The Sociopolitical Context of LCFF: Resource Allocation and Minoritized Communities in Silicon Valley

ABSTRACT

The goals of this article are to provide a critical policy analysis and conceptual examination of California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and Accountability (LCAP) systems in the Silicon Valley context. The goals and structure of this article are as follows: First, I situate my discussion on LCFF by providing a sociocultural and sociopolitical portrait of the Silicon Valley context where this examination takes place. Next, I highlight key findings from a critical policy analysis of LCAPs and corresponding budgets in one Northern California county comprising 31 districts, whereby juxtaposing notions of need with actual allocation of resources. As part of my descriptive analysis I shed light on the politics of California’s LCFF in practice, and implications for minoritized communities.

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Patricia D. López

Patricia D. López is a first-generation college student born and raised in California’s Central Valley. Patricia holds a doctorate in Education Policy and Planning with a portfolio in Mexican American and Latinx Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research explores the sociocultural and sociopolitical context of K-12 and higher education policy and practice with a central focus on Latinx communities and issues of race/ethnicity, class, and language. Currently, Patricia is Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Fresno State’s Kremen School of Education and Human Development, where she teaches single-subject credential courses and directs the Enseñamos en el Valle Central Initiative, focused on growing future bilingual Latinx teachers in the Central Valley.