By Susan Markarian, CSBA President American poet and journalist Carl Sandburg said, “Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me.” I relate to this sentiment because the past four decades of my life as a school […]
Southern California charter schools challenge State Board’s denial in court
On Nov. 1, 2023, Vista Charter Public Schools (Vista) filed a lawsuit against the State Board of Education (SBE) challenging its decision to affirm the denial of its charter petition by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the Los Angeles County Board of Education […]
2020–21 Civil Rights Data Collection shows persistent opportunity and access gaps for underrepresented students
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Nov. 15 released new civil rights data from the 2020–21 school year, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) since the 2017–18 school year. Accompanying the data are […]
New resource calls on state support for small and rural LEA cybersecurity
The State Educational Technology Directors Association’s (SETDA) Cybersecurity & Privacy Collaborative — a network that includes Microsoft and the K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX) — published guidance on Oct. 17 detailing how state agencies and other support organizations are empowering their smallest school districts […]
IQC approves schedule for math instructional materials adoption, application for reviewers
At its final meeting of the year, the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) on Nov. 15 approved matters related to the 2025 California Mathematics Instructional Materials Adoption process. The schedule of significant events, online instructional materials review application, and draft content standards and evaluation criteria maps […]
Young Indigenous leaders want to take on climate issues
Youth leaders at the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival had the opportunity to look to the future on climate issues and share their ideas and perspectives of what supports and resources it would take to get there. One panel, Youth in Action: A Conversation Centering Young […]
CSBA Member Services Chief featured on state education panel
On Nov. 7, Capitol Weekly hosted a conference on education policy featuring a panel on the role of school boards. CSBA Member Services Chief Amy Christianson shared the stage with Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice; Richard Zeiger, founder of Zeiger Strategies and former California Chief […]
Experts highlight resources for supporting LGBTQ youth
In observance of National Coming Out Day and National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month, the U.S. Department of Education held a webinar on Oct. 25 to provide resources to support substance use prevention efforts for LGBTQ students as well as strategies to promote positive school […]
CSBA’s ELA submits amicus letter in support of blocking proposed tax measure
On Nov. 9, CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance (ELA) filed an amicus letter urging the California Supreme Court to hear the case of Legislature of the State of California et al v. Weber (Hiltachk). In a unique procedural process, the petitioners in the case, the state […]
Engaging families to address youth mental health
An October policy update from the National Association of State Boards of Education shares the importance of family engagement and empowerment as local educational agencies continue to address the youth mental health crisis. In national polls, parents identify their children’s mental health as a top […]