Category Archives: Uncategorized

CCEE partnerships in action (Part 1): Improving outcomes for English learners

19 Nov
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student writing
The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, a key agency in the state’s System of Support, hosted its inaugural public event on Nov. 14 in downtown Sacramento. “Equity in Action: A Real-Time Look at What’s Working in California Schools” featured work being done in partnership with county offices of education and districts around the state to create more equitable educational outcomes for three underserved student groups: English learners, foster youth and African American students. The first of a two-part overview of...

Megan Dahle, former school board member, claims Assembly District 1 race

6 Nov
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Republican Megan Dahle claimed a relatively easy victory in yesterday’s election to fill the vacant Assembly District 1 seat in the Legislature, garnering 57.9 percent of the vote to top Democrat challenger Elizabeth Betancourt, who conceded the race late in the evening on Nov. 5. Dahle is a former school board member, serving a term as board president of Big Valley Joint USD, a small school district in Lassen County. She is the wife of Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), who...

New Laws for California Schools: SB 223, administration of medical cannabis at school sites

18 Oct
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CSBA’s “New Laws for California Schools” series highlights new laws signed in 2019 affecting K-12 education. New laws are effective Jan. 1, 2020, unless otherwise noted. The What’s New for 2020 report on all new laws affecting education is available at www.csba.org/whatsnewfor2020. Senate Bill 223 (Hill, D-San Mateo) is nicknamed “Jojo’s Act,” named for a teenager in South San Francisco who suffers from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that causes debilitating seizures. Lennox-Gastaut is one of a number...

Small District Spotlight: Big Sur Unified School District

3 Oct
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Eleven students were enrolled in the single K-12 school that comprises Big Sur Unified School District during the 2017–18 school year. The feeling that everyone is family is so ingrained that officials often have to remind students who have been there almost their entire lives not to call teachers by their first names — although there is some leeway, as long as the formal “Mr.” or “Miss” is used as well. School leaders believe it’s the family dynamic naturally fostered...

Poll shows a majority of California voters support stricter vaccination law

2 Oct
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latino student
While protests at the State Capitol throughout this year’s legislative session surrounding Senate Bill 276 (Pan, D-Sacramento) — a bill that tightens up California’s restrictions on vaccine exemptions for public and private school attendance — grabbed headlines around the state and garnered national media attention, a new poll conducted for the Los Angeles Times shows a majority of Californians support the new law, regardless of political affiliation, income levels, education attainment and where they reside. The UC Berkeley Institute of...

CDE Virtual Town Hall lets districts and county offices speak directly with State Superintendent

1 Oct
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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, in partnership with county offices of education throughout the state, hosted a virtual town hall on Sept. 24 where local educational agencies spoke about some of the unique challenges they face in ongoing efforts to close the achievement gap for California’s most vulnerable students. Thirteen county offices of education acted as physical host locations where attendees could engage in an interactive live exchange with both Thurmond and Chief Deputy Superintendent Lupita Cortez Alcalá....

California ranks 28th nationally in annual Quality Counts report cards

19 Sep
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public school building
Education Week has released the final installment of its yearly “Quality Counts 2019: Grading the states” report cards. The project’s aim is to show which states do the best job in preparing students for successful futures in both college and career. The measurements are based on a range of family, school and socioeconomic indicators; financial indicators; and achievement indicators. The project is released in three parts: The first installment is based on Education Week’s “Chance-for-Success Index,” which surveys a range...

Legislative Update: What’s on the Governor’s desk?

18 Sep
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The Legislature concluded its 2019 business in the early morning hours of Saturday, Sept. 14 after marathon hearings on the Senate and Assembly Floors. Gov. Gavin Newsom now has until Oct. 13 to sign or veto all legislation passed by the Legislature and sent to his desk — bills that were not passed by the Legislature this year (referred to as “two-year bills”) have the option to be heard and passed in 2020, the second year of the current two-year...

California County Boards of Education annual conference starts tomorrow

12 Sep
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By Janet Wohlgemuth, CCBE President-elect The 2019 CCBE Annual Conference  in Monterey at the Hyatt Regency begins tomorrow, Sept. 13 and runs through Sept 13-15. This year’s theme is “Educational Changes on the Horizon: What and How to Prepare for them.” The Conference Committee looked at what has happened in the past year with the devastating fires in Northern Callfornia and the impact on our students, as well as how we move forward. We also realized that we had a...

AB 1505 passes Legislature, sent to Gov. Newsom

11 Sep
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Assembly Bill 1505 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach), a bill that would make substantial changes to processes governing charter school petitions and renewals, has been sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk after passing the Senate with a 27-11 vote (with two members not recording a vote) on Sept. 9 and concurred by the Assembly with a 60-16 vote (with three members not recording a vote) on Sept. 10.  On Aug. 28, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that an agreement had been reached with...