By CSBA President Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez I am writing this message in a time of great uncertainty, not just for public education, but for our everyday lives as we face the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. I want to commend my fellow trustees — as well as administrators, […]
As districts and county offices of education navigate the daily-changing landscape of providing education to students while shelter-in-place orders are extended, leadership teams should look at their existing policies and plans that pertain to emergencies. Over the last few years, many local educational agencies have […]
Nearly 9 in 10 California parents are worried about their children falling behind academically due to coronavirus-related school closures, and 8 in 10 are experiencing heightened stress levels, according to a poll released on April 8 by the Education Trust–West. That said, the new statewide […]
The Legislative Analyst’s Office on April 5 released an update on state and school district reserves in light of the likelihood of vastly decreased revenues due to COVID-19 pandemic mitigation efforts. About 40 percent of California’s General Fund is dedicated to K-14 education. This money, […]
Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), in a memo released this week, provides an overview of that the 2020-21 budget situation and process might look like. Asm. Ting echoed the March advisory issued by the Department of Finance that the May budget revision will […]
Of the myriad important issues facing California’s local educational agencies in their abrupt switch to distance learning, questions around serving students with special needs have come to the forefront. As LEAs address a number of legal issues, both the state and federal education departments have […]
Even before COVID-19 led to widespread and long-term school closures, California’s small and rural school districts faced extensive resource and educational gaps. Now, small and rural school districts must contend with specific challenges as they move to distance learning. Trustees and administrators in these communities […]
The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented crisis for school leaders trying to educate, feed and care for students from afar. While there are few easy solutions to today’s challenges, existing board policies can provide crucial tools for addressing these issues. This piece looks at some […]
On March 16, just after passing a package of $1 billion in funding to fight the COVID-19 pandemic (which included $100 million for schools, equal to approximately $17.37 per average daily attendance that will be sent to local educational agencies in early April), the Legislature […]
The sudden and extended closures of America’s schools have brought into the spotlight a persistent problem well known to education advocates: unequal access to both internet access and devices in student homes. Across the country, 12 million students do not have internet access at home. […]
