Fact Sheet Health Care Reform in California By Shannon McConville May 12, 2021 Coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act likely kept many Californians insured in 2020.
blog post Reforming California’s Community College System By Hans Johnson, Olga Rodriguez, Marisol Cuellar Mejia May 31, 2019 Community colleges are implementing a number of reforms designed to help more students get a degree or a certificate or transfer to a four-year institution.
blog post Policy Expert Olga Rodriguez to Lead PPIC Higher Education Center By Vicki Hsieh Jul 5, 2022 New director Olga Rodriguez talks about her vision for the PPIC Higher Education Center and discusses the key issues for California’s colleges and universities today.
Report What Happens When Colleges Broaden Access to Transfer-Level Courses? Evidence from California’s Community Colleges By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Olga Rodriguez, Hans Johnson Oct 7, 2019 California community colleges that have significantly expanded access to transfer-level courses—important steps toward degrees and transfers to four-year schools—have seen increased student success, particularly in English. Prompted by a new law (AB 705), placement and curricular reforms are now being enacted system-wide; it will be important to monitor their impact.
Report Crime after Proposition 47 and the Pandemic By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin Sep 11, 2024 After some drug and property felonies were reclassified as misdemeanors under Proposition 47, incarceration fell—as did arrests for these crimes. But Prop 47 may not be the most important change to California criminal justice in recent years; pandemic interventions also had lasting effects. A new report examines the impact of both on incarceration, enforcement, and crime.
blog post Test Scores Show Six-Year Setback for California Students By Darriya Starr, Emmanuel Prunty, Joseph Herrera, Iwunze Ugo Dec 14, 2022 Recently released standardized test scores show sharp declines in proficiency among the state’s fourth graders—reversing nearly six years of progress. The declines were sharpest among Black, Latino, and low-income students but do not appear to be tied to length of school closures during COVID.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: English as a Second Language at California’s Community Colleges By Olga Rodriguez, Laura Hill, Daniel Payares-Montoya, Mary Severance Nov 28, 2022 The community college system is implementing reforms to English as a Second Language pathways aimed at improving student outcomes. Given the link between English proficiency and access to high-wage jobs—and the large number of English Learners at community colleges—these reforms represent a unique opportunity to increase economic mobility.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Examining the Reach of Targeted School Funding By Julien Lafortune, Joseph Herrera, Niu Gao, Stephanie Barton Sep 6, 2023 The Local Control Funding Formula gives California districts additional funds for low-income and other high-need students as well as flexibility around how to spend this money. But this flexibility has raised concerns over whether districts are spending in ways that reach the high-need students and schools who generate the added funds.
