LCP Report—Publication Date: March 17, 2021
Background
In late June 2020, California replaced the 2020-21 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) with the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan (LCP) as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose was to provide information about how districts planned to invest state resources to address student learning and school safety during the COVID-19 crisis in the 2020–21 school year. The plans, which were drafted with stakeholder input and locally approved by school boards, provide a unique view of how well district approaches to distance learning this year centered equity for ELs and other students.
About the LCP Report
The report aims to inform school district decision-making as they craft their upcoming 2021–24 LCAPs, and highlights the need for them to prioritize ELs—some of California’s most historically marginalized students.
This report draws upon a comprehensive review of Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans (LCPs) from 41 school districts. The districts included in the study were chosen to represent a wide range of communities and settings across the state. For instance, the selected districts spanned 21 counties and enrolled 27 percent of all California K–12 students, as well as 34 percent of the state’s ELs. Nineteen districts enrolled 25,000 or more students, 19 enrolled between 2,500 and 25,000 students, and three enrolled fewer than 2,500. This is a review of the plans, not the implementation of the activities in the plans. The LCPs represent districts’ best intentions but do not include evaluating how well they were implemented.
Written by Dr. Conor P. Williams and Manuel Buenrostro
Areas of Focus
Californians Together reviewers rated districts’ LCPs across seven focus areas. Each of these focus areas was broken up into three to five elements:
About the Authors
Dr. Conor P. Williams is a fellow at the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank. He is also a member of the Children’s Equity Project and the National Conference of State Legislature’s State Policy and Research for Early Education (SPREE) Working Group. Williams’ research largely focuses on policies affecting the educational opportunities available to English learners and children of immigrants. Find him on Twitter: @ConorPWilliams.
Manuel Buenrostro is a Policy Associate for Californians Together where he manages research, policy, and advocacy projects as part of the policy team. He is born and raised in California, a proud son of Mexican immigrants, and a first-generation college graduate. He has extensive experience in education ranging from the classroom to state and national policy development. Find him on Twitter: @BuenrostroManny.
A Special Thanks to Our Sponsors Who Helped Make this Publication Possible
This report was made possible by the generous funding and support from the Sobrato Family Foundation, Migration Policy Institute, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, and the California Community Foundation.
The authors are indebted to the reviewers who read the 41 Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans and rated them to support the findings in this brief. Their names are listed in Appendix B.
Martha Hernandez, Executive Director; Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, Deputy Director; Shelly Spiegel- Coleman, Strategic Advisor; Ashley Aguirre, Communications Manager; and Cristal Zeas, Administrative Assistant of Californians Together all provided invaluable support on the process for the review and analysis of the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans and producing this report. Finally, thanks to Dr. Magaly Lavadenz and Dr. Elvira Armas of the Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University, who provided guidance on the review of the Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans.