Promise of CA’s New School Finance Law Hinges On Parents - New America Media

Promise of CA’s New School Finance Law Hinges On Parents - New America Media:

Promise of CA’s New School Finance Law Hinges On Parents

 New America Media, News Report, Peter Schurmann, Posted: Feb 14, 2014


Above: From left to right, EdSource Executive Director Louis Freedberg, Children Now Senior Education Policy Director Samantha Tran and SFUSD Office of Family and Community Engagement Director Ruth Grabowski.

SAN FRANCISCO – Getting parents more involved in their children’s education can be difficult, particularly in poor and immigrant communities. But it’s a challenge school districts in California are now tasked with under the state’s new school finance law, known as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). 

Experts say the law’s success -- LCFF has been hailed by some education reformers as a historic step toward achieving equity across California’s school system -- will ultimately depend on whether or not districts can effectively engage the communities they serve, starting with the parents. 

“This is an opportunity for California to create a better [education] system,” said EdSource Executive Director Louis Freedberg. “But it’s up to parents to make it a meaningful process.”

He noted that prior to LCFF, education reform in California had largely been a top-down affair, with Sacramento issuing marching orders for districts to follow. The new law, signed last year by Gov. Jerry Brown, is expected to “bring some balance” back to the relationship between school districts and the state, by giving districts and their communities more authority in setting spending priorities. 

At a news briefing hosted by New America Media on Wednesday, Freedberg announced the