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Kern County holds public hearing on LCAP for court and community schools, highlights short enrollment windows and learning gaps
Summary
County staff presented the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) for community and court schools, emphasizing short average enrollment periods (79 days for community schools, 28 for court schools), large learning deficits on arrival and reliance on local assessments to measure growth.
Kern County Superintendent of Schools staff presented a 58‑page Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) for county community and court schools during a public hearing, telling the Kern County Board of Education that short student stays and late enrollment make state test data an incomplete measure of program performance.
Desiree Vanflew, who led the presentation, told trustees the county’s LCAP covers community learning centers and court schools across Kern County and is structured around the state priorities defined for county offices. “The local control and accountability plan is a 3 year plan,” Vanflew said, and the county will return to the board for formal approval at next month’s meeting after public comment.
Vanflew and other staff explained how data collection is skewed by short enrollments: the county reported 516 students in the CBEDS October snapshot but serves more than 2,000 students over the school year because many students enroll for short periods. The average community school term is 79 days; the average court school stay is 28 days. Because many students enroll late or for brief stays, the county said only a small fraction of students produce eligible CAASPP scores — a fact that depresses statewide accountability metrics.
To measure growth for students present for shorter terms, the county uses the STAR Renaissance assessment (administerable after 60 days). Staff said eligible students in court schools showed average growth of 6.7 months in English language arts and 7 months in math on that local measure. Vanflew outlined five LCAP goals (social‑emotional growth; literacy and numeracy; equity multiplier actions; foster youth supports; special education) and described related actions, baselines and targets that will be updated after next year’s testing window.
Board members asked technical questions during the Q&A: one trustee asked why the Year 2 outcome column in the LCAP was blank (Vanflew explained year‑two testing results will be posted after summer results are processed); another asked about transportation and attendance supports — Vanflew said KCSOS provides bus cards and vouchers for students countywide but does not run district bus routes.
Vanflew emphasized the program’s role in credit recovery and alternative pathways, explaining the county’s course access and independent study options for students who need accelerated or modified pacing. She also noted the office’s coordination with probation for court schools and with districts and parents for referrals to community schools.
The public hearing closed after trustee questions. The board will consider formal approval of the LCAP at its June meeting.
