California School Dashboard release marks a new starting point for improvement

The 2022 California School Dashboard was released on Dec. 15 following a two-year pause prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw widespread school closures, federal assessment waivers and declines in student academic achievement and overall well-being. Chronic absenteeism proved to be a particularly troubling indicator, […]

Commission on Teacher Credentialing wraps up the year with reflections on ethnic studies; new leadership

The Dec. 8-9 meeting of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing featured the presentation of several required end-of-year reports and a passionate discussion about subject matter competence and history, social sciences and ethnic studies. The meeting was the last for Chair Tine Sloan and Commissioner […]

Survey finds most adults support teaching controversial topics in high school

Lawmakers across 37 states introduced nearly 150 bills in 2022 designed to limit educators’ latitude to address racism, inequity, bias, structural injustices, and gender and sexuality issues in school. At least 20 states enacted laws or executive orders to prevent civic learning and discussion of […]

More federal coordination needed on cybersecurity; State recommendations for LEAs

With K-12 schools becoming increasingly common targets of cyberattacks including phishing attempts, ransomware, distributed denial-of-service and video conferencing disruptions, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published the report Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Federal Coordination Is Needed to Enhance K-12 Cybersecurity in October. The impacts of […]

State leaders reimagining partnerships to support youth mental health

With youth mental health needs at an all-time high, it is critical that education, health and other necessary sectors come together to ensure children and young adults have access to resources and services, according to state health officials. The State Board of Education recently received […]

School Boards in Action: 5 Questions with Susan Macfarlane, Lodi USD

Susan Macfarlane, board president, Lodi Unified School District What does your district have planned for the 2022–23 school year to foster learning recovery and educational advancements? Lodi USD has employed a number of activities and program offerings to address learning recovery and education advancements, including […]

National PTA standards support engagement among underrepresented families

Research has long shown that family involvement in a child’s education can have significant positive impacts — particularly among students whose families face barrier to meaningful engagement, be it for linguistic, cultural or logistical reasons. In California, where local educational agencies are required to demonstrate […]