Removing students from the classroom through exclusionary discipline practices like suspensions and expulsions has been proven to negatively impact academic achievement and disproportionately affect specific groups including students of color, low-income children, LGBTQ youth, males and students with disabilities. Those trends proved true on the […]
Communication can help students get off to a strong start with attendance
With chronic absenteeism rates in California still hovering at about double where they were prior to the pandemic (22 percent compared to about 10 percent), communicating to families the importance of getting children to school is more important than ever. To aid local educational agencies […]
Resources to support student health, attendance this school year
It’s widely recognized that students are more likely to show up to school when they feel safe, connected and supported, but how can educators make those conditions a reality? A variety of resources and strategies available to assist local educational agencies in their attempts to […]
A look at A-G course completion and strategies for improvement
A trio of resources recently published by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) — a policy brief “Addressing Inequities in College Preparatory Course-Taking,” a report Inequality in Academic Preparation for College and a resource guide Insights and Strategies from Exemplar School Districts — provide local […]
Sponsored bills advance as Legislature takes up suspense file
CSBA-sponsored legislation sailed through one of the final legislative hurdles left in 2023 as the Senate and Assembly Appropriations committees took up their suspense files on Sept. 1. The suspense file compiles bills with a price tag of over $150,000 to be considered in bulk […]
Engaging families can reduce political polarization in schools
District partnerships with parents are key to solving heightened political polarization in schools, according to an Aug. 10 brief from The Brookings Institution. From lawsuits to violent incidents at school events and board meetings, national surveys of K–12 educators — including district leaders, principals and […]
Grant funding brings more behavioral support services to Orange County students
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in August that overall suicide rates in the United States increased by 2.6 percent from 2021 to 2022 — reaching an all-time high of 49,449 people — but decreased in youth ages 10-24 years old by 8.4 […]
CCEE struggles to clarify its role to LEAs; aims to strengthen Statewide System of Support
The Aug. 31 meeting of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) focused on discussions of how to improve awareness of what CCEE does in the field, ways to better measure progress made in providing direct technical assistance, how to provide easier access to the […]
Ensuring students make it back to school this season
By CSBA President Susan Markarian As summer break draws to a close while temperatures still soar around the state, a hot topic on the minds of trustees, administrators and teachers alike is how to create a supportive and engaging school environment that makes students feel […]
New data shows steep increase in special education students
The number of students in special education in the United States has doubled over the past 40 years, according to new data from the National Center for Education Statistics. The total number of students in special education increased from 3.6 million in the 1976–76 school […]