Significant aid from state and federal government will be needed for schools in coming recession, panel finds

School closures and a tanking economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic laid the backdrop for a panel discussion on April 28 about the current and future state of education funding in California, hosted by Policy Analysis for California Education. Panelists shared concerns about how schools […]

Conducting remote school board meetings: What board members should know

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed daily life in California, including how the public’s business is conducted at school district and county office of education board meetings. For some board members, the idea of discussing agenda items in person, with members of the public sitting […]

Budget subcommittee takes on big questions around school finance, learning loss, the future

While legislators, state officials and education advocates may have left with more questions than they arrived with, an Assembly Budget Subcommittee hearing on April 28 punctuated the COVID-19 pandemic’s massive impact on K–12 schools. The parties learned that many of the answers largely hinge upon […]

New CSBA webinar series brings members up to speed on governing during COVID-19

Guidance aimed to help members navigate challenges caused by the pandemic As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the daily lives of students, families, teachers and staff, governance teams have been forced to make decisions based on rapidly evolving information from health officials […]

Board member electronic communications in the virtual world of COVID-19

California’s stay-at-home order and social distancing requirements imposed to maintain the health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic have created a virtual world for most, including governing board members. Given that board members are increasingly, and perhaps solely, using electronic means during this time to […]

New report projects significant learning loss due to COVID-19 school closures

With the nation’s unprecedented measures to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, school systems made an abrupt transition from classroom instruction to distance learning. In some cases, districts paused learning altogether while they scrambled to address logistical issues such as the digital divide and […]

Student mental health services move online as counselors and teachers connect with children

With the implementation of distance learning in full swing in districts throughout the state, one of the many questions that remains is how to provide the mental health supports that so many California students have access to on campus — especially now, as many children […]

Changes to special education processes announced by the Office of Administrative Hearings

Announced on April 15, 2020, and effective on the same date, the Office of Administrative Hearings will be conducting all mediations, prehearing conferences and due process hearings remotely, either through video conference or by telephone. All special education hearing rooms at OAH locations are closed […]

Legislators, district administrators outline needs, goals to close the digital divide

Just hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 April 20 media briefing overwhelmingly focused on efforts to bridge the digital divide, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond welcomed legislators and representatives from internet service providers to the first meeting of the newly created Closing the […]