As the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 86, which includes $2 billion for local educational agencies that are able to offer in-person instruction for students by April 1, California School Boards Association President Suzanne Kitchens participated in a panel discussion on reopening schools. Part of […]
Category: Legislature
Legislative update: New session begins with a number of bills addressing broadband access
The California Legislature rang in the 2021–22 session in socially distanced style on Monday, Dec. 7, swearing in members and announcing priorities for the coming year. Senators and Assemblymembers wasted no time in introducing 185 new pieces of legislation for consideration when they return in […]
Gov. Newsom vetoes ethnic studies bill, signs Brown Act clarification
September 30 marked the final deadline for Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign or veto all bills sent to his desk during the 2020 legislative session. In the last week of the signing period, the Governor signed legislation related to social media use and the Brown […]
Assembly Bill 992 amends Brown Act to address social media use
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 18 signed Assembly Bill 992, which amends the Brown Act’s prohibition of serial meetings, to permit certain social media communications. Under the revised law, board members may communicate with their communities via social media, but may not communicate directly with […]
CSBA legal webinar explains latest on distance learning, layoffs, liability
The familiar back-to-school process for the new school year looks much different as governing boards across the state are wading through reopening plans in the face of new legal requirements and amid evolving guidance. To aid board members and local educational agencies, CSBA is holding […]
Governor signs 2020–21 budget package; CSBA webinar dives into details
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday night signed the 2020–21 state budget that leans heavily on deferrals in lieu of cuts to K–12 education funding and counts on significant additional federal funding to bolster schools financially in their monumental task to safely reopen schools. In a […]
Legislature agrees on budget that rejects K–12 education cuts, counts on federal aid
The Legislature on Wednesday unveiled a 2020–21 budget proposal that prioritizes education and rejects the $8.1 billion in cuts to Proposition 98 funding called for in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May Revision proposal, including the 10 percent reduction to the Local Control Funding Formula. The Senate […]
May Revision cuts LCFF, drops COLA, introduces proposals in effort to mitigate impact
Reflecting California’s pandemic-induced $54 billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom presented his May Revision on May 14 featuring a blend of proposals aimed at mitigating the dire financial straits of the state’s K–12 schools. “Coupled with a 10 percent cut to LCFF — the primary […]
Budget subcommittee takes on big questions around school finance, learning loss, the future
While legislators, state officials and education advocates may have left with more questions than they arrived with, an Assembly Budget Subcommittee hearing on April 28 punctuated the COVID-19 pandemic’s massive impact on K–12 schools. The parties learned that many of the answers largely hinge upon […]
Assembly budget memo outlines rocky 2020-21 outlook, declares August revision likely
Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), in a memo released this week, provides an overview of that the 2020-21 budget situation and process might look like. Asm. Ting echoed the March advisory issued by the Department of Finance that the May budget revision will […]





