EDUCATION STUDY
Public schools in California serve more than six million students in 9,000 schools! Our state has 982 school districts varying in size from nine to almost three-quarters of a million students. We are complex and diverse. Every school-age child is constitutionally guaranteed access to a free public education AND is entitled to a quality educational experience without regard to his or her individual educational objectives.
Members of the LWV of California know and understand that a system of quality public education is fundamental to a sustainable democratic society. For that reason, delegates to the LWVC 2003 Convention overwhelmingly adopted the update of our 1985 Education Position. This is a statewide issue for emphasis.
The Education Update Study encompasses School Finance; Governance; Accountability and Assessment; Equitable Access to Quality Education; and The Public's Role in Education.
The forty consensus questions for these complex topics were made available in early October, and local League responses are due early next year.
We have chosen to focus on the School Finance portion of the Study. The September VOTER included the EdSouce article "The Basics of California's School Finance System." Links to background materials and references are available on our website and at www.EdSource.org (click on "School Finances: Resources at a Glance").
The LWVMP will learn more about this Study topic at the November "Lunch and Learn with the League" meeting and at a Unit Study/Consensus meeting to be held Saturday, November 13. Contact us or call 648-VOTE for more information. Please join us in exploring this important topic!
