California community colleges are spending millions on artificial intelligence-powered chatbots that students say often give inaccurate answers. Many might see upgrades this year.
CalMatters
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California’s next insurance commissioner will have ‘brutal’ balancing act
Ricardo Lara’s successor will have a full plate. California insurance premiums are rising; fire survivors are struggling; the FAIR Plan is still growing.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Trump’s Medicaid work mandate could kick thousands of homeless Californians off coverage
A majority of California’s roughly 180,000 people experiencing homelessness have health insurance through Medi-Cal. Providers predict that many will lose insurance under President Donald Trump’s upcoming work mandates even if they qualify for exemptions.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
How 9 California Democrats could sabotage their party’s race for governor
State Democratic party chair Rusty Hicks warned that the nine Democrats currently in the governor’s race could split the primary vote and send two Republicans to the November ballot.
Posted inEducation
‘Shocking’: What Supreme Court ruling on transgender policy means for California students
In a ruling this week, the Supreme Court blocked California’s policy barring school districts from requiring teachers to “out” transgender students to their parents, unless the students gave permission.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Measles is back in California. Health departments are fighting it with less.
California is battling measles outbreaks across seven counties as federal funding cuts gut local health departments and vaccine skepticism fuels spread among unvaccinated children.
Posted inEducation
Wave of California teacher strikes ‘is no coincidence’
The California Teachers Association organized to trigger a wave of negotiations and potential strikes to garner public attention and flex political muscle.
Posted inEducation
AI images scandalized a California elementary school. Now the state is pushing new safeguards
Adobe’s artificial intelligence generated sexualized images in response to prompts for a fourth grade book project. The incident coincided with the release of new state guidelines to prevent harmful AI in schools.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Barbara judge rules against company that turned to Trump for help restarting pipeline
A Santa Barbara judge tentatively ruled that the Trump administration’s intervention wasn’t enough to let Sable Offshore restart a pipeline shut after a 2015 oil spill.
Posted inEducation
What California’s planned power outages are costing schools: Darkness, disruption and debt
California schools faced repeated planned power outages in 2024-25 as Southern California Edison cut electricity to prevent wildfires, forcing closures and costly backup power solutions.