Two CSBA-sponsored bills that would enact important electoral reforms are on the verge of becoming law. Together, the bills increase transparency for voters, cut costs for local school board elections and prevent school funding from being diverted for election administration. Senate Bill 1061 (Laird, D-Santa […]
Collective bargaining in divisive times
Negotiating labor contracts is never easy, even in the best of times. Yet, the unprecedented scrutiny of school operations brought on by the pandemic means that collective bargaining is more public and more complicated than ever before. Deep disagreements about how best to allocate funds […]
Gov. Newsom highlights mental health supports for California students
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Aug. 18, joined by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, spoke about efforts to support the mental health of young people in the state — including $4.7 billion to increase access to mental health and substance use supports for those ages 0-25. […]
Schools continue facing the same COVID-related challenges
Even as school districts set their sights on a new school year with fewer mitigation measures in place and lower rates of transmission of COVID-19, many local educational agencies were facing the same issues in spring 2022 as they were in fall 2021, according to […]
CSBA-sponsored bill passes suspense hearing hurdle
On Aug. 11, the Senate and Assembly Appropriations committees took up their suspense file — bills with a price tag of over $150,000 that are considered in bulk in order to evaluate their fiscal impact as a whole. Suspense hearings can provide a convenient place […]
CDC updates to K-12 Guidance are in line with CDPH Guidance
On Aug. 11, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools and early care and education programs. The revisions to the guidance largely tracks guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health on June 30 (effective July 1). […]
Schools promote safe walking conditions for students
Children who walk to school tend to have higher academic performance, alertness in class, reasoning abilities, and levels of happiness and relaxation, as well as lower stress levels during the school day, according to pediatric experts. With such benefits in mind and National Pedestrian Safety […]
CSBA launches next phase of School Boards in Action
CSBA’s School Boards in Action campaign is kicking off its second phase Aug. 15 — focusing more than ever on highlighting the critical work that school board members do to serve California’s nearly 6 million public school students. Phase one, which took place last year, […]
CDC provides updated COVID-19 guidance for schools
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug. 11 released updated COVID-19 guidance for schools, now emphasizing masking and testing over quarantines for exposed youth and staff. The updates are closely aligned with the K-12 schools guidance released by the California Department of Public […]
How two states are creating educator pipelines
While states approach many issues differently, one being handled with great care, innovation and urgency throughout the country is the shortage of K-12 educators. During the Education Commission of the States’ Aug. 10 webinar “Partnering For Success: Addressing Shortages Across the Teacher Pipeline,” Nevada’s Superintendent […]










