California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s massive $2 billion aid package to address pandemic learning is a sign of failed education policies, according to parents and school board members.
Parents and school board members expressed their frustration over the aid and the lack of help and accountability from schools during the pandemic, according to Fox News. The state will spend the remaining amount of relief funds on tutoring and other ways to help speed up the learning loss recovery.
“Unfortunately, the damage is done, and this should have been a priority to the Department of Education and the Governor,” Chino Valley Unified School District Board President Sonia Shaw told Fox News Digital. “I’m grateful to those who never gave up to ensure resources are used to help students.”
California parents are critiquing the need for more financial aid and poor leadership on the initial front of the pandemic. (RELATED: Teacher Absences Put Strain On Schools As Student Learning Loss Drags On Following Pandemic)
“It’s time for the legislature to cut its ties with teachers’ unions who regularly rebuff any opportunities for educational reform,” Lance Christensen, a father of four students enrolled in a California school district, told Fox News. “Parents who have no real resources or options for their children in poor-performing public schools will see funds go to bureaucrats rather than programs they know will benefit their children.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 24: Doral Academy Red Rock Elementary School fourth grader Reaghan Keeler, 9, takes an online reading class from her bedroom on her first day of distance learning amid the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on August 24, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“Rather than acknowledge how our state’s elected officials have consistently failed millions of children in our public schools, the legislature passed and the governor signed a bill that will not only send more money into our sub-par government schools, but have no real accountability other than reports that no one will read or seriously consider,” Christensen told Fox News.
Newsom signed Senate Bill 153 on June 29, which served as the approval of funds to help students recover from pandemic learning loss, Fox News reported. Nearly every California school was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing students to utilize remote learning services.
The bill was signed as approval of the allocation of funds in response to the Cayla J. v. California case, which was settled in February.
Cayla J. v. California was filed in November 2020 by students and community organizations seeking intervention from the state to provide relief for students and parents, the public counsel website states. The suit alleges that the state failed to ensure access to digital connectivity and devices to support students and parents academically and emotionally.
The Public Counsel website states that the funding will go towards evidence-based programs that increase student outcomes.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reported in 2023 that students of all ages struggle with pandemic learning loss with plummeting math and reading scores. Nearly 70% of students have experienced “chronic absenteeism,” which is missing significant amounts of school.
The youngest students are those who were born during the pandemic and are facing serious behavioral and cognitive issues due to the disruption of early childhood development. Children between four and five years old are reportedly throwing chairs, biting and hitting from the pandemic’s strain on peer interaction.
The education department and Gavin Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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