Struggling to live in the communities they serve: How housing affordability impacts school employees in California

By Shazia Manji The combination of stagnant incomes and California’s continually rising housing costs weighs heavily on public school employees across the state. Numerous recent headlines (see Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR, among others) highlight stories of teachers who are struggling to afford […]

CSBA President’s Message: Eyes on the prize: Keeping students first in a time of turmoil

By CSBA President Dr. Susan Heredia Back-to-school season is always a major undertaking, but this year’s version is especially momentous. For the first time in 18 months, every California school district is open for full-time, in-person instruction. While that’s cause for relief in many respects, […]

School Boards in Action: LEAs need support for contact tracing and testing to keep kids in school

By Ty Alper I am president of the Berkeley Unified School District school board — a California district that is doing everything it can to keep students in school, even as positive cases increase. It’s possible and we are doing it. But it requires one […]

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 […]

Turning crisis into opportunity: Resources for board members in planning for the 2021–22 year and beyond

By Jeremy Anderson CSBA’s Delegate Assembly met on May 16, 2021 to discuss one of the most significant and scrutinized issues in the history of California public schools: the return of full-time, in-person instruction statewide. Nearly 250 Delegates were organized into 14 breakout rooms to […]

Now is the time to seriously invest in computer science education

By Julie Flapan and Allison Scott, co-directors, CSforCA Our culture’s reliance on computers has never been stronger — whether we are working from home, schooling from home, shopping from home or socializing from our home — the pandemic has demonstrated technology’s increasing presence in our […]

Governor Gavin Newsom issues executive order setting expiration dates for previous COVID-19-related executive order provisions

Since Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19 on March 4, 2020, he has issued more than 60 executive orders to address pandemic-related issues. Executive orders are issued by the Governor to require action by various state agencies and to order […]

CSBA files objection to Proposition 98 certification due to miscalculation of ERAF

CSBA filed a letter with the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee on May 27, 2021, formally objecting to DOF’s certification of Proposition 98 for the 2019–20 budget year. CSBA’s objection is based on the ground that the certification underestimates the constitutionally […]