California’s state auditor is recommending that all LEAs be required to distribute a housing questionnaire to families following a recent audit that revealed LEAs aren’t doing enough to identify homeless students. While homeless education experts estimate that 5 percent to 10 percent of economically disadvantaged youth experience homelessness, the six LEAs reviewed in the audit identified 3 percent or fewer of their economically disadvantaged youth as experiencing homelessness. With the highest number of people experiencing homelessness in the nation, California has a large population of homeless youth, who are more likely to struggle in school.  Federal funding established by the McKinney‑Vento Act helps states to identify these youth and provide services to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. Under this law, the California Department of Education is responsible for monitoring compliance of LEAs. The audit criticized the CDE for not having a benchmark for identifying LEAs that may be undercounting their homeless students. Of the 2,300 LEAs in California, the CDE monitors about 20 (less than 1 percent) each academic year.  “Considering the severity of homelessness in California, [the CDE’s] review of so few LEAs is concerning,” the report reads.  Read the full audit and complete recommendations at .

Of California’s 306,261 teachers, 34 percent are new hires with substandard credentials, underscoring the state’s teacher shortage. But some districts are feeling the pain more than others, according to data compiled by the Learning Policy Institute.  In many districts — most of them in small or rural communities — 60 percent or more of new hires have substandard credentials. In 42 districts, not a single fully credentialed teacher was hired in 2017-18. The data is displayed in a new interactive map that lets policymakers, advocates, parents and others view key data points at the district or county level, including teacher turnover, teachers age 50 and older and projected student enrollment changes. LPI said these and other issues are driving one of the worst teacher shortages in two decades, which has resulted in an increase in emergency-type permits, substandard credentials and substitutes filling in. A recent LPI study found that a district’s percentage of underprepared teachers is the most significant predictor of low achievement, followed by the share of inexperienced teachers. LPI’s interactive data map is available at .

California recently received a mixed report card on fair school funding from the Education Law Center. In its annual report called “Making the Grade,” researchers analyzed fiscal data and issued ratings to states in three areas based on how fairly they fund their schools. California earned an A on funding distribution — the extent to which additional funds are distributed to districts with high student poverty levels — thanks to the state’s Local Control Funding Formula, which directs additional funds to schools with more at-risk students.  However, the state got a D on funding level (per-pupil revenue from state and local sources) and an F on funding effort (the level of K-12 public education investment as a percentage of state GDP). The report notes that despite being the eighth wealthiest state based on per capita GDP, California has shown low effort when it comes to increasing investment in public schools. Read the full report at

The inflation adjusted bid threshold for K-12 school districts in 2020 is $95,200, according to the California Department of Education. Effective Jan. 1, 2020, school district governing boards will have to competitively bid and award any contracts involving an expenditure of more than $95,200 to the lowest responsible bidder. Contracts subject to competitive bidding include purchase of equipment, materials, or supplies to be furnished, sold, or leased to the school district and repairs as defined by Public Contract Code.  This threshold does not apply to district construction services — the bid limit for construction projects remains at $15,000.