This article first appeared in EdSource.
California is failing to meet its promises to children — especially in students’ well-being and education — according to a new report released this week.
The 2026 California Children’s Report Card, released Wednesday by the research nonprofit Children Now, graded the state across several areas, including health and education, evaluating changes in outcomes, policies and progress compared with the rest of the country.
Kelly Hardy, senior managing director of health at Children Now and co-author of the report, said a combination of staff shortages, large class sizes and insufficient funding has led to a widening achievement gap among California students that is faring worse than other large states.
Education
California earned a passing grade in preschool, transitional kindergarten and expanded learning programs, but failed in adult-to-student ratios in classrooms and early intervention and special education because of inadequate staffing, resources and training to support or engage students.
“Students are not able to get in to see a guidance counselor, to change a class or to talk about college,” Hardy said. “So, families with resources are able to support that student in other ways, but families with less resources don’t get that option.”
California consistently ranks near the bottom of all states in staff-to-student ratios, with nearly 22 students per teacher, compared with a U.S. average of about 15 students. New York’s average is about 11 students per teacher.
To improve the ratios, Hardy suggests that school districts better allocate funds from the Local Control Funding Formula “to hire staff in schools with high concentrations of low-income students, English learners and foster youth.”
“There needs to be more accountability around LCFF funding,” she said, referencing the state law that provides school districts with supplemental funding to support high-needs students.
Health
The state’s lack of progress in children’s health care — including failing grades in preventive screenings, birthing health for mothers and preventing substance abuse — has created a major barrier for California students to succeed in school, according to the report.
Many of the 81% of students not screened for vision problems were likely unable to focus on the classroom whiteboard in the past year, Hardy said. Nearly 900,000 California public school students missed school due to dental problems, costing school districts about $60 million.
“If kids’ physical health is not good, it’s easier to develop mental health issues, which often overlap with substance abuse issues,” Hardy said. “And it’s very hard to focus in school if you’re struggling with your physical health or mental health.”
In California, 94% of youths 14 to 25 years old report mental health concerns in an average month, with stress and anxiety reported as top challenges, and over half of parents report it being difficult or impossible to receive mental health care for their child. The report scored California a C- in mental health support for children and a D+ in preventing substance abuse, stating that progress in hiring support staff is yet to match the pace of a growing mental health crisis among young people.
The report also pointed to online safety as a key issue driving the student mental health crisis. According to survey data, about 1 in 3 youths report being impacted by cyberbullying, and 40% of high school students report knowing artificial intelligence deepfakes, often sexually explicit or misrepresenting someone, being shared at school.
Hardy pointed to progress with a new law that requires operating systems and app stores to verify age to prevent children from accessing inappropriate or dangerous online content.
Children may also lose access to care after sweeping federal cuts to Medicaid could kick off about 151,000 children in California from their health care coverage. California lacks the capacity to replace the billions in Medicaid cuts, Hardy said, but it can mitigate the loss of access by expanding school-based health care, including wellness centers and school mental health service providers that provide on-site care to students.
“The state is doing a great job in places where it has focused resources and attention over the years, but that’s too few and too far between,” Hardy said. “We need to focus on all these issues for kids.”
EdSource is California’s largest independent newsroom focused on education.
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