California K-12 schools have spent much of the year reacting to Trump

from Carolyn JonesCalMatters

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Last year was a tumultuous one for California K-12 schools and their 5.8 million students — at least at the federal level. President Donald Trump cut funding to the schools, go destroying the US Department of Education and began an immigration crackdown that left countless families scared to send their children to school.

The state opposed these actions, successfully fought the cut in court funding. But uncertainty persists as the White House looks for ways to overhaul K-12 public education. After school programs, teacher training and Head Start are among the programs that remain at risk of funding cuts. Congress cut additional funding for rural schools last year, but advocates hope it will return in 2026.

But there were bright spots in 2025. Test scores soared after years of post-pandemic malaise. Achievements in reading and maths still lag behind pre-Covid-19 levels, but education officials welcomed the improvements after years of investment in lessons and student wellbeing.

Transitional kindergarten extended to include all 4-year-olds. Almost every district in California now offers free, play-based classes for kids to learn their AB-Cs and 1-2-3s and otherwise prepare for the rigors of elementary school. The expansion gives California the largest early education system in the country.

In hopes of raising reading scores, California also instituted mandatory dyslexia screening and passed a law to overhaul literacy instruction. The new curriculum doesn’t come into effect until 2028, but many schools are already implementing and using dyslexia screening to get extra help for children struggling with reading disorders.

California also passed a law creation of the Office of Civil Rightsdesigned to eliminate discrimination in K-12 schools, especially anti-Semitism. The new law, which stems from a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the state, is expected to provide more transparency and accountability in how schools deal with complaints of discrimination.

Looking ahead

Immigration raids, instability in federal funding and culture war issues are expected to continue to play out in K-12 schools next year. The fate of the US Department of Education will also affect schools, especially special education and civil rights.

California’s budget outlook is also murky. Gov. Gavin Newsom has largely spared K-12 schools from funding cuts over the past few years, but that could change this year as the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office projected a deficit of $18 billion.

On the academic front, schools expect to see reading and math scores improve as the state rolls out new curricula. political, voters will choose a new state superintendent of public instruction to replace Tony Thurmond, who left in 2026 after eight years on the job. Multiple candidates have already entered the race, including former Speaker of Parliament Anthony Rendon.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.