A webinar hosted by the California Department of Education (CDE) on Feb. 4 highlighted how some districts are working with community partners and families to create a culture of safety and belonging for immigrant students and families. “Including Immigrant Students and Families: Cultivating Community Partnership […]
One school’s effort to get kids moving has improved student behavior and climate
The Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) team and leadership at Avalon Elementary in the Val Verde Unified School District adopted a simple change to the school’s morning routine that has led to positive shifts in student behavior and campus culture.
CSBA Counties Governance Workshop preview: Q&A with André V. Chapman, Fostering Promise president and CEO
André V. Chapman, CEO and president of Fostering Promise, a nonprofit that aims to ensure every young person aging out of foster care has access to a successful future, will participate in a panel at the 2026 CSBA Counties Governance Workshop, March 11-12 in San Diego, on supporting foster youth.
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.
Disproportionate discipline remains an issue in California schools, but LEAs can turn things around
Despite the passage of legislation banning willful defiance suspensions, research from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools found that racial disparities in suspension rates have remained mostly unchanged.
US Department of Education finds California Department of Education policies violate FERPA
On Jan. 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced its finding that the California Department of Education (CDE) is “in continued violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) — a federal law granting parents the right to access their child’s education records — for policies that pressure school officials to conceal information about students’ ‘gender identity.’”
California schools are losing tree canopy, study finds
Eighty-five percent of California schools considered in a recent study experienced tree canopy loss between 2018 and 2022.
CSBA’s campaign to close the achievement gap is needed to support African American student success
In recognition of Black History Month, observed in February, CSBA Principal Research Manager Jeremy Anderson highlighted how the initiative, with proper implementation, will allow local educational agencies to better support African American students.
Recommendations to build a more diverse teacher workforce
A recent report and accompanying brief from the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) considers the experiences of teachers of color as the workforce’s diversity was stagnant at about 20 percent between 2018 to 2021. It also examines strategies to encourage more diversity in the field.











