President’s message: Protecting Proposition 98

At CSBA, we fight to the last inch to protect Proposition 98 and to preserve local control because these principles are essential to strengthen public schools and secure the conditions needed to provide every student with a high-quality education. Unfortunately, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2024–25 May Revise contains an existential threat to Prop 98 that demands strong action to uphold our code and protect education funding.

New report examines how K-12 teachers engage students in foundational reading skills

Significant portions of English language arts (ELA) teachers across grade spans — including at the secondary level — reported frequently engaging their students in foundational reading skills, according to a RAND report released April 30. Foundational reading skills involve how students learn to associate sounds […]

Teachers slow to embrace AI, but research suggests the tide may be turning

Despite ever-increasing talk of the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to transform education, use of AI tools is still uncommon among teachers, according to survey findings released by the Rand Corp. on April 17. However, that is likely to change. The report, Using Artificial Intelligence […]

Parental attitudes toward attendance may be a factor in difficulties reducing chronic absenteeism

Ensuring families understand the importance of regular attendance may be just as critical as addressing other underlying causes to high rates of chronic absenteeism, according to researchers. In a March 26 brief for the Brookings Institution, researchers at the University of Southern California found that […]

Survey of college and career prep shows gaps persist along poverty lines, school size

A majority of public high schools say they do a “good,” “very good” or “excellent” job preparing students for college (77 percent) and the workforce (86 percent), according to data released March 19 from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical center within […]

New briefs detail best and worst practices in serving English learners and immigrant-origin students

Two recently updated briefs from Results for America and the Annenberg Institute at Brown University highlight proven practices local educational agencies can use to engage English learners and immigrant-origin students — a term that encompasses both the first- and second-generation youth — to help them […]

California accounted for majority of 2022–23 pre-K funding increases nationwide

California now ranks 16th in the nation for preschool enrollment for 4-year-olds and 15th for 3-year-olds across both the California State Preschool Program (CSPP) and transitional kindergarten (TK), according to a report released April 18 by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). While […]