Former California superintendents discuss attracting and retaining LEA leaders

An EdSource roundtable conversation on Jan. 30, “Superintendents are quitting: What can be done to keep them?,” featured four former California superintendents discussing the challenges of the job and how best to support and retain these key district and county leaders. Among the top recommendations […]

CSBA submits response to Governor’s proposed budget, Prop 98 concerns

Over the past five months, the financial challenges facing the state have become clearer. In December 2023, the  non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) announced that the state budget was facing a deficit of $68 billion. However, in January, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a revised budget […]

Universal school meal policies lead to higher participation rates, more challenges

Providing school meals to all students at no charge increased lunch participation in the five states that offer universal school meals, and raised breakfast participation rates in four of those during the 2022–2023 school year, according to a report released in February by the Food […]

CSBA releases budget template to help governance teams communicate school finances

By Jeremy Anderson California’s local educational agencies face an uncertain and complex financial landscape as they plan their 2024–25 budgets. Significant state, federal and local budgetary factors are converging at the same time to potentially cause major budgetary problems for many LEAs. To help address […]

Return on Investment: Making the financial case for educational technology

By CSBA Business Affiliate PowerSchool In today’s rapidly changing K-12 landscape, careful decisions about technology investments are increasingly important. While the primary goals of school districts and county offices of education will always be student growth and well-being, these outcomes are seeded by responsible spending. […]

Policies restricting teaching of controversial topics impact educators in states without such policies

Results of the RAND Corporation’s 2023 State of the American Teacher survey released Feb. 15 showed that nationally, 65 percent of teachers report limiting discussions about political and social issues in class — nearly double the share of teachers who are located in states that […]

New instructional materials resources are available to aid trustees  

Instructional materials are central to students’ educational success, and local governing boards play a critical role in ensuring the smooth adoption of materials the reflect the diversity in their communities.  A new CSBA brief, “Instructional Materials Adoptions: State and Local Governing Board Processes, Roles, and […]

U.S. Supreme Court reinforces First Amendment rights of school board members in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier

In a resounding victory for school board members on March 15, the United States Supreme Court developed a new and more restrictive test for determining when public officials can be held liable for First Amendment violations related to management of their social media accounts. The […]

Report highlighted renewed fervor among state policymakers in supporting CTE

Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education released their 11th annual review of CTE and career readiness policies from across the country in February, finding that in 2023, 47 states enacted 115 policies, marking the second-highest number of states taking action to […]