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California should give all kids the pre-K advantage
Commentary: “Early education is our No. 1 priority.” That’s the 2014 message from California Democrats. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg introduced the Kindergarten Readiness Act (SB 837) on Jan. 6, and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez included an aggressive early education agenda in Democrats’ budget recommendations in December. LA Times

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More preschool than California can afford
Editorial: Preschool can do wonderful things for disadvantaged children — get them used to how a classroom works, give them play time with others and help them build crucial developmental skills, such as vocabulary, simply by exposing them to more books and spoken language. LA TImes

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LA school district’s backlogged music repair shop to expand
The Los Angeles Unified School District has quietly moved to expand its instrument repair shop – a decision that came after KPCC reported that it is swimming in a backlog of at least 2,600 broken instruments. Some instruments had been sitting on shelves since 2010. KPCC

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California low in education spending, high in welfare
California spent a below-average proportion of its state budget on education in 2012, vis-à-vis other states, but had one of the nation’s highest relative levels of welfare spending, according to a new Census Bureau report. Sacramento Bee

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Transgender student rights law triggers sharp divide
Election officials are counting signatures to decide if Californians will vote in November on whether to keep a new law that requires schools to let transgender students use restrooms and play on sports teams that fit their gender identity, rather than their gender at birth. SF Chronicle