Suicide prevention: Stakeholder engagement, strategies and best practices

In addition to planning for learning recovery as students return to in-person instruction, it is important to address the emotional toll that the pandemic has had on students. Boards can support strategies for emotional recovery and ensure that board policy on suicide prevention is current, […]

CDPH updated school guidance requires masking, relaxes quarantine

The California Department of Public Health today released updated COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools. Like guidance released last week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the foundational principle of the CDPH guidance is that all students should have access to safe and full-time, […]

New CDC school guidance presents possible tension with CDPH on masking

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 9 released updated “Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in Kindergarten (K)-12 Schools” that emphasizes the benefits of in-person learning to students and the importance of implementing layered prevention strategies as determined by local circumstances, including levels of […]

Immediate surge in school shootings spotlights need for student SEL supports

April 2020 marked the first month with no shootings on school grounds in nearly two decades. It also marked the first full month in which students throughout the country remained home as schools and businesses closed their doors due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. […]

Budget trailer bill creates new programs and requirements

2021–22 Education Budget Trailer Bill Summary On Monday, July 5, the Legislature introduced this year’s education omnibus budget trailer bill (Assembly Bill/Senate Bill 130), containing greater detail on what California’s schools can expect from the 2021–22 Budget Act. Budget trailer bills address remaining points of […]

State budget agreement pays down all deferrals in a win for education advocates

The final state budget agreement between the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate Bill 129, includes the full elimination of all funding deferrals — a major win for schools — and addresses areas of great need for California’s students, though concerns remain about funding for program […]

U.S. Supreme Court affirms school violated student’s First Amendment rights, but allows for some regulation of off-campus speech

On June 23, 2021, in Mahanoy Area School District v. B. L., the United States Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated opinion addressing a public school’s ability to regulate off-campus student speech. In an 8-1 decision, the Court held that while public schools may regulate […]