California’s Legislative Session Ends Tonight. What Bills Are On The Chopping Block As Time Winds Down?
California lawmakers are in their final hours of the legislative session. They have until midnight to approve or kill off hundreds of bills. Those that make the cut head to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Among some of the contentious bills on the chopping block include online privacy protections, vaccine rights for teens and climate legislation. Emily Hoeven, writer of the daily WhatMatters newsletter for CalMatters, joins Larry to discuss where things stand as the clock ticks down.
Teachers Are Significant Players In Supporting Students With Dyslexia. How Are They Being Trained To Do So In California?
Today, at least 14 states mandate some form of dyslexia training for aspiring educators, including Oregon, Illinois, Florida and Texas. More than half of the country requires training for teachers who are already in the classroom. California has neither requirement. But it’s moving in that direction. Today on AirTalk, we continue exploring LAist’s six-week project looking at different impacts of dyslexia in California. Julia Barajas, LAist & KPCC Community Engagement Reporter, and Marga Madhuri, professor of teacher education and chair of the dyslexia teacher training program at the University of La Verne, join Larry to discuss what training looks like across the state and what changes educators want to see.
Read the full LAist story here
California Could Mandate Kindergarten— What’s This Mean For School Districts And Childcare Providers?
A bill that would create a mandatory kindergarten program in California has passed the legislature and is now heading to governor Gavin Newsom’s office for a final decision. The legislation, Senate Bill 70, would require children to complete one year of kindergarten before they’re admitted to the first grade. This comes as districts in California struggle with enrollment, having been a major issue during the pandemic. But if this legislation were to be signed by Governor Newsom, how would it affect teachers, the child care industry, and the children themselves.
Today on AirTalk, we discuss the bill and it support among public schools with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Justine Flores, a licensed childcare provider in Los Angeles.
Correction: Justine Flores was noted as a "negotiation representative for Child Care Providers United" during this segment, however, the views expressed by her on the program are her own and do not reflect the views of Child Care Providers United.
Scientists Are Divided On How To Best Prevent Wildfires
Fire ecologists agree that California’s wildfires are increasingly destructive and that more needs to be done before blazes erupt. But what exactly that looks like can differ greatly depending on who you talk to. Recently, the conversation has turned to the state’s giant sequoias. In the past two years alone, up to nearly one fifth of all naturally occurring giant sequoias have been wiped out. The divide amongst scientists, and the public, begins with how to manage some of the most vulnerable landscapes before they’re scorched. One camp of experts believe we need to escalate forest management with prescribed burns and logging. If you don’t thin out the forests, which by definition means clearing some trees, than you may risk killing way more trees when a wildfire takes them out. On the other side of the debate are scientists who believe we should be responding to the threat of fires by protecting vulnerable communities, not chopping down trees. But even the scientific data is divided, with some science showing that forests burner hotter and faster where there’s previously been logging. Other studies reveal the opposite, that thinning dense forests and reducing fuels does help. So which is it?
Joining us today on AirTalk, senior environment reporter for the San Diego Tribune, Joshua Emerson Smith, director and principal ecologist at the John Muir Project, Chad Hanson and Pomona College Professor of environmental analysis and history Char Miller to discuss the discrepancies on how to best protect and manage our forests in the face of climate change and severe drought.
Will America Address Racial Inequality? Black Americans Believe It’s Unlikely
After the murder of George Floyd and the protests against police that ensued, many Americans believed the country had reached a moment of reckoning on racial inequality. But a new survey of nearly 4,000 Black Americans by the Pew Research Center finds that discrimination remains a top concern -- nearly eight out of ten respondents said they’d experience discrimination of some kind based on their race -- and that while Black Americans have a clear vision on how to achieve change, they have little hope change will be achieved. 65 percent of respondents said the increased attention to and discussion about racism and social justice hasn’t led to concrete changes in their lives, and 44 percent said equality for Black people in the U.S. is not likely to be achieved.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll speak with the Pew Research Center’s Kiana Cox, who led the survey.