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 […]
By CSBA Legislative Advocate Carlos Machado Recent developments at the state and local levels have highlighted a few troubling deficiencies in current law related to the charter school authorization process. These issues exacerbate the difficulties that both school districts and county boards of education experience […]
By CSBA President Albert Gonzalez Serving as a board of education member is a process of constant learning. Even in my 16 years as a trustee, I am still refining my practice and expanding the toolkit I use in this job. One area where I’ve […]
Gov. Gavin Newsom closed out the legislative year on Oct.13, signing the last of the more than 1,000 bills sent to him for signature or veto in 2023. In total, 1,046 pieces of legislation reached the Governor’s desk in the last weeks of the legislative […]
With just days left before the Oct. 14 deadline to sign or veto all legislation, CSBA advocacy has secured a number of major legislative victories. Four CSBA-sponsored bills were signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend to help increase funding for student health, increase […]
After a busy final week, the Legislature had a somewhat quiet end of the 2023 legislative session, closing out its business and adjourning for the year just after midnight Sept. 15 for the “interim study session.” Of the legislation passed in the final days of this year’s […]
How can local educational agencies better serve their students with disabilities? Bellflower Unified School District trustee Sue ElHessen, a long-time disability rights advocate, says some ways that question can be addressed is through education on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), empowering students by teaching […]
The State Assembly and Senate raced to finish their work ahead of the July 14 deadline for legislation to be approved by the policy committees in their second house (Assembly bills to be approved by the Senate committees and vice versa). Bills that made it […]
After a long standoff, the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a final agreement on the 2023–24 state budget late on June 26. The final budget, executed in two follow-up bills known as “Budget Bill Jr.” and numerous budget trailer bills, will retain most of […]
“Schools have access to more sensitive information and fulfill a more essential purpose than virtually any other local government agency and deserve robust, focused support to prepare for ransomware attacks,” said CSBA President Susan Markarian during a June 26 press conference held in support of […]
