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In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (also known as the Kerner Commission) to examine racial division and disparities in the United States. In 1968, the Kerner Commission released a report concluding that the nation was “moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.” Without major social changes, the Commission warned, the U.S. faced a “system of apartheid” in its major cities. Today, 50 years after the report was issued, that prediction characterizes most of our large urban areas, where intensifying segregation and concentrated poverty have collided with disparities in school funding to reinforce educational inequality.

For the 2017-18 school year, 80% of California districts reported shortages of qualified teachers and 82% reported hiring underprepared teachers, according to an LPI survey completed by 25 California school districts. Those districts collectively serve a quarter of the state’s students and include urban, suburban, and rural areas. This brief examines how districts experienced teacher supply in the fall of 2017.

This study of California’s recent major school finance reform, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), is among the first to provide evidence of LCFF’s impacts on student outcomes. We found that LCFF-induced increases in school spending led to significant increases in high school graduation rates and academic achievement, particularly among children from low-income families. The evidence suggests that money targeted to students’ needs can make a significant difference in student outcomes and can narrow achievement gaps.

This brief provides California policymakers with recommendations on how to improve access to high-quality early childhood education (ECE) for all children. It is based on a report that examines the ECE practices in 10 counties that vary by region, population density, and child care affordability. The report upon which this brief is based describes the landscape of ECE at the local level as it is shaped by federal and state policies, illuminates challenges that counties face in providing access to high-quality programs, and highlights promising practices.

There is overwhelming evidence that children’s early years, from birth through preschool, are a crucial time for their development, and that high-quality early learning opportunities support children’s school readiness, promote later life success, and yield a return of up to $7 for every $1 invested. Providing access to high-quality ECE for all children in California will require a comprehensive approach to turning an uncoordinated set of underfunded programs into a true system of supports for children, families, and providers. A complement to LPI’s earlier report Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System, this report examines the challenges California’s counties face in providing ECE and provides recommendations for improving access to high-quality ECE for all children.