buy-outs, a strict staffing model and administrative cuts. This year, it needs to identify another $102 million to cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The superintendent’s draft plan — which won’t be finalized until the spring — totals about $70 million in savings by 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046126\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046126\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Unified School District Administrative Offices in San Francisco on April 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under an updated staffing model, only Title I eligible schools will be allocated a social worker. Previously, non-Title I campuses that met specific enrollment criteria were eligible for at least a half-time position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal cuts 45 full-time roles, which could be spread across as many as 90 campuses. The district said it was looking to identify other restricted funding sources to pay for these roles, and to provide flexibility in schools’ discretionary spending to “prioritize investments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other major personnel reductions will come from a change to middle school schedules: campuses will transition from a seven-period block schedule rolled out over the last few years back to six-period school days.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In 2018, the district introduced its “\u003ca href=\"https://mgredesign.sfusd.edu/\">Middle Grades Redesign\u003c/a>” initiative, which created longer class periods and aimed to add elective course opportunities for students. Presidio Middle School transitioned to the seven-period schedule in 2022, and allows students to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/school/presidio-middle-school/departments/electives#:~:text=Presidio%2022%2D23%20Electives,%2C%20Dance%2C%20Music%2C%20Computers)\">choose\u003c/a> four quarter-long arts, computer science, language, health or other advanced courses throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the district, returning to a standard six-period day will prioritize core classes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new schedule would cut 56 classroom teaching positions, and another eight in health. That course material would be folded into other classes, like physical education or science, according to the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Security aide roles across campuses would also be cut in half, as well as 18 assistant principal jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eliminating transportation for 2,500 non-special education students would save another $5 million. Marrero said the current funding serves students in neighborhoods with historically lower average test scores who attend schools further from their homes. Cutting that service could create an additional barrier for some to go to a school of their choice, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039959 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meredith Willa Dodson speaks during a rally to reopen San Francisco Unified Schools at City Hall in San Francisco on March 13, 2021, on the first anniversary of school buildings being closed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another $14.6 million could come from central office personnel and service reductions, an area that the teachers’ union has long said keeps funds away from students. The district made significant reductions by restructuring the office last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We understand that [the district] needs to make cuts, but we don’t yet understand, are these really the best cuts for our students or is there some other way?” said Meredith Dodson, who runs the advocacy group SF Parents. She said families want to know what other cuts were considered and how the ones identified in the fiscal stabilization plan were determined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just looking for that information from the district to understand that that level of analysis was done [to determine] that these are the solutions that bring the minimal amount of harm to kids. I just don’t see it yet,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in the fall of 2027, the district is also suggesting savings of more than $3 million thanks to a “consolidation of [its] educational program portfolio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD leadership has begun to discuss reconsidering school closures, after a controversial plan to shutter 11 schools was shelved last fall. Su took over in the wake of the closure crisis, and has prioritized the district’s budget before addressing its footprint, but she said last month that after the fiscal stabilization plan is complete this year, it would be time to take back up the initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064757\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064757 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, K-5 students, and their families at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy rally at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco on Oct. 9, 2024, to protest against the potential closure of the school. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SFUSD, like many districts in the state, faces declining enrollment, and campuses across the city have hundreds of empty seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While shuttering schools alone won’t save the district significant amounts of money, the district has said that having fewer schools could allow for more robust staffing and make room for more specialized programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dodson said showing families those potential benefits will be key to garnering community support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a parent to be told that their school is going to be closed, and to be okay with it, I think they would have to believe that there’s better education on the other side of that for their kid,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reductions planned so far are still about $30 million shy of what the district will need to cut to avoid deficit spending. And, SFUSD currently faces an escalating threat of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066097/sfusd-teachers-overwhelmingly-vote-to-authorize-the-first-strike-in-49-years\">teacher strike after months\u003c/a> of halting negotiations over a new two-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While SFUSD has said it cannot meet the educators’ demands due to the budget crisis, the union has signaled that members are prepared to strike over wages, staffing demands and more subsidized health care benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Applying for student aid can be a stressful, fraught process at the best of times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the past two years, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/fafsa\">FAFSA\u003c/a>) has been a particular source of anxiety for mixed-status families — when the college applicant has a Social Security number, but one or both parents don’t, due to their immigration status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to 2023 numbers from \u003ca href=\"https://immigrantdataca.org/indicators/mixed-status-families?breakdown=by-age-group\">the California Immigrant Data Portal\u003c/a>, 20% of Californians under 18 are either undocumented or living with undocumented family members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And after this group faced the challenge of a glitch in the 2024-25 FAFSA that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11979367/fafsa-2024-the-big-error-affecting-mixed-status-families-and-what-to-do-if-youre-an-affected-student\">locked many students from mixed-status families out of their applications\u003c/a> entirely, a new concern has emerged for this year’s applicants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between President Donald Trump’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">immigration crackdown\u003c/a> and news of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12035735/what-we-now-know-about-the-irs-ice-tax-data-deal\">an agreement\u003c/a> between the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, some \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2025/07/financial-aid-immigration-deportation-fears/\">mixed-status students are concerned\u003c/a> that filling out the FAFSA can put their family members at risk of deportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncan.org/news/713255/Updated-FAFSA-Guidance-for-Mixed-Status-Families.htm\">National College Attainment Network\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/fsa-handbook/2020-2021/appendices/appx-g-higher-education-act-1965-table-contents-august-26-2020\">Higher Education Act\u003c/a> prohibits the use of data for any purposes other than financial assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11968720\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11968720\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration showing a pair of hands holding a yellow sheet of paper that reads FAFSA. In the background, a number of figures representing family members talk.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Completing FAFSA nearly always means involving your family in discussions about finances. For many students, that’s far from a simple conversation. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, the network warned students and their families that it can no longer “assure” them that data submitted through the FAFSA “will continue to be protected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) has confirmed that ED has not and will not share information that breaks the law, we understand many families’ confidence in this statement may not be as certain under the current administration,” the network’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncan.org/news/713255/Updated-FAFSA-Guidance-for-Mixed-Status-Families.htm\">guidance reads\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Education did not respond to KQED’s request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The priority application deadline for most colleges and institutions is just a few months away, on March 2, 2026. Keep reading to see what guidance is available for mixed-status families — while bearing in mind that this is not legal advice, and you should consult with an expert on your specific situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to: \u003ca href=\"#Wherecanmixedstatusfamiliesfindmoreinformationorsupport\">Where can mixed-status families find more information or support?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>What advice do California officials have for mixed-status families about financial aid?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) maintains that students from mixed-status families, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/default/files/file-attachments/california_dream_act_application_1.pdf\">undocumented students\u003c/a>, can apply to the state-based \u003ca href=\"https://dream.csac.ca.gov/landing\">California DREAM Act\u003c/a> (CADAA). This application allows access to state aid but not federal aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We encourage all mixed-status families to use that application,” said Daisy Gonzales, the Executive Director of CSAC, during a Dec. 3 press conference. “That is California’s solution to access financial aid.”[aside postID=news_12059007 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/GettyImages-1403066184-1020x680.jpg']According to \u003ca href=\"https://dream.csac.ca.gov/landing\">the California Dream Act website\u003c/a>, “any information you provide on a CA Dream Act Application (CADAA) is only used to determine eligibility for state financial aid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Your information is never shared with the federal government or used for immigration enforcement,” the notice reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a mixed-status family chooses to complete the FAFSA, the state \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/cadaa-msf\">emphasized\u003c/a> that they “should be prepared to provide consent to direct data exchange with the IRS.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since “direct data exchange does not yet work for non-SSN contributors,” these applicants “will also be asked to manually enter their tax information from 2024,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/cadaa-msf\">the California Dream Act website\u003c/a> explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What advice do advocates have for mixed-status families?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, there isn’t one simple answer for a student and a family, said Catherine Marroquín, senior director at \u003ca href=\"https://www.missiongraduates.org/\">Mission Graduates\u003c/a>, a San Francisco-based organization that helps immigrant and low-income students go to college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really just comes down to individually talking to families and figuring out what they feel the most secure doing,” she said. She recommends families decide how much of their own information they are willing to share with state and federal agencies — and identify what they have already shared in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11987761\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11987761 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1241\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6-800x517.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6-1020x659.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6-160x103.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6-1536x993.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">According to 2023 numbers from the California Immigrant Data Portal, 20% of Californians under 18 are either undocumented or living with undocumented family members. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If a student was born here, their parents are undocumented, but the parents have done taxes before or have an ITIN number, then the IRS already has their information,” Marroquín said. If families have never filed taxes or requested an \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/tin/itin/individual-taxpayer-identification-number-itin\">Individual Taxpayer Identification Number\u003c/a>, they may choose to skip FAFSA and avoid any interaction with the federal system for now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s still possible to receive financial aid for college by only completing CADAA and not FAFSA, but students may need to put in extra work and look for private scholarships to make up for the loss in federal financial aid. In fact, Mission Graduates is even “encouraging students to also apply for private schools, just because their funding can be more generous,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some students could also go to institutions that offer free tuition to eligible students — like \u003ca href=\"https://www.ccsf.edu/free-city\">City College of San Francisco\u003c/a> — and transfer in the future if federal policy changes. In all this uncertainty, Marroquín said that programs like hers want to emphasize “power, not panic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do we prepare our families?” she said. “For them to feel safe [with] their kids going to college and the college choices they’re making … this is all part of the universe of concerns that the families are having right now with this administration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Wherecanmixedstatusfamiliesfindmoreinformationorsupport\">\u003c/a>Where can mixed-status families find more information or support?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Marroquín recommended consulting a spreadsheet of \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EDEaggHiMvXk1Vdg-34T_Njwgfw9GzXzaklS_mgP0LE/edit?gid=0#gid=0\">aid available to mixed-status and undocumented families\u003c/a> created by the Northern California College Promise Coalition. The group Immigration Rising also has a list of \u003ca href=\"https://immigrantsrising.org/resource/list-of-scholarships-and-fellowships/\">scholarships and fellowships\u003c/a> that don’t require proof of U.S. citizenship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other places you can find support include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://firstgenempower.org/advising-students-ca\">First Gen Empower\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ncan.org/news/713255/Updated-FAFSA-Guidance-for-Mixed-Status-Families.htm\">National College Attainment Network\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/cadaa-msf\">California Student Aid Commission’s guidance\u003c/a> for mixed-status families\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://contigoed.org/blog/supportingmixedstatusfamilies\">ContingoEd\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://immigrantsrising.org/resources?_sft_topics=higher-education\">Immigrants Rising\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.missiongraduates.org/\">Mission Graduates\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In this college application cycle, here's what advocates say mixed-status families — students with at least one parent without a Social Security number due to their immigration status — should know about requesting financial aid.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Applying for student aid can be a stressful, fraught process at the best of times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the past two years, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/fafsa\">FAFSA\u003c/a>) has been a particular source of anxiety for mixed-status families — when the college applicant has a Social Security number, but one or both parents don’t, due to their immigration status.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to 2023 numbers from \u003ca href=\"https://immigrantdataca.org/indicators/mixed-status-families?breakdown=by-age-group\">the California Immigrant Data Portal\u003c/a>, 20% of Californians under 18 are either undocumented or living with undocumented family members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And after this group faced the challenge of a glitch in the 2024-25 FAFSA that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11979367/fafsa-2024-the-big-error-affecting-mixed-status-families-and-what-to-do-if-youre-an-affected-student\">locked many students from mixed-status families out of their applications\u003c/a> entirely, a new concern has emerged for this year’s applicants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between President Donald Trump’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">immigration crackdown\u003c/a> and news of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12035735/what-we-now-know-about-the-irs-ice-tax-data-deal\">an agreement\u003c/a> between the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, some \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2025/07/financial-aid-immigration-deportation-fears/\">mixed-status students are concerned\u003c/a> that filling out the FAFSA can put their family members at risk of deportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncan.org/news/713255/Updated-FAFSA-Guidance-for-Mixed-Status-Families.htm\">National College Attainment Network\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/fsa-handbook/2020-2021/appendices/appx-g-higher-education-act-1965-table-contents-august-26-2020\">Higher Education Act\u003c/a> prohibits the use of data for any purposes other than financial assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11968720\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11968720\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration showing a pair of hands holding a yellow sheet of paper that reads FAFSA. In the background, a number of figures representing family members talk.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/11/IMG_0524-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Completing FAFSA nearly always means involving your family in discussions about finances. For many students, that’s far from a simple conversation. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, the network warned students and their families that it can no longer “assure” them that data submitted through the FAFSA “will continue to be protected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) has confirmed that ED has not and will not share information that breaks the law, we understand many families’ confidence in this statement may not be as certain under the current administration,” the network’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncan.org/news/713255/Updated-FAFSA-Guidance-for-Mixed-Status-Families.htm\">guidance reads\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Education did not respond to KQED’s request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The priority application deadline for most colleges and institutions is just a few months away, on March 2, 2026. Keep reading to see what guidance is available for mixed-status families — while bearing in mind that this is not legal advice, and you should consult with an expert on your specific situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to: \u003ca href=\"#Wherecanmixedstatusfamiliesfindmoreinformationorsupport\">Where can mixed-status families find more information or support?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>What advice do California officials have for mixed-status families about financial aid?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) maintains that students from mixed-status families, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/default/files/file-attachments/california_dream_act_application_1.pdf\">undocumented students\u003c/a>, can apply to the state-based \u003ca href=\"https://dream.csac.ca.gov/landing\">California DREAM Act\u003c/a> (CADAA). This application allows access to state aid but not federal aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We encourage all mixed-status families to use that application,” said Daisy Gonzales, the Executive Director of CSAC, during a Dec. 3 press conference. “That is California’s solution to access financial aid.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>According to \u003ca href=\"https://dream.csac.ca.gov/landing\">the California Dream Act website\u003c/a>, “any information you provide on a CA Dream Act Application (CADAA) is only used to determine eligibility for state financial aid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Your information is never shared with the federal government or used for immigration enforcement,” the notice reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a mixed-status family chooses to complete the FAFSA, the state \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/cadaa-msf\">emphasized\u003c/a> that they “should be prepared to provide consent to direct data exchange with the IRS.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since “direct data exchange does not yet work for non-SSN contributors,” these applicants “will also be asked to manually enter their tax information from 2024,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/cadaa-msf\">the California Dream Act website\u003c/a> explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What advice do advocates have for mixed-status families?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, there isn’t one simple answer for a student and a family, said Catherine Marroquín, senior director at \u003ca href=\"https://www.missiongraduates.org/\">Mission Graduates\u003c/a>, a San Francisco-based organization that helps immigrant and low-income students go to college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really just comes down to individually talking to families and figuring out what they feel the most secure doing,” she said. She recommends families decide how much of their own information they are willing to share with state and federal agencies — and identify what they have already shared in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11987761\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11987761 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1241\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6-800x517.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6-1020x659.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6-160x103.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/image-6-1536x993.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">According to 2023 numbers from the California Immigrant Data Portal, 20% of Californians under 18 are either undocumented or living with undocumented family members. \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If a student was born here, their parents are undocumented, but the parents have done taxes before or have an ITIN number, then the IRS already has their information,” Marroquín said. If families have never filed taxes or requested an \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/tin/itin/individual-taxpayer-identification-number-itin\">Individual Taxpayer Identification Number\u003c/a>, they may choose to skip FAFSA and avoid any interaction with the federal system for now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s still possible to receive financial aid for college by only completing CADAA and not FAFSA, but students may need to put in extra work and look for private scholarships to make up for the loss in federal financial aid. In fact, Mission Graduates is even “encouraging students to also apply for private schools, just because their funding can be more generous,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some students could also go to institutions that offer free tuition to eligible students — like \u003ca href=\"https://www.ccsf.edu/free-city\">City College of San Francisco\u003c/a> — and transfer in the future if federal policy changes. In all this uncertainty, Marroquín said that programs like hers want to emphasize “power, not panic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do we prepare our families?” she said. “For them to feel safe [with] their kids going to college and the college choices they’re making … this is all part of the universe of concerns that the families are having right now with this administration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Wherecanmixedstatusfamiliesfindmoreinformationorsupport\">\u003c/a>Where can mixed-status families find more information or support?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Marroquín recommended consulting a spreadsheet of \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EDEaggHiMvXk1Vdg-34T_Njwgfw9GzXzaklS_mgP0LE/edit?gid=0#gid=0\">aid available to mixed-status and undocumented families\u003c/a> created by the Northern California College Promise Coalition. The group Immigration Rising also has a list of \u003ca href=\"https://immigrantsrising.org/resource/list-of-scholarships-and-fellowships/\">scholarships and fellowships\u003c/a> that don’t require proof of U.S. citizenship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other places you can find support include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://firstgenempower.org/advising-students-ca\">First Gen Empower\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ncan.org/news/713255/Updated-FAFSA-Guidance-for-Mixed-Status-Families.htm\">National College Attainment Network\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/cadaa-msf\">California Student Aid Commission’s guidance\u003c/a> for mixed-status families\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://contigoed.org/blog/supportingmixedstatusfamilies\">ContingoEd\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://immigrantsrising.org/resources?_sft_topics=higher-education\">Immigrants Rising\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.missiongraduates.org/\">Mission Graduates\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Tens of thousands of student loan borrowers who say their schools misled them may soon find out whether that debt will be cleared after a Thursday ruling from a federal judge in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. District Judge William Alsup denied the Department of Education’s request for an 18-month deadline extension, as the agency grapples with roughly 250,000 applications for student loan relief, originally filed in the latter half of 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think [Alsup]’s really come to see the way that the system has failed and that there are obligations in the law that are put on the people with power and authority, and they can ignore them and just leave students and individuals holding the bag,” said Eileen Connor, executive director for the Project on Predatory Student Lending and co-counsel for borrowers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling stems from a class-action lawsuit by plaintiffs who claimed the Department of Education illegally delayed processing or improperly denied hundreds of thousands of borrower defense claims, a process that allows federal loans to be wiped out if a school engaged in misconduct or the student was misled when applying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of a settlement reached in June 2022, the Department of Education was expected to meet a Jan. 28, 2026, deadline to decide on applications filed between late June and mid-November of 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alsup ruled that the government must abide by that looming deadline for applicants who attended schools with previous evidence of misconduct, or clear the debt entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11974333\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11974333 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation.jpg\" alt=\"A tight shot captured from behind of hundreds of students in blue and yellow graduation caps sitting down.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nearly 43 million individuals — one in six adult Americans — have federal student loan debt. \u003ccite>(Vanessa Rancano/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For applicants from any other schools, Alsup granted the government an extension to April 15, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, the Department of Education said it is still evaluating the impact of Alsup’s order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to doing the right thing for students, families, and taxpayers,” Press Secretary Ellen Keast said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alice Panzo is a clinical psychologist who racked up roughly $250,000 in loans attending the for-profit, and now-defunct, Argosy University for her graduate degree between 2009 and 2014.[aside postID=news_12065967 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/IMG_1280-2000x1500.jpg']“What I was sold on when I accepted and started attending was not at all what the program was,” Panzo said. “It was promises about an [American Psychological Association] accredited internship is guaranteed coming out of our program. That was a lie.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years since graduating, Panzo said compounding interest ballooned her debt to roughly $400,000, despite making consistent payments. She applied for borrower defense in 2022 and has been waiting for a decision ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It has been literally waiting in limbo,” Panzo said. “My husband and I have put off pursuing IVF until we know … it seems irresponsible to start doing that if we are going to have to pay all of these loans back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Panzo said the debt has ruined her credit score.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When her father died last month, Panzo said she didn’t qualify for a low-interest loan to cover the funeral expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Obviously, I was going to find whatever way I could, whether this is wise or not, to have a funeral for my father. So, I ended up having to take out an embarrassingly high-interest rate loan just to cover those expenses,” Panzo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12063651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12063651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-07-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students on campus at Santa Clara University on Nov. 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Argosy was among the list of roughly 150 schools with known misconduct allegations, so Panzo said she expects to learn the fate of her debt in just a few weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s incredibly comforting,” Panzo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Panzo acknowledged that the government could choose to deny her application, meaning she will have to pay down that roughly $400,000, but she said it’s better than having to live with the uncertainty.[aside postID=news_12063723 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-01-KQED.jpg']Though the government is now working to review the applications in this group by the established deadlines, new applications continue to pour in from other students claiming to have been defrauded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to court documents, 250,000 applications for borrower defense were filed between late 2022, after the group covered by the ruling, and May 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connor, the co-counsel for borrowers, expressed concern that, without significant change, the department will fall behind again, leaving new claimants in limbo for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This settlement was meant to put leverage and pressure onto the department to stand up a system that would be able to handle the volume of borrower defense applications and force other reforms,” Connor said. “I don’t have confidence that that message has quite gotten through yet or that those reforms have happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the contrary, Connor said the problem might be worsened by cuts and massive layoffs as part of the Trump administration’s “efficiency” initiative this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem of fraud is only going to grow, because there’s no enforcement happening at the Department of Education right now,” Connor said. “It’s a failure on a very large scale, and it’s going to hurt a lot of people. And some people will make money off of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tens of thousands of student loan borrowers who say their schools misled them may soon find out whether that debt will be cleared after a Thursday ruling from a federal judge in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. District Judge William Alsup denied the Department of Education’s request for an 18-month deadline extension, as the agency grapples with roughly 250,000 applications for student loan relief, originally filed in the latter half of 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think [Alsup]’s really come to see the way that the system has failed and that there are obligations in the law that are put on the people with power and authority, and they can ignore them and just leave students and individuals holding the bag,” said Eileen Connor, executive director for the Project on Predatory Student Lending and co-counsel for borrowers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling stems from a class-action lawsuit by plaintiffs who claimed the Department of Education illegally delayed processing or improperly denied hundreds of thousands of borrower defense claims, a process that allows federal loans to be wiped out if a school engaged in misconduct or the student was misled when applying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of a settlement reached in June 2022, the Department of Education was expected to meet a Jan. 28, 2026, deadline to decide on applications filed between late June and mid-November of 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alsup ruled that the government must abide by that looming deadline for applicants who attended schools with previous evidence of misconduct, or clear the debt entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11974333\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11974333 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation.jpg\" alt=\"A tight shot captured from behind of hundreds of students in blue and yellow graduation caps sitting down.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/01/Graduation-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nearly 43 million individuals — one in six adult Americans — have federal student loan debt. \u003ccite>(Vanessa Rancano/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For applicants from any other schools, Alsup granted the government an extension to April 15, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, the Department of Education said it is still evaluating the impact of Alsup’s order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to doing the right thing for students, families, and taxpayers,” Press Secretary Ellen Keast said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alice Panzo is a clinical psychologist who racked up roughly $250,000 in loans attending the for-profit, and now-defunct, Argosy University for her graduate degree between 2009 and 2014.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“What I was sold on when I accepted and started attending was not at all what the program was,” Panzo said. “It was promises about an [American Psychological Association] accredited internship is guaranteed coming out of our program. That was a lie.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years since graduating, Panzo said compounding interest ballooned her debt to roughly $400,000, despite making consistent payments. She applied for borrower defense in 2022 and has been waiting for a decision ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It has been literally waiting in limbo,” Panzo said. “My husband and I have put off pursuing IVF until we know … it seems irresponsible to start doing that if we are going to have to pay all of these loans back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Panzo said the debt has ruined her credit score.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When her father died last month, Panzo said she didn’t qualify for a low-interest loan to cover the funeral expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Obviously, I was going to find whatever way I could, whether this is wise or not, to have a funeral for my father. So, I ended up having to take out an embarrassingly high-interest rate loan just to cover those expenses,” Panzo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12063651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12063651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251110-COLLEGE-STUDENTS-CALFRESH-MD-07-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students on campus at Santa Clara University on Nov. 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Argosy was among the list of roughly 150 schools with known misconduct allegations, so Panzo said she expects to learn the fate of her debt in just a few weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s incredibly comforting,” Panzo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Panzo acknowledged that the government could choose to deny her application, meaning she will have to pay down that roughly $400,000, but she said it’s better than having to live with the uncertainty.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Though the government is now working to review the applications in this group by the established deadlines, new applications continue to pour in from other students claiming to have been defrauded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to court documents, 250,000 applications for borrower defense were filed between late 2022, after the group covered by the ruling, and May 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connor, the co-counsel for borrowers, expressed concern that, without significant change, the department will fall behind again, leaving new claimants in limbo for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This settlement was meant to put leverage and pressure onto the department to stand up a system that would be able to handle the volume of borrower defense applications and force other reforms,” Connor said. “I don’t have confidence that that message has quite gotten through yet or that those reforms have happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the contrary, Connor said the problem might be worsened by cuts and massive layoffs as part of the Trump administration’s “efficiency” initiative this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem of fraud is only going to grow, because there’s no enforcement happening at the Department of Education right now,” Connor said. “It’s a failure on a very large scale, and it’s going to hurt a lot of people. And some people will make money off of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Your Free Speech Does Not Apply’: Suspended UC Berkeley Lecturer Speaks Out",
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"content": "\u003cp>The suspension of a UC Berkeley computer science lecturer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059351/the-cal-lecturer-who-went-on-a-38-day-hunger-strike-for-gaza\">who went on a hunger strike over the war in Gaza\u003c/a> and made pro-Palestinian remarks in the classroom has raised questions about free speech and the scope of academic freedom on the Bay Area campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Late last week, UC Berkeley administrators notified Peyrin Kao, 26, of his six-month unpaid suspension, effective Jan. 1, 2026. The suspension, handed down at a time of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032030/uc-berkeley-faculty-rally-to-defend-free-speech-and-protest-cuts\">heightened tensions over free speech on campus\u003c/a>, drew criticism from groups and faculty advocates, who immediately called for his reinstatement and launched a hunger strike in solidarity on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some argued that the university’s decision was a blatant violation of Kao’s First Amendment rights and part of a broader effort to chill pro-Palestinian speech on campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxdR0hTEkSqv4LcHqp3t7SNU1BcWbrI0/view\">an October letter\u003c/a> from UC Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Benjamin Hermalin, Kao misused the classroom “by distorting the instructional process” and deviated from “the responsibilities inherent in academic freedom” during the spring 2024 and fall 2025 semesters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kao maintains that he followed university policy by making the comments outside of official class time. He said his suspension is part of what’s called “\u003ca href=\"https://read.dukeupress.edu/critical-times/article/8/1/1/400618/Beyond-the-Palestine-Exception\">the Palestine exception\u003c/a>,” or the selective enforcement of rules to restrict Palestinian advocacy. Kao questioned whether he would have been suspended if he criticized the U.S. government or international issues that have drawn \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/09/23/with-3-million-gift-berkeley-prepares-to-build-premier-ukrainian-studies-program/\">condemnation\u003c/a> by the university, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066692\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12066692 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still-1536x864.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still-1200x675.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peyrin Kao speaking at a UC Regents meeting on Sept. 17, 2025, at UCSF Mission Bay. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Peyrin Kao )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s this gaping exception in this so-called free speech that our university and our country champions,” Kao told KQED. “The university loves to talk about how they are ‘the free speech university,’ ‘the home of the free speech movement,’ … but when it comes to Palestine: ‘Sorry, we’re drawing the line, your free speech does not apply.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore declined to comment, saying the university doesn’t comment on confidential personnel matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Hermalin’s report, Kao was accused of twice violating Regents’ Policy 2301, a \u003ca href=\"https://evcp.berkeley.edu/news/political-advocacy-academic-freedom-and-instruction\">rule\u003c/a> that explicitly prohibits “political indoctrination” as misuse of the classroom and has been frequently cited by the university to regulate campus protest in the wake of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent analysis by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062192/uc-berkeley-law-school-says-school-likely-violated-civil-rights-of-pro-palestinian-protesters\">Berkeley law students found that the university’s administration\u003c/a> enforces the rule more harshly against faculty who speak in support of Palestinians, and Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Bay Area office, said the policy’s vague language lends itself to weaponization against Palestine advocacy.[aside postID=news_12062192 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/uc-berkeley-malak-afaneh-handout_qed-1020x680.jpg']“One very important question: Is the policy being enforced in an even-handed way?” said Eugene Volokh, a former First Amendment law scholar at UCLA. “I do think that people ought to be asking, well, are you doing this fairly with regard to all viewpoints?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volokh and other free speech advocates, however, questioned whether an argument for pedagogical autonomy works in this case, and argued that Kao’s use of the classroom to advocate for his political beliefs may have gone a step too far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In general, the protection of free speech and academic freedom of students and faculty is essential to providing for the education of students and teaching them how to think — the university’s chief role, Volokh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the same time, we have to recognize that in order for the educational process to work, there have to be limits on what is said in the classroom,” he continued. “In a classroom, I’m talking to a captive audience of students who are there to learn a particular subject, presumably not for political indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The suspension is not Kao’s first brush with the administration over his vocal support for Palestinian human rights: the letter notes a 2023 censure by a former chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences over the school’s anti-advocacy policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the beginning of the school year, Kao’s name appeared on a list of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055827/uc-berkeley-gives-trump-administration-160-names-in-antisemitism-investigation\">160 staff and faculty members whose identities UC Berkeley disclosed to the federal Department of Education\u003c/a> as part of what the university described as an antisemitism investigation. Around the same time, Kao began a 38-day hunger strike to protest the war and “how our tech is being to fuel genocide in Gaza,” the lecturer told KQED’s The Bay in October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058103\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058103\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250929_UCBERKELEY_GC-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250929_UCBERKELEY_GC-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250929_UCBERKELEY_GC-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250929_UCBERKELEY_GC-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sather Tower at UC Berkeley in Berkeley on Sept. 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In April 2024, after dismissing students of an introductory computer science course at the end of his last lecture of the semester, Kao spoke for about four minutes about ethics in technology — using Google’s collaboration with the Israeli military as an example — and expressed solidarity with fellow educators in Gaza, according to the university’s report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kao made those comments after the end of class, and prefaced his remarks by saying that students were free to leave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But again, if you want to go, then I don’t take any offense. It’s all good. And I will try not to waste too much of your time because it’s after 2 [pm],” Kao said, according to a transcription created by the university.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, Kao drew attention to his hunger strike in class, informing students that he was in poor health due to his activism — without explicitly stating that the act was in protest of the war in Gaza.[aside postID=news_12066592 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-9_qed.jpg']“Just a heads up that the lectures I give may be a little bit wobbly and poor quality,” Kao allegedly said during a class in the fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on these statements, the university determined that Kao “misused” his authority over students. Even without explicit acknowledgement of the advocacy during class time, the “visible toll” of the hunger strike, and Kao’s own admission that the strike may have affected his teaching, was enough for the university to determine it a violation of policy, Hermalin wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The University Council–American Federation of Teachers, the union that represents lecturers, filed a grievance against the “wrongful discipline” of Kao, said field representative Jessica Conte. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.stem4pal.org/\">STEM 4 Palestine\u003c/a>, a campus group that Kao co-founded, announced a hunger strike beginning Wednesday, in solidarity with Kao and other “repressed academics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Peyrin is known as a committed educator. He is not just committed to students at Berkeley,” the group told KQED by email. “Putting his own body on the line, he demonstrated public commitment to the students of Palestine, whose universities have been bombed into rubble using technology our university builds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kao maintained that all of the discussions in question took place outside of official class time, during an optional lecture that many students elected not to attend, and that the hunger strike took place entirely outside of the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were very careful not to talk about it in class with any of our students or any of my students or my staff. And it was something that I think is totally protected by the First Amendment, because I’m doing it in my own capacity,” Kao said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12030970\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12030970\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1358\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-800x543.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-1020x693.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-1536x1043.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-1920x1304.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a tent encampment in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on April 22, 2024, in Berkeley, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He also pushed back against the university’s claims that his ethics discussion — and his presentation on cloud-computing contracts between Google and Amazon with Israel — was not germane to the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are companies that our students are going to work for. We’re giving our students the tools that they’re then going to use to go and work for these companies and others that are complicit in this ongoing American-Israeli genocide in Gaza,” Kao said. “When you don’t talk about this, that is also making a political decision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Academic freedom enshrined in the First Amendment protects a professor’s right to discuss pedagogically relevant material during class, and allows some breathing room — as long as it’s furthering the purpose of the course, said Zach Greenberg, director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thefire.org/defending-your-rights/legal-support/faculty-legal-defense-fund\">Faculty Legal Defense Fund\u003c/a> at advocacy group FIRE. However, the university has some leeway to limit free speech of faculty within the bounds of the institution’s own academic freedom and, ultimately, to make the judgment call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The question that we always ask when it comes to political speech is, what’s related to the class and what were they speaking as a professor or as a private citizen?” Greenberg said. “And if you’re going on tangents during class or expressing a political advocacy to students during class as a professor, you’re on company time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a California state employee, Kao was entitled to a Skelly hearing, in which the proposed disciplinary action is reviewed by a third party. The lecturer met with Eric Meyer, the dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Information, but his appeal was denied, Kao said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s currently working to \u003ca href=\"https://chuffed.org/project/157643-make-back-peyrins-salary\">fundraise\u003c/a> the salary he will lose for the next semester, about $68,000, Kao said, which he vowed to donate to mutual-aid efforts in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/tgoldberg\">\u003cem>Ted Goldberg\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Peyrin Kao, a computer science instructor, was disciplined over his discussions of his pro-Palestinian activism in the classroom, raising questions about academic freedom and its limits on campus.",
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"title": "‘Your Free Speech Does Not Apply’: Suspended UC Berkeley Lecturer Speaks Out | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The suspension of a UC Berkeley computer science lecturer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059351/the-cal-lecturer-who-went-on-a-38-day-hunger-strike-for-gaza\">who went on a hunger strike over the war in Gaza\u003c/a> and made pro-Palestinian remarks in the classroom has raised questions about free speech and the scope of academic freedom on the Bay Area campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Late last week, UC Berkeley administrators notified Peyrin Kao, 26, of his six-month unpaid suspension, effective Jan. 1, 2026. The suspension, handed down at a time of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12032030/uc-berkeley-faculty-rally-to-defend-free-speech-and-protest-cuts\">heightened tensions over free speech on campus\u003c/a>, drew criticism from groups and faculty advocates, who immediately called for his reinstatement and launched a hunger strike in solidarity on Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some argued that the university’s decision was a blatant violation of Kao’s First Amendment rights and part of a broader effort to chill pro-Palestinian speech on campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxdR0hTEkSqv4LcHqp3t7SNU1BcWbrI0/view\">an October letter\u003c/a> from UC Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Benjamin Hermalin, Kao misused the classroom “by distorting the instructional process” and deviated from “the responsibilities inherent in academic freedom” during the spring 2024 and fall 2025 semesters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kao maintains that he followed university policy by making the comments outside of official class time. He said his suspension is part of what’s called “\u003ca href=\"https://read.dukeupress.edu/critical-times/article/8/1/1/400618/Beyond-the-Palestine-Exception\">the Palestine exception\u003c/a>,” or the selective enforcement of rules to restrict Palestinian advocacy. Kao questioned whether he would have been suspended if he criticized the U.S. government or international issues that have drawn \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/09/23/with-3-million-gift-berkeley-prepares-to-build-premier-ukrainian-studies-program/\">condemnation\u003c/a> by the university, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066692\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12066692 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still-1536x864.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/Peyrin-at-Regents-meeting-still-1200x675.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peyrin Kao speaking at a UC Regents meeting on Sept. 17, 2025, at UCSF Mission Bay. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Peyrin Kao )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s this gaping exception in this so-called free speech that our university and our country champions,” Kao told KQED. “The university loves to talk about how they are ‘the free speech university,’ ‘the home of the free speech movement,’ … but when it comes to Palestine: ‘Sorry, we’re drawing the line, your free speech does not apply.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore declined to comment, saying the university doesn’t comment on confidential personnel matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Hermalin’s report, Kao was accused of twice violating Regents’ Policy 2301, a \u003ca href=\"https://evcp.berkeley.edu/news/political-advocacy-academic-freedom-and-instruction\">rule\u003c/a> that explicitly prohibits “political indoctrination” as misuse of the classroom and has been frequently cited by the university to regulate campus protest in the wake of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent analysis by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062192/uc-berkeley-law-school-says-school-likely-violated-civil-rights-of-pro-palestinian-protesters\">Berkeley law students found that the university’s administration\u003c/a> enforces the rule more harshly against faculty who speak in support of Palestinians, and Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Bay Area office, said the policy’s vague language lends itself to weaponization against Palestine advocacy.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“One very important question: Is the policy being enforced in an even-handed way?” said Eugene Volokh, a former First Amendment law scholar at UCLA. “I do think that people ought to be asking, well, are you doing this fairly with regard to all viewpoints?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volokh and other free speech advocates, however, questioned whether an argument for pedagogical autonomy works in this case, and argued that Kao’s use of the classroom to advocate for his political beliefs may have gone a step too far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In general, the protection of free speech and academic freedom of students and faculty is essential to providing for the education of students and teaching them how to think — the university’s chief role, Volokh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the same time, we have to recognize that in order for the educational process to work, there have to be limits on what is said in the classroom,” he continued. “In a classroom, I’m talking to a captive audience of students who are there to learn a particular subject, presumably not for political indoctrination.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The suspension is not Kao’s first brush with the administration over his vocal support for Palestinian human rights: the letter notes a 2023 censure by a former chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences over the school’s anti-advocacy policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the beginning of the school year, Kao’s name appeared on a list of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055827/uc-berkeley-gives-trump-administration-160-names-in-antisemitism-investigation\">160 staff and faculty members whose identities UC Berkeley disclosed to the federal Department of Education\u003c/a> as part of what the university described as an antisemitism investigation. Around the same time, Kao began a 38-day hunger strike to protest the war and “how our tech is being to fuel genocide in Gaza,” the lecturer told KQED’s The Bay in October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058103\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058103\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250929_UCBERKELEY_GC-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250929_UCBERKELEY_GC-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250929_UCBERKELEY_GC-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250929_UCBERKELEY_GC-11-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sather Tower at UC Berkeley in Berkeley on Sept. 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In April 2024, after dismissing students of an introductory computer science course at the end of his last lecture of the semester, Kao spoke for about four minutes about ethics in technology — using Google’s collaboration with the Israeli military as an example — and expressed solidarity with fellow educators in Gaza, according to the university’s report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kao made those comments after the end of class, and prefaced his remarks by saying that students were free to leave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But again, if you want to go, then I don’t take any offense. It’s all good. And I will try not to waste too much of your time because it’s after 2 [pm],” Kao said, according to a transcription created by the university.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, Kao drew attention to his hunger strike in class, informing students that he was in poor health due to his activism — without explicitly stating that the act was in protest of the war in Gaza.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Just a heads up that the lectures I give may be a little bit wobbly and poor quality,” Kao allegedly said during a class in the fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on these statements, the university determined that Kao “misused” his authority over students. Even without explicit acknowledgement of the advocacy during class time, the “visible toll” of the hunger strike, and Kao’s own admission that the strike may have affected his teaching, was enough for the university to determine it a violation of policy, Hermalin wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The University Council–American Federation of Teachers, the union that represents lecturers, filed a grievance against the “wrongful discipline” of Kao, said field representative Jessica Conte. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.stem4pal.org/\">STEM 4 Palestine\u003c/a>, a campus group that Kao co-founded, announced a hunger strike beginning Wednesday, in solidarity with Kao and other “repressed academics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Peyrin is known as a committed educator. He is not just committed to students at Berkeley,” the group told KQED by email. “Putting his own body on the line, he demonstrated public commitment to the students of Palestine, whose universities have been bombed into rubble using technology our university builds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kao maintained that all of the discussions in question took place outside of official class time, during an optional lecture that many students elected not to attend, and that the hunger strike took place entirely outside of the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were very careful not to talk about it in class with any of our students or any of my students or my staff. And it was something that I think is totally protected by the First Amendment, because I’m doing it in my own capacity,” Kao said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12030970\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12030970\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1358\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-800x543.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-1020x693.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-1536x1043.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/GettyImages-2149730456-1920x1304.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a tent encampment in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on April 22, 2024, in Berkeley, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He also pushed back against the university’s claims that his ethics discussion — and his presentation on cloud-computing contracts between Google and Amazon with Israel — was not germane to the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are companies that our students are going to work for. We’re giving our students the tools that they’re then going to use to go and work for these companies and others that are complicit in this ongoing American-Israeli genocide in Gaza,” Kao said. “When you don’t talk about this, that is also making a political decision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Academic freedom enshrined in the First Amendment protects a professor’s right to discuss pedagogically relevant material during class, and allows some breathing room — as long as it’s furthering the purpose of the course, said Zach Greenberg, director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thefire.org/defending-your-rights/legal-support/faculty-legal-defense-fund\">Faculty Legal Defense Fund\u003c/a> at advocacy group FIRE. However, the university has some leeway to limit free speech of faculty within the bounds of the institution’s own academic freedom and, ultimately, to make the judgment call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The question that we always ask when it comes to political speech is, what’s related to the class and what were they speaking as a professor or as a private citizen?” Greenberg said. “And if you’re going on tangents during class or expressing a political advocacy to students during class as a professor, you’re on company time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a California state employee, Kao was entitled to a Skelly hearing, in which the proposed disciplinary action is reviewed by a third party. The lecturer met with Eric Meyer, the dean of UC Berkeley’s School of Information, but his appeal was denied, Kao said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s currently working to \u003ca href=\"https://chuffed.org/project/157643-make-back-peyrins-salary\">fundraise\u003c/a> the salary he will lose for the next semester, about $68,000, Kao said, which he vowed to donate to mutual-aid efforts in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/tgoldberg\">\u003cem>Ted Goldberg\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">West Contra Costa County teachers\u003c/a> agreed to end their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066054/after-west-contra-costa-teachers-launch-strike-both-sides-will-return-to-the-table\">first-ever strike\u003c/a> early Wednesday, after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the school district overnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators will return to regular classroom instruction on Thursday, a week after they first walked off the job, according to the United Teachers of Richmond and the school district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our fight for stability and respect was not easy and is not over. But make no mistake, our historic strike has broken a vicious cycle of neglect and disinvestment,” union president Francisco Ortiz said in a statement. “We are committed now, more than ever, to improving learning conditions for our students, because when they thrive, our communities thrive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two-year agreement includes 8% raises over that period for all members, and additional wage increases for special education teachers. The West Contra Costa Unified School District will offer a 100% employer-paid family health care benefit by June 2027 and commit to other provisions that improve classroom conditions and protect international teachers from the threat of changing immigration regulations, such as new high price tags for H-1B visas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tentative agreement, which the district said is framed around a proposal from the school board, still needs to be ratified by the union and formally ratified by the board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers and families play with a parachute as children run under during a strike rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on December 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This contract is a strong foundation for us to continue to build the learning environments our students deserve,” said Gabrielle Micheletti, union vice president and co-bargaining chair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ortiz told KQED that the union was “encouraged and excited” that the board was aligning with their vision for district schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UTR and the school district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">began negotiating for a contract\u003c/a> to span the current and next school year eight months ago. Over more than a dozen bargaining sessions, the parties failed to reach a consensus on wages and health care coverage, among other issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union’s initial ask was a 10% raise over two years and full benefit coverage, while the district’s final offer came out to just a 3% salary increase during that time and some additional benefit coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WCCUSD said it made that offer despite a budget shortfall. The union said it could, and must, offer more, prompting the work stoppage that began last week.[aside postID=news_12066401 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00616_TV-KQED.jpg']The strike disrupted instruction across WCCUSD’s 56 schools as many families kept their students home. On the first day of the strike, more than 1,300 of the district’s 28,000 students registered for an independent study curriculum they could complete for attendance credit as an alternative to coming in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the first two days of the strike, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066401/west-contra-costa-teachers-strike-continues-as-support-staff-return-to-work\">teachers were joined\u003c/a> by 1,400 district custodians, food service workers and bus drivers represented by Teamsters Local 856, who had also been in unfruitful contract negotiations with the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract over the weekend, allowing some school operations to resume on Monday, but classroom interruptions continued through the start of this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the strike, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said that schools would “provide safe and supportive classrooms and learning activities” and continue to provide meals for students. She noted, though, that it would not feel like normal days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Ortiz said on the picket lines, the union received strong support from families and elected leaders. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond urged the parties to return to the negotiating table Sunday, offering to convene bargaining teams the following day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They see our students go disinvested in for far too long, and they know that change is necessary,” Ortiz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066311\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francisco Ortiz speaks at a rally during the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He said the union will continue to push for smaller class sizes and improvements to special education programs in the future. According to Ortiz, the district’s special education director and superintendent were not present in bargaining sessions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that that’s a bigger fight ahead for special education, when we have leadership that is actually engaged in these processes,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since bargaining continued past 2 a.m., Wednesday, the day will be an optional classroom preparation day for teachers before classes resume on Thursday. Schools will remain open, as they have throughout the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are relieved that the strike is over and our students and teachers will be reunited,” the district said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/aaliahmad\">\u003cem>Ayah Ali-Ahmad\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">West Contra Costa County teachers\u003c/a> agreed to end their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066054/after-west-contra-costa-teachers-launch-strike-both-sides-will-return-to-the-table\">first-ever strike\u003c/a> early Wednesday, after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the school district overnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators will return to regular classroom instruction on Thursday, a week after they first walked off the job, according to the United Teachers of Richmond and the school district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our fight for stability and respect was not easy and is not over. But make no mistake, our historic strike has broken a vicious cycle of neglect and disinvestment,” union president Francisco Ortiz said in a statement. “We are committed now, more than ever, to improving learning conditions for our students, because when they thrive, our communities thrive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two-year agreement includes 8% raises over that period for all members, and additional wage increases for special education teachers. The West Contra Costa Unified School District will offer a 100% employer-paid family health care benefit by June 2027 and commit to other provisions that improve classroom conditions and protect international teachers from the threat of changing immigration regulations, such as new high price tags for H-1B visas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tentative agreement, which the district said is framed around a proposal from the school board, still needs to be ratified by the union and formally ratified by the board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers and families play with a parachute as children run under during a strike rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on December 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This contract is a strong foundation for us to continue to build the learning environments our students deserve,” said Gabrielle Micheletti, union vice president and co-bargaining chair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ortiz told KQED that the union was “encouraged and excited” that the board was aligning with their vision for district schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UTR and the school district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">began negotiating for a contract\u003c/a> to span the current and next school year eight months ago. Over more than a dozen bargaining sessions, the parties failed to reach a consensus on wages and health care coverage, among other issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union’s initial ask was a 10% raise over two years and full benefit coverage, while the district’s final offer came out to just a 3% salary increase during that time and some additional benefit coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>WCCUSD said it made that offer despite a budget shortfall. The union said it could, and must, offer more, prompting the work stoppage that began last week.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The strike disrupted instruction across WCCUSD’s 56 schools as many families kept their students home. On the first day of the strike, more than 1,300 of the district’s 28,000 students registered for an independent study curriculum they could complete for attendance credit as an alternative to coming in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the first two days of the strike, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066401/west-contra-costa-teachers-strike-continues-as-support-staff-return-to-work\">teachers were joined\u003c/a> by 1,400 district custodians, food service workers and bus drivers represented by Teamsters Local 856, who had also been in unfruitful contract negotiations with the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract over the weekend, allowing some school operations to resume on Monday, but classroom interruptions continued through the start of this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the strike, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said that schools would “provide safe and supportive classrooms and learning activities” and continue to provide meals for students. She noted, though, that it would not feel like normal days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Ortiz said on the picket lines, the union received strong support from families and elected leaders. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond urged the parties to return to the negotiating table Sunday, offering to convene bargaining teams the following day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They see our students go disinvested in for far too long, and they know that change is necessary,” Ortiz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066311\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francisco Ortiz speaks at a rally during the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He said the union will continue to push for smaller class sizes and improvements to special education programs in the future. According to Ortiz, the district’s special education director and superintendent were not present in bargaining sessions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that that’s a bigger fight ahead for special education, when we have leadership that is actually engaged in these processes,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since bargaining continued past 2 a.m., Wednesday, the day will be an optional classroom preparation day for teachers before classes resume on Thursday. Schools will remain open, as they have throughout the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are relieved that the strike is over and our students and teachers will be reunited,” the district said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/aaliahmad\">\u003cem>Ayah Ali-Ahmad\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A hearing in the case of pro-Palestinian protesters arrested for breaking into and vandalizing the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/stanford-university\">Stanford University\u003c/a> president’s office was marked Tuesday by heated discussions over the word genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the court session focused on pretrial motions — which attorneys and the judge use to lay out the ground rules for a trial — a debate over whether the term genocide should be allowed during the proceedings elicited the most impassioned arguments from defense attorneys and a deputy district attorney alike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, defense attorneys and the county prosecutor verbally sparred over whether Israel’s actions in Gaza being characterized as a genocide is a settled fact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Using the word genocide is the same as saying the sky is blue. It is what it is,” Leah Gillis, a defense attorney in the case, said in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Robert Baker, the prosecutor heading up the case for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, said Gillis’ comment was offensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s absolutely absurd. And I think there’s people who were murdered in World War II that would probably think that the word genocide is a lot different than just the word blue,” Baker said, raising his voice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flashpoint between attorneys in court stemmed from discussions on Tuesday about one of the central fights in the case thus far: the motivations of the protesters during their action on June 5, 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066600\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-4_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-4_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-4_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-4_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Robert Baker listens during a Dec. 9, 2025, pretrial hearing in San José in the case of a group of pro-Palestinian protesters charged with vandalism and conspiracy for breaking into the Stanford University president’s office last year. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gillis and other defense attorneys representing the five former and current Stanford students in the trial have emphasized in court filings and in court on Tuesday that their clients’ actions were motivated by what they believe is a genocide in Gaza, and their protest was aimed at saving Palestinian lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The prosecution has questioned the validity of those arguments and has tried to limit the scope of what the jury could be influenced by during the trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very clear the whole point of this argument is to prevent the defense from blaming a country that is currently litigating that very point,” Baker said of Israel’s dispute over its actions being labeled as genocide. “It is currently the subject of litigation in the United Nations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Hanley Chew ultimately agreed to allow the use of the word genocide, he asked defense attorneys to be “very judicious” about it, and warned that if he felt they overused it, he would change his mind.[aside postID=news_12064351 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251117-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-7_qed.jpg']“I’m not going to exclude the use of the word genocide, but I don’t want the word genocide paraded throughout this trial. And if it is, I will exclude it,” Chew said. “As all of you have pointed out, the word genocide is very powerful and is very politically charged. And if I feel that the parties are exploiting that word with their own use … I will exclude its further use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The courtroom at the Hall of Justice in San José was packed with several dozen people on Tuesday, nearly all of whom appeared to be supporting the protesters and donning keffiyehs, patterned black and white scarves that have become a visible signifier of Palestinian solidarity and resistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group of what was 12 protesters said on social media at the time they entered the university offices that they wanted Stanford leaders to “address their role in enabling and profiting from the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The action came amid a series of larger campus demonstrations aimed at pressuring the school to divest from companies that support Israel’s military bombardment in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys emphasized that international bodies and experts, such as the International Association of Genocide Scholars and an independent United Nations commission, have labeled Israel’s actions genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using a word like genocide is “setting the stage” for what was in the minds of their clients when they took their actions, Gillis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062229\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062229\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Hoover Tower on the Stanford University campus in Stanford on Oct. 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The prosecution asked the court to bar all use of the word genocide, arguing it is “inflammatory” and could prejudice the case, and also sought to exclude explanations of the motives of the protesters during testimony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baker said the motives of the protesters are irrelevant to a jury trying to decide whether they are guilty of felony vandalism and conspiracy charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they were protesting the Gaza War, if they were protesting the 2020 election, if they were protesting President Biden, if they were protesting President Trump, it makes no difference,” Baker said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re going to transform this trial into a political forum rather than a search for the truth and determinative facts,” Baker said. “I think there needs to be significant limitations to sanitize what is presented to a jury.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judge Chew took a middle stance in his ruling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062228\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062228\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-3-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-3-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-3-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students walk and bike past the fountain outside Memorial Auditorium at Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m not going to do a blanket prohibition on defendants speaking about their motivation. However, I will severely limit that ability to speak about motivation,” Chew said, noting he would ban any hearsay evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chew also decided to exclude, for now, testimony from a professor of human rights whom Gillis argued the defense should be able to use during the trial as an expert witness, to help establish facts around “Palestine and the genocide and the motivations of these young people in their request to Stanford to divest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point during the hearing, some people in the audience of the courtroom chuckled, sighed or let out brief comments in response to arguments from Baker, prompting Chew to later issue a warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the court, and you should act in accordance with the fact that you are in a courtroom. If there are any additional outbursts, I will clear this courtroom. You understand that?” Chew said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter Taylor-Black, one of the defendants, said the trial amounts to “political persecution.”[aside postID=news_12065375 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/240508-Berkeley-High-File-MD-03_qed.jpg']Taylor-Black said the case from prosecutors feels “meant to discourage future student activists from acting on the things they believe in in the ways that student activists have acted in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While students at campuses across the country were arrested last spring for Gaza-related demonstrations, few of those arrests resulted in felony charges or trials, making the Stanford case unusual. And defense attorneys argued earlier this year that the District Attorney’s office was overcharging the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The five defendants chose to go to trial last month, after six other protesters who were charged in the case entered into mental health diversion programs, or indicated they would take a court-offered deal that would include pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges, with a pathway to potential dismissal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One other protester, Jack Richardson, served as a witness for prosecutors in a grand jury indictment and is now enrolled in a youth deferred entry of judgment program. Such programs allow young people to eventually have a charge dismissed if they do not commit crimes while free, and often include rehabilitative requirements like counseling and community service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Germán González, also a defendant in the trial, said after the court hearing that it was disheartening to hear “genocide denialism” in the courtroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Throughout this sort of fear and anxiety that I do feel in the courtroom, I am just reminding myself that it is a privilege,” González said. “Nothing that happens in a courtroom or what happened to me is as severe as what’s happening to the Palestinians, who are facing genocide right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More pretrial conferences are scheduled this week, including a hearing over whether or not the provost of Stanford, Jenny Martinez, will be called to testify as a witness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jury selection in the trial is set to begin in early January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Robert Baker, the prosecutor heading up the case for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, said Gillis’ comment was offensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s absolutely absurd. And I think there’s people who were murdered in World War II that would probably think that the word genocide is a lot different than just the word blue,” Baker said, raising his voice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The flashpoint between attorneys in court stemmed from discussions on Tuesday about one of the central fights in the case thus far: the motivations of the protesters during their action on June 5, 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066600\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-4_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-4_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-4_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251209-STANFORDTRIAL-JG-4_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Robert Baker listens during a Dec. 9, 2025, pretrial hearing in San José in the case of a group of pro-Palestinian protesters charged with vandalism and conspiracy for breaking into the Stanford University president’s office last year. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gillis and other defense attorneys representing the five former and current Stanford students in the trial have emphasized in court filings and in court on Tuesday that their clients’ actions were motivated by what they believe is a genocide in Gaza, and their protest was aimed at saving Palestinian lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The prosecution has questioned the validity of those arguments and has tried to limit the scope of what the jury could be influenced by during the trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very clear the whole point of this argument is to prevent the defense from blaming a country that is currently litigating that very point,” Baker said of Israel’s dispute over its actions being labeled as genocide. “It is currently the subject of litigation in the United Nations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Hanley Chew ultimately agreed to allow the use of the word genocide, he asked defense attorneys to be “very judicious” about it, and warned that if he felt they overused it, he would change his mind.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’m not going to exclude the use of the word genocide, but I don’t want the word genocide paraded throughout this trial. And if it is, I will exclude it,” Chew said. “As all of you have pointed out, the word genocide is very powerful and is very politically charged. And if I feel that the parties are exploiting that word with their own use … I will exclude its further use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The courtroom at the Hall of Justice in San José was packed with several dozen people on Tuesday, nearly all of whom appeared to be supporting the protesters and donning keffiyehs, patterned black and white scarves that have become a visible signifier of Palestinian solidarity and resistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group of what was 12 protesters said on social media at the time they entered the university offices that they wanted Stanford leaders to “address their role in enabling and profiting from the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The action came amid a series of larger campus demonstrations aimed at pressuring the school to divest from companies that support Israel’s military bombardment in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys emphasized that international bodies and experts, such as the International Association of Genocide Scholars and an independent United Nations commission, have labeled Israel’s actions genocide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using a word like genocide is “setting the stage” for what was in the minds of their clients when they took their actions, Gillis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062229\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062229\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of Hoover Tower on the Stanford University campus in Stanford on Oct. 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The prosecution asked the court to bar all use of the word genocide, arguing it is “inflammatory” and could prejudice the case, and also sought to exclude explanations of the motives of the protesters during testimony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Baker said the motives of the protesters are irrelevant to a jury trying to decide whether they are guilty of felony vandalism and conspiracy charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they were protesting the Gaza War, if they were protesting the 2020 election, if they were protesting President Biden, if they were protesting President Trump, it makes no difference,” Baker said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re going to transform this trial into a political forum rather than a search for the truth and determinative facts,” Baker said. “I think there needs to be significant limitations to sanitize what is presented to a jury.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judge Chew took a middle stance in his ruling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062228\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062228\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-3-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-3-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20251029_STANFORDFILE-_GH-3-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students walk and bike past the fountain outside Memorial Auditorium at Stanford University in Stanford on Oct. 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m not going to do a blanket prohibition on defendants speaking about their motivation. However, I will severely limit that ability to speak about motivation,” Chew said, noting he would ban any hearsay evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chew also decided to exclude, for now, testimony from a professor of human rights whom Gillis argued the defense should be able to use during the trial as an expert witness, to help establish facts around “Palestine and the genocide and the motivations of these young people in their request to Stanford to divest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point during the hearing, some people in the audience of the courtroom chuckled, sighed or let out brief comments in response to arguments from Baker, prompting Chew to later issue a warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the court, and you should act in accordance with the fact that you are in a courtroom. If there are any additional outbursts, I will clear this courtroom. You understand that?” Chew said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter Taylor-Black, one of the defendants, said the trial amounts to “political persecution.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Taylor-Black said the case from prosecutors feels “meant to discourage future student activists from acting on the things they believe in in the ways that student activists have acted in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While students at campuses across the country were arrested last spring for Gaza-related demonstrations, few of those arrests resulted in felony charges or trials, making the Stanford case unusual. And defense attorneys argued earlier this year that the District Attorney’s office was overcharging the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The five defendants chose to go to trial last month, after six other protesters who were charged in the case entered into mental health diversion programs, or indicated they would take a court-offered deal that would include pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges, with a pathway to potential dismissal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One other protester, Jack Richardson, served as a witness for prosecutors in a grand jury indictment and is now enrolled in a youth deferred entry of judgment program. Such programs allow young people to eventually have a charge dismissed if they do not commit crimes while free, and often include rehabilitative requirements like counseling and community service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Germán González, also a defendant in the trial, said after the court hearing that it was disheartening to hear “genocide denialism” in the courtroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Throughout this sort of fear and anxiety that I do feel in the courtroom, I am just reminding myself that it is a privilege,” González said. “Nothing that happens in a courtroom or what happened to me is as severe as what’s happening to the Palestinians, who are facing genocide right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More pretrial conferences are scheduled this week, including a hearing over whether or not the provost of Stanford, Jenny Martinez, will be called to testify as a witness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jury selection in the trial is set to begin in early January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "west-contra-costa-teachers-strike-continues-as-support-staff-return-to-work",
"title": "West Contra Costa Teachers Strike Continues as Support Staff Return to Work",
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"content": "\u003cp>Teachers in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">West Contra Costa Unified School District\u003c/a> entered their third day of a strike on Monday, with some maintenance and service workers returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While teachers rallied at the Richmond Civic Center, calling for higher wages, smaller class sizes and better benefit coverage, the union representing custodians, food service workers and bus drivers reached a tentative agreement with the district over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The split marked a significant development in the 10-month-long labor dispute simmering in the district’s 56 school sites. Teamsters Local 856 \u003ca href=\"https://teamsters856.org/wccusd/\">announced\u003c/a> Sunday evening that they had secured a three-year contract that includes a 3% retroactive raise for 2025, a 4% raise for 2026, and fully paid medical benefits starting in January 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With support staff back on the job, some school operations resumed Monday, even as instruction remained disrupted by the absence of the United Teachers of Richmond, which represents roughly 1,500 educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the community rally, Christina Baronian, a teacher at Lake Elementary and a member of the bargaining team, told the crowd that UTR worked late into Saturday night to provide a comprehensive counterproposal, only to be met with silence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should be back in our classrooms right now,” Baronian said. “But because the district decided that they didn’t need to show up yesterday and continue negotiating with us, here we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066308\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066308\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00960_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00960_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00960_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00960_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers and families continue their strike at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In particular, staff expressed frustrations over the timeline of negotiations, with both sides offering conflicting narratives about the schedule. In a statement issued Monday morning, UTR leadership claimed they were notified that the district was “refusing to return to the bargaining table until sometime next week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The District’s lack of urgency and refusal to bargain in good faith is the wrong message to send to our community,” the union said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, WCCUSD officials said the district had explicitly invited the union to continue negotiations on Dec. 9.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The District’s fiscal team, with the assistance of statewide fiscal experts, are thoroughly yet promptly evaluating the counterproposal,” the district said in a statement. “We are making some progress toward resolution and hope to return to regular school operations this week.”[aside postID=news_12066054 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01085_TV-KQED.jpg']The district has argued it is facing tight budget constraints and must ensure it can meet long-term financial obligations while maintaining core services. But the union said the district can afford its ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Richmond’s Civic Center, educators and students spoke passionately about the daily realities of the classroom, describing a “staffing crisis” caused by low retention. They argued this has resulted in overcrowded classes, a reliance on long-term substitutes and poor facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students described having to sometimes sit on classroom floors due to a lack of desks or endure classrooms that are freezing cold or overheating due to crumbling infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re here one more day because the district has failed to provide our teachers with an offer that respects their work,” said Sasha Hahn, a student at El Cerrito High School and the student member of the Board of Education. “Every day that the district doesn’t negotiate with our teachers is another day that us as students are being neglected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rally drew support from local politicians and labor leaders from across the state. Cecily Myart-Cruz, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, told the crowd that districts rely on “fear, uncertainty and doubt” to break strikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teacher Jackie Reyes and her daughter Adelina join other West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers on strike at El Cerrito High School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Local officials, including Richmond City Councilmember Soheila Bana and Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, also urged the district and WCCUSD Superintendent Cheryl Cotton to act faster to work out a solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a chance this morning to reach out and communicate with the superintendent to encourage her to encourage the district bargaining team to get back to the table today,” Gioia said. “There is nothing more important than getting schools back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eryka Cheval, a parent of two daughters at Montalvin Manor Elementary, questioned the district’s budgeting priorities and echoed the union’s sentiment that money is being mismanaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our teachers want to be back with our students. And the district is the only thing getting in the way,” Cheval said to the crowd. “Enough is enough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said he is monitoring the situation. According to the district, Thurmond has “urged the Parties to continue working toward a resolution that will end the strike.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Teachers in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">West Contra Costa Unified School District\u003c/a> entered their third day of a strike on Monday, with some maintenance and service workers returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While teachers rallied at the Richmond Civic Center, calling for higher wages, smaller class sizes and better benefit coverage, the union representing custodians, food service workers and bus drivers reached a tentative agreement with the district over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The split marked a significant development in the 10-month-long labor dispute simmering in the district’s 56 school sites. Teamsters Local 856 \u003ca href=\"https://teamsters856.org/wccusd/\">announced\u003c/a> Sunday evening that they had secured a three-year contract that includes a 3% retroactive raise for 2025, a 4% raise for 2026, and fully paid medical benefits starting in January 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With support staff back on the job, some school operations resumed Monday, even as instruction remained disrupted by the absence of the United Teachers of Richmond, which represents roughly 1,500 educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the community rally, Christina Baronian, a teacher at Lake Elementary and a member of the bargaining team, told the crowd that UTR worked late into Saturday night to provide a comprehensive counterproposal, only to be met with silence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should be back in our classrooms right now,” Baronian said. “But because the district decided that they didn’t need to show up yesterday and continue negotiating with us, here we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066308\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066308\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00960_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00960_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00960_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00960_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers and families continue their strike at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In particular, staff expressed frustrations over the timeline of negotiations, with both sides offering conflicting narratives about the schedule. In a statement issued Monday morning, UTR leadership claimed they were notified that the district was “refusing to return to the bargaining table until sometime next week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The District’s lack of urgency and refusal to bargain in good faith is the wrong message to send to our community,” the union said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, WCCUSD officials said the district had explicitly invited the union to continue negotiations on Dec. 9.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The District’s fiscal team, with the assistance of statewide fiscal experts, are thoroughly yet promptly evaluating the counterproposal,” the district said in a statement. “We are making some progress toward resolution and hope to return to regular school operations this week.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The district has argued it is facing tight budget constraints and must ensure it can meet long-term financial obligations while maintaining core services. But the union said the district can afford its ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Richmond’s Civic Center, educators and students spoke passionately about the daily realities of the classroom, describing a “staffing crisis” caused by low retention. They argued this has resulted in overcrowded classes, a reliance on long-term substitutes and poor facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students described having to sometimes sit on classroom floors due to a lack of desks or endure classrooms that are freezing cold or overheating due to crumbling infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re here one more day because the district has failed to provide our teachers with an offer that respects their work,” said Sasha Hahn, a student at El Cerrito High School and the student member of the Board of Education. “Every day that the district doesn’t negotiate with our teachers is another day that us as students are being neglected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rally drew support from local politicians and labor leaders from across the state. Cecily Myart-Cruz, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, told the crowd that districts rely on “fear, uncertainty and doubt” to break strikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teacher Jackie Reyes and her daughter Adelina join other West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers on strike at El Cerrito High School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Local officials, including Richmond City Councilmember Soheila Bana and Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, also urged the district and WCCUSD Superintendent Cheryl Cotton to act faster to work out a solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a chance this morning to reach out and communicate with the superintendent to encourage her to encourage the district bargaining team to get back to the table today,” Gioia said. “There is nothing more important than getting schools back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eryka Cheval, a parent of two daughters at Montalvin Manor Elementary, questioned the district’s budgeting priorities and echoed the union’s sentiment that money is being mismanaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our teachers want to be back with our students. And the district is the only thing getting in the way,” Cheval said to the crowd. “Enough is enough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said he is monitoring the situation. According to the district, Thurmond has “urged the Parties to continue working toward a resolution that will end the strike.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "As West Contra Costa Teachers Strike, Negotiations Seem to Show Little Progress",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, Dec. 5:\u003c/strong> Striking teachers and West Contra Costa Unified School District officials reunited for bargaining Thursday afternoon after the first day of the walkout, but the two sides came away with strikingly contradictory descriptions of the meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am pleased to share that the district and UTR negotiations teams met this afternoon, and we are making progress on our negotiations,” Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said in a video message Thursday night. “It was a productive discussion, and we are making our way forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, during a Friday morning rally, union president Francisco Ortiz said the meeting was brief, district officials were 30 minutes late and they had no written proposals to offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We let them know that we’re prepared to negotiate with them when they have something written down that we can consider,” Ortiz said. “Right now, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency regarding the settling of the contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to questions about the conflicting messaging or attendance figures for the first day of the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both sides have said they’re open to continued negotiations in the hopes of reaching a deal and ending the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066311\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francisco Ortiz speaks at a rally during the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original story, Dec. 4 \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bundled against the morning cold, teachers marched outside the Nystrom Elementary School entrance in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> early Thursday, cheering as passing cars honked, and carrying yellow and red picket signs reading “We Can’t Wait.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators at all 56 West Contra Costa Unified School District sites picketed before and during school drop-off on the first day of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">an open-ended strike\u003c/a>, marching for higher pay, smaller class sizes and a reduction of the use of long-term substitute teachers and outside contractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Months of negotiations and a mediation process have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065486/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike\">failed to yield an agreement\u003c/a> on a new three-year teaching contract. But Thursday afternoon, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton announced that the district and union had agreed to renegotiate and would meet at 4 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teacher Jackie Reyes and her daughter Adelina join other West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers on strike at El Cerrito High School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My hope is that we can reach agreement on salary and benefits and then turn our attention to collaboratively outline an action plan to address the deep-rooted, systemic issues that exist in our organization,” Cotton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district is facing a projected deficit and has maintained that its budget cannot support additional raises for teachers without risking a state takeover. Union members have argued that the district overspends on outside contractors rather than investing in district educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside Nystrom Elementary on Thursday morning, striking teachers chanted slogans such as “Education is a right, that is why we have to fight.”[aside postID=news_12065732 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/250723-WEST-CO-CO-ICE-MD-04-KQED.jpg']“I’ve been here for 13 years and seen a lot of teachers come and go and the impact that has on our kids,” said Jocelyn Rohan, a sixth-grade teacher at Nystrom Elementary. “It’s hard to want to stay somewhere when you’re not being paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many families chose to keep their children home as the strike began. Of about 440 students enrolled at Nystrom Elementary, just 87 attended class on Thursday, according to the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Missing school to support the strike is not considered an excused absence by the district. For families that did not want to come to school, the district offered an alternative independent study curriculum that students could do at home and still receive school attendance credit. About 1,300 students registered for the curriculum out of the 28,000 in the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people work, they ask for raises so they can support their families,” Nystrom Elementary parent Nidia Lopez said in Spanish, through a teacher interpreter. “If they don’t get a raise, they’ll find work somewhere else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez brought her children to school, but she decided to take them home once she realized there was a strike, saying that there wasn’t a point to having her children in school if the teachers weren’t there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066163\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066163\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nedea Lopez walks her children to school as West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers strike outside Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other parents brought their children to school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrishiana Lee, parent of three children in the district, told KQED over a phone call as her children were being dropped off by their father that she supported the union but was frustrated with the strike. All of her children have special needs, she said, and she didn’t have an alternative for the services they needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the strike, my baby can’t go to school,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For weeks, the district has been planning to keep schools open in the case of a strike. In October, the school board voted to pay up to $550 per day for substitute teachers during the strike period, up from the regular day rate of up to $280.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers and families play with a parachute as children run under during a strike rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on December 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In an email to parents and the school community on Wednesday, Superintendent Cotton said that schools would “provide safe and supportive classrooms and learning activities” and that meals would continue to be served to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cotton has expressed empathy for the union’s demands, but she has maintained that the district’s budget cannot afford them and that the strike is harmful to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The strike will not fix these problems,” Cotton said in an email statement on Wednesday. “A strike takes teachers out of classrooms, harms relationships, and makes it harder to recruit and retain strong educators. … We are heartbroken for our students. They deserve stability, care, and a learning environment where adults work together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Meghan Crebbin-Coates is a student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and a contributor to KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, Dec. 5:\u003c/strong> Striking teachers and West Contra Costa Unified School District officials reunited for bargaining Thursday afternoon after the first day of the walkout, but the two sides came away with strikingly contradictory descriptions of the meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am pleased to share that the district and UTR negotiations teams met this afternoon, and we are making progress on our negotiations,” Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said in a video message Thursday night. “It was a productive discussion, and we are making our way forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, during a Friday morning rally, union president Francisco Ortiz said the meeting was brief, district officials were 30 minutes late and they had no written proposals to offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We let them know that we’re prepared to negotiate with them when they have something written down that we can consider,” Ortiz said. “Right now, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency regarding the settling of the contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to questions about the conflicting messaging or attendance figures for the first day of the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both sides have said they’re open to continued negotiations in the hopes of reaching a deal and ending the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066311\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY01296_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francisco Ortiz speaks at a rally during the West Contra Costa United School District rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original story, Dec. 4 \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bundled against the morning cold, teachers marched outside the Nystrom Elementary School entrance in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/richmond\">Richmond\u003c/a> early Thursday, cheering as passing cars honked, and carrying yellow and red picket signs reading “We Can’t Wait.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Educators at all 56 West Contra Costa Unified School District sites picketed before and during school drop-off on the first day of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065732/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-set-to-strike-across-the-bay-area-more-could-follow\">an open-ended strike\u003c/a>, marching for higher pay, smaller class sizes and a reduction of the use of long-term substitute teachers and outside contractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Months of negotiations and a mediation process have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065486/west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike\">failed to yield an agreement\u003c/a> on a new three-year teaching contract. But Thursday afternoon, Superintendent Cheryl Cotton announced that the district and union had agreed to renegotiate and would meet at 4 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066164\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teacher Jackie Reyes and her daughter Adelina join other West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers on strike at El Cerrito High School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My hope is that we can reach agreement on salary and benefits and then turn our attention to collaboratively outline an action plan to address the deep-rooted, systemic issues that exist in our organization,” Cotton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district is facing a projected deficit and has maintained that its budget cannot support additional raises for teachers without risking a state takeover. Union members have argued that the district overspends on outside contractors rather than investing in district educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside Nystrom Elementary on Thursday morning, striking teachers chanted slogans such as “Education is a right, that is why we have to fight.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’ve been here for 13 years and seen a lot of teachers come and go and the impact that has on our kids,” said Jocelyn Rohan, a sixth-grade teacher at Nystrom Elementary. “It’s hard to want to stay somewhere when you’re not being paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many families chose to keep their children home as the strike began. Of about 440 students enrolled at Nystrom Elementary, just 87 attended class on Thursday, according to the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Missing school to support the strike is not considered an excused absence by the district. For families that did not want to come to school, the district offered an alternative independent study curriculum that students could do at home and still receive school attendance credit. About 1,300 students registered for the curriculum out of the 28,000 in the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When people work, they ask for raises so they can support their families,” Nystrom Elementary parent Nidia Lopez said in Spanish, through a teacher interpreter. “If they don’t get a raise, they’ll find work somewhere else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez brought her children to school, but she decided to take them home once she realized there was a strike, saying that there wasn’t a point to having her children in school if the teachers weren’t there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066163\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066163\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/20251204_RT_STRIKE_XZ_05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nedea Lopez walks her children to school as West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers strike outside Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond on Dec. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Xavier Zamora for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other parents brought their children to school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrishiana Lee, parent of three children in the district, told KQED over a phone call as her children were being dropped off by their father that she supported the union but was frustrated with the strike. All of her children have special needs, she said, and she didn’t have an alternative for the services they needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the strike, my baby can’t go to school,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For weeks, the district has been planning to keep schools open in the case of a strike. In October, the school board voted to pay up to $550 per day for substitute teachers during the strike period, up from the regular day rate of up to $280.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066306\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-WCCUSDSTRIKERALLY00410_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified School District teachers and families play with a parachute as children run under during a strike rally at Marina Bay Park in Richmond on December 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In an email to parents and the school community on Wednesday, Superintendent Cotton said that schools would “provide safe and supportive classrooms and learning activities” and that meals would continue to be served to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cotton has expressed empathy for the union’s demands, but she has maintained that the district’s budget cannot afford them and that the strike is harmful to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The strike will not fix these problems,” Cotton said in an email statement on Wednesday. “A strike takes teachers out of classrooms, harms relationships, and makes it harder to recruit and retain strong educators. … We are heartbroken for our students. They deserve stability, care, and a learning environment where adults work together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Meghan Crebbin-Coates is a student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and a contributor to KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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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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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"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",
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"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.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"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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},
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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": {
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"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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"here-and-now": {
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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.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"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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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"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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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"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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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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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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"source": "npr"
},
"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",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"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/",
"meta": {
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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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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"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",
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