By Dana Scott As of Jan. 1, 2023, school and county office of education board members are subject to “pay-to-play” campaign contribution restrictions due to the passage of Senate Bill 1439 and the changes it made to the Political Reform Act PRA). Prior to SB […]
Author: Guest author
The progress of using federal COVID-19 aid in California — winter 2022 update
By Jeremy Anderson The first spending deadline for the historic federal COVID relief funding known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER I) fund and the Governors’ Emergency Education Relief (GEER I) fund was Jan. 30, 2023. These 2020 funding packages were the […]
Supporting unduplicated students with increased transportation funding
By Jeremy Anderson and Angela Asch Access to reliable home-to-school transportation for students improves attendance and cuts rates of chronic absenteeism, particularly for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Recent research from the University of Pennsylvania highlights evidence-based strategies to combat chronic absenteeism and found that […]
Supporting staff mental health and well-being
By Angela Asch The pandemic caused many challenges for educators, but teachers, school administrators, and other staff have forged ahead despite these disruptions, often putting their emotional and mental health needs on hold to take care of their students first. In addition to their regular […]
Legal update: Recent developments regarding school districts and parcel taxes
By Bode Owoyele, CSBA Associate General Counsel Parcel taxes have long been an essential part of school financing in California. Under the state Constitution, a school district may impose a special tax when a ballot measure proposing the tax is supported by two-thirds of qualified […]
Leading from adversity to opportunity
By Dr. Susan Heredia Timing is a curious thing. Nineteen months ago, I received one of the greatest honors of my life, and yet it came amidst the most unwelcome circumstances. As a 22-year veteran of CSBA, I considered myself fortunate to serve an organization […]
The progress of federal COVID relief funding: Fall 2022 update
By Jeremy Anderson CSBA has been monitoring how local educational agencies are using COVID relief funding and issued its first report on the progress of spending federal aid in June 2022. Sept. 30, 2022, marked the first significant deadline associated with the federal COVID-19 emergency […]
Legal: Board members now subject to “pay-to-play” campaign contribution restrictions (UPDATED)
Update: On Nov. 17, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) discussed the application of amendments to Government Code Section 84308 more fully described in the blog below. The FPPC’s staff attorneys had proposed the commission issue an opinion advising that Government Code Section 84308, as […]
Youth mental health is a top priority for education leaders
By Angela Asch Over the past few years, rates of chronic sadness, emotional distress and suicidal ideation have been steadily increasing among youth. According to a survey conducted by Kids Data, 43 percent of parents across the state reported feeling moderately or extremely concerned for […]
Workforce housing momentum builds as CSBA launches workshop with UCLA and UC Berkeley
By Andrew Keller Teams from a select cohort of four school districts in rent-burdened communities around the state met at Selma Community Housing in Los Angeles Oct. 13 for the launch of a pilot CSBA workshop series designed to help convert existing school property into […]