The Brief

Community college students who make use of CalFresh benefits during their freshman year are more likely to stay on track academically and return for a second year, according to a new working paper from the California Policy Lab and UC Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education.

CalFresh, known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provides monthly food benefits to low-income individuals and families in California. The program enables them to buy food with an Electronic Benefit Transfer card.

The research finds that community college students who had CalFresh benefits throughout their first year were more likely to complete a full-time course load, consisting of 30 or more credits. These students were also more likely to enroll the next year, compared to similar students who were also eligible for benefits but did not receive them.

“The key message is that basic needs matter and food assistance in particular can help college students to do better in school,” said co-author Igor Chirikov, a senior researcher at the Center for Studies in Higher Education.

How comparing students with similar backgrounds led to more precise findings

For the study, Chirikov and his colleague, Jesse Rothstein — a public policy, higher education and economics professor at UC Berkeley — linked administrative data from all California community colleges. They also incorporated financial aid records and data on students’ monthly participation in CalFresh.

The researchers compared students who were alike in key ways, including income, family background and prior participation in CalFresh. The students differed in whether they continued to receive benefits consistently during their first year of college. The researchers also examined whether students completed at least 30 credits in their first year and whether they returned to school for a second year. Both are indicators that students “are on track to completion,” Chirikov said.

“While it intuitively makes sense that when students have enough to eat and are less financially strained, their academic outcomes would improve, this study lets us measure that effect much more precisely,” Rothstein said in a news release. “By comparing students with similar backgrounds and financial circumstances, we’re able to isolate the role that food support plays in improving student outcomes, marking an important step forward in understanding how safety-net programs support student success.”

How does CalFresh help students?

According to Chirikov and Rothstein’s research:

• Students who received CalFresh benefits were more likely to complete a full-time course load during their first year of college (a 5% increase) than comparable, eligible students who did not receive CalFresh.   

• CalFresh raises persistence in college. Students who received the benefits were more likely to re-enroll for a second year of college (a 4% increase). 

• For students whose goal is to earn an associate’s degree or to transfer, CalFresh’s impact on credit completion was slightly larger (+1.8 percentage points).

Chirikov noted that while these gains may seem modest, the food assistance program averages about $860 per student. In contrast, many traditional student success interventions can cost thousands of dollars per student.

“These may sound like very small numbers, but in [California’s] large community college system — the largest community college system in the country — even small percentage point gains . . . can affect thousands of students over the years,” he said.

What challenges does CalFresh face?

The findings come on the heels of President Donald Trump signing the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law last summer. This legislation will reduce SNAP funding by about $186 billion over 10 years — a 20% cut that marks the largest reduction in the program’s history, according to Sara Bleich, a public health policy professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Key changes include the loss of eligibility for thousands of lawfully present immigrants.

The nonprofits that run the Los Angeles region's federally funded homeless shelters, outreach teams and housing services will soon be overseen by a different government agency, under a deal a federal judge says he plans to approve next week.

If approved, the shift will mark the biggest change in the control of federal homeless dollars in L.A. in decades.

The proposed settlement would shift federal grants and duties from the troubled L.A. Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to the county government in stages, starting next month. LAHSA’s management of federal dollars for homeless services would end in June. The deal between LAHSA and the Trump administration keeps the region's request for roughly $240 million in new annual federal funding on track and adds tighter checks on how that money is spent.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said at a Friday hearing he would likely sign it Monday, ending LAHSA's lawsuit over the Trump administration’s June suspension of the agency.

“This has been an absolute past dereliction of duty by the federal government” and local governments, Carter said, referring to what he called decades of failure to properly oversee homelessness dollars.

“I choose now to turn this back to the proper governing bodies,” Carter said. "But please, this can never happen again."

Citing past audits and reports, Carter said “HUD’s been on notice since 2007” of LAHSA’s oversight failures and “abandoned” its own oversight role.

“I termed it a partnership in failure,” he added. “Local government turned an absolute blind eye to the distribution of these funds and transparency and accountability for these funds.”

“And what is so sad and disappointing is, these funds were meant to serve the absolute most vulnerable in our society,” the judge added.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, left, shown in West L.A. on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024.

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LAHSA has faced major problems in recent years. Last year, an LAist investigation found the signature of LAHSA’s then-CEO, Va Lecia Adams Kellum, finalized a $2.1 million contract with the nonprofit where her husband was working in senior leadership, despite previously telling LAist she was “completely recused.”

LAist also found the agency kept awarding millions in contract renewals to another nonprofit even after LAHSA’s own compliance team labeled it “high-risk” for, among other things, billing for services while reporting no enrolled participants. That group’s leader, Alex Soofer, recently pleaded guilty to diverting $2 million. Another nonprofit operator contracted with LAHSA, Michael Young, was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors with misappropriating millions of tax dollars, including allegedly siphoning $1 million into a high-end nightclub.

Additionally, a 2024 L.A. County audit found LAHSA had mismanaged hundreds of millions in contracts for homeless services, often paying service providers late and failing to track whether services were provided.

Under the deal, Carter would receive quarterly reports on progress and could intervene if one of the parties asks him to resolve a dispute.

When control would shift

The deal, on its own, does not change which nonprofits provide shelter, outreach and housing. It instead changes which government agency pays them and ensures they’re serving people as required.

Here’s what the timeline will be if Carter follows through on approving the deal:

• Within two weeks of this year's federal awards: Most new grants awarded to LAHSA will instead be managed by the county, not LAHSA.
• Starting Dec. 1: Grants for programs that begin on or after that date move to the county before they start.
• January 2027: LAHSA, which has overseen the homeless counts since 2005, runs the annual homeless count one last time. The county runs it after that.
• By March 1, 2027: The county is approved to take over as the agency that applies for federal homelessness money for the whole region going forward, instead of LAHSA.
• By April 1, 2027: The county takes over management from LAHSA of many federal grants for programs already underway that continue past June 2027.
• By June 30, 2027: LAHSA finishes administering federal grants that end by this date.
• By Dec. 31, 2027: The county takes over the region’s federally required database, known as HMIS, that tracks which homeless services each person receives. The county also takes over another system, known as CES, that matches people with taxpayer-funded housing. With that, LAHSA's last remaining federal roles end.
• January 2028: The county conducts the annual homeless count, taking over that role from LAHSA.

What the deal would mean for services

The federal government’s attorneys said the goal is to have stronger oversight over homelessness spending, after many years of documented failures by LAHSA. Attorneys who struck the proposed settlement said in court Friday that the timeline was structured to ensure a smooth transition that doesn’t disrupt homeless services.

The HMIS database and matching system, which caseworkers use to track clients and place them in homes, will switch over last to avoid disrupting services, said Shayla Myers, the lead attorney for the L.A. Continuum of Care, the body that coordinates federal homelessness funding and joined LAHSA in the lawsuit.

For taxpayers, the deal adds safeguards on spending Carter has demanded for years. LAHSA must send invoices and spending records to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) before drawing grant money, and submit receipts afterward. A HUD contractor, Guidehouse, will review its books, and the county must follow the same rules for older grants it inherits. The parties will report to Carter every three months, until LAHSA no longer has any federal roles overseen by HUD.

Bill Essayli is the first assistant United States attorney for the Central District of California.

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Allen J. Schaben

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First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, whose office represents HUD, told LAist after the hearing that the county is probably the best equipped to take over, and scrutiny will be crucial.

“Do I have amazing confidence in the county? No,” he said, noting that LAHSA is a joint city-county agency.

“But we're going to verify that they are going to be good stewards of the tax money.” With LAHSA gone, he added, “The buck's going to stop at the county.”

Under the proposed deal, LAHSA agrees to cooperate fully with HUD's investigations. A LAHSA attorney told the judge on Friday the agency is cooperating fully with criminal investigations, adding that it was critical that HUD agreed not to reinstate LAHSA’s suspension, so that it can continue to manage federal dollars until they’re handed off.

Judge wanted more 'teeth' for the court

Carter spent much of the hearing asking attorneys for the parties what power he would have to enforce the deal after signing. The proposed settlement lets him settle disputes and receive reports, but he said that left him looking over shoulders without the authority to actually enforce it.

“I have no jurisdiction. I have no teeth,” he said.

He read aloud from 2024 hearings in a related lawsuit, known as L.A. Alliance, where he warned that bills without supporting documents should not be paid. Essayli said that the proposed settlement would be binding “and we'll vigorously enforce it.”

Myers said the deal gives the court oversight to ensure that the problems federal authorities flagged “don’t exist.”

Carter asked to have the ability to hire an expert, at about $150 an hour paid by HUD, to help him understand the quarterly reports on implementing the deal that transfers federal roles from LAHSA to the county. Essayli agreed.

How the case got here

HUD suspended LAHSA from federal funds on June 11, citing alleged failures in the agency’s financial management and conflict-of-interest safeguards. The move put roughly $240 million in expected federal homelessness funding for the region in limbo and held up federal funding HUD had already awarded.

LAHSA, which is overseen by the city and county’s elected officials, sued.

In August, Carter blocked the suspension, writing that LAHSA and HUD had been in “a joint partnership in failure,” and ordering a competition for LAHSA's federal roles. He deferred the selection to the continuum of care — the body designated by federal law to make that choice.

In October, the continuum chose the county for all four, over objections from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and several City Council members who wanted the city to share control. The city then reached a tentative side deal giving it access to data on unhoused residents and a role placing people in city-funded housing.

What happens next

Carter said he expects to sign the proposed settlement on Monday.

Myers said the deal lets the region “build a peaceful transition of power.”

Left-leaning candidates running in three school board contests flagged by EdSource as races to watch are each leading comfortably in unofficial election results more than a week after a so-called “blue tsunami” swept the country.

Unofficial results also show progressive candidates ahead in some races in the Inland Empire, a conservative stronghold where several far-right school board candidates ran on issues such as gender identity and parents’ rights. Counties have until Dec. 3 to certify election results.

In the Orange Unified School District, four moderate incumbents are far ahead of conservative challengers in separate races. One of them, board President Stephen Glass, defeated challenger Jack Chang, and has declared victory. The conservative candidates ran largely on parents’ rights and fiscal responsibility.

“We won,” Glass said on social media. “We’ll keep putting students first and supporting every teacher, every classified professional and every family.”

All four incumbents are up by double-digit percentage points, Orange County election results show. The election follows last year’s recall of two conservative school board members.

In a race for the Davis Unified school board, an anti-transgender candidate who once stripped down to a bikini at a school board meeting, lost decisively, according to unofficial election results. Beth Bourne, president of the Yolo County chapter of Moms For Liberty, trails incumbent Elizabeth Moon by 89 percentage points, results show.

In Palo Alto — where issues over academics dominated the race — newcomers Avery Wang and Linda Henigin are ahead in unofficial results for two seats. John Craig, who ran in tandem with Wang, conceded on election night. Wang ran primarily on retaining academic rigor, especially in math. “It’s the beginning of a movement,” Wang told Palo Alto Online.

Henigin ran on a platform of improving student well-being following a recent spate of student suicides.

Elsewhere in the state, school board candidates in conservative strongholds such as Chino Valley and Temecula fared poorly in local school board races.

In Temecula, school board President Joseph Komrosky trails challenger David Sola by 10 percentage points, results show. Sola has declared victory. Komrosky had voted to ban critical race theory in district schools and attempted to ban teaching materials that mentioned slain gay rights icon Harvey Milk, drawing a sharp rebuke from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Komrosky’s apparent defeat was part of what The Press-Enterprise reported as “a seismic shift in local governance given recent elections that gave power to the Christian right.”

In Chino Valley Unified in San Bernardino County, two conservative school board candidates are trailing far behind, results show. Chris Shaw, the husband of State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Sonja Shaw, trails Frank Gerdine by nearly 17 percentage points, while Meagan Lichthart is ahead of Shaun Smith, backed by Shaw, by 15 percentage points.

This story was originally published by EdSource.

Major service cuts to Metrolink are on hold for now thanks to a $20 million grant from California’s State Transportation Agency. The Metrolink board of directors approved the agency’s $420 million budget on Friday.

The previous budget proposal included slashing a third of weekday trains and 40% of weekend trains.

“Thankfully, our customers were spared the disappointment and frustration of losing the service they rely on to travel the region for business and pleasure,” Tom Schamber, chief financial officer at Metrolink, said at the board meeting.

How did we get here? 

The Metrolink budget had been approved quarterly since June as staff worked out the annual budget.

Metrolink staff have worked on this year’s budget since last September. The agency has pointed to slowing fare revenue, rising costs due to inflation and low ridership numbers for its budget troubles.

“Fare box revenue ended the year $14 million under budget. This was sobering, and we realized that not only was fiscal [20]26 off, but our ridership expectations for fiscal year [20]27 would need to be recalibrated to this new baseline,” Schamber said.

A majority of Metrolink’s budget is funded by Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties’ transportation agencies. For more than a year, Metrolink officials have been building a budget that member agencies, like the Orange County Transportation Authority and L.A. Metro, would approve.

L.A. Metro and OCTA cut their subsidies to Metrolink by 3% and 10%, respectively.

“The challenges ahead of us were becoming more evident,” Schamber said at Friday’s board meeting. “In addition to disappointing fare revenue and funding limitations, we must absorb inevitable cost increases in several of our largest contracts.”

What we know about the grant

The $20 million grant from the state comes with the expectation that Metrolink will retain the same service levels provided today, Schamber added.

Metrolink CEO Darren M. Kettle said another expectation is that the agency must plan to maintain its services for the upcoming year.

“We don't have a plan. We're working on a plan to make sure we have the funding to deliver the same level of service at a minimum,” Kettle said. “With respect to these conditions, based on what we know now, as of last evening, our staff is confident that Metrolink will be able to meet these conditions.”

What’s next? 

Kettle said staff got a head start on next fiscal year’s budget through the state grant application. Officials said the rail agency is also gearing up for the 2028 Olympic Games.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon because of communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.

The FAA notice said the ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there is a communications issue affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centers that direct planes en route between airports nationwide. He said FAA technicians are investigating. This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication yet that “this was a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunications outage.”

“Everybody’s safe. There’s no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying,” Mullin said.

There is no timeline for restarting flights. Mullin said investigators will look at whether there is any link to the FAA’s nationwide rollout of a new artificial intelligence system to help identify problems and reroute planes. But that system operates out of one location near Washington, D.C., and just sends recommendations to the air traffic control centers.

The government has been working to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on since Congress approved $12.5 billion for the project last year. Miles of old copper wires have been replaced with fiber optic lines and old radio systems are gradually being replaced at airports across the country.

But much work remains. Duffy has said that another $30 billion will be needed to complete the work, and the White House has begun lobbying Congress to approve it.

The problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said, except this time on a nationwide scale. It may be linked to the outdated technology used by air traffic controllers.

“If you don’t have that ability, whether it’s because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop airplanes on the ground,” said Arroyo, who is a former United Airlines pilot. “And not put them in the air where you’re going to risk not being able to communicate with them.”

Friday’s ground stop was different than the one after Sept. 11 because planes were not being told to land immediately and pilots likely were able to communicate with ground controllers at airports, Arroyo said.

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AP writer Mead Gruver contributed to this report from Fort Collins, Colorado.

This is a developing story and will be updated.