Newsom’s K-12 approval surges + Kamlager wants answers + Health care worker bill of rights
Happy Thursday, California, and thanks for starting your morning with the Capitol Alert. Get outside and enjoy some fresh air today, appropriately distanced and properly masked.
WE DON’T NEED NO EDUCATION
School is out for spring and summer, that we know. But the Public Policy Institute of California checked in with 1,633 Californians about their perceived state of K-12 education and how parents feel about home schooling their kids during a pandemic.
To start, most Californians applaud both Gov. Gavin Newsom’s and the Legislature’s handling of K-12 education. Newsom’s education approval rating among all adults jumped 20 percent since last April, from 53 to 73 percent.
Nearly two-thirds think public schools are heading in the right direction, while a third is less optimistic. Close to half of those surveyed think the system needs “major changes.”
Most Californians reported COVID-19 as “the biggest problem facing K-12 schools,” followed by lack of funding. The majority of California parents said they’re concerned about providing productive and quality learning at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Households with an income less than $60,000 are more likely to say they’re concerned about home schooling, while whites are “much less likely than parents in other racial/ethnic groups to be concerned,” the report says.
Despite the frustration, 90 percent of parents approve of their local district’s decision to close schools.
Other notable numbers:
Priority populations —80 percent of Californians are worried that low-income students won’t be ready for college, while 90 percent said the state has to work harder for English language learners in the classroom.
Passing grade — A little less than half of adults surveyed and 53 percent of parents gave their local public school an A or B grade.
More pay — 61 percent of adults don’t think teachers make enough money and the majority of those surveyed said teachers in low-income areas should get paid a higher salary and be offered additional training opportunities.
More than half of likely voters would support funding schools through a “split roll” property tax or vote “yes” on a local or state school construction bond. Another half support charter schools and favor Common Core standards.
KAMLAGER HAS QUESTIONS FOR CDCR
Democratic Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager has some questions for Secretary Ralph Diaz of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Kamlager, who chairs the Select Committee on Incarcerated Women, has written a letter to Diaz, sharing her concerns and those of her constituents about the fate of those behind bars in the midst of the coronavirus emergency.
“In an effort to take immediate action and increase transparency, I respectfully request that you provide answers to the following inquiries related to conditions within facilities and conditions for those who recently have been released,” Kamlager wrote.
Kamlager submitted nine questions, including how the department is balancing quarantine practices of isolation while ensuring civil liberties are not violated, what preventative steps the department is taking to ensure the safety of those incarcerated, particularly those who are high risk, and whether incarcerated people still have access to counsel.
Kamlager requested that Diaz answer her questions within 10 days, as “this is a matter of immediate concern to me and many others.”
Around the state, 97 California prison employees have tested positive for COVID-19, as have 144 inmates, according to the corrections department.
HEALTH WORKER BILL OF RIGHTS
Nearly 12 percent of all coronavirus cases in California are health care workers, according to the California Department of Public Health. More than 3,500 health care workers have tested positive.
After consulting experts and their 15,000 members across California, the National Union of Healthcare Workers has released a COVID-19 Healthcare Workers Bill of Rights.
The document calls for such things as guaranteed personal protective equipment, protection for whistleblowers and access to temporary housing for health care workers unable to return home because of exposure to COVID-19.
“Our healthcare system has failed us,” Union President Sal Rosselli said in a statement. “After decades of profit-driven downsizing, the healthcare industry has been unable to adequately care for patients or protect healthcare workers during this crisis. Our Bill of Rights is a challenge to healthcare providers and government officials to immediately pass legislation and draft regulations to make sure we are ready for the next pandemic.”
The National Union of Healthcare Workers includes nurses, medical technicians, respiratory therapists, mental health therapists, food service workers and housekeepers.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“So let me just acknowledge half a century of extraordinary work here in the state of California, for that matter, growing consciousness around the rest of the world marking the anniversary of Earth day.”
- Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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