321Vote

31% drop! "Los Angeles County had 1.6 million students in 2012, and is expected to have 1.1 million in 2031...California has recovered from low birth rates in the past, most recently through higher birth rates among immigrants."

CA must fund more $/student to offset this decline, which in the end is a good thing...maybe even a lower student:teacher ratio.

Plunge in school enrollment is coming, but is California in denial? Columnist Teri Sforza writes that beefing up educational offerings is always a good idea, but that won’t mean more babies.

Due Tues 3/7:
By mail, or
By ballot box by 8pm

"The last fully normal school year Issac remembers is third grade. Now, he's in seventh, with multiple classes each day, a busier schedule and new classmates....Several school leaders also told NPR they worry their students have lost a sense of belonging in the classroom after so much time away."

"In a survey of 21 school districts in rural, suburban and urban areas, NPR found most districts – from New York City to Austin, Texas, to Lawrence, Kan. – still had heightened levels of chronic absenteeism.

Students who are chronically absent are at higher risk of falling behind, scoring lower on standardized tests and even dropping out. And as often happens in education, students who struggle with attendance are also more likely to live in poverty, be children of color or have disabilities."

3 years since the pandemic wrecked attendance, kids still aren't showing up to school By some estimates, chronic absenteeism doubled during the pandemic. Now, about halfway through the most "normal" school year since 2020, the situation hasn't improved in many places.