Dozens of attendees gathered in San Diego March 11-12 for the CSBA Counties Governance Workshop where the focus of sessions and micro-trainings was a core responsibility of county boards — serving at-promise students such as foster youth.
Author: Heather Kemp
Report highlights importance of guaranteed paid parental leave for teachers
The U.S. is the sole high-income country that lacks guaranteed paid parental leave, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality’s (NCTQ) January report State of the States: Investing in Teachers and Families Through Paid Parental Leave. This leaves teachers, a woman-dominated field, without needed support and causes many to exit the profession or never enter it at all.
California students’ chronic absenteeism rates remain above pre-pandemic levels
Rates of chronic absenteeism in California still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a March fact sheet by the Public Policy Institute of California that gives an overview of the topic.
CalKIDS scholarships support California students
The California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS) provides young people with a jumpstart in affording to pursue college and career training by automatically offering scholarships of up to $1,5000 to eligible public school students and all Californians born on or after July 1, 2022.
The importance of computer science education in the age of AI
California is among the 17 states that have guidance clarifying that computer science (CS) education is fundamental to artificial intelligence (AI). This is according to the 2025 State of AI + Computer Science Education report, published by Code.org, which includes a state-by-state look at AI education policies and an overview of CS policies, access and participation.
Report compares trustees’ demographics and beliefs to those of public
With more than 13,000 local educational agencies across the nation, school board members make up the largest group of elected leaders. The report Who’s on Board? School Boards and Political Representation in an Age of Conflict, published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, explores who trustees are and what they believe compared to the communities they serve.
CCEE talks difficulties, successes in providing DTA
The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) board convened Feb. 26 for its first meeting of 2026 to discuss challenges and successes in providing direct technical assistance (DTA) and ongoing projects.
Inyo COE receives federal grant to expand distance learning
A federal grant will help rural Inyo County students upgrade classrooms to elevate student learning. The $700,000 Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture will support Inyo COE in advancing educational access and equity in local rural and frontier communities by funding the initiative, Inyo LinkEd: Empowering Rural Education Opportunities.
Making summer school more effective
Because of its growth potential and consistent impact across local educational agencies, a recent NWEA brief, “School’s in for summer: A scalable and effective post-pandemic academic intervention,” concluded that summer school is “a reliable intervention for supporting district-wide math recovery.”
Report finds need for more coherence within the Statewide System of Support
A December report summarizes the findings of a working group convened last year by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to determine how effectively the Statewide System of Support’s current structure — including the layers of technical assistance embedded in it, such as differentiated assistance and direct technical assistance — is supporting local educational agencies.











