Abstract
Authors of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) intended for the policy to serve a strategic role in improving California public schools’ capacity to engage with education stakeholders. Early criticism of the policy’s implementation highlighted districts’ pro-forma approach to soliciting and responding to stakeholder feedback during the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) development process (Heilig et al., 2017; Olsen et al., 2016; Porras, 2019). Since these studies were conducted prior to COVID-19 school closures, this study is the first to explore reopening engagement practices. Grounding this study is the assumption that local communities possess funds of knowledge that are valuable to schools (Moll, 2005), and that democratic engagement offers “liberation through participation” (Fung, 2007). This qualitative inquiry sought to determine if any shifts took place since early research into the LCFF’s implementation. A thorough document review of seven 2021-2024 district LCAPs and interviews with six LCAP directors at the district and county level were conducted. The meaningfulness of engagement practices was determined by comparing districts’ practices to the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) spectrum. Findings may indicate that districts see increased value in normative participation, described by Hisschemoller and Cuppen (2015) as ideological participation that provides a platform for historically marginalized groups. However, districts’ capacity to solicit and respond to feedback continues to prove problematic, which prevents them from truly empowering their communities. Recommendations for policy and practice center on expanding LCAP leaders’ personal development and districts’ organizational capacity to support continuous improvement in this area.